Something More (A Well Paired Novel) Read online

  She’d never dreamed of being a writer or an artist. Doodling was what she did when she didn’t want to pay attention in class. Or what she did when she was bored at work or at home.

  And heck, she’d never been a voracious reader. Not until Hope dragged her to the book group a few years ago. Spending more time in her mother’s bookstore had led to her being suckered into reading during children’s hour.

  Next thing she knew, her nightstand was stacked with thrillers, women’s fiction, and books about eating vegetables and pink cupcakes.

  “I won! I won!” Jenna jumped out of her seat as the machine in front of her chimed, and coins came pouring out of the slot.

  “Here. Use my cup.” Alexis held hers out to gather the coins.

  “How much did you win?” Grace peeked over Alexis’ shoulder. Leave it to the fashionista to focus in on the prize.

  “I’m happy winning my ten dollars back. What does three cherries mean?”

  “Well, a cherry is—” Mia started.

  “Seriously. Can’t you keep it clean for one night?” Hope scolded.

  A wicked grin tugged at Mia’s lips. “It’s Jenna’s bachelorette party. If anything, this is the night to think dirty.”

  “I’d say hang on to that thought until the wedding night. Wedding night sex is like nothing else.” Lily beamed.

  “Eww. You’re married to my brother. Please don’t go there. Ever. I will disown you.”

  “Ditto that.” Hope laughed.

  “Mmm,” Alexis moaned.

  Before Grace could comment, Mia held up her hand. “From you, I’d expect a comment, but please don’t say anything. The others, never. I’m now scarred for life, so please, let’s talk about something else.”

  “Somebody hasn’t gotten lucky in a while.”

  “I told you not to say anything.”

  Grace draped her arm across Mia’s shoulder, leaning her nearly six-foot frame, which was hard to do—especially in those ridiculous spikes on her feet—against Mia, who just made the cut off at five-foot-two with the tiny heels on her boots.

  “I figured you’d be at Carter’s doorstep, putting a smile on his face after he was dumped by Jenna.”

  “Hey. I didn’t dump him. We came to a mutual agreement. Actually, he was the one who broke things off between us.”

  “Only because he saw he couldn’t compete with Tristan. Who I totally agree is the better man for you.” Mia flicked Grace’s arm off and took the cup from Jenna. “Let’s bring your winnings to the window and see how many strippers we can hire for tonight.”

  Jenna gasped. “I thought you said—”

  “Lighten up, buttercup. We’re in Maine. This isn’t that type of establishment.”

  “Ignore her.” Hope took out her phone. “Our dinner reservation is in fifteen minutes. Let’s get you cashed out and then make our way to the restaurant.”

  They followed Hope and Jenna to the window.

  “So, you and Carter really aren’t a thing?” Alexis wasn’t normally the nosey type, so her question surprised Mia.

  “Me and Carter?” They’d hooked up once in their early twenties when he’d been home from his leave overseas. Nothing came of it other than a night of good sex. “No. We’re too alike.” Which was true.

  “I would have thought—”

  “You’re the last person I’d expect to play matchmaker. We’ve got Priscilla doing enough of that down at the Sunrise Diner.”

  The woman was a Crystal Cove novelty. She claimed to read auras and to predict the next couple, which she’d done pretty darn well so far. Not that everyone in town hadn’t seen the anticipated hook-ups without having any special powers.

  “I’m not playing matchmaker.” Alexis rolled her eyes. “Brady and Carter Marshall have been friends with our family since we were all toddling around in diapers.”

  That would have been a sight to see. Thirty some-odd years later those toddlers had grown up into some sexy as hell men. Farmer boy somehow caught Grace’s attention, and she and Brady had been living in that weird blissful combination of blueberries and stilettos. Good for the two of them.

  Carter was like Mia. Happy go-lucky and never settling down. She supposed if she was any other woman she’d have fallen for him by now. But she wasn’t. If anyone was going to be carefree in the relationship, it was going to be her. He’d drive her batshit crazy in less than a week.

