Mai Tai Marriage

by Chris Keniston

  Alex stood and carried his cup to the coffee maker. “We’ve worked together in the past. It’s no secret his grandfather wanted to make a more permanent union of the companies.” He dropped the plastic container into place and snapped the lid shut. The machine hissed its magic. “We came close when Graham and Lexie were engaged.”

  “How close?”

  Alex turned halfway, casting a sideways glance at Jim. “Very.”

  Jim took a sip from his cup, pausing, considering. “Any chance the two companies could work together now?” He thought he saw one corner of Alex’s mouth tip up in a half hearted smile, but when he turned to fully face Jim his expression was a blank slate.

  “That’s what Jarrod brings up every time we play golf. Graham mentioned it recently. The other day as a matter of fact. But I’m not convinced it’s in the company’s best interest any more.”

  “And if Lexie had married Graham last week instead of me?” There. The cards were on the table.

  Alex set his fresh cup on the table and pulled his chair closer to Jim. His voice low, he looked the man in the eyes. “My daughter is not for sale. Not then. Not now.”

  Jim had to smile. “At the airport when you called me a ring knocker?”

  Alex Hale’s eyes brightened with interest.

  “That wasn’t a simple observation.”

  The smile of a man who had just won a scratch off lottery appeared on Alex’s face. “I would have noticed the ring. But I already knew when I got off the plane.”

  Of course. He’d underestimated Alexander Hale. Any man who could fly a private jet to Hawaii to reach his daughter in a hurry would not hesitate to have this sudden son-in-law investigated. He’d probably had a full report within hours of his wife’s phone call.

  Alex took a long swallow of his steaming coffee, set the cup back down and flashed a grin. “When I spotted the waitress at the club in your arms I considered you might be after the same thing as Graham. Had my people dig deeper.”

  “Then you do know what he’s really after?”

  Alex raised an eyebrow at Jim, and as though discussing the weather, calmly stated. “Money, power. Salvation.”

  Alex Hale was not a stupid man. Jim had to wonder if he also knew why Lexie had walked out on the wedding so many years ago. “Why are you putting up with him?”

  “He’s the son of my wife’s best friend. Lillian has spent her entire life dreaming of her daughter at her side, a member of one of the most respected families in Boston—”

  “You already are one.”

  “Yes, and Lillian wants to keep it that way. I know it makes no sense to most people, but Lillian’s views of polite society are as much a part of her as her eye color. As it was for her mother before her and her grandmother before that, all the way back to the beginning of old money. My wife would no more think of our daughter marrying outside the Boston Social Register, than a person of devout faith would consider marrying an atheist. But Graham and the Montgomery name is even more important. It’s personal. And she truly believes a marriage to him is in our daughter’s best interest.”

  “You don’t agree?”

  “About Graham?” Alex shook his head. “I wasn’t convinced back in the day, but Lexie seemed happy and that was all that mattered to me. Yesterday at the club, I had already sent the text to my people to investigate you further when Graham made a point to mention how once a sailor always a sailor. He not very subtly suggested that you’d probably always have a woman in every port. Even went so far as to offer to be there for Lexie with his full support if things didn’t work out. That’s when I realized I might be investigating the wrong man.”

  “She tripped, you know.” He dared to smile. “The waitress.”

  “Yes.” Lexie’s father returned the slight grin. “I realize that now. I received an extended report on you earlier this morning. But I had to be sure.”

  Jim bobbed his head. If he had a daughter show up with a husband she’d only known two weeks before marrying him, he’d turn over every rock in the guy’s past, present, and future.

  “I also now know more about Graham now than any father wants to.” Alex clinked his coffee cup against Jim’s. “As for you, my wife will be quite pleased once she comes to terms with Graham having no place in Lexie’s life.”

  With those words, as if summoned by the king, Lillian Hale came walking up the hall.

  Tipping his head toward Jim, Alex whispered, “There is one thing I can’t understand.”

  Jim leaned into his father-in-law. “What?”

