by Natalie Wild
Mia’s heart dropped into her stomach like someone had coated it with iron. Blaine’s ex-wife. Or… if he’d been lying to her… maybe this woman was still his wife.
Tim the marina manager seemed as confused as Mia. He looked between Mia and the blonde woman, as if he might unintentionally reveal a secret.
“Ah, okay,” he said. “Good thing you could come.”
“Have you heard anything?” Candice pulled her phone from her bag. “I haven’t heard a peep. It goes straight to voicemail.”
Mia found her voice. If she needed to find out what was really happening here, she’d have to speak up. Better to get it over with. “There’s no signal that far out. We haven’t heard anything on the radio either.”
The blonde woman looked at Mia. Mia felt like curling up in a ball. She’d slicked her hair back in a ponytail and didn’t have on any makeup. She wore an old pair of khaki shorts and a tank top, as opposed to the blonde woman’s Rodeo Drive ensemble.
“Right,” said Candice. “Do you work here, too?”
Mia stood up. “No. My name is Mia Tennyson. I’m Blaine’s—” She took a deep breath. “I’m Blaine’s girlfriend.”
Candice didn’t say anything at first, and for a moment Mia was sure she was going to be informed that Blaine was very much still married. Finally Candice opened her mouth. “Oh, I see. Well, thanks for holding down the fort until I got here.”
Wait, thought Mia. What does that mean?
Once again Tim seemed to want answers as well. “You Mr. Blaine’s sister?” he asked.
“I’m his ex-wife,” said Candice. “His parents know we’re still friends so they asked me to come and wait for news.”
Mia and the marina manager exhaled in simultaneous relief.
Candice was all business. “What has the coast guard had to say?”
“They went out twice. Searched the fishing holes where I assumed he’d be. Nothing.”
Candice sat on the bench Mia had recently occupied. “It’s odd,” she said. “From what I could tell from Noah, the weather isn’t that bad. Windy, but nothing he hasn’t handled before.”
“Is Noah a friend of Blaine’s?” Mia asked.
Candice laughed. “NOAA. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.”
Mia felt like an idiot. “Oh, right. Of course.”
“Do you have any wine?” Candice asked Tim.
“No,” he said. “I got a couple Coronas in the fridge.”
“That will do,” said Candice. She slipped her feet out of her pumps. Even her toes were perfect. White French manicures. Mia scrunched her pink toenails into her flip-flops. Tim brought Candice a beer and they settled into uncomfortable silence. Mia played with her phone and tried to ignore the silent, unfriendly supermodel sitting beside her.
Tim brought them each a sandwich from the marina shop, but Mia didn’t have any appetite. Candice looked as if she never ate, but she scarfed the sandwich down fast enough. The evening dragged on with no word, except that the Coast Guard was going back out for one last evening run.
Apparently Candice didn’t plan on waiting them out. “I booked a room at the Marriott down the road,” she said. “It’s not the Ritz, but it will do.” She tucked her hair behind her ears and stood. “Please call me if you hear anything. Even in the middle of the night.”
“Will do,” said Tim.
“Goodbye,” Candice said to Mia.
“Bye,” said Mia. She added, “Thanks for coming.”
Candice might have whispered a reply under her breath, but Mia couldn’t make it out.
“You going home too, Mia?” asked Tim.
“I—well—“
“You want to sleep on the cot again?”
“Do you mind?”
“Course not,” said the manager. “You’re sweet to look out for him.” He raised his eyebrows. “Sweeter than some, for sure.”
Mia gave him a smile of real gratitude and followed him into the office. She’d brought her own pillow and blanket in the hope of waking up without neck pain. She had enough pain in her heart. She asked Tim for another of his over the counter sleep aids. She’d never sleep if she didn’t take one.
Mia woke for the second time in two days to someone shaking her foot. “Mia,” the voice said. “Mia?”
The last time Tim had shook her to wakefulness, he’d had bad news. Mia’s subconscious fought to stay asleep. To block out whatever feared tidings Tim might have to tell her.
