Winter in Paradise (Paradise #1)(69)

Maia turns pink and Ayers remembers that Maia has always been smitten with Mick. He’s nowhere near as good-looking as Baker, but Mick has that something, a magnetism, a masculinity, a sly sense of humor that makes him appealing to women of all ages.

“I’m okay,” Maia says.

“Oh yeah? Really? I’d say you’re better than okay. I’d say you’re the coolest young lady on the whole island.” He winks at her. “And of course, the prettiest.”

Maia fist bumps him. “Facts.”

This makes Mick laugh. He turns to Ayers. “Yeah, I’d say she’s okay. Self-esteem fully intact.”

“What are you doing here?” Ayers asks. Without thinking about it, she finds herself rubbing Gordon’s sweet bucket head, and he closes his eyes in ecstasy. Gordon feels about Ayers the way Maia feels about Mick: pure devotion.

“Hangry,” Mick says. He devours his slice in three bites and reaches over to take what’s left of Ayers’s slice, and she lets him. “I have to be at work in an hour.”

Right, Ayers thinks. The only other people who eat at three thirty in the afternoon? Everyone in the restaurant business.

“So how was your date last night?” Mick asks.

“What date?” Maia asks Ayers.

“Friend of mine, Baker,” Ayers says. “We went to dinner.”

“I call shenanigans,” Mick says. “I swung by De’ Coal Pot. You weren’t there and you hadn’t been there. I asked.”

“We went somewhere else,” Ayers says.

“Where?” Mick says.

“Who’s Baker?” Maia asks. “Do I know him?”

“You don’t,” Ayers says. “He’s visiting.”

“He’s a tourist,” Mick says.

Maia tilts her head. “I thought you didn’t date tourists.”

“There’s an exception to every rule,” Ayers says.

“So you’re dating that guy, then?” Mick asks. “Seriously? He looks like… a banker.”

Ayers throws back what’s left of her wine. Oh, how she would love to order another, but she can’t. She has to drive all the way across the island to Scoops, and then drive home.

“He’s taking me to Caneel Bay tomorrow. The hotel. Overnight.”

Mick cocks an eyebrow. “Really? So he is a banker.”

“None of your business,” Ayers says.

“Are you jealous?” Maia asks Mick. “Do you still love Ayers?”

“Maia!” Ayers says.

“Yes,” Mick says. He turns to Colleen and orders a pizza—the pepperoni and ham, which Ayers could have predicted. Mick is a devout carnivore. “Yes, I do still love Ayers.”

“Mick, stop,” Ayers says.

“Do you really?” Maia asks.

“Yes, I do, really.”

“Oh,” Maia says. “I thought you broke up with her.”

“I did something wrong and Ayers broke up with me,” Mick says. “I made a huge mistake and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. But just because I made that mistake doesn’t mean I don’t still love Ayers.”

“Love is messy,” Maia says. “My mom used to tell me that. She said love is messy and complicated and unfair.” Maia rolls her eyes. “I’ll take a no-thank-you helping.”

Mick laughs again, and Ayers asks Colleen for a box to take the rest of Maia’s pizza to go.

“On that note,” Ayers says. “We’re leaving.”

“Ayers…,” Mick says.

Ayers bends down to kiss Gordon between the eyes. Then she turns to Maia. “Ready for ice cream?”

“Facts,” Maia says.





CASH


He is so juiced about taking Baker by surprise with the arrival of Anna and Floyd that he has ignored the fact that they will have another situation on their hands.

That situation is named Irene.

But first, first, Cash takes a moment to savor Baker’s shock and obvious discomfort at seeing his wife and son. He looks caught. He is caught. The only thing better would have been if Ayers had come with Baker to the bar. But no—that would be cruel to Floyd. Cash will avoid compromising Floyd at all costs. He’s learning what it’s like to be the son of a philanderer.

If it were only Floyd who had arrived unexpectedly, the scene would have been touching indeed. Floyd grabs Baker around the legs and Baker, although seeming disoriented at first, squeezes Floyd tight, kisses the boy on the cheek, then squeezes him again. Cash has to admit: Baker is a good dad, very open with his affection, just like Russ used to be.

Baker and Floyd go down to look at the water, and Cash turns to Anna. She seems different here, on the island. Her hair is down and she’s into her second margarita, so she is super-relaxed. Has Cash ever seen Anna relaxed? Maybe once, when she and Baker came to Breckenridge, but that time, Cash remembers, she had turned her hyper-competitive nature toward skiing. She was faster than Baker and more technically sound than Cash, and she had taken great pride in her superior speed and prowess. Now, she is only competitive about her margarita drinking, and Cash can get behind that—especially since Irene, who is unaware of Anna and Floyd’s arrival, waits at home.