Match Made In Paradise by Barbara Dunlop (black female authors TXT) 📕

“Are you staying the night?” Piper asked.

Silas seemed to consider the possibility. “I hadn’t thought of it.”

“The south creek villa is vacant,” she said.

He lifted his brow and turned to Mia. “We could stay if you want.”

The suggestion took her by surprise. “What? Spend the night here?” There’d been no plans for them to stay. She hadn’t brought anything with her for overnight, and Raven was expecting her back.

“You heard Piper,” Silas said easily. “The south creek villa is vacant.”

Mia gave him a look that said his proposal was ridiculous. He thought the two of them should share a cozy little villa for the night?

“It has three bedrooms,” Silas said, as if he was reading her mind.

“Each bedroom is self-contained,” Piper added and held out a key. “At least take a look through it.”

“Wildflower Lake Lodge loves to bribe West Slope Aviation,” Silas said.

“It’s how we get such good service,” Piper said without missing a beat.

“This is a twofer,” Silas said.

“How so?”

“Mia is Raven’s cousin from Los Angeles.”

Piper beamed at that. “Raven’s fantastic.”

“I agree with that,” Mia said.

Piper held the key out farther. “Okay, now for sure you have to stay.”

Silas took it. “I’ll give her the grand tour.”

Chapter Nine

Silas wasn’t surprised that Mia loved the south creek villa. It was much more her style than Raven’s cabin.

Dominated by a spectacular great room, the villa’s living area featured a massive stone fireplace. It had high, peaked windows overlooking the ocean, and an open maple-wood staircase leading to the rail of a sleeping loft. The kitchen, dining room and a library nook were tucked under the loft, bracketed by two bedrooms with doors off opposite sides of the great room.

After a visit to the gift shop, Silas was dressed in charcoal slacks, a white dress shirt and a jade-green tie. He’d paired them with a black sports jacket borrowed from Cornelia. His boots looked out of place, but at least they were black.

Piper had eagerly offered her own shoe collection for Mia to peruse. Silas hadn’t yet seen what they’d found in Piper’s closet, but it seemed like the two had become best friends within about an hour.

He’d given up watching Mia try things on in the gift shop. She and Piper were clearly determined to analyze every single dress on the racks. So, instead, he’d wandered into the cigar bar and shared a scotch with two bankers from Boston who seemed eager to hear about Alaska in the winter.

By the time he’d made it back to the villa, Mia was already in her room, changing. He’d heard the shower running and changed for dinner himself. Now he heard the hum of a blow dryer and guessed it would be a while before she emerged. But the mini bar was stocked, so he dug into bag of chocolate almonds, pairing them with a bottle of club soda as he read his way through a recent fishing magazine.

When Mia’s bedroom door finally opened, he glanced up to see how the process had all turned out. He froze at the sight. He swallowed and all but dropped the magazine.

Looking uncertain, she took a couple of steps into the great room. “I’m not sure about the neckline,” she said, looking down.

The neckline was slashed straight across her chest and blended into short, dropped sleeves that left her creamy shoulders bare. The dress was snug over her breasts and waist, with a full skirt, the hem shorter in the front than the back showing off her long slender legs. It was deep burgundy, but the color couldn’t have mattered less. To call it sexy was the understatement of the decade.

A wide silver choker encircled her graceful neck, and silver earrings dangled below her upswept, wispy hair. Everything about the outfit framed her, decorated her, celebrated her.

“I’m better with a cowl-neck,” she said, but he barely heard.

He saw it now—the goddess who had the world infatuated.

He’d play poker for her. He’d walk through fire for her. Hell, he’d take on a grizzly, a wolf pack or every man from here to California for her.

“Silas?” Her voice sounded far away but it brought him back to reality. She was waiting for his reaction.

“You look . . .” He wasn’t about to say what he really thought.

She didn’t seem to notice that his words had trailed off. She held out a foot and wiggled it back and forth as she studied the shoes. They were silver, sparkling, strappy with open toes and a narrow band around her ankle.

He had to stop looking at them.

“Good thing there’s a walkway to the dining room with these heels,” she said.

He came to his feet, spilling the remainder of the almonds on the floor.

She laughed at his clumsiness. “Thank goodness somebody else finally messed something up.”

He reached to the floor and crumpled the bag, scooping up the nuts then crossing to drop the whole mess in the kitchen wastebasket. He was less embarrassed about being clumsy than he was grateful to have something to distract himself from her.

He washed his hands in the sink and dried them on a towel. “Ready?” he asked, going back to the living area, determinedly fixing his focus on the front door.

She joined him there. “So, what do you think?”

“Of?”

“The dress.” She sounded half annoyed, half perplexed.

“It’s great,” he said honestly, sneaking a sideways peek. “Terrific.”

“Not too bad for a rush job, huh?” She adjusted the drop sleeves below her shoulders. “I’m lucky the shoes fit. My feet are big.”

He tried to stop himself, but his gaze dropped to the uber-sexy shoes. Her feet couldn’t have looked more perfect to him.

“The price of being tall,” she said.

“You’re not that tall.” Even with her high shoes, he had several inches on her.

“I guess not for a model. But taller than average, bigger feet than average. It can be a problem.”

As they stepped onto the porch, he reflexively offered his arm. The wood walkway was slightly uneven, and he’d feel like an absolute