“Mia—baby?”
That last word jerked Mia awake. She sat up, blinking rapidly. She wanted to force her eyes to adjust to the dark. She reached out, and her hand closed on a hard bicep just as someone flipped on a light in the hallway. The face of the person who’d rousted her came into view. A tired, sunburned face, but one that was whole.
Blaine smiled at her. “Good morning, sunshine.”
*
That evening, as he soaked in the hot bath Mia had drawn for him, Blaine told her his story.
“It was almost a freak thing. The entire electrical system in the boat failed. Some kind of surge. Don’t need to get into any detail, but it fried the connections to both engines. Both! And then while I was messing with fixing it, we drifted. Man, it was awful. We were never really in danger… I mean, I had water and emergency food. The two clients were the worst part of it. One guy kept telling me he wanted his money back—I mean, fine, mate, I’ll give it to you, but can we talk about it later? The other guy cried. For hours. About how he was never going to see his wife again—”
“Poor thing,” said Mia, as she poured water over his shoulders.
“I know, I know. I’m sure it was scary. I kept telling him the coast guard would find us—”
“They might not have. How many miles off course did you drift?”
“About twenty.”
Mia shivered. “Thank god they found you before you hit the gulfstream and ended up in your parents back yard.”
Blaine laughed. “Maybe I’m underestimating it. I guess I’ve just been in more dangerous situations. Like, really dangerous. Bad seas.”
“Let’s change the subject, okay?” Mia said. “Your parents are finally getting some sleep?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Spoke with Mum for nearly thirty, and then she let Dad get a word in for a few.”
Blaine hadn’t mentioned Candice, and for some reason, Mia didn’t bring it up herself. She wondered if maybe his parents didn’t tell him they’d called her, or if Blaine himself thought Mia didn’t know and wanted to keep her in the dark. A lot of questions, but Mia sensed an unpleasant conversation around that topic. She didn’t want to ruin his reunion. She’d been so worried about him that she hadn’t even really kissed him. She felt like Blaine had turned to glass while he was lost.
Now, as he lay naked in the water in front of her, she wanted a real reunion. Apparently, so did he.
“Why am I the only one naked here?” he asked. He tugged at her tank top. “Take this off.”
She smiled and did as he asked.
“The bra, too, silly girl. I’d do it myself, but I don’t want to get you all wet. Not in that way, anyway.” He took hold of her hand and slid it to the button of her shorts. “Take those off. And then tell me how wet you are.”
“What do you mean?” She said, as she removed her shorts and panties.
“Touch yourself.”
She stood, blushing. “How?”
“How you do when I’m not here. When you’re thinking about me.”
Mia wanted to satisfy him, so she tried to do as he asked. She slid her hand between her legs. He was right, of course; she was already wet.
“Put your foot on the side of the tub so I can see,” he said. He leaned back in the soapy water.
Mia spread herself before him. He’d said he wanted her to do what she did when he wasn’t there, but Blaine always ended up taking charge in the end. He seemed to know her body better than she did, anyway.
She stroked and fingered herself, a
ll at his bidding. She ran her hands over her own breasts, marveling at her soft skin. The harder he stared at her, the harder his cock got in the water. It peeked out of the bubbles. She would have laughed if she hadn’t been so turned on.
“Come in here with me, sexy,” he finally said. That was all the invitation Mia needed.
She stepped into the huge tub. The hot water against her sweaty skin made her shiver. Blaine rubbed bubbles over her back and bottom and trailed them over her breasts. They kissed, and she buried her hands in his wet hair. It had been two days since she’d had him, and the space between her legs throbbed from her own personal attention, so Mia didn’t feel the need to mess around with foreplay. She maneuvered into place over his cock and pushed it inside her.
Blaine moaned and took hold of her hips. He rocked her body, gently at first, and then harder and faster. He lifted her up as easily as if she were made of feathers. Water sloshed over the edge of the tub, but neither of them slowed down. Mia worked her hips against his hands, so they came together in perfect unison.
