‘Please,’ Malie groaned out slowly, ‘I need to know one of us, other than loved-up V, is getting some these days!’
‘You have such a way with words, Devil.’ But Zoe’s laugh totally belied her criticism as she lifted her glass and sipped at it. ‘Since when have you struggled anyway?’
Since a certain someone appeared on the scene, or the beach more like…
‘Ah, hang on,’ Zoe said, all enlightened. ‘It’s because of him, isn’t it?’
Malie feigned innocence. ‘Who?’
‘The sexy millionaire who heads up the charity and has you craving more than just a quickie.’
‘Zoe!’
Her friend laughed harder. ‘Don’t you go acting all hurt and offended, Devil, you forget I know you.’
‘And I know you and you’re changing the subject.’
Zoe shook her head. ‘I’m not, there really is nothing worth telling.’
Malie snorted into her glass. ‘Well, that’s disappointing.’
‘It’s worse than disappointing, the fact is there have been men, walking-sex-god type men, but every time we get to the bedroom they morph into airy-fairy nurse types. Tell me if I hurt you, is this OK, do you want me to move you here, here or here?’ She flapped her hand around her dramatically. ‘It’s like they suddenly think I’ve lost the use of every limb and that I’ll break if they so much as touch me, let alone lose control. And don’t get me started on the panic in their faces when I so much as moan.’
‘Moan?’ Malie looked to Zoe and tried to keep the rising giggle in.
‘Yes, you know…’ Colour crept into Zoe’s creamy white skin and her eyes flashed. ‘An oh-yes, God-yes, When-Harry-Met-Sally moan, they practically leap off me in fear. It’s good enough to kill the moment dead.’
‘You know what you need?’ Malie said, acting the expert and waving her glass at her friend.
‘What?’
‘You need a real bad boy, someone who’s been around the block a few times and could really show you a good time. A bit of rough.’
Zoe laughed into her wine glass, humming as she swallowed it down. ‘You probably have a point there.’
‘It’s such a shame you and Finn never… you know…’ Malie made a bed-squeaking sound, lifting her mouth at the corner as she gestured.
Zoe shot her a look, choking on her wine. ‘Finn?’
‘Yeah, come on, don’t give me that look of surprise. You forget, I know you too well.’
‘You don’t know me as well as I think you do, if you believe there was anything going on between me and Finn.’
‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks.’
‘Really, you’re going to use Shakespeare against me now? You didn’t even read the book.’
‘I did so,’ Malie protested or rather lied, her lips pursed around the laughter dying to get out.
‘Right, which play is it in?’
Malie erupted with a giggle. ‘OK you got me, but seriously, the line still holds… he was a bit of rough with a reputation to boot, he would have sorted you out “down there” no problem.’
‘Down there, Jesus, Devil, what kind of phrase is that?’
‘You know what I’m getting at though, don’t you?’ Malie laughed and Zoe joined her, throwing back a gulp of her wine.
‘Yeah, well, that was never going to happen.’
‘But why not? And don’t tell me it was because of the accident.’
Zoe shook her head. ‘No, not that. At least…’
‘At least?’
Zoe looked to her and Malie caught a glimpse of vulnerability in her fragile features, a weakness her friend rarely let slip through. ‘That summer at the Crab Shack, Finn always treated me like you girls did.’
‘Well, not quite,’ Malie laughed softly. ‘I wasn’t eyeing you up like I could strip you naked and have my wicked way with you.’
She was trying to lighten Zo’s mood and was pleased to see her friend’s lips quirk with a hint of laughter.
‘I swear you just see what you want to see.’
‘You ask V or Lils and they’ll tell you the same, it was virtually impossible to get served promptly at the Crab Shack when you were both on shift, you were too busy getting lost in each other’s eyes.’
‘I was not.’
‘Then more fool you, because he certainly was – he was well and truly lost looking at you.’
Zoe shook her head, clearly refusing to believe her. ‘He was never lost. He knew exactly where he was, what he was doing and where he was going, and it wasn’t ever about me, except as a friend. And that… that was exactly what I needed, that was all I needed. He… he felt the same. I’m sure he did. Friends, nothing more.’
