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“There’s no ‘of course’ about it. You’re clearly not into Cory or any of the other men I’ve tried and failed to fix you up with. You rarely go out, and you compare every man you meet to this Grant person. Maybe you should go out on a date with him for real. Then you can really see if he’s everything you’ve thought he was.”
“Are you telling me that I should ask him on a date? I’ve never done that in my entire life.”
“Then it’s far past time you should. I asked out Mike and look how that turned out. We’re happily married. Go for it. This person has haunted you for three years. Maybe it’s time to do something about that.”
The guys return to the table kept Mia from responding. Mike and Cory took their seats, both grinning from ear to ear about the gaming area.
“You have to play the pinball machines,” Mike said. “My grandparents used to have one in their family room. It’s awesome. Brings back a million memories.”
“Maybe in a little while,” Lane laughed, placing a kiss on her husband’s cheek. “While you were gone, I’ve been trying to convince Mia to take a chance. Get out of her comfort zone.”
“You should always do that,” Mike agreed. “Do it. Life’s too short.”
“Absolutely,” Cory said. “You don’t want to look back on your life and only think about the things you didn’t do. Fortune favors the bold.”
Is that how Mia would feel someday? Regret?
She’d run from Grant when they were outside because there was no way she could watch him walk away from her. It would have hurt far too much. Even after all of this time.
Grant Anderson still lived in her heart.
Just what was she prepared to do about that?
* * *
Mia had changed clothes six times, and checked her lipstick about ten, making sure it wasn’t smeared on her front teeth. She was going to take that big chance and go see Grant. She’d been practicing what to say with Lane and Mike’s help. Lane had given her a big hug and wished her luck. Mike had been more subdued, but he was innately a cautious person. But he’d given her a big smile and a hug, telling her that he and Lane were her biggest cheerleaders.
Mia wasn’t sure if she was going to need luck or not for this harebrained idea.
There were probably only two outcomes. One was that Grant was glad that she’d reached out, and that the tension she’d felt was because he’d missed her, too. The second was that he was glad that she was okay, but he’d moved on and her confessing that she still had feelings was going to be embarrassing for them both.
She’d stopped at the sheriff’s station in Grant’s little town, but a deputy had told her that he was at the resort. She’d driven the short distance, her heart racing the entire time. Familiar feelings welling up inside of her that she couldn’t ignore. He’d been her fantasy man for a long time. Was the reality even close?
She even had sweat on the back of her neck. She was taking a huge chance here and it might not turn out even remotely like she hoped it would.
She’d admitted that she’d never forgotten Grant. She hadn’t truly moved on. Where they went from here, though, was a mystery.
The resort looked almost exactly as it had just a little over three years ago. This time the sun was shining and the sky blue. There was a soft breeze, and she could smell the tang of the salt air from the Gulf only yards away.
When she walked into the lobby, she hesitated for a moment, not sure what she should do. She’d hoped that she’d just see Grant right away, but despite lots of people bustling around, he was nowhere in sight.
“Excuse me,” she said to a pretty young woman behind the front desk. “I was told that Grant Anderson was here. I was hoping to speak with him.”
“He’s in his brother’s office,” she said. “I could ring him if you like.”
Grant had said that his older brother ran the resort, but she didn’t remember his name.
“Thank you, that would be great.”
“You can have a seat if you like. May I ask your name?”
In other words…go sit down, lady. Don’t hover.
“Mia...Gamble.”
He might not remember that she’d changed her last name to Cook.
Since Mia wasn’t a guest of the resort, she did as she was asked, sitting on a comfortable chair several feet away. The young woman got on the phone, her gaze darting to Mia every now and then before hanging up.
