“Soooo I was wondering if you knew if Brooke was seeing anyone.”
Brooke?
The elephant lump in Maya’s stomach stopped churning and stopped dead. Collapsing on top of each other like so many piles of lead. Her mouth froze pre gracious acceptance speech. Epic pause. “Um. No, I don’t think so.”
“Great.” He smiled. “In which case I was hoping to get her number off you. I thought it best to do the asking in private. If I just bowl on up to her and she’s not into it someone is bound to hear and then it’ll be on someone’s blog straight away, or if she says yes, the lads might give her grief. So I thought I’d call and date her, old fashioned like. Maybe take her to dinner after the final, make sure it’s all good before the wedding. I know she’s a bit bad ass for my brand, but like you always say it’s good to keep your sponsors guessing sometimes. Spice things up. Don’t want to turn into the dull-beat-dad of the surf circuit before my time.”
Maya tried not to gape. Tried very hard. Wake up and perk up. As if he was going to ask you when there’s a veritable ocean of hot woman out there for him to choose from. “Of course. I mean, yes, she’s a bit brash for the brand we’ve been building for you, but you can’t let that dictate your love. I mean your life. I mean…you know what I mean.”
He smiled and the relief was obvious when his shoulders dropped about an inch. “I knew you’d get it. Like I said, I’ve been meaning to ask for a while, but I just needed to make sure it was the right thing to do. Like you’re always telling me.”
“Of course. Oh I said that already didn’t I? Sure.” He’d been thinking about this for a while. Thinking about her BFF for a while. Not a thought for Maya Taylor. Not. A. Single. Thought.
Suddenly a whole new, terrifying reality struck her. “You’re serious about giving this a go. With Brooke. Not just for the wedding?”
Oh dear god, was he blushing?
He hadn’t. Surely? He hadn’t fallen for her BFF? And her BFF hadn’t been secretly lusting after Rick all the while that Maya had been…no, she wouldn’t let that possibility out into the world. Not yet. Not in polite company.
“We haven’t spent that much time together lately, but we used to grab a drink pretty much after every event. And in Brazil and Bali I think she opened up to me some. I don’t know, maybe I’ve been reading the signals wrong. But you’ve got to be in to win don’t you?”
He thought he’d been reading the signals wrong? Holy mother of boardshorts. This could not be happening.
Maya couldn’t bring herself to say anything else so she reached for a napkin and selecting a scarlet pen for the occasion from her bag, wrote out the number for the cell Brooke used when she was travelling.
“Thanks.” He folded the napkin carefully and then looking down at his still wet shorts, realized he had nowhere to put it.
That happens when you parade around with no clothes on. Maya forced out yet another smile. “Was that all?”
“Grab a bite with me?”
“I shouldn’t really. I’ve got so much on.”
He didn’t seem to notice her refusal and waved at someone at the bar. “I have a good feeling about this year. If I keep doing well in the competitions and the wedding PR spin off goes to plan, I should be set don’t you think? Reckon you could get my endorsements to crank up even higher. Win win for both of us right?”
“Right.” Except that meant spending more time with him. Time where she might have to hear about his new relationship. A relationship Brooke was certainly going to end once Brooke got bored with Rick’s stable, consistent ways. Or it might be just what Brooke has been searching for, the kind of man she needs in her life. Enough. She’d deal with the repercussions of this whole mess in private. In her own room. With a large bottle of gin. Hold the tonic.
Her cell pinged with a message. Saved! “Sorry Rick, I’d love to stay, but you know what they say, no rest for the wicked.” Ha, that was a good one. If she’d been able to be a little more wicked maybe it’d be her, not Brooke getting asked to the surf event of the year.
Maya slid off her barstool and with as much pace as she could muster without looking like she was ready to break into a run, hightailed it back to the relative privacy of her hotel suite.
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About Michele DeWinton
Michele loves sunshine, chardonnay, (preferably together), chocolate, beaches, trees, great vegetarian food, steamy writing and happy endings. She’s been known to be an all-round arty type, dancing and producing theatre around the globe so it's no wonder that her first romance had a little sparkle of the stage tucked into its pages.
Being a writer was not what she was supposed to be when she ‘grew up' but then neither was being a dancer. Her poor parents. They thought that when she toddled off to law school they'd bred a responsible, useful adult and instead they got a performer and word junkie. Sometimes her performing past jumps into the dress up box and requires attention. But most of the time she’s content to stay in her PJs. All day. She writes surrounded by the whisper of trees from her home in New Zealand and with only intermittent interruptions from her two young sons and husband. (Okay more like regular interruptions, but dreaming is free.)
You can check out her other work or get in touch at www.micheledewinton.com
Thanks so much for reading! To find out more about Michele and other work ranging from Motorcycle Crews and Big City Billionaires to Dream Destination Romantic Comedy, follow Michele on Facebook, Instagram or twitter or sign up to her newsletter for updates, giveaways and bonus reads.
Another Shot with Summer (Hot Tide Book 1) Page 19