It sounded to Malie like her friend was trying to convince herself as much as her.
‘And anyway, I wouldn’t have ruined our friendship by blurring those lines, even if I’d had the opportunity, which I did not,’ she added quickly. ‘I liked that he treated me like I was normal, I liked the person I was when I was with him, I liked the person he made me believe I was. Why would I have messed with that?’
‘Er, because Finn was on every girl’s radar – he was the bad boy every female wanted to be ruined by. If you’re telling me you were the only girl in the Cove who was immune, sorry, but I’m not buying it.’
Zoe’s cheeks sported a hint of colour again. ‘He was good-looking, of course he was, I wasn’t blind…’
‘But?’
‘But I was sixteen. And his mother was sick. And, of course, my parents… Let’s just say they weren’t impressed, even that we were friends – anything more than that would have seen me confined to a convent, I swear.’
Malie laughed at the very idea and Zoe’s eyes snapped to her. ‘I’m not kidding… and anyway, soon after that summer, I started going out with Brad—’
‘Urgh! Brad!’
‘He was OK!’
‘He was hardly the man of the moment after the accident, that’s for sure.’
‘No, but then, neither was Finn, you know.’
‘No, I don’t know, Zo. And the question is, what don’t I know? I know he came to see you though and after that… pouf, nothing.’
Zoe rubbed her hands up and down her legs that were straight out in front of her, her slender lengths made all the more so by her inability to use them. ‘It’s not a good memory… I don’t like to think about it, let alone talk about it. But yeah, he came to see me at the hospital, and all those things that made him so good to be with…? They disappeared, and I saw that he was just like everyone else, wanting to wrap me in cotton wool and tuck me away and… and save me. Let’s just say there was a full-on scene with my parents,’ she shuddered. ‘It wasn’t pretty.’
‘No, I can imagine.’ Malie felt for her, really felt for her, she knew how suffocated Zoe had felt at the hands of her parents and then to have it all play out like that with Finn too… She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry.’
Zoe waved a hand. ‘It’s ancient history, the last I heard he’d left for Australia.’
‘Australia, really?’ Malie’s voice went up in pitch.
‘Yes – Australia.’
‘Okaaaay,’ Malie drawled, nodding, ‘and he just happens to follow you to the same country?’
Zoe shook her head, a small laugh erupting.
‘Quit overthinking it, Devil, and carry me into bed. These beds are comfy and the view exquisite, but I don’t fancy being eaten alive when my insect repellent wears off.’
Malie laughed too, loving that her fiercely independent friend knew she had nothing to prove in front of her and had asked to be carried in. It made their bond feel all the more special.
Zoe’s eyes narrowed. ‘What’s that funny smile about?’
‘I was feeling pretty special.’
‘You looked pretty special.’
‘Oi, cheeky!’ Malie got to her feet. ‘I meant special in that you still let me carry you around.’
‘Yeah, well, you and yo
u alone.’
‘See, special.’
They both laughed and Malie walked around the table, scooting down to lift Zoe into her arms.
‘This is the most action I’ve had in weeks, you know.’
Zoe giggled, wrapping her arms around Malie’s neck. ‘Is it all you think about?’
‘I’m talking about weightlifting, I’m not sure what you were thinking.’
Zoe was still laughing as they headed inside.
‘You know what they say,’ Malie sing-songed, ‘it’s not the mouth it comes out of but the mind—’
‘But the mind it goes into, yeah, yeah,’ her friend joined in, patting her chest with a grin. ‘It was Hamlet, by the way.’
‘What was?’
‘The play – by Shakespeare. Queen Gertrude says it after watching some character’s insincere overacting in a play that Hamlet’s written.’
‘Oh yes.’ Malie kicked open Zoe’s bedroom door. ‘Wasn’t that the depressing one with all the death and corrupt family shizzle?’ ‘You paid some attention, then?’
