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“I’m no Puff Diddy,” he said.
“Good.” Maria lifted her glass in a toast. “Here’s to traditional families.”
“Agreed,” said Blaine. He winked at Mia over the edge of his glass. “So tell me something about yourself, Maria. Your family back in Cuba?”
Maria launched into the tale of how her family had fled Castro’s Cuba in the 1950s. Blaine was generally interested, and although he was sure Mia had heard the story a million times, she snuggled into his arm and listened to her mom. She even added a few tidbits about various aunts and uncles and cousins. By the time Maria finished, the sun was going down and the food was all eaten. There was still plenty of gin left, but Maria’s wobbly steps and rampant giggling let him know she didn’t need any more.
Mia whispered in his ear as her mom donned her sweater. “Good job, babe.”
“You think she likes me?”
“She hasn’t insulted you, so she must.” Mia stood on tiptoe to kiss him.
“Come now, Mimi,” Maria said. “It’s getting late.”
Mia stepped onto the dock. Blaine took Maria’s hand to help her over the boat’s railing. She placed one hand on his cheek. “I see how happy my daughter is. And I see it in your face, too. Both people have to be happy for it to last.”
“Thank you,” he said.
Maria stepped onto the dock. “Now you two have fun in St. John. I will talk to your father about it, Mimi. Get it all sorted out.”
“Mom, thank you!” Mia kissed her mother’s cheek.
Maria wagged a finger at Blaine. “You take care of her.” She winked. “And remember to bring me a present.”
*
Mia had never packed for a month long trip, and when she added the fact that she and Blaine were supposed to leave in four days, her stress level went through the roof. She pretty much transferred her entire closet onto her bed and her dresser, so she could see everything laid out. The first night, it was so chaotic that she decided to sleep on the couch. Blaine told her she was being silly and she should stay at his place, but Mia thought it made sense to spend her last few nights alone. After all, she’d be sleeping with Blaine for the next roughly fifty nights. Not that she minded, but no matter how quickly she was falling in love with him, the idea of such proximity to anyone for that long was intimidating.
Fortunately, since Mia had lived in Florida her entire life, she had an arsenal of tropical island friendly clothes. Bikinis, sundresses, shorts and cute tops, beach cover ups, light weight pajamas and multiple pairs of sandals and flip flops… she had all that covered. To her chagrin, however, Blaine wanted her to bring a couple more formal dresses. She hung her few choices on the bathroom door and grimaced. The dresses, three black ones and a red one, were from her sorority days at Florida State. Cute for a college girl, but nowhere near sophisticated enough for an island soiree with a bunch of gazillionaires. She called Blaine.
“I have everything, except the formal stuff,” she said. “How formal are we talking?”
She could hear him shuffling things around in the background and smiled. He was probably messing around on the boat. “Pretty formal,” he said. “But it’s the Caribbean, so keep that in mind.”
“What does that mean?” Mia had been on one cruise to the Bahamas. She doubted Blaine’s St. John crew would have the same stylistic appetites as the American tourists she’d rubbed elbows with at Atlantis.
“It means… I don’t know. Something light. Colorful?” A hammer against something, and then he said, “I know it when I see it.”
“You’re going to have to come with me.”
“Shopping?” He sounded as if she’d just asked him to attend a funeral for her pet goldfish.
“Yes,” she said. “Shopping. It won’t be that bad. We’ll go to Bloomingdales. They have everything there.”
“Okay,” he said. “Will it take hours and hours?”
She laughed. “First of all, no. I’m a pretty decisive shopper. Second of all, like I have time to spend hours and hours? I h
ave to get all this crap packed up by like tomorrow so I can actually move around my apartment.”
Blaine laughed and said he’d pick her up in an hour. When they arrived at Bloomingdales, one of Mia’s favorite places in the world, she put on her shopping blinders and made a straight beeline for the formal section. If she got sucked into makeup, or handbags, or shoes, they really would be here for hours. Plus, she was a girl on a teacher’s salary. She’d learned to focus when she shopped.
She pulled a few likely dresses from the racks. Blaine sat in a chair outside the dressing room and read the Wall Street Journal online. Mia tried on a few things that were definite no’s, showed him a couple she felt wishy-washy about, and then hit the jackpot with a pretty sky blue beaded dress. It was tight, but came to just below her knee, so it felt elegant. She didn’t want to be trying too hard. She had a pair of gold heels that would match it perfectly. Best of all, it was on the sale rack.
She cat-walked the waiting area outside the dressing rooms for Blaine. A couple other bored husbands and boyfriends sat in the chairs around him, and she couldn’t help but notice their appreciative glances.
“Gorgeous, babe,” said Blaine. “Maybe one more, and you’ll be good to go.”
