Courtney smiled up at him. “Got a girlfriend?”
He lifted a brow at his sister.
“You’ll get used to Courtney,” Tish said. “She has no filter. Says exactly what she means.”
The bride pouted affectedly. “I resemble that remark.” She smiled at Ray as he retook his seat. “So, no girlfriend.”
“Not currently.” For some reason, he glanced around the restaurant, as if expecting to see … who? The pretty blonde? Even if she were interested, and she’d looked for a moment during his hallway mortification as if she might be, she was taken.
“Well, this is a great place to find romance.” Courtney’s gaze took the same tour of the restaurant patrons his had. “I’ll bet we could find you—"
“Thanks, but we're only here for a few days.” And then he’d be back—where? Oklahoma? Having left his third job in as many years, he was ready to start over with something different. A visit to his sister and Brady, his new brother-in-law, had seemed like a great vacation and possibly a new adventure. Tish had left the farm and found work she enjoyed and a man she loved. Maybe California might be Ray's promised land too. A week in paradise was just icing on that rich cake.
The waitress stopped by with glasses of water. When they’d ordered and handed back their menus, Courtney said, “I haven’t heard from Drew in hours.”
“He’s probably just busy,” Lisa reassured. “His ship will dock tomorrow as planned.”
“If all goes well.” Courtney frowned. “I waited three days for him in Hong Kong before he finally showed up.”
“The navy’s schedule is subject to change, based on orders. You have to accept that. But if he was going to be delayed, he would have let you know.”
“Since when did you become such a worrier?” Tish teased. “What happened to the carefree Courtney we used to know?”
“Love does that to a person,” Lisa said.
“Weddings do that to all people involved,” Matt said. “You two have been worrying yourselves to death all week. What’s important is that these two, who love each other, are making a lifetime commitment.” He squeezed his wife’s hand. “Our wedding was perfect."
"Yeah," Lisa said, "it took months to make that happen."
“I can’t imagine the work that goes into planning a wedding.” Ray looked at his sister. “Some people's weddings.”
Tish jabbed his elbow. “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
"When Harry Met Sally," Courtney called out.
Tish nodded. "That's right."
“Hey, it’s all good," Ray said. "We’re all happy that you’re happy. And I'm glad I finally met Brady.” Tish’s new husband had left L.A. the day after Ray had arrived. “I’m just saying, the folks were a little disappointed. Dad would have wanted to walk you down the aisle.”
“There was no aisle.” Tish sighed. “We got married in Mumbai, for heaven’s sake. Mom would not have traveled to Indiana, let alone India. And it was kind of spur of the moment.”
Jessica rubbed her hands together. “Food’s here, guys."
The conversation slowed. Ray’s shoulders relaxed. No longer worrying about memorizing everyone’s names, he was beginning to feel almost like a part of this crowd. He stared at the little rolls of rice and fish on his plate. He’d never eaten sushi before, but, hey, he was in Hawaii. Time to try new things.
He raised his head just as a blonde walked into the restaurant. His breath caught, but, when she turned to face him, it released in disappointment. What the hell was wrong with him? He was infatuated with a married woman whose name he didn’t know and who hadn’t even said a word to him.
• • •
The base restaurant where Doug brought Amy for dinner was everything she'd expected—and a little more. From the massive wooden tiki doormen to the thatched patio roof, the ambience was perfectly Hawaiian. For the first time since arriving in the popular and crowded tourist area of Waikiki, she'd felt the calm of paradise. Or maybe it was simply being with her big brother.
Her nerves finally settled enough to eat. She stuffed her face with the most delicious seafood, indulged in a couple of mai tais, and hoped that being face-to-face would make it easier to pry more information from Doug about the years of his life she'd missed. All she had uncovered was plenty more about his former EOD teammates at the dive shop, but nothing about his years in the foster care system. Slowly she was accepting the idea that she probably never would.
"Does your dad have a big enough shotgun to keep the guys away?"
"You realize that's insanely chauvinistic and old-fashioned?"
