Order vs. Chaos

by Mary E Thompson

  “But we’ll worry about that later. I think I promised you lunch.”

  She laughed and her shoulders eased again. Her dark eyes lit with amusement, and she nodded.

  “Want to ride on my bike?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Um, no. I think we should take my car.”

  “We’ll get your seats soaked. Come on. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me, then closed them. “Fine. But if we get into an accident, I’ll kill you.”

  “You’re safe with me, Kiana. I promise.”

  I won’t lie. Having Kiana’s arms wrapped around me was one of the best things I’d felt in far too long. Of course, she was fucking terrified, but I was loving it. I insisted she wear my helmet, even though it was too big for her, and she was sexy as hell in her wet bathing suit and shorts, hair tied back, and my too big helmet.

  She almost looked like she was mine.

  She directed me to a food truck that served fish tacos. Thank God it wasn’t Spam again. We ordered and sat on a bench nearby to eat.

  “Damn, that’s good,” I mumbled around my first bite.

  She nodded. “Best on the island. I love coming here, but it’s a little far from where I live.”

  “Where do you live?”

  “North.”

  “You don’t want to tell me?”

  “I live in Waikoloa. Do you know where that is?”

  I shook my head. “Nope.”

  “That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

  “How far is it to Opposites Attract?”

  “About thirty minutes.”

  “I can see why you don’t come here often then.”

  She nodded and finished her taco, then opened another one. I loved a woman who wasn’t afraid to eat. I ordered four since I skipped breakfast. Kiana had three, plus a huge bottle of water.

  When we were finished, we walked around for a few minutes before going back to my bike. Kiana took the helmet without another protest. She tugged it on, but her hair got caught in her face.

  “Let me help,” I said, gently brushing strands from her eyes and tucking them behind the liner. Our eyes met and damn if something didn’t sock me in the gut.

  I swallowed roughly and turned away. I climbed on the bike and scooted forward so she could swing on without worrying about kicking me. When she was settled, I slid backward, her front pressed to my back. My cock rose, telling me to turn around and do something about the woman molded to me.

  Dammit.

  I cranked the bike and pulled away from the curb faster than necessary. Yeah, maybe I wanted her arms tighter around me. Maybe I liked having her plastered against me. Maybe I wanted to feel as much of her as I could.

  I took the corners a little fast. I raced down the streets. I stopped way too quickly. Anything to get her to hold on as tightly as possible.

  Which only made me crazier.

  By the time we got back to Kapena’s, I was hard and horny and knew it was going to be impossible for her to miss.

  She climbed off the bike first, standing next to me with a grin on her face. “Okay, I’ll admit it. That was kind of fun. I liked going fast.”

  She took off my helmet and handed it to me. I took it but didn’t get up. She held my gaze, hers morphing from a grin to concern to realization. She didn’t turn and leave. Her eyes dropped to my shorts and widened.

  “Kiana,” I groaned.

  My hand went around her waist and tugged her to me. I made sure there was no way for her to misunderstand what I was thinking, moving slowly enough that she easily could have pushed away from me and left. Her hands slid up my chest and over my shoulders. Her fingers went into my hair and I had to have been a saint to resist her.

  And I wasn’t anywhere close.

  I captured her lips under mine, groaning again at the feel of her softness. My hands went to her hips. The soft flesh I’d been trying not to stare at all day right there for me to touch. Her skin was perfect. Smooth. Warm. Supple. I loved that my fingers could sink into her, that she wasn’t just flesh-covered bone. She was a woman. A woman with hills and valleys that I ached to explore.

  A woman that nipped my lip!

  Damn, that was hot.

  I growled at her, then nipped her back. She gasped, and I thrust my tongue between her lips. The taste of her was like the best food on the planet. Sweet and savory. Hot and cold. Heaven and hell. She was everything in that moment. Everything I’d ever wanted. Everything I never wanted.

