Mele Kalikimaka, Baby
Hawaiian Holidays Book One
Melissa Schroeder
Cover Art by
Scott Carpenter
Harmless Publishing
Copyright © 2019 by Melissa Schroeder
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
About Mele Kalikimaka, Baby
Also by Melissa Schroeder
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Mahalo!
Next in the Hawaiian Holiday Trilogy
Try Delicious
About the Author
About Mele Kalikimaka, Baby
Anyone would love Christmas in Hawaii. Well, everyone other than Sophia Cantwell. Being stuck working the holidays, she’s confronted by cousins Maleko and Jack Akaka who are not willing to sell their family’s land. They are so not her type of men, but she can’t ignore the jolt of desire that hits her when she meets them. It doesn’t matter. he has a job to do and she’s not a woman who ever thought of taking on two men. Well..not really.
Mal and Jack have shared women before, but while they have never met a woman they wanted to keep one forever. That is until they meet Sophia. She’s uptight, completely wrong for them, but neither of them can resist the corporate go getter.The three of them cannot ignore their attraction, and a night out in Honolulu turns into a night in bed for all of them.
One night changes all of their lives, but Sophia has to decide between her career and a lifetime of happiness.
Also by Melissa Schroeder
HARMLESS:
A Little Harmless Sex
A Little Harmless Pleasure
A Little Harmless Obsession
A Little Harmless Lie
A Little Harmless Addiction
A Little Harmless Submission
A Little Harmless Fascination
A Little Harmless Fantasy
A Little Harmless Ride
A Little Harmless Secret
A Little Harmless Revenge
A Little Harmless Scandal
A Little Harmless Faith
A LITTLE HARMLESS MILITARY ROMANCE
Infatuation
Possession
Surrender
THE SANTINIS
Leonardo
Marco
Gianni
Vicente
A Santini Christmas
A Santini in Love
Falling for a Santini
One Night with a Santini
A Santini Takes the Fall
A Santini’s Heart
Loving a Santini
CAMOS AND CUPCAKES
Delicious
SEMPER FI MARINES
Tease Me
Tempt Me
Touch Me
The Semper Fi Marines Collection
THE FITZPATRICKS
At Last
TASK FORCE HAWAII
Seductive Reasoning
Hostile Desires
Constant Craving
Tangled Passions
Wicked Temptations
Task Force Hawaii Vol 1
TEXAS TEMPTATIONS
Conquering India
Delilah’s Downfall
HAWAIIAN HOLIDAYS
Mele Kalikimaka, Baby
Sex on the Beach
Getting Lei’d
TEXAS HEAT
Scorched
SPIES, LIES, and ALIBIS
The Boss
ONCE UPON AN ACCIDENT
An Accidental Countess
Lessons in Seduction
The Spy Who Loved Her
Once Upon an Accident Bundle
THE CURSED CLAN
Callum
Angus
Logan
Fletcher
Anice
BY BLOOD
Desire by Blood
Seduction by Blood
BOUNTY HUNTER’S, INC
For Love or Honor
Sinner’s Delight
TELEPATHIC CRAVINGS
Voices Carry
Lost in Emotion
Hard Habit to Break
Bundle
CONNECTED BOOKS
The Hired Hand
Hands on Training
A Calculated Seduction
Going for Eight
SINGLE TITLES
Grace Under Pressure
Her Mother’s Killer
The Last Detail
Operation Love
Chasing Luck
The Seduction of Widow McEwan
Snowbound Seduction
Hawaiian Holidays
Sweet Patience
COMING SOON
Luscious
Scrumptious
Chapter One
Sophia Cantwell grimaced as the hot, humid Hawaiian air hit her in the face. She hurried along the opened walkway of the Honolulu airport, calculating just how long she had to be there. While other travelers around her chatted excitedly about their upcoming plans for their Christmas vacation in Hawaii, Sophia was there for work. During Christmas.
Oh, she knew why Rick, her sleazy jackass of a boss, ordered her to go. Number one reason was he wanted to buy out some local company that had prime condos near the Oahu Nouveau. Secondly, as Rick had put it, she had no real family. The company refused to comp for family flights. Twenty-four-hour notice four days before Christmas didn’t leave time for people to arrange the trip. Of course, since they considered her without family, they didn’t see a problem.
She sighed as she exited the walkway and a wall of cool air feathered over her. Thank the good lord for air-conditioning. She prayed that her hair at least stayed straight most of the time. Nothing like trying to look professional with curly, crazy hair. Christmas music played overhead, and cheery decorations littered the entire area. She had to fight the urge to stick her tongue out at them. Hawaii for Christmas was not bad. Hawaii for Christmas working and by herself…bad.