‘I read the Oxford notes,’ Malie said, laying her down on the bed and plonking herself down next to her. ‘I couldn’t even cheat and watch the film, it was so utterly depressing and seriously, what child needs that in their lives when life is tough enough already?’
They shared a quiet look – they knew better than most – and then Malie slapped her knees to cut the sudden chill. ‘Right, what can I get you for bed?’
‘Just my chair,’ Zoe said, raising herself onto her elbows. ‘I can sort the rest.’
‘No problem.’ She got to her feet. ‘And you can help yourself to toiletries, I’ve even laid out the fancy towels for you.’
Zoe smiled up at her. ‘Thank you.’
She headed for the door.
‘And Malie?’
She paused and looked back at her friend.
‘Thank you for schmoozing my parents, you have no idea how nice it is to be free of my shadow for a week.’
‘Is Gabriela actually that bad?’
‘Not really, she’s great, and I like her, I really do. She’s also a skilled physio-cum-nurse, but it’s suffocating having someone follow you around twenty-four-seven and trying to tell my parents I can survive a week without her just fell on deaf ears. They listened to you, though.’
‘I obviously have the magic touch, if only I could have the same skill with my own parents, hey?’
‘I think we’re as bad as each other where our own parents are concerned.’
‘Lucky us!’ They shared another look, both knowing the other hurt and neither knowing how to fix it. ‘I’m just glad you could come and stay, Zo. I feel like I have a whole life here but it’s not the same without having you guys to share it with.’
Zoe’s smile was small. ‘I know what you mean.’
‘Oh, speaking of which, I haven’t asked you: how long have you decided you can stop for?’
‘A week, I need to be heading on to New Zealand then.’
‘New Zealand – how awesome! Another long-haul flight, though? I don’t know how you do it.’
‘Hey, no rest for the wicked, right?’
Malie’s heart pulsed in her chest as she heard her mind replay someone else quoting that exact phrase to her just a few days ago. Todd, on their day out. She remembered the fun, the easiness with which they’d spent that day and her belly flipped over, her heart starting to dance. Quit it.
‘None at all,’ she said softly, heading out and reminding herself that she had Zoe to help her quit it, quit him. And for a whole week too. That left only another week in which to avoid him and the chaos he’d kicked up inside her.
She could cope for a further week, there was plenty she could throw herself into to keep out of his way.
And she could start by asking Kalani to take over his one-to-one lessons, no matter how much he griped. After that morning’s brutal session, Todd may have even taken it upon himself to ask Kalani. Now wouldn’t that be a bonus.
She ignored the dead weight forming in her gut at the prospect of not seeing him alone again and focused on seeing to Zoe. Her friend was her first concern, Todd shouldn’t even be on her radar. Outside of her work with the charity, that is.
Chapter Sixteen
‘NO ONE TOLD ME we’d have to work today, Mr Masters,’ Tara grumbled, bending to dip her brush in the paint pot and blowing her fringe out of her face with a huff. ‘This is like slave labour or summat!’
Todd laughed. ‘You’re getting paid in ice cream, surely that’s fair?’
Tara threw him a look but then grinned. ‘It is nice ice cream.’
‘Plus, you get to spend the day with me here, while your parents get their boring sightseeing done.’ He was quoting Tara on that.
‘True. Not sure why they’d wanna go see that pearl thing anyway. Didn’t they get enough history in school?’
Todd shook his head but didn’t argue with her. He was just glad he’d been able to help out and the fact that it meant her parents truly were enjoying their chance at a holiday and spending time together was a good sign.
‘Right, I think Kalani wants us—’
‘Todd?’
His heart pulsed – Malie.
He turned to see her staring at him wide-eyed, mouth parted, her colourful rash vest clinging to her upper body, her black swim shorts a mere belt. He smiled, trying to hide his body’s instinctive overheating and looked to the petite blonde woman in a wheelchair beside her. She was similarly dressed but wearing fashionably oversized sunglasses and a far warmer expression, although her smile suggested she was amused by something, like she’d just been told a joke that only she was privy to.
‘Morning, or is it afternoon now?’ He dropped his brush into the paint tray and glanced at his watch – it was almost one.
