He probably didn't regret it, but Mia was already thinking she made a mistake. Standing in the security line at the airport, she was very tempted to bolt. How did she know that this was really a family vacation and he wasn't making up some whole ruse to kidnap her and hold her against her will forever, using her a baby machine until she finally dies in during a complicated birth of one of the many children he would force upon her.
"I have a feeling you're overthinking things." Beau's voice whispered in her ear.
"It is quite a possibility. Are you sure I have to do this? You can't find any other woman to go with you?"
As the line moved, Beau ushered her forward. "I think it would seem weird if I suddenly bring another girl on my family vacation as my girlfriend after introducing Victoria to you."
Yes. Mia could see the problem in that. "Okay. So we should probably go over everything we spoke about last night just to have our story straight."
While Mia wasn't that big on deceiving other people, she also was too eager to be caught in a lie. Just how would it look for her, a strange woman, to have lied to this man's family just for a simple vacation. One her boss had been overly eager to give her after speaking on the phone with Beau. She still wanted to know exactly what he said to the woman she had been working for, for the last five years that never gave anyone a vacation without months of notice.
"That's a good idea."
After they passed through the metal detector, he got the boxes that held their items before sitting on a nearby bench so they could put their shoes back on.
"So we met at a cultural festival in Paris where we bonded over funnel cake." It just so happened that Mia loved funnel cake.
"Yes. Since then, we have been going on dates twice a week. No need to get specific about those." Beau helped her stand once she had her heels back on.
"You like chocolate ice cream, if I remember correctly," Mia stated, trying to recall all the things he told her. She remembered him also mentioning an allergy to grass (unbelievable) and shellfish.
Beau leaned down close to her, once more Mia felt goose bump rise on her skin just by the feel of his warmth radiating towards her body. "I like all kinds of chocolate."
A hot flush came over her. She immediately tried to pushed it down, giving him a glare. "Listen, Blues Clues, none of that type of business, understand?"
Once again the man was wearing a blue shirt. This time it was tight, accenting the lean muscles of his torso. Muscles that Mia would not be licking at any time during this trip. Nope. Not at all. The thought never crossed her mind.
Moving back slightly, Beau blinked at her in question. "Blues Clues? What is that?"
"Look it up." Turning on her heel, she began to walk down the corridor to their terminal.
As she sat down in one of the empty seats, Beau joined her with his eyes focused intensely on the screen of his phone. "Please tell me you are not implying that I am this blue dog who also happens to be a girl," he said as he held out the phone to show her a picture of one of her childhood cartoon characters.
Glancing up at his blue hair, she smiled. "If the shoe fits... You seem very fond of that particular color. Might I ask why since, after all, as your girlfriend, I should know."
His hand reached up to touched the dyed hair to which she was referring, combing through the soft locks. "I don't know. I've just always been attracted to blue. It's the color of the sky and the ocean. Two things I always obsessed over as a young child. It was at the beach that I began my photography."
That actually was a pretty nice reasoning. Too many people were dyeing their hair random colors as if to keep up with the trend. Mia never understood the need to do what others did on TV. Then again, Beau seemed like the type of person that would start a trend rather than follow it.
Without thinking, she reached up to touched the vivid colored hair herself, finding it just as soft as she imagined. "How long have you had it blue?"
"Since I entered high school. My mother nearly tore down the house when she saw it. Of course, she immediately ordered me to have it correct." Mia noticed that when he smiled, his eyes twinkled stars like the night sky. Now Mia wasn't usually a poetic person, but she could see other women and men writing poetry just for this man. And she was quickly becoming attached to the cute dimple of his.
"And, of course, you didn't."
He tilted his head, grasping her hand that was lost in his hair with his. "Do you like it?"
When Mia nodded, his smile seemed to brighten even more. It made her heart do this little flip flop that had her scolding herself. What was wrong with her? This guy was obviously a player who probably had countless women lining up at his doorstep that were ten times more beautiful than Mia. Exhibit A: Victoria. It was best if she didn't get attached. After all, this was only a game to him.
Just as she was assuring herself of the making the right decision the man reached out and cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb over her bottom lip. "Shall we practice our kissing?"