Pushing those thoughts aside, she stepped on the escalator going down to the baggage claim—still irritated she had to check baggage at all. But she’d had no idea how long this would take, so she had to make sure she had enough clothes for at least a few days. She just wanted to get out of her business suit, into a shower, and then get hold of the Akaka family.
Her phone rang before she reached the bottom of the escalator. Maribelle.
“Yes, Maribelle?”
“Well, aren’t you professional?” one of her two best friends said. “No phone call when you landed, just a text?”
She sighed. “I just wanted to get my bag and get to the hotel, then I was going to call you.”
“Ah.”
Which meant that Maribelle did not buy it. She had been trying to get Sophia to stand up to her boss, but what good would it do, especially in this economy?
“I know you aren’t happy about this.”
“If you think I’m not happy, you should talk to Eddie.”
She grimaced thinking of the third of the Musketeers. “Was she furious?”
“That doesn’t cover it. The woman was ballistic. She called you a coward for not calling her.”
Guilt st
ole over her and sent a rush of tears to burn the backs of her eyes. She hadn’t meant to leave in such a hurry, or avoid talking to Eddie, but the truth was she couldn’t do anything about the situation. She had to have this job, needed it.
“Well, I’m sorry if I upset her.”
“Aw, Soph, don’t go all prissy executive on me. You know we aren’t upset that you get to spend your Christmas in Hawaii.”
“Why would anyone want to spend their Christmas in Hawaii? It’s hot, humid, and there are tourists. Everywhere.”
“Uh, Soph, you do work for Nouveau Resorts, right? Shouldn’t you like tourists?”
“Not when they are on vacation with their families, and I am stuck here.”
There was a beat of silence. “That’s what he used, right?”
The militant tone set off warning alarms in Sophia’s head. She did not need Maribelle confronting Jack. They would both be out of a job by the time she got back. Maribelle didn’t need hers, but Sophia needed hers. At least for a little while more.
“Who?”
“That rat bastard, Jack. I knew it. I knew he used ‘the you don’t have a family’ excuse again. You were gone at Thanksgiving, your birthday… You are going to make it to my wedding, right?”
“Yes, I promise.”
“I swear I will disown you—”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, and couldn’t hold back the laugh. When she neared the luggage carousel, she saw a man holding a sign with her last name. She frowned and started in his direction.
“Weird,” she murmured.
“Did you just call me weird? I really should hang up on you.”
“No, there’s a man by the luggage thingy holding a sign with my name.”
“Oh, don’t go! He could be a serial killer…or worse.”
Sophia laughed. “How can he be worse than a serial killer? And really, do you think he would hold up a sign with my name if he were a serial killer?”
“You never know. Does he have a broken arm? You know, that’s what Ted Bundy used.”
Sophia studied the man as she made her way through the milling crowd. He was at least six feet tall, with a head full of sleek, long ebony hair. She wasn’t close enough to see the shade of his eyes, but the face was to die for. Sharp lines, high cheekbones, full, sensuous lips. Beyond that, he was built. The t-shirt he wore was faded and clung to sculpted pecs. Lord almighty, the man was a god.
“Ah, no. In fact, I would say he was about the best in-shape man in the area. Which is saying a lot considering where I am.”
“Well, you never know. People think that serial killers are stupid, but they are not. They’re just bat-shit crazy.”
“Listen, let me find out what he needs, and get to my hotel, then I’ll call you back.”
“But—”
Sophia ignored her protest and turned off her phone. She drew close enough to the man that she gained his interest. His gaze moved over her with the type of study that had her blood singing. Damn, how long had it been since a man—who wasn’t trying to get a promotion—had looked at her with that much interest? Too damned long. Since it had been almost two years since she had sex, there was a good chance it had been at least that long.
Why the hell was she thinking about sex? As she approached him, his gaze moved to her face, and she finally saw the shade of his eyes. Light blue, the same shade of blue of the ocean she had just flown over. They widened slightly as she stepped in front of him.
“Ms. Cantwell?” he asked, his voice deep, resonant, with a hint of the lyrical Hawaiian accent. It made her curl her toes inside her shoes.
She nodded. “And you would be?”
Something close to disgust shifted in his eyes, but nothing showed in the rest of his expression.
“I’m Maleko Akaka. I’m here to take you to your villa.”
A loud buzz sounded from the carousel starting up, heralding their bags. She glanced over in that direction, then back to her new friend. She put on her best professional smile, the one Eddie said was her kiss my ass smile.
