“I—” He scrubbed a hand over his head, clearly at a loss for words.
Yeah. She’d bet it was hard explaining why you’d announced your engagement to a near-stranger without asking the fiancée first.
“Just tell me,” she suggested. “Don’t try to dress it up. I’m hard to offend.”
“It’s just that everyone on the island has been trying to fix me up since I got here. It gets old fast, saying no all the time.”
“Poor baby, all those women chasing you.”
He looked offended. “That didn’t come out right. Yes, there were women.”
“Did they bring you casseroles?”
“What? No.” He grinned. “Although hot dishes could have been nice.”
“Now I know the way to your heart,” she teased. “Bring food. But your dating woes don’t explain our engagement.”
“Cal and Daeg know the truth. They also know what a pain in the butt Mrs. Damiano is. Hell, the whole island wants to fix me up.”
“Let me introduce you to a phrase—just say no.”
He leaned back against the wall, arms folded over his chest. “I tried. I ended up with two dates in a week—and there aren’t even that many women on the island.”
Tag’s problem was that he was too nice to say no. Fortunately for him, she wasn’t nice at all. In fact, she’d made being a bitch a bit of a specialty. “Not a marrying man?”
“I’m Navy. I ship out. Leaving doesn’t seem like a good foundation for a long-term partnership.”
“So I’m a red herring.” She’d been worse, done worse.
“You’re a miracle worker.” He nodded at the real estate flyer she held. “Although I thought you were leaving. Instead, you’re contemplating becoming a real estate maven.”
“Plans change.” Not hers, ever. She’d always had a six-month plan—plus a two-year, five-year and ten-year plan. The simple fact, though, was that she was here on Discovery Island and strangely planless. The minute the cruise ship had sailed, her itinerary had flown out the window. It should have been scary as hell. Instead, it was liberating.
He hesitated. “Do you want me to set M.J. straight?”
Being engaged to Tag was normal, right? Kind of a dry run for whenever she did meet the guy of her dreams and settle down for good. Practice couldn’t hurt, because, yeah, her social skills were beyond rusty. Plus...
“Are you going to put out?”
He didn’t respond, just gave her the crooked grin that tugged on her insides. She’d borrow him, she decided. He was out of here soon anyway.
“Fine. Okay. I’ll be your loaner fiancée for the next six weeks or so.”
A halo of sunshine poured in the window, lighting him up. Tag Johnson was no saint, however, and they both knew it.
He took a step toward her, and she honestly had no idea if he planned to hug her. Kiss her. Shake her hand. Anything was a possibility. “Thank you,” he said.
He did, however, have mighty fine manners.
“Be careful. Now I can sue you for breach of promise.” She winked at him and moved into the kitchen. A new coat of white paint and the room would be gorgeous. Afternoon light flooded over the subway tile on the floor and lit up the little crystal knobs on the cupboards.
“I appreciate your restraint,” he said dryly on her heels. “You ever live in a small town?”
“If base counts, I’ll go with yes.”
He thought about her words for a moment. “Soldiers gossip. I’ll give you that.”
“Tattle, complain, whine, bitch and share far too much,” she agreed. “You can take your pick. I swear, my unit was better than Twitter. M.J. seems like she’s cut from the same cloth. All of Discovery Island is going to hear about our engagement by tonight.”
“Or sooner. Last chance to head her off at the pass. Are you truly okay with it?”
Surprisingly, yes, she was.
9
THREE DAYS AFTER making an offer on the cottage, Mia tapped the Call End button on her phone, the less-than-happy news from her mortgage broker ringing in her ears. If Mother Nature had been playing along, there would be sound effects. Thunder and lightning or perhaps—if her life was a movie—the Jaws theme song playing in the background. Instead, all she got was another perfect day on Discovery Island.
Perfect weather-wise, at least.