Page 22

Mila

The sound of Babette whining woke Mila up. She opened her eyes to find the little dog with her front feet on the edge of the bed, and her pointed nose almost touching Mila’s.

Blinking, Mila turned her head to find Gio snuggled up behind her and beyond him was Carter, quietly snoring.

She was struck by the absolute beauty of the two men. How had she ended up in bed with them? Shouldn’t they be dating super models or actresses? They should be with someone much more fabulous than her.

Except they didn’t seem to care about that. They wanted her. Or at least they’d wanted her last night.

That thought made her frown. How long could this type of passion last? It was so hot, wasn’t it going to burn out too fast?

Although Gio wasn’t nearly as big as Carter, it was still surprisingly hard to move his arm off her. The moment she pulled free of his embrace, she felt cold and started shivering. It wasn’t only the temperature in the room. Now that she wasn’t touching Gio, something felt like it was missing.

“Don’t go,” Gio mumbled without opening his eyes. For two men with everything, they were very worried that she was going to run away from them. It was a little endearing.

“I’m taking care of Babette,” she whispered, running her fingers through his soft hair.

“Come back,” he said, the words barely a whisper.

“Later,” she promised. After she got a few things prepped and other things in the oven.

Carter didn’t even twitch as she pulled on one of his shirts and made her way downstairs.

She opened the back door for Babette, then hurried to her room.

Thankfully she’d done a load of laundry yesterday so she had clean clothes to wear.

She pulled on too much clothing for the temperate weather, but she couldn’t shake off the chilled feeling.

By the time she emerged from her room, Babette was already on the first floor. She danced around Mila’s feet and raced back and forth from her to the front door.

“Someone wants to go for a walk,” Mila guessed. “You know what? That’s not a bad idea!”

It took some looking, but she found the twine she’d been using for a leash. All the boxes that arrived were still stacked in a corner of the kitchen next to the back door.

After lunch yesterday, Carter had told her Gio ordered them all for her. She couldn’t bring herself to open a single box before Gio gave his permission. Carter had shrugged and drifted back off to sleep.

Between baking and caring for Cater, yesterday had passed quickly. Then Geo came down, they had dinner and the next thing she knew, the three of them ended up in bed together.

“A lot has happened in only a few days,” she said to Babette as she tied the twine to the dog's collar. It was hard to do because Babette refused to be still. At least there were plenty of bags for her to grab on the way out the door so she could clean up after the dog if needed.

There was a cold ocean breeze that made Mila wish she’d dressed in even more layers. What happened to her South Dakota hardiness? Could someone acclimate to warm weather this fast?

Stepping into the sun helped, and after crossing an empty street and a short trip over a sandy embankment, she and Babette were on the beach. After spending her life staring out at a horizon of nothing but farmland, it was startling to see so much water. The sight would never get old.

Babette tugged at the leash, and they walked closer to the water. She could see a few people in wetsuits sitting on their surfboards chatting while they waited for a good wave. Further out were some sailboats silently gliding over the water.

It was all so picturesque that it was only Babette's insistence that kept her moving. Otherwise, she’d be content to stand somewhere and stare out into the sea, simply soaking it all in.

When her shoes started filling with sand, she slipped them off and tied the laces together so she could carry them over her shoulder. The sand was warm on the top but cold as her feet sank in.

“Sea, sand, sun, and wind. So many sensations to create this moment,” she said to her companion. “It reminds me of mixing spices to create a single flavor.”

Babette came to a stop and stared intensely at a spot of sand.

“What is it?” she asked Babette, assuming there was some small creature there she couldn’t see. The dog responded by digging furiously, sending up rooster tails of sand behind her.

“I guess there’s treasure there," Mila said with a laugh. “I hope it’s not something dead and rotting!”

When her phone rang, she decided to sit down and let Babette keep digging. She answered it without looking to see who was calling, relieved to hear Rissa’s familiar voice.

“Mila, how are you doing? I wanted to check on you! I should’ve texted, but sometimes you just gotta call, you know?”

“After what happened, I can understand,” Mila agreed. The attack had happened only the night before last, but it felt like months. It was as if she’d known Gio and Carter for years. “Carter’s recovering.”

“But what about you?” Rissa asked.

