Page 15 of The Mistakes I've Made
With dark skin and long, wavy brown hair, she looked like a damn Polynesian princess. And I would be more than glad to be her prince.
For an evening or two.
“I’m Taylor Sutherland, and you are?”
“Curious,” she simply said.
I watched as she strolled around, looking at the product rack at the front with an appraising eye. Her fingers grazed the assortment of candy as I took another moment to check out her long, flowing dress and all the ways it hugged her luscious curves.
And then I thought about all the ways I’d like to tear it off of her.
“Are you the owner of this establishment?” she asked.
“I am,” I boasted, giving her a wicked grin that was sure to earn me a dinner date. It had a smashing success rate with tourists.
And I doubted she’d be an exception.
“And you’re the only company like this on the island?”
My grin slipped a little. That was an odd sort of a question for a tourist, but maybe she was thrifty, shopping around for the best bargain.
“There are a few others. Used to be more, but listen, I’m the best, hands down. And if you let me take you out to dinner tonight, I’d be happy to show you.”
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. Thankfully, it was a playful surprise and not anI’m gonna slap yousurprise.
“Dinner, huh?”
“Why not? I don’t see a ring on that pretty little finger of yours.”
She glanced down at her left hand and smiled. “Okay. I’m staying at By the Bay. Do you know where that is?”
I let out a chuckle. She did know you could drive from one end of this town to the other in less time than it took to play a single song on the radio? “This island is about as big as a minute,” I said. “Yeah, I know where it is. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
I watched as she headed toward the door, but she turned back before exiting.
“You know, you still don’t know my name.”
I shrugged. “I guess we’ll have something to talk about later then.”
Her smile widened. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll have plenty to discuss Mr. Sutherland.”
And with that bold statement, she stepped into the warm September day and disappeared.
By the time Millie finally showed up, my bad mood had all but dissipated after my mystery date’s appearance.
“What took you so long?” I asked after she peeked her head through the door and waved me out.
“Sorry!” she apologized, watching me lock up. “I’d all but closed up when Cora called and started spilling the latest Hart gossip.”
“Please don’t tell me you’ve fallen down this rabbit hole, too.”
“No. Well, not until just now.”
We began walking toward Billy’s, our favorite restaurant in town. He was a townie like us and was known for his dynamite seafood and casual atmosphere. The killer views of the bay didn’t hurt either.
“Why? What happened?”
“A private jet landed at the airport about an hour ago.”
