“Congratulations,” the woman said.
“Oh. He’s not ... we’re not ... it’s just ... friends. Maybe. Sort of. Ryan’s—”
“On the book. The waitress said you’re a published author?”
“Oh. That. Yeah. I’m a children’s author.” Damn, that felt good to say. “My book doesn’t come out until spring.”
“What’s your book about?”
Mia gave them the shortened version about sea creatures and life lessons.
“We have two grandchildren. We’ll have to check you out. Do you have a business card?”
“Actually.” She reached into her purse. “I do.” Mia handed her the card.
“Wow. This is really neat. Will you be doing any signings when your book comes out?”
She hadn’t even asked what it was about yet seemed enthralled with meeting her. Way cool. “My mom owns Books by the Ocean. It’s just down the road. I’m pretty sure she’s planning on an over-the-top release party. You can sign up for her newsletter for more information.”
“Honey, let’s stop by the bookstore before we head home,” the woman said to her husband.
“Anything you want, sweetheart.” He took out his wallet and picked up the bill. “It was nice meeting you...”
“Mia. Mia Parker.”
“Sounds like Spiderman’s counterpart,” the man chuckled.
“Forgive my husband. His sense of humor isn’t always that ... funny.” She rolled her eyes and smiled.
“My father’s the same way.”
“We won’t keep you any longer. Your boyfriend has been patiently waiting for you. It was lovely meeting you, Miss Parker.”
Excited about having her first fan—even if they hadn’t read her book yet—she slid off the stool and joined Ryan in the corner.
“I like seeing you happy. I wish I could take credit for the smile, but I have a feeling it’s the couple at the counter.” He stood and pulled out the chair next to him for her.
“Sure is.” She sat, not minding that their knees touched when he slid into his chair next to her.
“Friends of your parents?”
“Nope. Future fans of children’s author Mia Parker.”
“I’m proud of you, Mia.”
Hearing those words from Ryan did something dangerous to her heart. It swelled with pride and beat faster until she swore it thumped her polo shirt away from her chest. Her cheeks warmed, and she attempted to cool them by picking up the glass of ice water one of the high school kids had poured for them.
“Thanks.” She lifted her shoulder in casual acceptance of his compliment.
“So, I was wondering...” Ryan straightened the silverware on his paper placement. “Do you have plans for Friday night?”
She blinked back her shock. In all their meetups in the past they’d either been from coincidence, him stalking her—which she was totally fine with—or her stalking him—which she wasn’t sure how he felt. Never had they actually made plans to meet.
Ryan continued to toy with his fork and avoided looking directly at her. At her shoulder, at the insignia on her shirt above her heart, even at the top of her head. His gaze, however, failed to meet hers.
She took the opportunity to check him out. The man was sex on a stick in whatever style he hid behind. This morning, wearing a navy blue suit coat and white buttoned-down shirt, he appeared fresh and ... happy. He wore no tie and looked business-relaxed instead of an uptight stuffed shirt.
For a brief second, she contemplated calling him on his nervousness, and then his gaze met hers, and the knot in her chest unraveled. Never before had his eyes looked so ... soft. So vulnerable. So hopeful.
There’d been a massive change in him since the last time she saw him, since her abduction, and she wasn’t sure what to attribute it to.
It was more than guilt. Guilt and fear and anger was what she saw in his eyes the last time she saw him. The night she believed she’d never see him again.
Yet, here he was in all his beautiful, nervous glory asking her out on a date.
Maybe. Unless his question about Friday night was out of curiosity? Or because he needed her to come down to the police station.
The tension in her chest coiled again.
“Why?” Better not to reveal any tinge of hope behind her words.
“I was hoping I could take you out to dinner.”
“Like a date?” she couldn’t help blurting out.
“Like a date,” he confirmed.
Scilla saved her from having to answer. “You kids ready to order?” She flipped their empty mugs over and filled them with coffee. “Oh, wow.” She let out a low whistle and looked from Mia to Ryan.