  “How could a man as pitiful about eavesdropping and awkward enough to trip an unsuspecting waitress, be so successful working in Special Forces?”

  Chapter Twenty

  “All this for my father’s patent.” Reaching out, Lexie picked up the sealed envelope with two fingers and sank back on the office sofa.

  One by one, Jim ran through fifty ways to torture Graham Winston Montgomery. No matter what Jim did to the slimeball, nothing would be enough to erase the memory of the look on Lexie’s face when she recognized her image in those graphic photos. To her credit, despite the soupy shade of green that took over her face and the way her hands momentarily shook when they’d explained the situation to Nick and Billy, she’d held herself together. The woman was tough. Like her ring tone announced, she had the eye of the tiger and he had no doubt when all the pieces fell into place, Graham would be the first to hear her roar.

  “You want a soda or something?” Nick asked.

  “I could send Jonathan for something stronger,” Billy added.

  Lexie almost laughed. “At nine o’clock in the morning?”

  Billy offered a stiff smile and not so easy shrug. “So now what do we do?”

  “We have to find out what his plan is.” Nick leaned forward, his knuckles white from gripping the pen in his hand.

  “He’s right.” Billy’s hands fisted at his side. “We can’t assume he’s merely stupid.”

  “Do you think Brooklyn can help?” Lexie’s voice was weaker than he’d like to hear. She’d come through this like a trooper, but she was still shaken.

  Nick hefted a shoulder. “Couldn’t hurt.”

  Billy nodded, pulled out his phone, swiped, tapped, and then, placing the cell on speaker, set it on his desk.

  “Hey, King Kona. What you got now?”

  Billy smiled. “Still working on the Boston creep. We’ve had a new incident.”

  “Tell me.” Jim could almost hear Brooklyn sit up straighter.

  “We think he’s behind some phony orgy pictures.” Lexie sat with her back straight, her ankles crossed and her hands clasped on her lap. She’d fallen back on her upbringing.

  “Phony what?” Brooklyn’s tone went down an octave.

  “He sent me some explicit eight by ten glossies with Lexie’s face Photoshopped in. We assume the guy thinks if he can’t chase me away with a casual suggestion, visual proof will do the trick. Then the road would be clear for him to marry Lexie and Daddy will bail his family business out.”

  Brooklyn cleared his throat. “Anyone else get copies?”

  Everyone in the room exchanged a glance before Jim shook his head. “No.”

  “Lexie?”

  “Yes?”

  “Besides Jim, who else do you not want to see these photos?”

  “I don’t understand if Jim’s already seen them—”

  “If plan A doesn’t work, Graham Cracker is going to have a plan B. If Jim doesn’t walk away or if you don’t rebound into your ex’s arms, my guess is his price for not showing these pictures to someone else will be marriage to him.”

  “Oh, God. Daddy.” Lexie’s trembling fingers lifted to cover her mouth.

  “So.,” Jim inched closer to Lexie. “What do you advise?”

  “I vote for shark food.” Nick’s flexed his fingers.

  Like him, Jim’s buddies had passed livid and furious hours ago and were now idling at dangerous and deadly. Had Graham been in the roo
m the coroner would be carrying him out in a body bag. And neither Nick nor Billy had actually seen the pictures.

  “Overnight me the photos,” Brooklyn continued. “I’ll see what I can do to confirm the origin. Make sure there isn’t another culprit out there. Then we can discuss shark food.”

  “Go ahead and do whatever you think necessary.” Jim looked to each person in the room. “But I don’t think there’s any doubt.”

  Nick and Billy didn’t have to say anything, Jim could read the look in their eyes. In the court of the Big Island Dive shop, Graham Winston Montgomery had been tried and convicted.

  Lexie shook her head and pushed to her feet. “Even though part of me finds it hard to believe that Graham could stoop this low, I have to agree there just isn’t anyone else who might have a reason to do this to me.”

  “Let me know if he tries anything else. In the meantime, I’ll get right on this and get back to you ASAP.”

