Best Friends Forever

Fuji is unseen for the day.

Intriguing!”

“You’re comparing my ass to a mountain?” Ayla asked.

“To the most beautiful mountain in the world!” Mick insisted. “What Basho is saying is that as majestic as Mount Fuji is, there’s something beautiful, and, to use his word, ‘intriguing’, about seeing it concealed by fog. Seeing only the fog, but knowing what lies beneath it. Your ass— your entire body, actually— strikes me the exact same way seeing you in that swimsuit. Not that I don’t want you completely naked again as soon as humanly possible, but you’re just so incredibly sexy like this. I don’t know why any other women bother.”

“You’re so silly,” Ayla replied. How was he even real?

Before long, Preston was screaming for Mick to join him in the assault on the pirate ship, bringing a temporary end to Mick and Ayla’s flirting, but not to their fun in the sun.

Chapter 22

Bev Merryweather arrived late-morning Thursday, grumpy and complaining. Mick wouldn’t recognize his mother any other way.

“Bloody hell this place is even more awful than I expected.”

“It’s nice to see you, too, Mum,” Mick replied, leaving the airport and pulling out into Las Vegas traffic.

“Isn’t there anything green here?”

“Sure. Palm trees and cactus. And golf courses.”

“How can people live here?” Bev demanded.

“Air conditioning, Mum.”

“It’s just… this place is uncivilized. No wonder the Crown let the colonists keep it.”

“Well, there was actually a war, you know. The King didn’t exactly just walk away and leave the keys with the new tenants.”

“Feh. Where’s my grandson? You promised me a grandson.”

“I figured you might want to rest first. Maybe we’ll meet them for dinner. Before that we can talk about it. He doesn’t yet know I’m his father,” Mick explained.

“Well that’s complete rubbish,” Bev complained. “I came all this way, poked, prodded, and herded, to spend time with that boy. I’ve seen enough of you. Take me to him now.”

Mick tried to protest. “Let’s get you settled at my condo first.”

But his mother was having none of it. “I’m an old woman. Why do you want to break my heart? Just take me back to the airport if you don’t intend to let me see my grandson.”

Mick relented. “I’ll call Ayla and see what they’re doing. But mom, we talked about this, Preston doesn’t know yet. You can’t tell him. Ayla is his mother, and she wants to ease him into this transition. It’s a lot for a six-year-old.”

“Will her parents be there? I’ll need to meet them as well, if th

ey’re going to be your in-laws.”

“Mum. Mum! We talked about this. No, you won’t be meeting her parents. Not today, anyway, or any day in the immediate future. And you get in-laws when you become married. Ayla and I are going slowly; there’s been no talk of marriage.”

Bev fished around in her handbag, and produced a small box. She handed it to Mick as he drove.

“You’re a father. In my day, it was customary to be married to the mother of your child.” Mick flipped open the box, revealing a diamond ring. “It’s the ring your grandfather proposed to my mother with. You’ll use it with Ayla,” Bev commanded.

“When the time’s right,” Mick said. “We’ll see. Now, are you hungry?”

“What do you think?” Bev snapped. “On a plane for what seemed like bloody weeks on end with nothing to eat but pretzels?”

“Fine,” Mick surrendered. “I’ll call Ayla, maybe they’ll meet us for an early lunch.”