"Got that right." Doug smiled.
Somehow he got her to tell him all about her latest dating fiasco, her crazy business statistics professor, and her search for a new roommate, now that Carrie was getting married.
Another plane whizzed by overhead and landed with ease on the distant runway. "I can't believe how peaceful and quiet this place is, and yet it's close enough to watch the airplanes land. It's fabulous."
Leaning back in his chair, ankles crossed under the table, Doug smiled at her. "Uncle Sam owns some of the best real estate in the world."
"No kidding?" She followed another jetliner taking off. "If I lived in Honolulu, I'd eat here every day."
Doug chuckled a little louder. "Planning on signing up? Because the only way to get on base for dinner is to give the military a few good years of your life."
Amy shook her head. "Maybe you have a buddy …" She let the words hang.
Snapping upright, Doug struck down the idea with a single shake of his head. "That would be a negative. Now, unless you want to take a few minutes to lick the plate"—he pointed a lazy finger at her nearly clean dessert dish—"it's time to leave. Emily's flight will be here soon."
And just like that, she'd forgotten all about the view and the delicious food, and eagerly trailed after her big brother. She liked that thought. Her big brother. She desperately wished they lived closer.
Back at Doug and Emily's hotel room, Amy watched her future sister-in-law unpack her bag and milked every possible detail about the plans for their so-far-unspecified wedding date. Despite Amy’s every effort to stay awake and visit, the adrenaline rush of the day had crashed like the Dow Jones on Black Friday and left her barely able to hold her eyes open. At the insanely early hour of nine o'clock, Amy kissed her brother and almost sister-in-law good-night, and headed two doors down to her own room. Pausing to glance groggily across the hall at Room 804's closed door, for a brief moment she wished that she too had someone special to curl up with before falling asleep.
Chapter Four
"I still say, we should have just rented a car." Doug followed Amy and Emily aboard the mega–tour bus for the around-the-island day trip.
"The concierge said, if I wanted to visit and enjoy the day, that this would be the best way. No hassles with maps or parking, and plenty of time to talk and have fun." Amy knew that, as a take-charge sort of guy, Doug would have insisted on doing the driving, and his attention would have been on the road. She was just selfish enough to only want to share him with Emily for the day.
Despite the early hour, Doug and Amy and Emily were the last to be picked up due to their hotel’s location. Most of the seats on the bus were already taken. Doug stopped near the back at a row of empty seats. "You two sit on that side. I'll sit over here."
Amy nodded and waited for Emily to slide over to the window.
"Nonsense." Emily plopped instead into the seat across the way. "You guys have waited months for this day. You should sit together."
Standing in the aisle, Doug shifted his gaze from one side to the other. This was the first time Amy had seen anything that even closely resembled indecision in her brother's eyes. He seemed torn, as though choosing who to sit by was a matter of life and death. Finally, winking at Emily, he swung around and into the seat beside Amy. Deep in her gut, sh
e already knew today would be one of the best days of her life.
Across the aisle, Emily had her iPad open to the map page for the tour, reading off about the first stop. As far as Amy was concerned, they could tour the city dump. She didn't care; she was just so damn happy to be here with them. According to the tour schedule, they should have been on their way already, but a few chatter-filled minutes later, another handful of people from their hotel boarded the bus.
Recognizing the pretty brunette from the lobby yesterday, Amy wondered if Mr. Towel would be joining them. Next to board was a tall handsome man, his hands clasped with the pretty brunette. Mrs. Towel appeared, followed by a striking redhead, and lastly, yesterday's hero, Mr. Towel himself. The group of five had to split up, the redhead taking a seat beside Emily, the other two couples filling the remainder of spots at the rear of the bus. Amy had to admit Towel Guy looked as good in shorts and a polo shirt as he did in a hotel towel.
"Earth to Amy." Doug waved a hand in front of her.
"Oh." She turned her attention back to her brother. "My mind wandered."
"Wouldn't have anything to do with a certain accommodations-challenged tourist?"