“Is everything okay?” Ryan asked.
“It is now. The first time I met you I couldn’t get a read on your colors. At first, I thought you were one of them rare crystal colors. Now, though.” Again, she whistled. “You keep that tan circle nice and tight around ya. Logical, analytical, and very practical. You keep your feelings to yourself.”
Mia couldn’t help the snort that escaped her throat. “You’re spot on today, Scilla.”
“There’s more to him than that.” She set the pot of coffee on the table and stood closer to Mia. Resting her hand on Mia’s shoulder, she studied Ryan.
Ryan, in return, shifted in his seat. “It comes with the job.”
“I see green too. You’re a purposeful achiever. Highly intelligent and strong-willed, just like Mia here. And stubborn. You both share that quality as well.”
“Thanks for stating the obvious. I’m ready to order now.”
“And you, honey,” she continued. “You’re as red as the sky is blue. You’ve always been open in expressing your thoughts and feelings. Your man here can learn a thing or two from you. I’d say your ability to live in the now is exactly what your young man needs.”
Mia unrolled her silverware and put the napkin in her lap. “I’ll have a Denver omelet and a side of home fries.”
“Got it. And for you, hot stuff?”
Ryan grinned at Priscilla. “Nothing for me, thank you.”
“Frank’s slowed down back there, so it won’t take but a few minutes to get your order.” She picked up the pot of coffee and left.
“You’re not eating?” was safer than asking about the date or the meaning behind Priscilla’s wacky color analysis.
“I have to be in the office by ten.” He reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out his phone.
“Office?” Not that he’d told her much about his job when they were together, but she didn’t think he had an office.
The station, the casino, his grandparents’ lake house, they were all places he did his business. Never an office.
The phone conversations and Skype calls she had with his father and mother had made her feel like she knew Ryan better than she did, but this was another sign she knew very little about him.
“I’m running late as it is.” He took out his wallet and tucked a twenty-dollar bill under his coffee cup. “I hate to leave you dining alone. Friday night?”
“I’d planned on a solitary breakfast anyway.”
He tucked his phone and wallet in the pocket of his suit coat and stood. “Not a solitary dinner, though.” He leaned down and brushed a kiss across her cheek. “I’ll pick you up at six.”
Not giving her a chance to turn him down or accept, he squeezed her shoulder and left. Outside, he walked by the window and waved to her before getting into his car and speeding off.
“You kids these days,” Scilla set her plate in front of her. “Always rushing off and never taking the time to enjoy a nice meal.”
“Ryan had to go to work.” She checked the time. “And so do I. I have just enough time to scarf this down, and then I need to head to the restaurant.”
“His colors are much clearer today than the other few times he’s been by. You tend to attract men who are hard to read. What happened to that cute blond fisherman guy?”
James.
Mia gnawed at her lower lip while she contemplated her response. “He was research.”
“And what’s with him?” Scilla nodded to the empty seat. “Don’t try to fool me. He’s the real deal. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him around here, but his colors are showing through now. It’s you and your reds. You have a way of bringing life and light to those around you.”
Mia picked up her fork and dove into her eggs in an attempt to keep her mouth busy and not fall into the trap of responding to the taunts.
“You’re good for him. Heck, you’d be good for any man, but not any man would be good enough for you.”
“I’m hardly a prize.” She set her fork down and sipped her coffee. She’d need another one to go if she was going to make it through the day.
“What’s with the negative Nellie? My Mia has always been full of spunk and adventure. Are you and hot stuff having a lover’s quarrel?” She sat across from Mia and rested her elbows on the table. “Tell Priscilla your troubles.”
This was a first. While the eccentric waitress was well-loved, and her passion for reading auras was silly yet accepted, she’d never been the town therapist. People unloaded their troubles on bartenders, not diner waitresses with a flair for the psychic world.
