“A suggestion then. Why don’t you go for a walk down to the harbor and have a look around? Explore what the town has to offer so you know what you can do. You might find something you like. Then, if you want lunch, I’ll put something together and you can kick back with a book on the front porch and enjoy the sunshine. We’re expecting a storm later in the week, so we may have to lock down for a few days. I’d hate for you to get cabin fever.”
“That’s a good idea. Let me help you with this and I’ll find some suitable footwear and a hat.” Mia gathered her own plate and followed Matt into the kitchen where he loaded everything in the dishwasher.
Within half an hour, she was down at the harbor, sunglasses and hat on, looking like a tourist. If only she didn’t feel so out of place. It’d been too long since she’d taken the time to wander around aimlessly anywhere. The only memory she had of being somewhere like this was when she was about six years old and went to a festival with a friend. They’d giggled and rode the Ferris wheel for hours until their stomachs ached from laughter. There were no Ferris wheels in sight of Hope Harbor, but she was experiencing a case of butterflies nonetheless. Perhaps it’s the sexy man who wants to look after me for the next four weeks.
Mia was the last person who needed looking after, but the thought of letting him care for her was tempting.
Chapter 4
Matt was halfway through mopping the floors when his cell phone rang. He pulled it from his back pocket and, after seeing his father’s smiling face, hit the answer button. “Hey, Dad.”
“How is she, Matt?”
He leaned on his mop and tucked his cell on his shoulder, doing the final sweep of the floor. “Nice lady. Seemed very cool and professional when she arrived, but I expected that from what I’ve seen online. She’s starting to relax a bit more now.”
“Just be gentle with her, son. I spoke to Ryan this morning and of course he’s worried about her. Said she hasn’t taken any time off and he thinks it’s going to be hard on her, so she may take it out on you. She’s just not used to doing nothing. Might make her a bit anxious and hard to deal with, so I thought you should be warned.”
“Not a problem.”
“To tell you the truth, the board made her take the time away from the company. Just thought you should know in case she has some down moments.”
“I got that. She told me why she’s here, but thanks anyway. I sent her for a to burn off some energy. Guess after the way she rushes around at work, being on the island might take a bit of getting used to.”
“That’s where you come in, son. Couldn’t think of a better person to slow her down and put her into relaxation mode than you.”
Matt put his mop in the bucket, leaned against his kitchen counter, and smiled. “I sent her down to the harbor to look around while I did my chores. Had the feeling she’d be ordering me around if I didn’t.” Not that he didn’t like having her here. It was just that she came across as a born organizer and he had his own way of doing things—same as the next person.
“You should bring her up for dinner one night. I’ll get Gigi to arrange something. Maybe get the rest of the family together. What do you say?”
His father was always bringing the siblings together. It was one of the reasons Matt chose to stay on the island. He liked the closeness of family. Maybe that would be good for Mia too. “Might be nice. I was wondering if I should take her out to Arlo’s and introduce her to Hilary. I think they’d get on well. Both city girls and both driven.”
His dad chuckled. “I like your way of thinking. Some of Hilary’s calm might rub off on Mia. Pretty sure Ryan would appreciate that, son.”
“Yeah. I’ll call them and set up a morning to meet for coffee. I’d like to see her relax and Hilary would love the company.”
“Right, I’ll leave you to it and call her uncle back. Just wanted to check that she was okay so he can stop worrying about her. Listening to him talk, I think being an overachiever is a family trait.”
“Maybe he should be taking a break too.” Matt said goodbye and hung up, then finished mopping his floors.
* * *
Mia walked around the harbor, making sure she took her time. Today she didn’t have to race around worrying about wasting precious minutes, but it was hard to go slow after years of being focused on the business. Her skin felt like it was on fire, as though she was missing something. Fancy having withdrawals from work, but that was what was happening to her. There was no other explanation.
She wandered around the wharf trying to act like a tourist and not a business owner about to jump out of her skin. She sat on a seat and watched the boats in the harbor, wondering what it would be like to have so much leisure time on her hands that she could take a sail or go fishing.
A fisherman came in and cleaned his catch on his boat, feeding scraps to the seagulls. She watched fascinated as they dove into the water to grab the tasty morsels he discarded. A couple of children fished off the end of one of the piers with an older person, perhaps a grandparent, and she wondered if they knew how lucky they