  “Will do.” All three men responded in sync.

  Billy disconnected the call. “Now what?”

  “I say we give Brooklyn till end of day.” Jim smiled. “And if we don’t hear from him I’m going with Nick—Shark food.”

  “Excuse me.” Sporting a broad grin, Doug Hamilton stood in the doorway. “Shouldn’t someone be out on a boat somewhere with paying customers?”

  “Doug,” all the voices chorused.

  Nick made his way around the desk, slapping Doug on the back. “What brings you back this way?”

  “When you left last week you didn’t say a word about coming back so soon.” Jim ran the conversations he and Doug had shared the days after the wedding party for any recollections of returning to Hawaii.

  “The new Island Girl is a fine craft.”

  Billy’s face lit up. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  “If the offer’s still open, I’m applying for the job.”

  “Absolutely!” This time Billy was out of his seat and across the small office shaking Doug’s hand and patting him hard on the shoulder.

  It wasn’t hard to see the appeal of working for a dive company. In the ocean every day. Teaching others some of what they’d spent years learning and perfecting. The thought of going home some day to work a nine to five desk job with his father held little interest for Jim. For a time, playing business executive, pushing buttons on a phone and spouting instructions to make believe assistants had seemed like a world of fun. By the time he’d reached junior high, little of the corner office his dad spent so much time in drew his attention. By high school, he knew he’d be following in the footsteps of his mother’s side of the family. With the help of his uncles and a few family friends, Jim was accepted to Annapolis.

  Like it or not, the Navy was in his blood. A way of life you either loved or hated. Especially with the constant moving around from one base to the next. It’s why finding Bridget had been such a perfect fit. There were lots of women in the military nowadays. He’d worked with some damn fine ones. Even held a special place for the Marine ’Hawk pilot who had saved his team’s ass on a mission that had gone so far south they could have kissed Antarctica. But Bridget had been the one to put Jim’s career first when she requested a billet near him. She understood the navy life and what it would take to make a marriage in the military work.

  Doug looked around the place. “So where are all the customers?”

  “We’re doing an open water dive for rescue certification this morning. You interested in tagging along?” Nick turned to Jim. “You’re welcome to join us, too.”

  Doug and Jim locked gazes. The small grin on his old friend’s face no doubt mirrored his. Most likely they were all thinking the same thing. It had been a long time since they’d trained together. It would be a welcome reunion. “Works for me.”

  “Good. Everyone get your gear together. We leave here in twenty.”

  * * *

  All that testosterone in the shop was almost suffocating. And yet, Lexie hadn’t laughed so hard in days. Like playful kittens off to frolic in the sandbox, one hell of a sand box if you think about it, Nick, Billy, Doug and Jim practically bounced out the front door. She couldn’t imagine how that group of rabble rousing, joke telling pranksters could possibly have been some of Uncle Sam’s finest.

  The best part of all was seeing Billy carrying his gear alongside the others. For so long none of them thought he would ever go back in the water. She wished she could be on the boat with them, but no matter how hard she might try to fit in, she would never be one of the boys. Especially not those boys.

  “We got a new shipment of kids gear a few minutes ago.” Jonathan popped his head into the office. “You want to update the inventory while you’re here?”

  “Sure.” The alternative was going home to face her parents and Lexie wasn’t quite up to that yet. And she still hadn’t decided how to handle Graham. A little office work would be the perfect distraction for her mind after the recent unsettling turn of events. How could she ever have once thought herself in love with a man like that? About to follow Jonathan, she reached for the envelope on the desk. Holding it between two fingers as though it contained some hideously contagious disease, she shoved it into her canvass bag at the foot of the chair. She didn’t need Brooklyn’s confirmation. This had kinky Graham written all over it. Tonight she’d have extra fuel for the fire pit.