“I’m okay, Scilla. I don’t mean to sound so negative. It must be the craziness of the past week and the stress of publishing my first book.”
“You know I’m good at reading people, but I won’t call you on your little fib here.” Scilla lowered her gaze on Mia. “That man of yours was difficult to read a few months ago. Surrounded by tan and buttoned up tighter than a young clam. Now, though, the greens are dominating. And everyone knows greens and reds are a perfect match.”
“I mean, obviously,” Mia teased. “We wouldn’t have Christmas without them.”
“There’s my Mia, full of jest and snark.” She patted Mia’s hand and hefted herself out of her seat. “I’ll leave you to your breakfast. This one’s on me. Next time I stop in The Happy Clam you can buy me a drink.”
“Thanks, Scilla.” Mia stood and gave her a hug, leaving the twenty-spot on the table.
“Keep that smile on your face, honey. It looks good on you. And so does your man.” She picked up the coffee pot and went to clearing off the dirty tables.
All throughout her ten-hour shift Mia expected Ryan to stop by. When it was closing time and she flipped the sign on the front door, a little piece of her heart wilted when she didn’t find him on the other side.
She couldn’t help but think maybe he’d show up at children’s hour when she volunteered at the library on Wednesday. Or at Books by the Ocean during her shift on Thursday.
He didn’t, but that didn’t get her down. For the first time in thirty-two years, she had a thing. Her spirits lifted when she thought about her possible career as a children’s author. Not many illustrated their own book, which was a selling point to her publisher.
Her agent had warned her that at some point a publisher may want to use their own illustrators, but they’d agreed her current work was perfect for the story. For now, she was both illustrator and author and would ride on that high for as long as possible.
It was enough to keep the skip in her step, until she closed up the bookstore once again, without a visit from Ryan. It was only Thursday. He could’ve been busy all week working some case. Undercover most likely. That was what he seemed to like best.
Maybe his arrival in town was another farce. The happy-go-lucky and even flirty Ryan Thorne could be another act. Not the real Ryan. Who was he now? Peter? Dylan? Christopher?
She’d never know who the real Ryan Thorne was. All she had were tiny glimpses into who she hoped he was, who she wanted him to be, and the stories from his parents. The ones he’d told her when in Boston were all corroborated by his dad, so at least that much about him was true.
Friday morning, after she spent two hours illustrating another page from her current work, she drove down to Grace’s shop, The Closet, for an outfit for her dinner date with Ryan. If he was still coming.
Not sure what to wear, she looked through a rack of sweaters while Grace cashed out a customer at the register. Her shop was a unique blend of thrift shop, high end boutique, and a lending library of sorts.
Customers had the option of borrowing clothing—for a fee, of course—or buying. Mia looked through the samples from wannabe and up-and-coming fashion designers Grace had worked with in Paris. She couldn’t tell the difference between those and “last year’s fashion discards” from models, actresses, and other glitzy and glamorous women Grace knew.
No one thought such a store would succeed in a small town like Crystal Cove, but Grace’s tenacity proved everyone wrong. She’d even opened another store in Boston, which she went down to oversee once a month.
“I could say I’m surprised to see you here, but I’m not.” Grace gave her a quick hug. They were the two least huggy of their circle of friends. Sarcasm and snark were more their style.
Mia wasn’t a regular in the shop. She had no need to impress anyone. Occasionally she’d stop in for a sexy top to wear to the bars, but it had been months and months since she did that. She hadn’t even picked out an outfit for the fall festival dance last weekend. Mostly because she hadn’t planned on trying to impress anyone.
Shorts and a T-shirt, or yoga pants were her new style. She’d broken out the skinny jeans last week only because she knew Ryan was in town.
“Just looking to spruce up my wardrobe. You know, since I’m going to be a famous author.” Mia pushed hangers aside, searching through the tops but not really looking.
“Oh.” Grace did the same on the other side of the rack, the metal hangers squeaking along the metal bar. “I figured you were looking for something to impress your FBI agent.”