  I pulled back to taste her skin, to kiss her neck and explore her more. Her chest heaved with her breath, bringing her tits into contact with me. I couldn’t help it. I had to touch her. On the street. In broad daylight. In front of her brother’s house.

  I cupped her breast, brushing my thumb over her peaked nipple. She gasped.

  “Don’t run from me again, Kiana. You’re so fucking beautiful.”

  All of a sudden, she stopped. She pulled back, dislodging not only my lips, but my hand. Her eyes narrowed. Her shoulders stiffened. She didn’t even appear to be breathing.

  “This was a mistake.”

  “What?”

  “This never should have happened. It never happened. It won’t happen again.”

  “I… What?”

  She backed away from me like she worried I was going to chase her down and lock her up. I sat on my bike, hard, horny, and confused as fuck.

  She got into her SUV and backed out of Kapena’s driveway. She was gone less than a minute after she was in my arms.

  And again, I had no fucking clue why.

  Valentine’s Day. What a shitty day. A day for people to rub it in the faces of all their single friends that they were happy and you were miserable. Why the fuck had I thought being a wedding photographer would be a good idea?

  I went out to the beach just after dawn with my phone, knowing I needed to make my phone call early if I was going to reach anyone.

  The phone rang twice before she answered.

  “Sawyer? Is that you?”

  “Hey Vick. You ready?”

  “It’s Sawyer,” Vicki said to whoever was in the room with her. “I’m so glad you called. How are you?”

  “I’m good. Are you still going to marry Hunter? Or did you decide you’d rather run away with me? My bed’s big enough for both of us if we get real close.”

  “Aw, I miss you, Sawyer. And your inappropriate suggestions.”

  “Put him on speaker,” someone said in the background.

  “Peyton wants to talk to you. So do Olivia and Carrie.”

  “That is one sexy wedding party. Damn. I wish I was there for that.”

  “We wish you were, too. How’s Hawaii?” Peyton asked.

  “Good. It’s paradise, you know. Nothing can go wrong in paradise,” I said, hoping they bought the line of shit.

  “Oh, yay. We were wondering since no one’s heard much from you,” Olivia said.

  I breathed a sigh of relief that Ethan didn’t tell her about our conversation. “The time difference is messing with me. Every time I think about calling, it’s the middle of the night.”

  “You know Ethan doesn’t sleep,” Olivia teased. “Call him once in a while. He’d love to hear from you.”

  “I will. Tell everyone I said hi. And congratulations, Vick. Hunter’s a lucky son of a bitch.”

  “Damn right he is,” she said.

  “Hang on a sec,” Peyton said. “Unless you have to run.”

  I shook my head, even though I knew she couldn’t see me. “I’m good.”

  Peyton took the phone off speaker and asked, “So how are you really doing?”

  “I’m good, Pey. It’s beautiful here.”

  “Yeah, that’s not what I asked.”

  “Hey, mama, you need to worry about that baby and not me. Is Wyatt still behaving?”

  “If I say no, will you come home and knock some sense into him? I think he’d take one for the team if it meant getting you back here.”

/>   “I’m thinking about it, Pey.”

  “You are? You’re coming back?” she whispered excitedly.

  “Shit. I didn’t mean to say that.”

  “What’s going on? You wanted to go there so badly. What happened?”

  I sighed. “My boss hates me. And I don’t seem to be able to keep my hands to myself around her.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, stupid. I know. I’ve been kicking myself since I met her. She kissed me the first time, but I started the other two.”

  “In other words, you really like her.”

  “Shit, Pey. I don’t know. She makes me crazy. She’s the exact opposite of me. She has her entire life planned down to the minute. She knows what she wants. She has her shit together. She’s never traveled. I mean, take everything about me and turn it upside down, and you have her.”

  “It sounds like you like her a lot.”

  “We don’t make sense.”

  “Neither do Wyatt and I.”

