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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SURPRISINGLYENOUGH, her mother was home when Mikelina got there. Tawny and Aunt Crystal were playing cards while Fox News blasted in the background. They dealt her in while she discreetly switched to the History Channel.
“Your mother tells me that you sold the beach house,” Crystal said, putting down a set of threes. She was a shark at gin rummy.
“It was time.”
“You’re telling me. Now Tawny doesn’t have to shack up with that Diamonte guy.”
“What if I want to shack up with him?” Her mother laid down a straight.
“Ew,” Mikelina said. She could only lay down a three. She wasn’t really paying attention to the cards.
“Shouldn’t you be at that bachelor party’s beck and call?” Tawny asked, looking at her critically.
Mikelina was pretty sure her mother knew she had been crying. “I’m done. They’re the new owners of the house. Their itineraries are set. It’s over.”
“It doesn’t seem to be over,” her mother said.
“Trust me. It is. Lots of doors closing for me lately. I told you what Dad said.”
“Your father is a selfish jerk. Don’t give him a second thought.”
“Easy for you to say, Tawny,” Crystal said. “You can get a new husband. It’s not like she can get a new daddy.”
“I don’t need a new daddy, Aunt Crystal,” Mikelina broke in before a brawl started. “I don’t need a man in my life at all.”
“Oh,” her mother and her aunt said at the same time.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mikelina asked suspiciously.
“Who is he?” Tawny asked. “Do we need to get involved?”
“No. It’s over. He’s going back to New York and I’m...” Well, that was the hell of it, wasn’t it? She didn’t know where she was going to go. New York had seemed like the right decision until Bastien turned out to be a bastard. With the house sold, she didn’t need to be in South Beach as the concierge. Maybe she could find another city to become an expert in.
Somewhere the last name Presley made people think of The King instead of her father.
“You’re what, dear?”
“I’m waiting for my next assignment.”
“I’m sure Kirk will have something for you soon. Gin!” Her mother laid down all her cards in glee.
Aunt Crystal threw hers on the table in disgust. “You guys distracted me. And who changed the channel? I was watching the news.”
Mikelina rolled her suitcase into the condo in Maui that she was sharing with Selena. Selena was busy at the client’s house, cooking a romantic dinner for two.
Must be nice.
After stowing her clothes in the spare bedroom, Mikelina powered up her laptop and brought up the email Kirk had sent her about what the couple wanted to do this week. It wasn’t like him not to dish about who they were and what potential scandals to avoid. It was a last-minute arrangement and Kirk couldn’t get his usual Hawaii concierges to step up. She was a little nervous because Maui wasn’t her area of expertise, but she did know a few people and Selena said she would hook her up with some of her contacts, too.
Mikelina was grateful because she just had to get out of Florida. The pain of Bastien’s condemnation of her hit harder than she wanted to admit. She fell in love with the big jerk and that was on her. But he judged her for her father’s actions and that was on him.
Focus.
She stared back at the wish list and saw that the couple wanted the usual Hawaiian things. She booked them a snorkeling tour of Molokini. Of course, her mind went straight back to Bastien making love to her in the dressing room after they went snorkeling.
Groaning, she got up and took a bottle of POG from the fridge. The papaya, orange and guava juice was sweet and refreshing and helped her get back on task. The happy couple also wanted a fishing trip and she booked them on a party boat, forcing the image of her and Bastien catching fish together.