Mia stopped moving the shirts and looked across the clothes at Grace. “What have you heard?”
Grace lifted her shoulder. “What’s there to hear?”
“Nothing.”
“He shows up at the corn maze, at The Happy Clam, at the dance and even cuts loose on the dance floor for you, and you call that nothing?”
“He didn’t dance for me.”
“He sure as hell wasn’t dancing for anyone else. Not with those melty chocolatey eyes of his staring at you the entire time.”
“We were dancing in a line. He was looking forward, not at me.”
“Not when the line turned and you were in front of him.”
“Well, obviously. And I was looking at whoever was in front of me.”
“Not the same and you know it. Your brother wouldn’t have hauled his ass outside if he was looking at you with innocent eyes. The man wanted to strip you naked and have his way with you on the dance floor.”
Mia opened her mouth to argue, but the sudden image of them having wild sex on the floor rushed to the forefront of her mind. Yeah, totally something they would have done. But not with people around.
“You’re blushing. I never thought I’d see our little outspoken Mia Parker blush. Good for you, girlfriend.” Grace grinned and held up a low-cut red top. “Red always looks good on you.”
A year ago, heck, six months ago she would have swooned over the top. It was perfect for the bars and clubs she normally attended.
Used to attend. Her group of bar-hopping friends had stopped texting her after the third time she’d turned them down.
Not once did Jo or Dilly or even Kandy stop by to check on her this summer to see why she wasn’t going out anymore. It wasn’t like they were close friends anyway. They never confided in each other, didn’t do lunch or talk about books or relationships like she did with her tribe in Crystal Cove.
She liked keeping the two friend groups separate. When her friends in town started having serious relationships and were getting married, she spent more time with the bar friends thinking they had more in common than the married couples.
But seeing her real friends find love and happiness wasn’t as annoying as sh
e thought it would be. Instead, she found those who were careless with their relationships to be the annoying ones.
That was why she’d fallen for Ryan so easily. He’d been the perfect blend of careless hook-up and potential relationship. She wasn’t supposed to fall for him.
“I take it no to the red.” Grace put the shirt back. When Mia still didn’t respond, she came around to Mia’s side and rested her elbow on top of the rack. “What gives? It’s one thing to see Alexis in here and totally out of her element. She acts like the clothes are going to eat her or something. Jenna’s a bit awkward, but she’s a peach and lets me dress her. I didn’t expect to see so much clothing anxiety from you.”
“It’s not clothing anxiety.”
“FBI anxiety?”
Heck, if anyone could understand her relationship history it was Grace. They were one in the same. She’d flitted all around Europe and even had an affair with a married man before returning home and ironically marrying the most faithful, loyal man on the planet.
“He asked me out on a date. We’re going out to dinner tonight.”
“And you’re freaked out why? You two have done dinner before, right?”
“Not exactly. We’ve done sex. That’s about it.” They’d had lunch and dinner in Boston, but that was entirely different. He wasn’t Ryan then; he was James. Yet that was actually more Ryan than he’d been in any other encounter. And they’d had post-sex dinner at his house. Too few words were spoken to consider it a date. Fuel was all it was.
“Is he here for business or pleasure? Or both?”
“I have no idea.” Mia closed her eyes and tipped her head back. “He’s different. Like... I can’t explain. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it wasn’t Ryan but his twin.”
“You sure he’s not? A twin.”
“Yeah.” She let out a hefty sigh and opened her eyes again. “He has this whole Jekyll and Hyde thing going on.”
“Um, I’d say stay far away then. You don’t need to bring a psycho into your life.” Grace crossed her arms and looked down at Mia. It wasn’t hard to do with Mia being so short and Grace nearing six-feet in her super tall and spiky heels.
“It’s part of his job. When I first met him, he was undercover. Actually, I’ve seen him in a few different ... personas. There’s something alluring about each one.”
Something More (A Well Paired Novel) Page 23