  “Yeah, you do, Pey. Two hard-working, career-driven, stubborn people—”

  “Hey!”

  “Who are going to be amazing parents to one lucky little kid.”

  “Thanks, Sawyer.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I think you’re selling yourself short with her, though. She might be exactly what you need.”

  “She doesn’t want me.”

  “Did she kiss you back?”

  I sighed and ran a hand through my short hair, making a mental note to find a place to get it cut. “Yeah, she did.”

  “Did she seem as into it as you were?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then she probably wants you, too. Hey, what’s the name of the place you’re working at?”

  “Opposites Attract. Why?”

  “I think that’s your answer. Opposites attract. Just because you’re opposites, doesn’t mean you won’t work.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Leave it to the doctor to put that together.”

  “I have my moments.”

  “Yes, you do. Still stringing Wyatt along?”

  “I’m not stringing him along!”

  “Okay, still refusing to marry the guy you love even though you want to marry him?”

  “Yeah,” she grumbled.

  “Good. He needs to grovel, at least until after the baby comes. Make sure he’s still all in when he’s up to his elbows in dirty diapers.”

  Peyton laughed. “I told him the same thing.”

  “Great minds think alike.”

  “We do.” There was a noise in the background. “Sorry, Sawyer. It’s showtime. We’ll talk soon, okay.”

  “Okay. Have fun, Peyton.”

  “Thanks. Bye!”

  “I miss you guys,” I said to no one.

  I never got homesick. In all my travels around the world, I never wished I was back in Winterville. Not once. I was happy to be gone. Happy to be somewhere else. Just about anywhere else.

  But standing on a secluded beach on the Big Island of Hawaii, I wanted nothing more than to be back in Winterville, watching Vicki walk down the aisle.

  Our first wedding of the long weekend was a late afternoon event. I arrived early, as always, happy that we were back at Opposites Attract and not at some random beach I’d never heard of and couldn’t find. I saw Kiana directing everyone but stayed away from her. We hadn’t spoken or seen each other since I kissed her and she ran off the day before.

  Valentine’s Day sucked.

  “Sexy Sawyer,” a voice said behind me.

  I turned and smiled at Ada approaching. “Arousing Ada.”

  “Ooh, arousing. I like that. How are you today?”

  I nodded. “Great. Just making sure I’m ready.”

  “How is Kiki?”

  I shrugged. “I haven’t spoken to her.”

  “Really? Is something wrong?”

  “Not that I know of. Just haven’t had a reason to speak to her. She’s doing her thing.”

  She eyed me with those cat-like eyes that seemed to get past every block I put up to keep her out of my head. “The two of you seem to seek each other out. I assumed if you hadn’t spoken that something was wrong.”

  “Maybe you should ask her.”

  Ada nodded thoughtfully, her eyes scanning my body. “Is that a new suit?”

  I shook my head. “I have a few.”

  “It fits you very well, Sawyer. My friend is going to have trouble with you tonight.”

  “I’m not going to cause any trouble.”

  “Good to know, but that’s not what I meant. She’s going to have trouble keeping her own hands off you.”

  I shook my head. “Kiana wants nothing to do with me. She proved that yesterday when she took off after I kissed her. Again.”

  “You kissed her?” Ada blurted, a cat that ate the canary grin curling her lips up. “Good for you.”

  “No, not good. She ran off. I’m lucky she didn’t fire me on the spot.”

  “Oh, please. She wants you, Sawyer. She’s just scared because of that shitwad that messed with her head. She thinks every man is going to end up treating her like he did.”

  “I’d never do that to a woman.”

  “She doesn’t know you well enough yet to see that.”

  “And she never will. I’m not the kind of guy who gets rejected and goes back for more and more punishment.”

  “She likes you. Give her a chance.”

  “She made it clear.”

  “I think you’re selling her short.”

