Page 22 of Resorting to Romance

The front door opens and Noah peeks his head out. “What’s so funny, Mom? And why are you out here? The cookie timer is going off. They’re going to burn.”

“Oh! The cookies! I forgot!” Mila rushes past me into the kitchen and I stay on the porch, questioning my own sanity.

Well, what’s done is done. We put up a front. Mila’s obviously not mad at me. We can move forward from here. No harm, no foul.

I walk back into the inn, waiting for an opening so I can talk to Mila about what happened. We can clear up what she’ll need from me—if anything—going forward with Brad.

Her boyfriend. As if.

I’m lucky to be her friend after that move.

When I push through the kitchen door, Mila’s smile is the first thing I see. She’s scraping cookies off the baking sheet into the trash.

“Burnt,” she announces. “But we have another batch in the oven already, so all is not lost.

“Never leave the kitchen when you’ve got cookies in the oven,” Noah scolds me. “That’s what Mom always told me.”

“My bad,” I tell Noah. “I asked your mom to step outside for a minute. Sorry we burnt the first batch.”

“It’s okay,” he says easily.

I wince at my second lie of the day. Lying to Brad felt justified, mostly. Lying to Noah leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. He trusts me, and I’ve always given him every reason to believe I’m honestand reliable. It’s not like I can tell him the truth right now. But still, the lie makes me squirm—as it should.

Mila’s eyes meet mine, soft and warm. I smile back, trying to keep myself from apologizing again—and again and again.What was I thinking?She’s obviously okay now, thankfully. If you were to take a snapshot of this moment, you’d never know her ex had just shown up on her porch not fifteen minutes ago. And you’d never know she’s left wondering whether to allow him to meet his son.

Her strength inspires me, as always. She’s resilient and steadfast. I don’t think I could find a better woman if I searched the world over. That’s why I stood up for her. And I’d do it again, only maybe without the farce next time. I could have just as easily said,I’m her friend.But I had to put my foot in it. Maybe “friend” wouldn’t have felt like a strong enough line to draw. Something in Mila’s vulnerability, the way she looked like she was on the verge of collapsing, made me snap. I don’t know if I could have done anything differently. My urge to protect her overrode my good sense.

“Stay for dinner,” Mila says, snapping me out of my review of our interaction with Brad.

“Oh. No. That’s fine. I just wanted to take a look at the pipes. Everything looks good. I’ll let you get to your guests. I can eat at home with Shaka.”

“Awww.” Noah pouts. “I want you to stay, Unko. Pleeeeease.”

Mila glances at me with an unspoken plea nearly as strong as the one on Noah’s face. I don’t have it in me to turn her down when she looks like that.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll stay. If I’m staying, you’d better put me to work. What can I do to help?”

EIGHT

Mila

It is easier to build strong children

than to repair broken men.

~ Frederick Douglass

“Okay … so … not a rumor.” Chloe propels the bench swing, flexing her foot on the porch, swaying us lightly. “Brad’s actually here.”

Her voice sounds as stunned as I still feel. Even hours after Brad left my property, I’m essentially numb with shock. You know those dreams you wake from, convinced they actually happened? That’s my encounter with Brad, only I know I didn’t conjure him up in a sleep-induced mirage. He’s here, mere miles away, at the resort, right now.

Noah’s finally asleep, the dinner dishes are washed, my guests are out on the other side of town or retired to their rooms. Chloe and I are on the porch and I’m reviewing Brad’s unexpected appearance with her—minus the detail that Kai said he was my boyfriend. For some reason, I don’t want to share the momentary farce we pulled off with my best friend—notyet. Chloe might not understand Kai’s motive. And she would, for sure, get all excited and try to push me into making our charade into a reality. She’s always been “Team Kai,” as she designated her stance a few years ago. There’s no “team anyone” I always tell her. I’m team Mila and Noah. That’s it.

Not that Kai has any real feelings for me other than friendship. And, while I admire his strong body and beautiful face, and even moreso, his kind heart, subtle sense of humor, and the way he’s always here pitching in without even being asked, I can’t have romantic feelings for any man, so I don’t have any for Kai.

All of those factors haven't changed simply because my ex showed up unannounced this afternoon.

“Have you called him?”

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