“Look at me,” Blaine said, as he had before. “I want to watch you come.”
She looked deep into his eyes as she felt her orgasm building. Since she’d started out the session with her own hand, she ended it to. She touched her clit as he thrust into her from below. Her own fingers slid over that sensitive spot only two times before she came. Her hips bucked and she arched her back. Blaine took one of her round breasts into his mouth. He sucked hard on her pert nipple as she felt him start to spasm inside her. He pulled out and she grabbed hold of his cock with both hands. She rubbed his shaft as he came into the water.
He smiled up at her through his panting. “That wasn’t as messy as usual,” he said.
She leaned over the tub’s edge. “Have you seen the floor?” They both stood and embraced with the remaining water retreating down their legs and then into the drain. He kissed her and reached for a white robe that hung on the hook beside the shower. She wrapped her satisfied body in it as she stepped onto the tile. “My clothes are soaked,” she said.
“Good,” he replied. “I have an excuse to keep you here.”
She laughed and walked into his bedroom. She picked up the phone that sat on the dresser before realizing it was Blaine’s, not hers. Just as she was about to replace it, the screen flashed. All her satisfaction went down the drain. A text from Candice. And according to the phone’s annoyingly accurate updates screen, Blaine had missed two calls from her, as well as two other texts.
Mia turned and faced the bathroom. She could see Blaine whistling while he dried off. She hated to ruin the moment, but it looked like that uncomfortable conversation was coming.
*
Blaine didn’t like the look he saw on Mia’s face when he walked out of the bathroom. Frankly, he was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep with her beside him. She bit her lip and her brow furrowed in little lines of unexplainable frustration, so it looked like he wouldn’t be getting to sleep any time soon.
He took a deep breath and made sure his voice was gentle. After all, he loved Mia and the past couple days had probably been stressful on her, too. If anything, more stressful. Blaine had never really felt in real danger, just frustrated by his inability to solve the problem himself. Mia had been completely in the dark. “What is it, love?” he asked. “You were just smiling, now you’re not.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you’re tired, and I don’t want to bring this up
but—” She held up his phone as she walked toward him. “Why is she calling you?”
He sighed. He’d hoped to avoid this topic, but maybe by keeping Mia in the dark, he was essentially lying to her again, whether he was keeping the peace or not. “Well, my parents let her know I was missing. They wanted ears here on the scene. She—she flew to town and got a hotel room.”
“I know,” said Mia. “The Courtyard Marriott across from the marina.”
“Wait—what?” Blaine shook his head. “How did you know?”
“I met her. Yesterday. While we were all waiting for you.”
“Oh. Ah, okay. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I just wanted to see you, without worrying about it. Or fighting.”
Mia smiled. “Me too.”
Blaine exhaled in relief. “Right. So we’re on the same page.”
“I also wanted to see if you were going to tell me. Or if you’d go see her.”
Blaine shrugged. There was, the trap he’d almost unwittingly walked into. “I was going to mention it. Just hadn’t found the right time.”
“So—you’re going to see her?”
He sat on the edge of the bed, dropped his towel, and pulled on a pair of boxer briefs. “I don’t know, Mia.”
Her furrowed brow added a few more frustrated wrinkles. “What do you mean? There’s no reason for you to see her now.”
“Well, she did change all her plans to come here and check up on me. Maybe I should at least get coffee with her. She’s been bugging me about that business—”
“Right. So maybe that’s why she agreed to come here! She knew you’d feel obligated.”
Blaine crossed his arms over his chest. Women were always making situations more complicated than they had to be. He said so.
Mia laughed. “Sorry, Blaine, but I am a woman. Women always have an angle when we do things. She knew if she came here to help you, it would give her leverage on the business.”
“So what? Maybe I just give her the money. It’s no sweat off my back. Then I’m done with her.”
“No—you’re not. She’ll blow that and come back for more.”
Blaine changed the subject. “So you met her. And it was all okay?”
Mia climbed onto the bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. “She wasn’t obviously rude, but she wasn’t friendly either.”
