Hurricanes in Paradise by Denise Hildreth (best ereader under 100 .TXT) 📗

needs to get up anyway. Plus, I’m already later than I had planned, and being late isn’t a good idea for me.” She ran her hands across the top of her head and down to the tip of her ponytail as she reached for her bag on the kitchen table. She turned toward him. “I’m glad you’re getting a do-over, Jeremy. You deserve it.”

He stood and walked toward her. “Everyone should get a second chance, Riley. You are a wonderful mother, and you prove that every day. I’m grateful Gabby has you.”

“Ahh . . . stop it.” She laughed, swiping at falling tears. “I’m going to have to get ready all over again if you say anything else nice.”

He laughed too and wrapped her in his arms. She let him hold her there. Those arms were as familiar to her as the dimples in Gabby’s cheeks. Her body had molded a place in them for so many years, but now they felt different. Someone else had carved her own shape there. Riley patted Jeremy’s back and removed herself from his hold. “Go see our angel girl.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Really. Busy day. I’ll meet up with y’all for her recital tonight. Not sure if I can grab dinner, but I will make the recital.”

He patted her arm and headed toward Gabby’s door.

Riley closed the door behind her, took a deep breath, and reminded both her heart and mind to come to terms with the fact that Jeremy would not be part of her future. She knew it was inevitable, and she had never pursued him. But she had not been prepared for the emotions that would come with the arrival of his new future.

She pulled herself together on the car ride and freshened her makeup. As soon as she stepped from the car, Christian was on her heels.

“Hey,” she said as she walked toward the resort. She knew what awaited her this morning and hadn’t planned on starting it with this. She walked quickly, wishing she had seen him when she pulled in because she would have spent more time freshening her makeup in the car, hidden.

He stepped in line beside her. “Everything okay?”

She patted her face, thinking she had covered her surprise pretty well. Apparently not well enough. “Yeah, everything’s good.” She kept walking, shifting her purse and the envelope with the contract from Max to her other hand.

“Well, I just thought when you weren’t home last night that something must have happened.”

She stopped in the middle of the parking lot. “You came by?”

“Yeah, I came by at six thirty like we had planned.”

“Didn’t you get my message?”

He shook his head and stuck his hands inside the pockets of his blue and white seersucker pants. “No, I didn’t get any message.”

“I left a message on your cell that Laine Fulton needed me to go with her to dinner.”

Christian shook his head slowly. “Sorry, I don’t know what happened.”

“I called you as soon as she asked me.”

He shook his head again and shrugged his shoulders. “Crazy. Nothing came through.”

“So you went to my house?”

“I did. The babysitter was there and I told her to tell you I had come by.”

Riley raised an eyebrow. “She didn’t mention it.” Her look softened. “I’m so sorry. Honestly. I did call you.” She started walking slowly toward the resort again.

He followed beside her. “No problem. I figured something had happened. I knew that Southern girls weren’t the stand-you-up kind.”

She reached over and touched his arm, the white button-down crisp beneath her fingers. “Honestly, I would never have done that.”

He laughed and patted her hand; heat rushed through her. “I believe you, Riley. Really.”

Mia was standing in The Nave when they arrived. “Good morning, you two.”

Riley withdrew her hand quickly. “Good morning, Mia.”

Christian tossed up a hand. “Hi, Mia.” He turned his attention back to Riley. “Anyway, it’s no big deal. You called and I didn’t get it. So, lunch today?”

Riley flicked her eyes toward Mia. She had her nose in her portfolio. Riley turned back to Christian. “I’m sorry, Christian. This week just isn’t going to work. Ms. Fulton is expecting me at her beck and call all week. I think it’s best that I make sure she has what she needs.”

“So you’re not just avoiding me.”

Riley had no intention of being that honest. “No, just a new job that I can’t afford to screw up.”

He gave her a smile. “I respect that. Go get ’em, then. And I’ll catch you this week somewhere.”

She returned his smile and watched as he walked down the corridor. She hoped watching men walk away wasn’t a premonition of the rest of her life. And this man—this one she didn’t know what to do with. Not since Jeremy had anyone invoked the feelings that Christian sent blazing through her simply by being near. And now that Jeremy was moving on with his life, she had the opportunity to move on with hers. But that didn’t have to mean with a man. She blinked her eyes twice, let out a deep exhale, and turned her attention back to where it needed to be. Not on men or lunch or dinners, but on her guests. That was why she was here. She turned and headed through the atrium to her office. Mia followed her.

“So you and Mr. Manos have a thing for each other?” Mia’s heavy accent gave her words a dancing cadence.

“No. I do not have a thing for Mr. Manos. He asked me out to dinner. Dinner does not a thing make. And I honestly don’t think this is productive conversation. We’ve got a busy day and I’ve got to get to the Royal Towers to meet Ms. Fulton for breakfast.” She glanced at her watch. “And I barely have enough time to get there.” She put her purse down by the edge of her desk, slipped her phone into the pocket of her dress, and started for the door with the contract in her hand.

“I need you to get these to legal.