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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.