  I shook my head. Three failed attempts were enough to make me see that nothing was going to happen with us. I needed to cut my losses. I knew it was a bad idea to get involved with her from the start. Pushing for it to happen was not going to make it work. It didn’t work last time I got involved with my boss, and it wasn’t going to again. Ada might think Kiana wanted me, but women didn’t push men away when they wanted to pull them closer.

  “What did she say when you kissed her?”

  I thought back to the day before and grinned. Dammit, I couldn’t help it.

  “Well, first there was a lot of moaning, but when I told her not to run from me again, she freaked out and ran.”

  Ada sighed. “She’s scared. She probably forgot about it for a second, but you telling her not to run reminded her that she was running from you.”

  I shook my head at myself. Figures I’d be the one to fuck it up.

  “How was I supposed to know that?”

  Ada shook her head. “There was no way you’d know. She’s hurting. I know it’s been months since things ended with Anthony, but it seems like he’s never really gone away. And everything with you running into him… She’s raw all over again. Give her some space today. Then try to talk to her tomorrow, or sometime next week. Trust me, Sawyer. She wants you.”

  I laughed. “I think you’re wrong, Ada. I’ll give her space, but I’m not pushing a woman into telling me no. Her no was pretty damn clear yesterday. And last weekend.”

  “Trust me, Sawyer. When you rejected her the first time, she doubted herself. It bothered her that the first guy she kissed since she and Anthony broke up told her no.”

  “I’m the first guy she kissed since him?”

  Ada bit her lip and nodded. “She probably doesn’t want you to know that. Please, don’t tell her.”

  “I won’t. But it’s good to know. In a way, it makes me feel better.”

  “So you’ll keep trying?”

  I huffed a laugh. “I’ll think about it. A guy can only get rejected so many times before his ego is shot to hell. I’m pretty close. She’d have to give me some kind of sign she’s interested for me to try again.”

  Ada grinned. “She’s always giving you signs. Like the way she’s looking at you right now.”

  I glanced and found Kiana watching us, her eyes locked on me. She glanced away quickly, but pink rushed up her cheeks.

  Hmm, maybe Ada was right.

  “Give
her a chance, Sawyer,” Ada said as she walked away.

  I stared after her. She went straight to Kiana, and both women caught me watching them. I turned and busied myself with absolutely nothing, hoping they were fooled.

  Chapter Ten

  The Valentine’s Day wedding was a success. Kiana managed to make everything perfect for the bride and groom who wanted a relaxed, low-key wedding. The dinner was all seafood, which was delicious. A DJ played well into the night, giving me the opportunity to get pictures as the sun danced with the water. I grabbed the couple just before sunset and got some great shots of them in shadows and with the light reflecting on her dress.

  Our Friday night wedding was a bit more formal. Kiana and I still didn’t speak, but I saw her perfection in every aspect of the wedding, right down to the list of photos the couple wanted me to take.

  Or rather, Kiana.

  Saturday started with an afternoon wedding. It was the biggest one I’d been a part of with fifty people. Both the bride and groom were older and on their second marriages. He came with teenage daughters, and she came with two boys and a girl that were much younger. I guessed the oldest boy was close to Olivia’s son, Kevin’s age.

  The wedding was clearly about blending two families into one. I took pictures of the bride with all the girls. The groom with the boys. The entire family. Each parent with all the kids. It was good to watch a family come together. I could tell they all loved each other and were there for each other.

  When they packed up and left, Kiana instructed the crew to switch everything again to set up for the evening wedding. Our fourth in three days. By the time we were done with the last wedding, I was ready to collapse. I’d learned my lesson about cleaning up, so I left after the reception cleared out.

  Without a word to Kiana.

  Sunday afternoon, she sent a group text asking all of us to meet Monday at ten to talk about an upcoming event.

  I was ready to kick my own ass Monday morning. I was avoiding going to Opposites Attract early because I didn’t want to risk running into Kiana alone. Yep, I was being a pussy. If Ethan were there, he’d have kicked my ass.