  It was why they remained good friends and totally understood each other. She was initially upset it hadn’t worked out between Carter and Jenna, but now she could see why. They weren’t the right fit.

  Not that she cared. She wasn’t in the matchmaking business either.

  A cell phone rang, and Alexis pulled it from her back pocket. “It’s Ben.” Her face lit up like she hadn’t been married to the man for a handful of years. Gah. Mia hoped she never turned that mushy over a man.

  Grace had her face glued to her cell too, which was typical, an identical goofy smile on her lips as well.

  Mia leaned against a white column and was about to comment to Lily on their friends’ obsessions with their husbands, but she wasn’t there. She scanned the room, distracted by the chimes and noises from the slots, and the low murmur of voices when she spotted her, half hidden behind a column across the room.

  Lily’s hands were crossed over her heart as if listening to something suspenseful or unnerving. Moving closer, Mia craned her head to see who her friend was talking to.

  A man. He wore a suit coat over a white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, and no tie. Fancy for this neck of the woods. Not Mia’s type, but she still found him sexy in that billionaire next door kinda vibe. Yeah, she’d downloaded a few of those books on her Kindle over the years.

  His dark hair was cropped short, his eyes serious and focused in on Lily. And then they scanned the room, stopping at Mia. For a brief moment their gazes locked. She quirked a grin and then dropped it. If he was hitting on her married friend, she’d throat punch his ass into the next town.

  He stepped back, out of view, and she cursed him for trying to lead Lily astray. Rushing to her defense, Mia marched across the expansive space and found Lily. Alone.

  “Who the hell was that?” Her head swiveled as if on its own accord searching for the stranger who was trying to lure her friend into debauchery.

  “No one.” The words came out in barely a whisper.

  Not finding any sign of the suit, Mia swung her attention back to Lily. “You don’t look like it was no one. Did he hurt you? Did he threaten you?”

  “No, no,” Lily stammered. “Why, why would you think that?”

  “Lils.” Mia gripped her shoulders and gave her a stare down. “Whatever that man said shook you the hell up. What did he want?”

  Lily shook her head. “I can’t. It’s fine. We’re here for Jenna. She’ll be worried if we don’t get back.”

  “She’ll be worried if she sees you like this.”

  The color was starting to come back in Lily’s face, but she still looked like she’d seen a ghost.

  “Shit.” Mia yanked her in a tight hug and whispered in her ear. “Is it him?”

  She didn’t need to elaborate. Lily’s ex-husband was behind bars in Europe somewhere, but that didn’t mean he and his bad guys hadn’t learned of Lily’s new identity.

  “I’ve got your back, Lils. I’ll send Hope a text and have her get the car so we can make a mad dash—”

  “I’m okay. Really.” Lily pulled back, a sad smile on her face. “He wasn’t ... he wasn’t one of Damian’s men.”

  “Thank God.” Mia sighed in relief. Lily’s murdering ex-husband had a one-way ticket to rot in jail, but there was always a fear that he’d somehow escape. “So just some asshole looking for a piece of ass?”

  “Not hardly,” Lily laughed.

  “Then why the look of sheer terror on your face?”

  “I didn’t mean to. I mean, at first I was scared, but then he said—” She cut herself off and lifted her should
er. “All’s fine. We’re going to be late for our dinner reservation.”

  She allowed Lily to guide her back to their group of friends, but Mia stayed on high alert the rest of the night. While she may not believe in holy matrimony and all that white picket fence garbage, that didn’t mean she’d allow some stranger in a suit—no matter how hot he was—to ruin things for her friends.

  Dinner was lively with Grace taking over as the more daring one now that Mia had settled down. She limited herself to two martinis—one blueberry and the other an amazing strawberry basil—and kept her eyes out for the stranger.

  He never showed his face again, not even in the morning while they were eating at the breakfast buffet.

  “If I eat another crumb, I’m not going to fit into my wedding dress.”

  “Since I’m eating for two, I’ll be sure to eat your money’s worth.” Hope wiggled her way out of the booth and went back up to the buffet for thirds.

  “My appetite hasn’t increased yet, but I don’t want Ty junior to starve, so I’m going to have just a smidge more bacon.” Lily followed her to the buffet.

