“We met on the plane. Sat next to each other,” Mia explained.
I couldn’t hear my father’s following statement, but something he said caused Mia to burst out into laughter.
“No, sir, he’s been a perfect gentleman so far.” Her eyes sparkled as she peered up at me.
“He wants me to let him drive me to Tulum, since my rental got messed up.” She quieted while he responded with something. “I have taken self-defense classes, yes.” She peered at me again, a smile on those lush lips.
I both loved and hated my father right then. I loved him because he seemed to be doing exactly what I wanted, which was making Mia more comfortable with the idea of letting me drive her the two plus hours to our final destination. But I hated him because I wanted to be the one to elicit those smiles and bouts of laughter from her.
“Okay, hang on.” She drew the phone a few inches from her ear. “Your dad wants to know where you keep the bananas?” Then she whispered, “You live with your dad? That’s so sweet.”
“He lives with me,” I corrected. “And tell him …” I held out my hand. “May I?”
She handed me back the phone.
“You’ve had enough bananas today. You know they have all of that sugar in them. Eat one of the salads I left for you.”
“Don’t nobody want—”
“Bye, Pops,” I grunted and hung up on his ass.
Mia chuckled. “That was … entertaining.”
“Did it work?” I asked.
She eyed me for a few seconds, then rolled her eyes skyward. “You better not make me regret this.” She pointed at me. “Yeah, it worked. Besides, now you have my sister and Carlene texting me up a storm.”
Carlene was her best friend, to whom she’d also texted my picture.
“Let’s go.”
Satisfied, I took her luggage and started to roll it and mine toward the parking lot to pick up my rental.
CHAPTER4
Mia
Lord, I need you to get me away from this man. I silently sent up the prayer as we pulled into the parking lot of my bungalow.
My plea had nothing to do with how full I was from the pork belly tacos I’d inhaled during dinner. Nor did I feel unsafe in Brutus’ presence. I felt safe with him, which was dangerous and made no sense. I shouldn’t feel so secure and protected with a man I’d known less than twenty-four hours. But I did.
After we left the airport, Brutus drove, and our conversation picked up right where it left off on the plane. I spent the better part of our first hour trying to convince him thatThe Four Agreementswas one of the best books ever written. Though he didn’t agree, he wasn’t dismissive or do that thing that so many men I’d encountered did. The one where they behave as if their opinion holds more weight because they think it’s built on a foundation of “logic” whereas mine just has to be based in emotion, since I’m a woman.
He heard me out, listened carefully, and even said he might consider rereading the book.
Once we reached the city limits of Tulum, I spotted a restaurant and mentioned how much I’d fantasized about pork tacos in the weeks leading up to my trip. That did it. Because a minute later, Brutus pulled over, parked, and soon led me to the restaurant.
It just so happened the restaurant was rated as one of the best in the area. It also turned into a semi-nightclub after seven. That ended with me showcasing for Brutus some of my salsa moves.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had so much fun, laughing, dancing, and eating good food for hours. Above all of that, the company was stellar. Throughout our dinner, I would notice Brutus surveying the area around us. His gaze would linger on this person or that one for a brief moment before moving to the next.
“Wait for me to open the door,” he said while clutching my arm.
My hand dropped from the door’s handle. Only then did he relax and open his door to get out. Yes, it was the gentlemanly thing to do, and he’d done the same thing at the restaurant. But it also felt protective.
I watched him in the rearview as he moved to the back of the SUV to retrieve my luggage from the trunk. He was a hulk of a man, but his movements were so fluid. He didn’t waste one extra ounce of action. He danced the same way. It had me daydreaming about the other ways in which he moved.
Squeezing my thighs together, I tried to force myself to calm down. This was likely nothing more than a vacation fling, if even that.