“That’s just how she is. She’s the ice princess. Unless she wants something.”
“She wants you.”
Blaine sat beside her. “Come on, Mia. She doesn’t. And even if she does, I don’t want her, and she knows it.”
“How?”
“Well—there’s the fact that I already told her about us.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “And I must have been pretty convincing about how crazy about you I am. She’s the one who told me to go after you. Not let you get away.”
Mia’s mouth fell open. He could see her mentally comparing the snobby woman she’d met with a woman who would have granted Blaine such new-girlfriend-friendly advice. “She did?”
“Yeah.” He kissed her forehead. “I know it’s tough. But try not to worry about Candice, okay? If I have to get together with her before she leaves, you’ll know.”
Mia didn’t look totally convinced, but she kissed him back. “Okay, you promise?”
He nodded.
“Pinky swear?” She held out her little finger.
“Huh?”
“We used to do it when we were kids. You can’t break a pinky swear.”
He smiled. “Pinky swear.”
*
The dreaded meeting between Blaine and Candice happened the following morning, as Candice was planning to leave Miami in the early afternoon. Mia and Blaine drove together to the marina. The Coast Guard had towed the Wanderlust back to port, and Blaine had significant work to complete on the boat before he could get it ready to head to St. John. He and Mia had to leave within two days if he planned on making the tournament. Mia decided to come with him for the day. She’d sunbath on the boat and swim in the marina’s pool when it got too hot. Thankfully, she’d have easy access to Blaine and Candice’s meeting in the little marina restaurant.
Blaine kissed her and left her on the Wanderlust’s sunbathing deck. She donned her darkest pair of sunglasses. All the better to spy on Blaine and Candice if possible. She felt childish and somewhat ridiculous, but oh well. All’s fair in love and war, she t
hought.
Candice pulled up in her little red coupe as Blaine walked into the restaurant. He stopped and held the door for her. They gave each other polite hugs before entering the restaurant.
Mia kept checking her phone. Five minutes felt like five hours. She flipped and flopped on the deck, but she couldn’t distract herself. Regardless of Blaine’s claim that Candice had encouraged their relationship, something about that women’s icy stare and tense posture while they waited for news of Blaine had put all of Mia’s girl radar on high alert. She’d had enough experience with conniving females to not trust this one.
Fortunately for her, the bathroom was just outside the restaurant, and gave her a good excuse to go strolling past. She could use the Wanderlust’s little cubby, but even if there hadn’t been a good excuse to avoid it she would have. Mia didn’t like to think of going tinkle in a dark hole where drunken fisherman went to relieve themselves.
She slowed as she got to the restaurant’s windows. A quick glance showed her Blaine and Candice at table in the corner. Her heartbeat picked up. Candice was leaning across the table. She had one hand on Blaine’s arm, and Blaine was rubbing his forehead with his free hand.
Mia’s mind went into imaginary dialogue mode.
Candice: Oh, please, Blaine. We can work it out. Shouldn’t we try?
Blaine: Maybe… I’m not sure.
Candice: Your parents would be so happy if we got back together. This new girl means nothing to you…
Mia’s feet took over. Without thinking, she opened the restaurant door. The air inside caused goose bumps to rise on her shoulders after the hot sun beating down on them. She pulled her beach cover-up tighter around herself and made a beeline for Blaine and Candice.
“Hey,” she said. “Are you two catching up?”
Candice looked up and gave Mia a stiff smile. “We are. Nice to see you, Mia.”
“Nice to see you, too, Candice,” Mia said. She turned her attention to Blaine. “You have a lot of work to do. And you still have to pack.”
“Right I—“
“It doesn’t take Blaine long to pack,” said Candice. “He just throws stuff in a bag.”
The familiarity irked Mia, especially since Blaine himself had said the exact same thing a few days before when she encouraged him to start packing. She smiled at Candice, and felt very much like one of the sharks that might be swimming around the marina in search of dropped fish bait. “I’ll help him get organized. That’s part of my job!” She purposely kept her voice perky and cheerful.