  “If I didn’t love them so much, they’d make me sick,” Grace spoke the same thoughts Mia had.

  “You and me both,” Jenna chimed.

  It wasn’t fair. From what Jenna had told them, she and Tristan had always wanted children, but after the crash, when they lost their daughter, Jenna was told she’d never be able to have kids.

  There was a sad longing in her eyes as she watched Hope and Lily in line. Mia bumped her with her elbow. “Just think about all the sex they’re not going to be able to have soon, and how little they’ll have with a newborn in the house.”

  “Really?” Alexis chided. “That’s your word of encouragement?”

  While Alexis had an adorable four-year-old at home, it wasn’t from the conventional way that they knew Jenna longed for. Ben’s ex-girlfriend was pregnant months before Alexis entered his life.

  Funny how things worked out. Alexis never wanting to marry or have kids, yet she was the first to have both. Most likely little Sophie would be their only one. Mia couldn’t see Alexis pregnant. She was an awesome mom, but barefoot and pregnant hadn’t been in her cards.

  Nor in Mia’s. If she hadn’t gotten to know Grace in the past year, she’d say Grace would never allow her body to be destroyed by pregnancy, but she’d surprised them all falling for Brady and giving up a posh life in Boston for a simple life on his blueberry farm. Anything was possible now.

  They all knew Jenna wanted kids in the worst way and could never. She’d been talking about adopting lately. The baby bug evident with two of her best friends growing their own rugrats.

  Better them than her, Mia thought. Too bad she couldn’t loan her uterus to Jenna. Not in a surrogacy way; Mia couldn’t stomach the thought.

  She snorted at her pun.

  “What’s so funny?” Jenna bumped her elbow back.

  “Just thinking what an odd bunch we are.”

  “Speak for yourself. The rest of us are quite normal.”

  Mia snorted again. “You wish.” She picked up her coffee and smirked at Grace above her mug and then froze.

  The suit. He was back, only this time he ditched the coat for a light gray button-down. He was walking away from them toward the casino. She shuffled out of the booth, not so politely nudging Alexis with her knee. “Gotta pee. Let me up.”

  “Easy. Give me a sec.” As soon as Alexis stood, Mia took off toward the stranger.

  The crowds weren’t too thick this early in the morning. Or late. Whatever gambling people thought nine o’clock was. She weaved her way through an elderly couple taking pictures in front of the fountain and hopped out of the way before being run over by a stroller.

  “Excuse me,” she said to the young mother.

  Being short wasn’t helping her chase. She couldn’t see past the crowd in front of her. When she made it to the casino, she stopped and scanned the area for his close-cropped dark hair and light shirt.

  He could have gone in three directions. Right, left, or down the middle. Avoiding the slot machines to the right, she headed toward the table games. That was where high rollers would hang out, right?

  Not that she knew if he was one, but by the looks of him, how he dressed and styled his hair, he had to be. Stereotypical, maybe, but this was Maine. Most of the patrons were in jeans or cargo pants and Carhartt sweatshirts.

  Going with the eenie-meenie-miney-mo method, she raced down the right side of the room in search of the home-wrecker. No one messed with her tribe. Ever.

  The casino wasn’t that big, but she’d lost him. Still, not wanting to give up, she circled the room twice, taking a different path each time. When she was just about ready to head back to the restaurant, she saw him.

  “Bingo.” With her radar zeroed in on him, she followed him at a distance as he casually strolled through the room before stopping at a Blackjack table.

  Home-wrecker was the only one playing. He tapped the table lightly with his index finger. A signal. Had to be. He was playing dirty, not only with the married women but with the card dealers as well.

  The dealer flipped a card over and slid one to the stranger. Okay. So maybe it wasn’t a secret code. Maybe he was playing cards. At nine in the morning. Loser.

  “I’ll give you only one warning,” she said under her breath but loud enough for the card dealer to hear as well as she slid into the chair next to the loser.

  Her warning didn’t even garner a flinch out of him, as if he knew she was going to sit down and threaten him.

