Page 17 of California Waves

“Is it the kind of news where I should be sitting down?” she asked, suddenly sounding less lighthearted. They had a deal—before he told her about any of his missions, he made sure she was sitting down and had a glass of water beside her. Eleanor Greenfield could not be more proud of her son, but she also worried during every single second he was on a mission.

To save her any anxiety, he said, “I think I just bought a house in Carmel.”

“You did?” Her voice rose with amazement. “But that’s so quick. You barely got there. I thought you were just scouting the place.”

He settled on the plaid couch in the suite’s main room, but then got up to shut the curtains to block the view of the ocean. Seated again, he told his mother about the house. As he listed all the things he liked about it, he grew even more enthusiastic. At the end of the recital, he said, “You’ll have to come and see it, Mom. It’s gorgeous. With a big guest room for you.”

“Oh, honey, I can’t wait.” Then, being Mom, she said, “Are you going to know any people there, though? You have so many friends and colleagues in Mountain View. I thought you were happy there. Won’t you be starting all over in Carmel?”

Mila flashed back into his brain—her talent and her beauty and her brilliance—and he blurted, “I met a woman.”

His mom laughed with delight. “The kind of woman you might actually introduce to your mother?”

It had long been his mom’s complaint that he didn’t bring girlfriends home to meet her. But no matter how much he liked his girlfriends, he couldn’t let himself get carried away and let any of them become more deeply involved in his life. Not when he spent months away for training or up to a year in space. He sat back and tried to picture Mila and his mom having lunch or tea together… and he realized he liked the picture.

“I think you’d like her. She was a top-level pro surfer and then had an accident that ruined her career. She still teaches surfing for fun, and she looks pretty good out there on the waves, but she’s a real estate agent now.”

There was a moment’s silence while his mom seemed to process her son actually volunteering information about a woman he liked. “Wait,” she said. “Is she the one who sold you the house? You’ve fallen for your Realtor?”

He heard the smile in her voice, and he couldn’t help but smile too. “I met her before she became my Realtor… but then she found this perfect house for me. She knew exactly what I needed. She’s smart, sassy, knows what she wants. I definitely think you’d like her.”

“I think I would too. Maybe it’s time you gave romance a real try.”

Part of him yearned to follow his mother’s advice, but that constant, gnawing fear of leaving loved ones behind was too strong. “You know how I feel, Mom. Maybe when I retire.”

“Maybe is a long time for a woman to wait for grandchildren.”

This was where the conversation had to stop. Swiftly redirecting, Hersch said, “I’ll let you know the minute I hear the offer has gone through. You’ll come. We’ll have a housewarming.”

“Sounds great,” she said. “I love you, Hersch.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

He hung up. And wondered what he was going to do for the rest of the evening. He couldn’t stop thinking about Mila. If he’d asked her to dinner, would she have agreed? He kicked himself again. He could have said he wanted to celebrate the good news of making an offer on the house. Which would have been true. Sort of.

He decided on a long, cold shower. But that didn’t really work, as it reminded him of all the time Mila spent in cold water. And then he began to imagine her in the shower… washing that long, beautiful hair. Feeling hot, he shook the image away.

Was his mother right? He’d never yet been tempted to break his rule of no wife and family, no big romantic commitments. But he had to admit that if there was a woman who could make him rethink his decision, it was Mila.

Chapter Ten

Mila was a natural early riser, and she saw no reason to sleep in, even if it was a Sunday. The Davenport women were meeting at her parents’ house this morning to talk wedding planning. She loved her family more than anything, but before she could cope with the thought of bridesmaids’ dresses and what kind of cake they should serve and—most important of all—what Tessa was going to wear, she really needed to get out on her board. Nothing beat that first rush of the wind on her face as she started her day.

After a quick coffee and a little oatmeal and agave syrup for fuel, Mila suited up, grabbed her board, and walked the short distance to the beach. The waves weren’t huge this morning, but there were still a couple of diehards patiently waiting, and she jumped on her board to join them. She paddled out to a likely spot. While they waited, she chatted with Tina, another woman who was often out early, and Stefano, a young waiter in town who spent every minute he could out on the water. Conversation ended the second any of them saw a likely swell approaching, and after a couple of hours, she’d caught enough respectable waves that she felt ready to face the wedding-palooza. By ten a.m., she was dressed in jeans and a comfy white cotton shirt, ready to help plan a wedding.

She picked up muffins from Saint Anna’s, their favorite café in town that always stocked the best baked goods, and then drove to her parents’ place. She’d been checking her phone more than usual, waiting for confirmation of Hersch’s house deal. She was itching to ring him and share the good news. It was afternoon back East. She’d imagined she would have heard something by now. As she closed her car door and headed up the steps to her childhood home, she checked her messages and email one more time, hoping she’d have news. Nothing. She was about to walk in when she figured it was worth giving Dan a call to see if he’d heard anything. As always, he picked up on the second ring and told her he’d been trying to reach the couple selling the house, but he hadn’t been able to get through to them yet.

He could obviously sense the urgency in her voice, because he said, “Don’t worry, Mila. They’re getting on in years and probably don’t check their email the second they get out of bed like we do. As soon as I talk to them, I’ll let you know.”

She hated waiting, but Dan knew his clients. No doubt they were talking over the offer, or maybe—almost impossible to believe—he was right, and they were the sort of people who didn’t check their email on a Sunday morning.

Calling out a hello, she found she was the last to arrive. Erin, Tessa, and her mom were sitting around the kitchen table with a pot of coffee and some croissants Erin had obviously brought, along with a delicious-looking frittata that was undoubtedly one of Tessa’s homemade and nutritious recipes. Although Arch was firmly on the mend after breaking his leg during a movie stunt, she hadn’t given up on steering his diet toward healthier options.

Mila hugged everyone and took a seat at the table. Tessa looked excited and also a little overwhelmed. She wore a white cotton shirt with cherries embroidered on the hem, and the pink of the fruit matched the flush in her cheeks. In front of her was a fat file folder, which sort of surprised Mila, as she had expected Tessa would want everything simple and streamlined—especially if she was insisting on a thrifted dress.

She said to the bride, “How are you holding up so far? You still planning to marry my brother?”

Tessa glowed with happiness as she replied without a second’s pause, “I still can’t believe I got so lucky. Sometimes I just stop what I’m doing and stare at my ring, or Archer walks in and I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming or sitting in a darkened theater watching him do what he does best.”

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