He entered the lift, yanking his tie free and shucking his jacket off. Don’t miss it. Don’t miss it.
The lift took an eternity to get to his penthouse suite but then he was there, his jacket tossed over the back of the sofa, his hand on the remote and keying in the number for the surf channel that he’d memorized this past week.
And there it was. The Banzai Pipeline. The waves immense, the crowd unbelievable. He pulled a beer from the fridge, and dropped onto the sofa edge, his body hunched forward, his elbows on his knees.
The first mention of her name and his heart leaped into his throat, the first glimpse of her smile and his eyes pricked.
She was radiant. Everything about her so familiar, so heart-warming, yet so far away. He cursed the miles, he cursed the screen that sat between them, he wanted to embrace her, to wish her luck, to tell her how proud he was. It didn’t matter whether she won, or not. She was about to go out there and do what she’d refused to since she’d lost her brother. And as he thought it the commentator made reference to Koa, the surf legend, and the man she had thought she couldn’t replace.
‘You’re not replacing him, Malie, you’re doing him proud.’
He barely blinked as he watched the entire thing unfold and every time she caught a wave, he fisted his hands around the bottle and screwed up his face, his eyes peeking through slits. He knew she had it, knew she knew what she was doing, but the waves were fierce, the wipe-outs he’d already witnessed terrifying and bloody.
Come on, Malie, come on.
It was a constant mantra, his oxygen-starved body going dizzy. He opened another bottle of beer and another and then it was done and my God, she was through to the next round. The commentators were praising her prowess as she walked through the crowd, her grin lighting up her face, her friends running up to her cheering her on.
He shot up and almost showered his room in beer. He stepped closer to the screen, watched every flicker in her face. Kalani came up to her, swung her around and then there was a woman. Todd stilled, his head cocking to the side. She was small, blonde, he didn’t recognize her at all but as he looked to the obvious love in her face as she embraced Malie, he knew in his gut who she was. The man behind her wore the same doting expression. Love and pride. Her parents, it had to be.
He raked his hand through his hair, stared at the happy group.
You did it, Malie, you did it all.
You didn’t just conquer the waves, you conquered your fear of your family too.
He couldn’t move. Even as the camera panned away and they moved on, he remained standing there, eyes fixed, body still. He missed her. Missed her more than he imagined possible. Did she miss him too? Did she even think of him?
She looked so happy. Could she be that happy and miss him?
Unlikely.
He raked his fingers through his hair once more and turned away from the screen, the rollercoaster of emotion underway inside too unsettling. Yes, it was great – more than great – to see her doing what she was born to do, but it didn’t mean she was ready to move on with him. It didn’t change—
‘Hey, check it out, folks,’ the commentator’s voice piped into the room, ‘Stevie’s managed to tear the awesome Malie Pukui away from her family for a quick catch-up.’
He was already turning back to screen, already eager for more of her, of whatever glimpse he could get.
‘So how does it feel, Malie, nailing your first ever Big Wave competition?’
She beamed at the commentator and then the camera. ‘Incredible!’
‘I bet! Gotta admit, we all wondered why you never took the leap before with skills like yours.’
She shrugged and Todd could tell she was trying to make it seem nonchalant, but he could read the blazing emotion in her eyes, read the truth of it – Koa. ‘I just never felt I could do it, it… it wasn’t for me.’
‘So, what changed?’ He shoved the mic back under her face and Todd watched her take a breath, saw the way her lashes fluttered before she looked to the commentator, to Kalani and her family behind her, before coming back to the camera.
Her smile was wistful, her eyes sparkled, and her cheeks flushed deeper. ‘Let’s just say, I met a certain someone who reminded me that life needs to be lived to the full, and this was a big part of that.’
Todd’s heart pulsed in his chest. A certain someone. Him.
A big of part of it? Was there another part to it too? A part that meant she was ready to commit, ready to take that leap with him?
‘A certain someone, hey?’ The commentator grinned. ‘And are we allowed to know who this special someone is?’
Todd’s heart didn’t just pulse now, it launched into his throat as he waited on her response, unable to breathe.
‘His name’s Todd…’ The camera zoomed in close to her face and Todd could see it all – her passion, her love, not for the water now, but…
‘And he is special; very, very special,’ Malie added, as though she was reading his mind and confirming everything he wanted but never thought he’d hear.