‘If it is, you owe me lunch.’ Tara beamed at him before looking at their new arrivals. ‘Hey, Malie! Is this your friend Zoe?’
‘Hi, kiddo,’ Malie frowned, ‘How did you—?’
‘I might have mentioned you have a friend staying,’ Todd jumped in, wiping a hand on his trousers and offering it out to Zoe. ‘Nice to meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you.’
Her smile grew as she shook his hand. ‘And I you.’
Todd glanced at Malie as he straightened and combed his fingers through his hair, brushing back the strands that had fallen forward. ‘Sounds ominous…’
‘Doesn’t it just.’ He could hear the teasing in Zoe’s voice and felt her eyes watching him closely.
‘What are you doing here?’ Malie’s voice was tinged with silent accusation, the flush to her skin making her eyes appear brighter, ever more piercing as they speared him.
‘What does it look like?’ he said, his tone light and easy in such contrast to hers. ‘I helped Kalani out yesterday after you left and when he mentioned he was helping you ladies today, I said I’d carry on with it. Figured it would keep Tara out of trouble too.’
‘Hey, I’m not trouble,’ the girl blurted out, waving her paintbrush at him and sending droplets flying through the air. Thank heaven he’d thought to put a dust sheet down, as for him, he had to jump back to evade being splattered. ‘Say it again and I’ll come over there and paint you.’
He chuckled at her threat. ‘I would be careful who you’re threatening if I were you.’
Tara laughed as she returned to her task, ‘Whatever you say, Boss.’
‘Cheeky! You’ve been hanging around Jonny too long.’ He looked back to their new arrivals, Zoe was all smiles whilst Malie continued to frown at him.
‘But…’ she flustered. ‘Don’t you have work you should be doing?’
‘It’s Saturday,’ he shrugged. ‘And wasn’t it you who told me I should take some time off and try my hand at DIY?’
‘That’s not what… that was…’
She opened her mouth and closed it again, Tara coming to her aid. ‘If I had time off, I’d spend it doing something fun, not painting.’
‘Would you rather be walking around a war museum?’ Todd said to her.
She laughed. ‘Nope.’
Malie looked ever more baffled. ‘So why is Tara here?’
‘I’m helping out her parents,’ he explained. ‘They’re having a day out together, checking out Pearl Harbor among other places, and asked if she could spend the day with me.’
‘Wow,’ Zoe exclaimed. ‘DIY and babysitting—’
‘Hey, I’m no baby!’ Tara’s head snapped around so quickly her black hair flared out. ‘And I don’t need looking after.’
Zoe laughed. ‘I can see that!’ Then she smiled up at Todd. ‘That’s really nice of you… Isn’t it, Malie?’
He’d swear she would have given Malie a shove if she’d been close enough and he couldn’t help grinning back. Malie wasn’t so pleased, though, her teeth looked gritted, her eyes flashing above her friend’s head.
‘Yes… yes, it is,’ she bit out eventually and letting go of a gust of breath she scanned the area. ‘Where is Kalani, anyhow?’
Todd gestured down the beach. ‘He’s prepping the equipment for you and keeping Nalu out of the paint. I think he’s already had to clean blue pawprints off the floor inside.’
‘Right, sounds like Nalu.’
‘He also mentioned that he’d left the rolling beach chair out for you, it’s just inside the door. Here, I’ll go get it for—’
‘No need, I’ll do it… thanks.’ The last was added as more of an afterthought, her tight smile, too, he was sure. ‘Give me your sunglasses, Zo, I’ll tuck them inside with our bags.’
Zoe slipped them off and passed them to Malie. ‘Thanks.’
Malie took them and fled the scene like she had a crocodile snapping at her heels. He watched her go, not knowing whether to be insulted, hurt or happy that his presence clearly affected her as much as hers did him.
‘Don’t mind Malie,’ Zoe said, looking up at him with another smile, her eyes striking with their crystal-like quality now that the glasses were gone. They were green like Malie’s, but lighter, almost ethereal.
Meet Me in Hawaii Page 20
