AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mia sat up. She felt groggy, as if she’d consumed a bottle of wine the night before. “Is he back?”
The fat man shook his head.
“What do we do in the morning?” Mia asked.
“It is morning. Well, it’s almost afternoon, really. 10:30.”
Mia was suddenly wide awake. She looked at her phone to clarify what the fat man was saying. It was indeed going on noon. Nothing from Blaine.
“And he’s still not back?”
The fat man shook his head, and to Mia’s terror she saw real worry on his face. “No, he’s not.” Even his tone of voice had changed. “It’s been over twenty-four hours since anyone heard from the Wanderlust. I’ve called in the Coast Guard. They’re sending out search helicopters.”
Mia sat in stunned silence on the bed. Blaine was in serious trouble. She wasn’t overreacting. Now, just when she’d finally given in to loving him, there was a chance she’d lose him forever.
Wild Lover Book 4
Mia Tennyson’s life had been turned on end in the past three weeks. Since she’d met Blaine Daniels, she’d reached highs she didn’t know possible. She’d sunk low, too, as they both wrestled with demons of insecurity and past failures. Now, just as she thought they’d found a middle ground and could move forward with their fledgling relationship, real trouble had found them. Or, to be more accurate, found Blaine and left Mia wondering about the future. Not just the theoretical future. Mia was hanging on minute by minute.
She sat on a bench outside Bartlett’s marina with her mother’s rosary in one hand. Nearly thirty-six hours had passed since Blaine had left on a routine fishing trip. No one had heard from Blaine or his two clients on the Wanderlust since earlier the previous day. Mia had gone home to shower and try to get some sleep, but worry had brought her back to the marina. She couldn’t stand the thought that some news might come back and she’d miss it.
As the afternoon wore on, the fat man who ran the marina, whose name Mia finally garnered as Tim, seemed more and more panicked.
“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “The weather hasn’t been that bad. It must be engine problems.”
“The coast guard hasn’t seen anything? Noth
ing at all?” Mia asked. She sipped at a cold can of Coke. Normally she only drank diet, but today she wanted the comfort of real sugar.
“I called Daniels’s parents. In England. His emergency contact. They’re pretty upset.”
“Oh,” Mia said. She wished she knew Blaine’s parents, so she could offer some comfort. Since they’d not even known each other a month, and Blaine’s family lived in the UK, she’d feel silly calling them to give her two cents.
Hi, I just met your son and we’re sleeping together. I’m in love with him and we’re going to St. John for a month, but you’ve probably never heard of me…
Tim brought her attention back to reality. “The parents said they’ll get in touch with friends here in the US who can keep them up to date, too.”
Tim must have been reading her mind. Mia wondered if it was that obvious that she and Blaine had just met. When she was with him, she felt like she’d known him forever. To everyone else, however, she really was just the girl he’d been sleeping with. The thought made her cringe.
A red Lexus pulled into the marina parking lot. There were plenty of expensive cars parked around the marina, but most of them were big SUVs. The kind of vehicles that men used to haul boats or just make themselves feel manlier. The red coupe was out of place, like a cherry in a bowl of apples.
A tall blonde woman got out of the car. She used the movie star method. He long tan legs came first, followed by the rest of her and a beguiling flip of her hair. She tucked an expensive looking clutch bag under one arm.
“Excuse me,” she said. She pushed her dark glasses up on her head. She had large blue eyes and pouty lips. She tugged at the short skirt of her tight sundress as she talked. “I’m looking for someone named Tim. The manager of this place?”
Tim’s chest puffed out. Between his round belly and his shaggy mustache he reminded Mia of a walrus. “That’s me. Can I help you?”
“I hope so. I’m so frazzled. My in-laws called me this morning. I was en route from LA to New York and redirected to Miami.” She held out her hand. “My name is Candice Daniels.”
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.”
