And Romeo meantbeamed.
Just like her words, Mia was judicious with her smiles. She might be quick with a closed-mouth grin, and many times he’d seen what looked like the shadow of an ornery smirk cross her face. But a full-on smile?
Those were rare.
Which, he supposed, was a good thing since he lost his head a little whenever he saw one, simply grinning like an idiot in return.
Except he wasn’t grinning now.
Hell, no. He frowned so hard his jaw muscles ached and there was a definite twitch in his left eyelid.
The twitch only got worse when Doc chucked Mia under her chin. “Well maybe you’d be willing to go back to the beginning for me. What do you think?”
As if Doc wasn’t charming enough, the bastard pulled down his sunglasses so he could add a seductive wink to his flirty talk.
Romeo didn’t hear Mia’s response over the sudden roaring in his ears. It wasn’t the thunder of a plane engine touching down on the tarmac of Key West’s little airport that’d rendered him momentarily deaf, however. It was the sound of his blood pounding through his veins.
He had the oddest urge to march over and whack Doc upside the head with a brick.
The moment after he had the thought, he reminded himself he shouldn’t care that Mia was smiling at Doc or that Doc was doing his level best to woo her with that down-home, country-fried, cowboy charm of his. Romeoshouldn’tcare because...she’s my friend.As such, he had absolutely zeroclaim over her romantically.
Plus, Doc was a brother to him in every way but blood. And if Mia could help heal Doc’s bruised and broken heart, well...shouldn’t Romeo want that for Doc?
He forced himself to give the idea of Doc and Mia some serious consideration and hoped it might be the kick in the pants he needed to let go of his silly, foolish, frickin’irrationalpreoccupation with the pretty little marine archeologist.
Doc and Mia. Mia and Doc...
Ignoring the fact that she was too short for the big Montanan, Romeo could admit they had a lot in common.
They were both college graduates with advanced degrees. They’d both been wounded by their pasts, in need of a little TLC. And they were both good people, conscientious and honorable—Doc’s whole self-pitying act the night before notwithstanding.
Doc was strong enough to help shoulder the burdens Mia seemed to carry. And Mia had a tender and thoughtful heart that might be just the thing Doc needed to finally crawl out from under the mountain of his grief.
They could be perfect for each other, Romeo admitted.
So why did he feel serious chunkage coming on at the mere thought?
Because you want her for yourself, shit-for-brains, that annoying voice that lived at the back of his head insisted.You have from the beginning.
Yeah, he told the voice,but I also want to eat my weight in tacos five times a week. Wanting something doesn’t make it a good idea.
Going back to his pre-flight inspection, he determinedly focused on his list.
Flaps? Free and secure.
Lights and wingtips? Working and in good order.
Leading edges? Check.
By the time he finished, he was feeling a little more like himself. Focusing on the fundamentals of aviation always put him in a good mood. But the moment he rounded the back of the plane and discovered Doc still had a muscled arm around Mia’s shoulders, he was hit, once again, with the distinct urge to hunt up a brick.
A heavy one. With sharp edges.
Breaking news just in: You’re a jealous asshat.
“The lawyer’s late.” He realized his words came out as a snarl, so he made sure to keep his expression the picture of SoCal-surfer-dude cool when he glanced up from his watch. “LT said he gave her clear instructions to meet us on the tarmac after her flight landed. Which”—he pointed to the parked jet that’d gone wheels down twenty minutes earlier—“there it is. All landed and unloaded. Think she got turned around in the terminal?”
The toothpick hanging from the side of Doc’s mouth jerked down. “That place is the size of a shoebox. If she got lost in there, she has the brainpower of a cockroach. Which doesn’t bode well for us if she has to represent us in court.”