It took Amy a few seconds to realize her brother meant the guy locked out of his room. Rather than respond, she settled for rolling her eyes and wasn't sure if that made her the sulky teenager or him the clueless male, but either way they both laughed.
Doug glanced a moment at his fiancée chatting away with the redhead. The words ceremony, ushers, and minister drifted across the aisle, and Doug leaned into Amy and whispered, "She's probably having more fun sharing wedding plans with her seatmate than talking to me."
Amy snickered. He was probably right. Most women loved talking about weddings, and most men would rather have a tooth pulled. "Mom and Dad want to know when they get to meet you," Amy said. "And I think my brother, Brandon, is a bit intimidated."
"Intimidated?"
"He says he's happy you reached out to me, and I know he is, but Brandon is a twenty-year-old college kid. My suspicion is the idea of a big bad navy bomb expert has him feeling a little insecure."
"He's a smart kid who wants to be a doctor." Doug shook his head and swallowed a humorless chuckle. "You did tell him the big bad navy guy is just a scuba instructor?"
Amy rolled her eyes again. Doug didn't see himself the way the world did. He was a bona fide hero who'd fought terrorists and would have kept on doing so if he hadn't lost his vision in one eye during an explosion. All he saw was a grown-up foster kid from a crappy family with a career-ending injury. At least he did consider himself damn lucky to have a woman like Emily in love with him. Amy didn't want to think of where he'd be if not for Emily. Certainly not on a bus tour to the North Shore of Oahu with his long-lost little sister.
The driver picked up the mic and turned on the overhead speakers, making further conversation difficult. Amy listened as the guy explained the history of their next destination, where the restrooms were, and how long before the bus would leave. She had grown up taking family vacations to places like Disney and the Grand Canyon, but they'd never come to Hawaii. Along with finding her brother and walking the Great Wall of China, visiting the famous surfing mecca of Oahu's North Shore was tops on her wish list.
At a full stop, the bus door opened, and the driver reminded them they had twenty minutes to roam about. Emily and the redhead exited ahead of them and continued to talk about weddings while the rest of her friends descended. Mr. Towel was the last to join them, and Amy chastised herself for even noticing. The guy was taken.
The pretty brunette with Towel Guy’s group turned, scanned the area, and, settling her gaze on the hilltop views, sucked in a deep breath. "Wow."
"Yeah," Mrs. Towel muttered. "Definitely not Oklahoma."
"You got that straight," Mr. Towel added, then, turning to face the group, he smiled at Amy. Slowly he shifted his attention to Doug and stuck out his hand. "We never got around to introductions yesterday. I'm Ray Varner and thank you again."
Doug smiled and accepted the proffered hand. "Doug Hamilton. And, like I said, I know exactly how you felt." He gestured toward her. "This is my sister, Amy."
For a split second Amy noticed Mr. Towel's—Ray’s—mouth fall open, then snap shut. Or at least she thought she had.
Extending his arm, Doug grabbed hold of Emily's hand, tugging her to his side. "And this is my fiancée, Emily Everrett."
"Amy," Emily interrupted the introductions excitedly, pointing at the redhead. "Courtney is getting married at the hotel on Saturday too."
"You are?"
Grinning like a Powerball winner, Courtney bobbed her head. "Yeah, my fiancé is in the navy. He's due to arrive in port sometime today." She spun about and gestured to her friends. "This is Lisa, my maid of honor and sister of the groom, and her husband, Matt."
Lisa wiggled her fingers in a friendly wave. Matt extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."
Doug shook the guy's hand, and Amy and Emily opted for a smile and a nod.
"And this," Courtney continued, "is my bridesmaid, Tish, and Ray, her brother—"
Brother? Amy was pretty sure this time her mouth had fallen open.
A strong hand shot out in front of her. Mr. Towel took a step closer and flashed her a heart-stopping smile. "Ray Varner. Very nice to meet you."