  She’d barely made it into the shop when Angela came hurrying through the doors. “Are you okay? I got here as fast as I could. Billy made absolutely no sense, something about the jackass and who did he think he was and that you needed moral support and not to waste any time getting here. But you don’t look devastated or broken. I swear for a man who used to be special ops, you’d think Billy would have a better sense of what’s an emergency. I almost ran over two old people walking their dog. Or maybe the dogs were walking them, with old people you never can tell—”

  “Whoa.” Lexie held up her hand. “Take a breath will ya?”

  “Sorry.” Angela dropped in the ratty old leather chair that had more duct tape than leather holding it together, but it was Billy’s favorite, so there was no getting rid of it. “I’ve been imagining the worst on the drive over. I guess I was more wound up than I thought. The way Billy sounded though—”

  “It’s okay. I’m fine. My ex thought he’d try another smooth move on me. It didn’t work.”

  Angela dropped her handbag on the floor beside her then looked up. “I don’t get it?”

  “Long story best told over comfort foods and margaritas. Strong margaritas.”

  “I see.” Angela’s brows dipped into a narrow groove. “But you’re obviously okay?”

  “I am.” She was almost as surprised as Angela looked to realize the truth in those words. But the last twenty-four hours had taught Lexie a great deal. “And there’s good news, too. Doug showed up this morning.”

  “Really. I thought all the friends from the wedding had returned stateside.”

  “He did. I guess Billy offered him a job and he decided to take him up on it.”

  “Cool.” She waggled her brows at Lexie. “Lots of quality male DNA in that specimen.”

  “Don’t even go there. I have more men in my life than I can handle right now.” And the sooner she got them all packed off and back to where they belonged, the better she was going to be. And if she repeated that often enough, pretty soon even she might believe that her life would be better without Jim.

  “Party pooper.” Angela sprang to her feet and slung her purse over her shoulder. “I’ll let you get to work. I’ve got an eleven o’clock showing but should be free for that margarita lunch around one. Will that work?”

  “Sure thing. See you then.”

  The next few hours flew by in a blur. Lexie had barely gotten past the first page of items on the packing slip when someone must have put a revolving door at the front of the shop. Ever since she’d changed the displays at the front window more folks from the cruise ships wandered in to browse. In
addition, customers who had been waiting for the new shipment of Go Pro cameras came and went. A few having heard about Lexie’s recent marriage felt the need to shower her with congratulations.

  Those people she’d known for years were the most challenging to deal with. She tried really hard to play the marriage news down, redirect folks toward their purchases or upcoming classes, and not think about the lie. But when she spotted Maile’s friend Margaret Alani coming down the street heading straight for the shop, Lexie almost ducked under the counter.

  A tall brunette, a little too dressed up for the island, and two older ladies with cameras, probably all from the ship docked in port today, followed Margaret in the door.

  “Girl, you are too good at keeping secrets.” Margaret swooped into the shop and squeezed Lexie tight enough to crack her back.

  “It’s not a secret,” she managed to mumble through the exuberant hug, sucking in a fortifying breath when Margaret released her hold on Lexie.

  “A girl gets married, to a handsome navy man no less, and doesn’t tell her closest friends. Honey, that’s a secret.”

  “It was spur of the moment.” Around the delighted woman’s formidable girth, Lexie spotted Jonathan helping the two women, and the brunette browsing the women’s swimsuits. “Sort of like Vegas.” She’d taken to saying that to everyone, hoping that the comparison would make it easier to understand when Lexie announced the marriage hadn’t worked out. After all, who takes drive-thru Las Vegas weddings seriously?

  “Nonsense. I hear that the way you two love birds look at each other could rival the fire in Kilauea’s caldera.”

  “I don’t think I’d go that far.” Lexie cast a glance around the shop. The brunette had moved closer to where Lexie and Margaret stood. Showing the two other women how to work the new video cameras, Jonathan didn’t look any closer to attending to the brunette. “I really should take care of this customer.”

  “Oh, of course. I just had to come by and give you my congratulations in person.” Margaret drew her into another air robbing hug. “I am so darn happy for you!” One more kiss on the cheek and Margaret spun around and whizzed back out the door the same way she’d rushed in.