Page 63 of Resorting to Romance

“I always knew Kai had a thing for you. I mean, he tried to hide it. But it was obvious the way he’d jump at any hour of the day or night to help you.”

“I help lots of people,” I defend.

But no one seems to hear me.

Bodhi keeps going, like there’s a well-oiled tube straight from his brain and his mouth. “You’re definitely out of Kai’s league.”

Mila giggles. Maybe she’s amused? Embarrassed? Nervous?

“ … so thanks for slumming it and giving my best friend a chance.” Bodhi chuckles in my direction.

“Ex-best friend,” I mutter.

All three of them laugh good-naturedly as if I’m joking.

Bodhi wraps up his speech of mortification with, “I’m ninety-nine percent sure Kai will make sure you never regret saying yes to him. I’m assuming he asked you, and not the other way around.”

“He did.” Mila smiles shyly.

When she glances up at me, our eyes lock and I remember the exact moment I announced,I’m her boyfriend.

I slip my arm around her waist without a second thought. This isn’t about me.

A thousand thoughts ping through my mind, some of them involve creative ways to pay Bodhi back for roasting me and putting us on the spot. But with Mila’s soft body pulled against my side, and my arm looped protectively around her waist, one main thought floats to the surface and stays there:

Is Bodhi right? Did I always have a thing for Mila?

If I did, I never knew it. I’ve definitely always thought the world of her. I’ve admired her resilience, the way she mothers Noah with a balance of grace and healthy limits. I respect the effort she puts into managing the inn. She’s a skilled businesswoman. Anyone would attest to how beautiful she is. Of course, I noticed. I might have even considered more than friendship with her early on, but that was years ago, before she made it clear where she stood with men—all men, and that, by default includes me.

I look around at Bodhi, Kalaine and Mila. All three sets of eyes are trained on me.

“Well, this hasn’t been awkward at all,” I joke. “Glad you two came back early to shine a spotlight on our new status.”

Mila’s soft smile turns into a carefree laugh. Maybe it’s a nervous laugh, but it comes out sweet like a song and it warms something inside me in the process.

Bodhi smiles like he didn’t just lay my heart out in front of my sister and my … whatever Mila is.

“Hey, payback’s a bear,” he says, casually. “You didn’t exactly make it easy for me and Mavs to make our way back to one another. I’m doing you the solid you never did for me.”

“Kala’s my baby sister,” I say, meaning it with my whole heart. “I think there’s a rule somewhere that I’m supposed to make it hard on you.”

Kalaine glances at Mila and leans in close. “Tell him I’m not a baby, will you? Maybe he’ll listen to you.”

Shaka licks my hand, like he knows I’m being humiliated. It’s a move of solidarity, and even though the dog is a menace, I scratch his head to thank him.

“Look at you!” Kala says, with unmerited happiness. “You and Shaka. I knew you’d come around.”

“I did not come around.”

Shaka leans in and presses his whole sandy body against my leg as if to say,You came around, admit it.

I didn’t. And I won’t.

“Oh, I see how it’s going to be now,” Kalaine says. “Next thing I know, he’ll be in your bed at night.”

Mila lowers her voice as if she’s confiding in Kalaine. “I think that might already be happening.”

Kalaine’s eyes go wide. “You and … Shaka?”

---