Page 65 of Visions of You

She smiled. “It does. Wyatt’s a terrific husband and I know he’ll be a great father. His dad ran out on him and his mom, and that made him determined to be the best dad and hubby possible. I’m not complaining!”

We both shared a laugh, but mine faded. “And your pregnancy is going well? No signs of trouble?”

Her smile remained, no traces of unease on her face. “Textbook. My blood pressure has remained normal, and my doctor has assured me over and over that what happened to my mother wasn’t something I needed to worry about.”

I moved in and gave her a hug. Her large belly pressed againstme, and I rubbed my hands in circles over her back. “I’m so glad to hear that, Maia. You’re going to be a great mom.”

“Thanks, April. Early on, you really helped talk me off some ledges. And you were right—everything is turning out okay. I love how you can always see the positive in situations.”

“I try,” I said, pulling back and smiling at her. “I feel like living here has brought that back some. I was in such a funk in St. Croix. I needed a shift in attitude, not just location.”

Her gaze turned speculative. “You’re happy with Gabe?”

“Very. Things are working out well. Both of us are in agreement about our relationship—exclusive but no long-term commitments.”

“How do you do that? Keep from wanting more? What if one of you changes your mind?”

I do that by building stone walls around my heart, and not concentrating on the fact that Gabe is an incredible man and father doing everything he can to save his family legacy. A man any woman would be proud of.

A man any woman would want more from.

Morewith.

I shrugged one shoulder. “We each have our reasons for not wanting deeper involvement. I respect his thoughts on the subject, and he feels the same way about mine. We’re great together, so there’s no reason to want more.”

“If you say so.”

“I do. I just said it, Maia. We’regreattogether.”

She pulled a face. “First of all—Yuck. This is my brother we’re talking about! Which is kind of weird. Normally, I’d want all the details of what was going on between you two. But with Gabe? Gross.”

I laughed. “I couldn’t feel more differently. Your brother is anything but gross.”

“Oh, I’m not blind. It’s kind of funny. You two are opposites personality-wise. You’ve been good for him. He’s noticeably lessgrouchy these days and has even been known to crack a smile now and again.”

“Your brother is a good man, Maia.”

“Yeah, I know. He’s a pain in the ass, but I love him anyway. Kind of like the other two. Just spare me the details, okay? All my brothers are hotties, but that doesn’t mean I want to know about their sex lives.”

“I’m sure they feel the same way.”

Maia laughed out loud. “To an extent. When Gabe first came back, he loomed all over Wyatt about me getting pregnant. But Wyatt and I had worked out our problems and were happily married by then. Wyatt stood up to him and basically told Gabe to piss off. I’m pretty sure that actually impressed my brother.”

“I could see that. Gabe can certainly be intimidating, but I’ve never been afraid of him. He’s outright told me he likes it when I stand up to him.”

Maia wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want to hear how much he likes it, okay?”

“Deal.” I laughed and finished my donut. “Speaking of Wyatt, I’d better get to work. I’m sure he’s wondering where I am.”

Gabe

My hair was still damp from my shower as I strolled down the hill toward the dive shop. I’d gotten up early to get in a thorough weight session in the gym at the Big House. Dad had installed a state-of-the-art gym years ago when Evan needed his rehab, and he’d continued to use it. Now I was a regular visitor too. After driving Hailey to her summer camp, I’d gone for a run on the path that circled the perimeter of the island. The sandy trail wound its way through the mangrove wetlands, and we hadn’t had rain lately, so it was completely dry.

I bent around the end of the canal.Indigo Dreamssat where we’d tied it up yesterday, but the other two boats had already left for the morning. April was probably in the water right now.

When I walked into the dive shop, Carissa stood behind the counter.

“I thought Maia was filling in for you?” I asked.

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