• • •
When he'd heard the word sister, Ray was sure his jaw must have dropped. He'd glanced at the brunette Doug had introduced as his fiancée, just to make sure he hadn’t gotten confused in the multiple introductions, and saw her hand tucked neatly into Doug’s. Yep, Emily was the fiancée. And the attractive blonde he’d been noticing since he'd arrived was … not.
Though Tish’s friends and the other wedding people chattered around him, their words garbled into gibberish, and even their faces blurred like a movie fadeout. When he gazed into Amy’s blue-green eyes, he saw the Pacific Ocean reflected in them.
He still wasn’t sure if she was unattached. But, from the way her gaze was now fixed on his, he guessed this all-day tour, which he’d at first thought would be interminably long, just might not be long enough.
Feeling like he’d been frozen in place for minutes instead of seconds, he broke his stare. “First time in Hawaii?” he asked awkwardly. Damn, he sounded like a teenager on a blind date.
“Yes. One of the things on my bucket list is the surfers’ paradise at the North Shore that we’ll be seeing today.”
“You surf?”
“No. Do you?”
Ray shook his head. “I’m from Oklahoma. This is the first time I’ve ever even seen the ocean.” Why had he confessed to that? Now she’d probably figured him for a real country bumpkin.
“I’m originally from Sacramento.” She looked dreamily over the water. “Even though I know it’s the same Pacific I see every day, it looks different somehow.”
“Where do you live now?”
“San Francisco.”
“You like it?”
“Love it.”
“Ray!” Tish called him to the edge of the cliff. “Let’s take a selfie of us here.”
Reluctantly he moved to where his sister stood. The wind howled through his hair and threatened to push him over. Digging his sandals into the ground, holding Tish to his side, he tried several poses but couldn’t quite get the shot to contain both their heads and the scenery.
“I can take a photo of the two of you,” Amy offered.
Ray posed with his arm around his sister, smiling for the camera and Facebook. “What’s this place called anyway?”
“Pali Lookout. One of the best views on the island,” Amy answered, handing back his phone. “Pali means cliff in Hawaiian.” Holding her hair away from her face with both hands, she walked straight to the wall near the thousand-foot drop. “Wow,” she repeated the unoriginal but irrefutable sentiment everyone else had used to describe the view.
Ray peered over the edge. “Looks like a great place to send an enemy to
instant death.”
Amy smiled. “Actually this was a battlefield.” She swept her arm across the panoramic scene, like a teacher instructing her students. “King Kamehameha defeated the last of his enemies here and united all of Oahu under his rule. Hundreds of soldiers died in the battle, many of them by being forced off the edge of that cliff.”
The woman was smart as well as beautiful. “How did you know that?”
Amy grinned. “I just read it on the historical marker.”
He strolled over to see for himself. The Battle of Nu’uanu Pali. “Kamehameha.” Ray scratched his chin. “Isn’t he the dude on the statue in front of Hawaii Five-0 headquarters?”
Amy giggled, a sweet light laugh. “I love that show too.” She came to stand beside him. “I read that the building you see on the show is an actual government building in downtown Honolulu.”
Smart and beautiful and she liked one of his favorite TV shows. If she also watched The Amazing Race, he could fall for this woman.
“It’s been almost twenty minutes,” Tish said. “I’m getting back on the bus.”
Ray nodded but didn’t move from his spot. He was in no hurry to leave this place. And neither, apparently, was Amy.
“You like history?” she asked.
“I majored in it.”
“But do you like it?”
He grinned. “Yes. But I wish I’d had the sense to major in something more practical.” He’d considered his college studies irrelevant, since he’d always planned a career in professional football. But he’d blown out his knee in his senior year and hadn’t had a Plan B.
“More practical how?”
“Something to prepare for a career, like journalism or engineering. Or business.” He kicked a pebble under his feet. “What did you major in?”
“Business.”
“So you’re a person who plans ahead.” He should have guessed that already by the intense way she’d been multitasking her phone and tablet on the terrace yesterday. “I bet your closet is organized by season and color-coded.”
Waikiki Wedding: Unforgettable Nights in Hawaii Page 3