“I think I’m good,” Mila answered. The conversation about starting a business with Gio came back to her, making her feel unsteady.

Was starting a business with your lovers any wiser than sleeping with your bosses?

It felt like the plot to a movie. The problem was that she wasn’t sure if it was a Hallmark movie or realistic drama.

One meant she’d have a happy ending, the other meant she was probably going to end up alone and crying.

No, not alone. She had Babette now!

“Mila?”

“Oh, sorry, I was lost in thought,” Mila apologized. “What did you say?”

“I wanted to know how the guys were treating you,” Rissa said.

Mila felt her face get hot. “They’re really nice. We might go into business together.”

“Business?” Rissa sounded confused. “Doing what?”

“They’ll let me use their kitchen and help me buy supplies and I’ll bake,” she explained.

She’d done something similar when her brother’s wife was on bedrest for four months.

When she wasn’t caring for Jen, she would bake and package.

She’d sell her stuff to local coffee shops and was doing pretty well and thought about turning it into a full-time business.

That was until her mom pointed out that she was breaking all kinds of health and safety laws and could be sued.

Terrified of losing what little she had, she’d stopped. Thinking of that made her wonder about the laws here. She’d never looked them up back in South Dakota, but she should’ve. Now there was no excuse. She needed to know what the rules were and what kinds of licenses she needed.

It was probably going to be a lot, but Gio might help her. After all, this was going to be his business too!

“What are you going to bake?” Rissa asked, sounding genuinely interested.

“At first, probably a little of everything to see what sells,” Mila answered. “Things like cookies, muffins, brownies, blondies, palmiers, and eclairs."

“I like the sound of that,” Rissa responded with a little laugh. “I’m sure Zan would buy a sample of everything from you. The hard part will be to get him to share with the customers instead of eating them all himself. I call dibs on the Napoleons if you make them!”

Mila grinned, she had her first customers! Of course she’d give them the sample box free, but Rissa and Zander seemed to know everyone. If they liked her goodies, that could only mean a lot more business!

“So that’s all you’ve been doing over there?” Rissa asked. “Taking care of Carter and baking?”

Oh, Rissa wanted to know if she was involved with the guys! Should she tell the other woman? Mila was conflicted. One part of her wanted to tell everyone because she was bursting with excitement, but the other half of her was scared. This relationship felt new and fragile.

“That’s a long silence for a simple question," Rissa said. “That tells me everything I need to know, including that you’re not entirely sure how you feel about it all. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go around gossiping about you guys, but our community is pretty small.”

Community? Community of what? Business owners? Friends?

“I’m going to text you my schedule," Rissa continued as Mila’s thoughts were a traffic jam of questions and confused feelings. “You can come by and chat any time I’m at the bar or I could meet you somewhere. Being able to talk things out is important.”

“You can just leave work?” Mila asked. “Won’t your boss be upset?”

Rissa snorted. “I don’t have a boss and if Zan is ever upset, I give him a blow job, and he’s putty in my hands. Anatoly’s a little harder to distract, but I have my ways.”

Mila wasn’t used to such frank talk, but loved the way Rissa was so casual about her sexuality.

“It’ll be nice to have friends,” Mila said, only realizing how pathetic that sounded after the words left her mouth. “I mean, I have friends back in South Dakota. I’m not totally pitiful."

“Making friends can be hard,” Rissa said, her voice friendly and kind. “Especially when you move to an entirely new place.”

Her reassurance made it easier for Mila to talk. “That evening in the bar was the best time I’ve had since coming to San Diego.”

That included all the dates Brad took her on. Everyone eating and laughing reminded her of going to a local pub with some of her siblings and Bec.

“Then I guess you better come back to visit,” Rissa stated firmly. Then sucked in a breath as if something just occurred to her. “Oh, girls night is coming up. You’re not soul—uh, I mean I don’t know if you're officially in a relationship with Carter and Gio yet, but you should still come.”

Mila didn’t like the way Rissa cut herself off and picked different words. “What does being in a relationship have to do with this girls night?”

“We’re all in throuples or unconventional relationships,” Rissa explained. “We meet every few weeks at different bars in the county. The next one is at the Dapper Dog.”

Mila wasn’t sure. “Maybe you should check with everyone first.”