“I think there has been some mistake. I’m staying at the Oahu Nouveau.”
She glanced over and saw her luggage, the purple ribbon tied to the handle easy to spot. She turned to retrieve it, but Mr. Akaka stayed her with his hand.
Sophia looked down at his hand on her arm, the dark, honeyed brown against her fair flesh, and had to fight the shiver of awareness that hit her. Slowly, she raised her gaze to his.
“I think you might want to take your hand off me.”
Cynical amusement shifted over his face and his lips quirked. “I’ll get your bag. Which one?”
He didn’t remove his hand.
“Black, purple ribbon.”
“Figures.”
Then he handed his sign to a man off to his left. Good lord, there was another Hawaiian god with him she did not even notice. His smile was genuine. This one was just as gorgeous as his friend, but a little different. Short brown hair, green eyes, but he had the same excellent body. He was dressed much the same way, but his clothes were not as scruffy.
“Since my cousin didn’t introduce me, I’m Jake Akaka.”
He offered his hand, and her built-in business manners took over, and she accepted it. His larger, dark hand swallowed hers, and against her palm, she felt calluses.
“I’m Sophia Cantwell.”
“I gathered as much. Sorry for my cousin. Our grandmother likes to say that I got all the charm.”
His smile widened, and two dimples appeared. Holy mother of God, this one was even more beautiful. She realized then she was still holding his hand. She twisted her hand and finally got it away from him.
“As I was saying, I’m not staying at your condos. I have a room at the—”
“I told you, you’re staying with us,” Maleko said.
“But, my room—”
“I canceled it. You’re staying at our condos.”
With that, the irritating man strode ahead, her suitcase in his hand. He never looked back.
“Is your cousin insane?”
“Nope, just a pain in the ass. It’ll be best to just play along because he can be a bit of a pighead.”
She huffed. “Great. Christmas in Hawaii on a business trip and a Neanderthal for a chauffeur. This just keeps getting better by the minute.”
Chapter Two
Maleko didn’t wait, didn’t want to wait, for the tight ass executive Nouveau sent to try and steal his family’s condos. Granted, they were going to offer some money, the letter his grandmother showed him stated that much. But he knew just how these corporate pigs worked. Bastards provided below market value for everything.
“Could you slow down a bit?”
Her voice had an edge to it that grated on his nerves. She was the typical climber he had met when he’d waded through the same waters she now inhabited. It just didn’t make sense that he felt, rather than heard, there was a softness beneath her tone. And it didn’t really help him one fucking minute that from the moment he had seen her descending the escalator he had wanted her. His cock had come to attention, his whole body ready to take command.
Shit, even now he could feel his dick thump against his jeans. He had to keep his head on straight.
“Mal,” Jack said. The warning in his voice told Maleko he was pushing it. He stopped and waited for them to catch up with him.
“Thank you,” Cantwell said, but it sounded more like a fuck you.
“Don’t mention it.”
She sniffed at his rude tone. Miss High and Mighty didn’t like being left behind. When they reached his Jeep, her eyes widened. Ah, so too good for the Jeep? Fuck it. She was stuck with riding in it.
“Is there a top?”
“Yeah, but it’s back home.”
When she hesitated, he asked, “Is there a problem, Ms. Cantwell?”
She glanced at him with those big green cat eyes. God, she was a beauty. Fair skin over a perfectly sculpted face. The only thing marring the perfec
tion was a dash of freckles dancing over her nose. He rather liked them, liked them a little too much.
“Ms. Cantwell, if you would rather take a taxi…” His cousin trailed off when Maleko tossed him a stink eye.
Her gaze moved from him to Jack, then back to him again. A militant expression covered her face, and her chin rose.
“No, there isn’t a problem.”
She went to climb in the back, but Jack stopped her.
“Please sit in front.”
She flashed Jack a genuine smile. Maleko gritted his teeth.
“Thanks.”
A few minutes later, they were speeding along the ramp that led them to H-1. As the wind whipped through Ms. Cantwell’s hair, she slid on her sunglasses and settled back into her seat.
“Is this your first time to Hawaii, Ms. Cantwell?” Jack asked.
She smiled at him. “Yes. It is a shame that I won’t get to enjoy it. And well…I am not really a sun person.”
Maleko could understand that. Sophia Cantwell had the fairest skin he had ever seen. It was so pure he could even see the blue tracery veins beneath her flesh. Fragile was the word that came to mind when you looked at her. She had thick, long red hair, a cute upturned nose, and a set of full pink lips. Damn, he could just imagine them wrapping around his cock…
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