Read Online Wild Lover Complete Series by Natalie Wild - Free Book Online Page A

“You got me all wrapped up.”
              “I do?” she looked up at his handsome, smiling face.
                  He kissed her forehead. “I don’t walk foo-foo dogs for just any girl.”
    *
                  The next week passed in a haze of happiness. Mia had never imagined a man like Blaine Daniels. He slowly opened up to her, and she found that he spoke fluent French and German and was an amateur violinist. They laughed and made love and argued over international affairs and made love and cooked meals together and made love some more. She overflowed with joy, like a towel that can’t absorb any more spilled milk. Her mother kept sending texts to make sure she was feeling okay after her break up with Jeff. She wanted to reply, “Jeff who?” but that might make Mama Maria ask questions. For some reason, Mia wasn’t quite ready to talk to her mom about Blaine.
                  She arrived at his condo on a Tuesday night with a package of fresh salmon and the means to whip up a mean salad. She’d gotten accustomed to finding Blaine in the kitchen whenever she arrived. When she found it empty, she peeked into the bedroom. “Blaine? Babe?”
                  “I’m out here,” he said.
                  She joined him on the condo’s wide porch. The July sun was still high in the sky. It felt good on her upturned face, but she had to close her eyes against the glare. “What are you up to out here? Besides sweating?”
                  He was staring at his phone. “I’m making plans.”
                  “I brought stuff to cook. Thought we were eating in tonight,” she said.
                  “No—I mean big plans.”
                  “I don’t get it.”
                  “When does school begin again?” He grinned up at her, and then looked back down at his phone, and then back at her again. Something in his excitement gave her pause.
                  “The end of August,” she said, “but I have to be back to prep my classroom mid-month. Why?”
                  Blaine looked about to jump out of his skin. He held up his phone. She read the text on the Internet browser. “Twenty-seventh Annual Commonwealth Cup.” She pointed at the fish on the webpage, some kind of marlin or swordfish. “A fishing tournament?”
                  He nodded. “Not just any tournament. It’s one of the best in the world. Invitation only. It’s based out of St. John.”
                  Her heart sank. St. John, again. “Let me guess, you’ve been invited.”
                  “Yes! I’ve been trying to get in for three years. Someone dropped out, so I have a last minute spot.”             
                  “Last minute?”
              He took both her hands. “I leave in three days.”
                  Mia took a deep breath. One fishing tournament wasn’t such a big deal. “That sounds like a great opportunity. How long will you be gone?”
                  “About five weeks.”
                  Mia’s heart had started lifting, but it plunged again, like a deflating helium balloon. “Why so long?”
                  “Well… there are two others that follow the Commonwealth, if I place. And I have to motor down there.”
              “You’re driving?”
                  He laughed, and before he even opened his mouth Mia felt stupid. “No, I have to motor the boat down there. And then back. It takes a couple days on each end.”
              Mia bit her lip. “Oh, well. Okay. So I’ll see you in a month?” If he comes back, she thought. All her happiness flew over the edge of the balcony. How could she expect a two-week relationship to hold up against over a month of total