  He tapped the table again, and the dealer flipped him a card. She didn’t understand the game, but the dealer slid a pile of chips over to the stranger, who stacked them in his tray.

  Picking it up, he stood and walked over to another table, making himself at home again.

  The gall. “Did you hear me?” She poked at his shoulder.

  Steel. The man was made of steel. Not just his body but his expression. Or rather, lack thereof. Sure, she may be petite, but she could kick some serious ass if she needed to. She rode her mountain bike religiously and rarely skipped her kickboxing class, only during the months she was in a cast and recovering from surgery. And, okay, maybe she wasn’t fully back into a condition where she could knock this guy down to the ground.

  Still, she was tough as nails. And apparently so was the stranger. Home-wrecker. Suit. Man of steel. Whatever he was. An ass. Yes, he was an ass for totally ignoring her and treating her as if she was a gnat.

  No, a gnat he’d at least swat at. She was nothing but a slight breeze passing by. He infuriated her even more with his lack of expression.

  “Leave the married women alone,” she growled.

  “I don’t see no ring on your finger,” an obviously early morning drunk patron said from the other side of the ass.

  Ignoring him, she sat sideways next to the home-wrecker, shoving her knees against his thighs. Damn. They were made of steel as well.

  “I don’t know what you did or said to Li—my friend, but leave her the hell alone. Go prey on someone else. Not my friends. Especially when they’re married. And if you hurt or threatened her—”

  His gaze lifted from the cards in front of him and flicked to his left. The first sign of acknowledging she even existed.

  “Noted.” He tossed two red chips in the middle of the table, and she became the breeze again.

  “What a pompous, rigid, asshole. Stay the hell away from us.” She stood, not caring that her elbow accidentally jammed him in the jaw.

  “Looks to me like you was the one following him,” the drunk slurred.

  The home-wrecker’s cheek twitched. She couldn’t tell if it was from her elbow or the man’s response, and she didn’t care.

  She muttered curses a girl from Crystal Cove should not know under her breath until she reached the restaurant.

  “That was quite the long pee.” Grace handed her the bill. “Figured you were trying to get
out of paying your share. We split it five ways. You owe twenty-one dollars.”

  “I don’t mind paying for something this weekend. You girls are spoiling me.”

  “Which you should be.” Lily hugged Jenna, the easygoing smile back on her face.

  So maybe the ass hadn’t gotten too far in his attempt to poison Lily. That was good.

  “I don’t know about the rest of you, but this mama could use a massage.” Hope stood and placed her hands on her lower back.

  “Lead the way,” Jenna said, looping her arm in Hope’s.

  It was nice to see Jenna hadn’t shied away from Hope or Lily when they announced their pregnancies, even though they all knew how hard it was for her. She had the love of her life back and was planning a wedding to distract her.

  Grace and Alexis paired off, following behind Hope and Jenna. It was nice to see them back together as well. The rift that divided the sisters had lasted for a decade, and neither sister was better without the other.

  Lily fell into step next to Mia. “You okay?”

  “Me? Yeah. Sure. I should be asking you that. I know you’re not as huge as Hope, but the baby’s doing okay?”

  “Yes.” Lily laughed. “I can’t wait to pop out. Right now I feel like I look bloated. My doctor said in another few weeks I’ll round out a bit.”

  Mia didn’t know anything about pregnancy and babies, but the little nugget inside Lily would be her niece or nephew, and she’d be the much adored Auntie Mia.

  “Have you and Ty picked out names yet?”

  “We both have a few, but we can’t agree on any.”

  “I say you let Auntie Mia name him.”

  “Or her.”

  “Actually, I like the sound of that. Torture my big brother with a house full of girls. That will be fun to watch.”

  Lily’s laughter carried through the now crowded casino but stopped suddenly. Mia glanced at her and saw why. The man in the light gray shirt stepped through a doorway marked for casino personnel only.

  “Okay. What gives. You sure he’s not part of your ex’s mafia gang.”

  “He wasn’t mafia.” Lily’s steps slowed as they passed the door. “Illegal dealings with jewels.”