“Are you kidding? With an offer like that, how can a girl resist?”
She was easy to be around and the more time they spent together, the more he found out who the real Mia was—the funny girl, the warm, willing helper, and the dedicated team player. He liked what he saw. When she went back to Seattle, he was going to miss her.
“Great. Let’s clean up and head to town.” Matt followed her out the door and headed to his own room to get out of his work clothes and shower. He hurried to get ready, excited to take Mia on a ‘date.’ By the time he was running a comb through his hair, he heard her footsteps on the stairs.
“Wow, you look amazing.” She wore white cut-off jeans and a flowing lemon yellow shirt with puffy sleeves. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders.
Was that a lick of pink flushing her cheeks? Nice to see that he had some effect on her.
“Thanks. You’re looking pretty good yourself.”
He held out his hand and together they walked down the hill to the harbor. “We have the best ice cream shop here. My only gripe is that it closes down for a few months in winter. Not many people want to make the effort to eat cones when the snow is thick on the ground so that’s when the owners take a holiday off the island.”
“That makes sense to me.”
As they walked into the shop, a couple of children ran out with cones in their hands. Matt put a hand on her back. “What flavor would you like?”
Mia pressed her nose against cabinet despite the cold glass and read each flavor. “It’s so hard to choose.”
The shop assistant laughed. “You can have a double scoop if you like.”
“Sounds amazing, but there’s three I can’t decide between.” She looked at Matt and shrugged. “What are you having?
“Tell me what you want and we can get a takeaway tub for supper if you like. I always have chocolate—can’t beat it.”
“Awesome. That was one of my choices. How cool is that?” She laughed before choosing the other two. “I’ll have macadamia and peach please.”
“And I’ll have chocolate with a tub to take home please, Maria. I’ll grab the tub when we head back up the hill if that’s okay?”
“You got it, Matt.”
With cones in their hands, they wandered out to the wharf and found a bench to sit on facing the ocean. “This is the life,” Matt said, watching a seagull dip and dive as it hunted for its food.
Mia licked her ice cream, catching the small drip that had fallen on her hand. “You know, I might have to agree with you. I’m actually enjoying myself now. Never thought I would, but the last few days have been amazing.”
“Glad to hear it. Maybe you just needed to destress before you could see the beauty around you.”
She paused, her face going through a mix of emotions before turning to stare into his eyes. Her mouth opened and her eyes dropped to his lips before she caught herself. She looked away, concentrated on her ice cream again. “Maybe you’re right.”
They spent another hour wandering the wharf before heading back to the house for a quiet dinner and an early night.
The following morning they grabbed their respective tools and got to work, only breaking for a quick lunch on the front porch. Matt had soft jazz music from his cell phone playing by the door and the windows were open to let in the breeze. They worked together until they finished the job. When they put down their brushes, Mia leaned into Matt like an old friend.
I can’t believe this is happening. She’s so different from when she arrived. Wonder what she’d say if I kissed her or is it too soon? I want to find out but don’t want to scare her away.
Mia smiled as she looked around at what they’d done. “That looks terrific. I’m so happy with how it turned out.”
He casually slung his arm over her shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do and waited for her to react. “I’m more than happy. I’m blown away. You do good work, Mia. It’s no wonder you’re so successful.” He held his breath but she didn’t shy away from him. It gave Matt a boost to his confidence.
“Why, thank you, kind sir.” She turned to face him. “But we both had a hand in this. I think we should clean up and celebrate. What do you say?”
Matt wiped at a spot of paint on her cheek and she held her breath. “What do you suggest?”
She thought for a moment. “You know what I haven’t had for ages and I only just thought of today?”
“Tell me.”
“Fish and chips. Real old fashioned fish and chips. You know, like wrapped in paper sitting on the wharf like we did yesterday with the ice-creams. What do you say? Is there a shop on the island like that? If so, it’s my treat.”
“It just so happens the boat club do a pretty good fish mean but they serve it in a takeout box, not paper. If you can handle that, you’ve got a deal. But I’m buying dessert.” He lifted her chin and dropped a kiss on her forehead before he could give it much thought. Thank goodness she didn’t seem to mind, which gave him buckets of hope for the future.
“Now, go and hit the shower and dress warm. It’s going to be a bit chilly by the look of those clouds, but it’ll be worth it when you taste the food. Nothing like the wind off the water whipping around your ears to give you an appetite either. It’s invigorating to say the least, but the walk there and back will help
