Andy had been such a happy baby. Such a funny, full-of-life toddler. But he’d never been the same after they came home from the hospital.
And that was Mia’s greatest failure. Which had led to her unbearable shame. Which had culminated in her ultimate sin.
“I fell somewhere in the middle of being prepared and being caught by surprise with Andy,” she finally added, her voice so rough she barely recognized it.
“I’m so sorry.” Cami placed a hand on top of hers.
“Yeah.” Mia sighed. “Me too. For you, I mean. For your loss. Everyone talks about how terrible it is to lose a parent or a child, but no one ever talks about how hard it is to lose a sibling.”
“It really drives home that old saying:life’s too short,” Cami agreed. “Which brings us full circle in this conversation. Life’s too short for us to be constantly worrying about the consequences when amazing opportunities present themselves. Plus, don’t we owe it to those who were taken too soon to live life to its fullest?”
Before Mia could answer her question, Cami pushed on. “So what if sex changes your friendship with Romeo? There’s no guarantee your friendship won’t change anyway. I mean, friends come and go. If you and Romeo do this, at least you’ll have thememory of it to hold onto when you’re all alone and the nights turn cold.”
Mia desperately wanted to buy what Cami was selling. The lawyer made it sound so simple and reasonable. Well, that and Mia may have undersold herself when she told Cami that for a while now she’d jump at the chance for some wild monkey sex with Romeo. It was more like she’d take a flying leap over a cliff with no safety net waiting at the bottom.
And maybe that was a good analogy. Because as fun as the fall would be, the landing might hurt like hell. And yet, even so, she couldn’t deny that she was—
Cami interrupted her thoughts. “You’re going to do it, aren’t you?”
“You make a compelling argument,” Mia admitted.
“Thank you.” Cami inclined her head. “I like to think so.” Then, her eyes narrowed. “But...”
“But what?” Mia frowned.
“That’s what I’m askingyou. I can see there’s a but rolling around inside your head.” Cami pointed to a spot between Mia’s eyes.
“If you’re this much of a bulldog in regular life,” Mia said, “what are you like in the courtroom?”
“Pretty much the same,” Cami conceded with a chuckle. “I just use a lot moreyour honorsandif it pleases the courts. So...what’s the but?”
Mia bit her lip. “But what if, despite everything we’ve talked about, this still ends up being a really bad idea and one or both of us gets hurt?”
Cami waved away her concern. “Bad ideas make for great stories. And as for getting hurt? Take it from Garth Brooks, it’s way worse to miss the dance than it is to miss the pain.”
Mia snorted. “Never figured you for a country music fan.”
“I’m not. But I make an exception for Garth.”
Am I really going to do this?Mia asked herself.Am I really going to take Spiro “Romeo” Delgado as a lover?
Heaven help her, she was. Because Cami and Garth were right. Life was too short and Mia didn’t want to miss the dance.
Plus, now she could view leaving Wayfarer Island as a good thing. Her leaving would create a hard stop for their affair, and it felt good knowing from the beginning how it would end.
It made her feel more in control.
Chapter 13
4:14 PM...
At least one of us will be getting laid soon, Cami thought as she stole a look at Mia and found the marine archeologist wearing a secretive little smile.
Of course, the last thingCamiwas doing was smiling when she returned her attention to her palm leaf mat.
Mia had managed to make three of the big, green suckers in the time it’d taken Cami to make one. Notevenone. Because she was half finished, and her weave looked no tighter on her third attempt than it had on her first.
Glancing at Mia’s hands, she diligently watched the process for the umpteenth time. And yet when she tried to recreate it? It was all Hashtag Nailed It.