The commentator’s grin widened; Todd’s own grin just as extreme. ‘Well, hear that, folks, we have this Todd dude to thank for getting Pukui out there – this guy must be one in a million, hey, Malie?’
She laughed softly. ‘Yes… Yes, he is.’
‘There we have it, folks, now back over to the judges for their summing up of today’s heats.’
Todd shook his head, scarcely believing all he had witnessed, all he had seen in Malie’s face, but there was one thing he knew for sure: he couldn’t bear the miles between them anymore. Couldn’t bear being apart. He understood that it didn’t necessarily mean she was ready to give him more, and he wouldn’t pressure her to choose. But he had to be there for this competition. This huge moment in her career. Her life.
He had to.
‘I can’t believe I’m doing this,’ Malie said as she looked out at the waves, barely aware of the crowd that had thickened over the course of the week, since day one of the competition. But today was the final, this was it.
‘We can,’ Kalani said from beside her. ‘It’s long overdue.’
‘Too right, dude.’ EJ went in for a high-five which he had to rescue himself from as Kalani left him hanging. He grinned at Malie instead. ‘You’ve got this, you know that.’
‘Just be careful,’ said her mother, unable to hide her worry as she watched the waves the Banzai Pipeline was famous for crashing in the distance.
Hani, her father, wrapped his arm around her mother and gave Malie a supportive smile. ‘As EJ said, you’ve got this, we know you do.’
She smiled her thanks. She knew how hard this was for them but the fact that they had come out – had been there for a week now and watched her surf every day, even been out on the waves with her – meant the world. Things were already so much better and although her mum was worried, she knew that’s all it was. It wasn’t the memory of Koa haunting them, it wasn’t the kind of suffocating fear she’d endured after his death, it was the natural fear of the unknown and the hope that she would do well.
And boy, did she hate the waiting. She couldn’t sit still, bobbing up and down, prepping her board even though it didn’t need it, keeping her body physically busy until it was her turn. Trying to keep her mind busy, too, because every time it went quiet Todd was there, and the pain of missing him didn’t get any easier. If anything, it only proved how much she wanted him in her life. How much she wished he could be there now to witness the changes she’d made already. How much further she still wanted to go so that she could have him in her life. Because that was the next step.
She wanted to claim this crown and then she wanted to hunt him down and tell him the truth.
That she loved him. That she’d been a fool not to have seen it sooner and recognize it for what it was. To have realized that no amount of separation, no amount of mental talk, no amount of time or fear of the future could change the fact that she loved him. She really loved
him.
‘You’re up, kiddo,’ her father nudged her, pulling her thoughts back to the here and now.
She turned to him and grinned. ‘Wish me luck.’
‘Not that you need it, love,’ her mother said.
‘Good luck,’ her friends and family called, and she raced off, her trusty board under her arm, her heart and focus on the win.
Win the crown.
Win the man.
In that order. She hoped.
It all felt so possible. With the adrenalin racing through her system, the knowledge that her parents were there and that they supported her, the enduring spirit of Koa in the water with her, and in her heart there was Todd, his presence almost tangible, like she could feel his eyes on her now, watching her, cheering her on.
She waded into the water and threw herself onto her board, paddling and duck-diving the waves, feeling Koa’s presence, talking to her, encouraging her. From the first wave to the last he was there, and she needed it. It was a tight competition; she wasn’t the youngest, she likely wasn’t the fittest, but she wanted this. For Koa and herself, she wanted this win.
Time was ticking, it was her final wave and she knew in her gut, this was it. As she rose up on her board and took off down the line of the wave, it wasn’t just Koa who was there riding it with her, it was Todd. His faith in her so unbreakable even when she had pushed so hard to keep him away. She felt their power combine with that of the sea and could sense the crowds cheering even as her ears filled with the roar of the ocean curving over her head and forming the perfect barrel. It was immense, epic, the tube ride of her life… if only Todd was there.
The thought stayed with her as she made her way back to shore, the buzz of the crowd drawing out her grin, their hoots and the calls impossible to ignore. There would be time for sadness later. She waded out of the water to their talk of a definite win. A definite win. Just as her friends had always told her. And still she couldn’t believe it.
Not even when the podium was before her and her name was called, her parents hugging her, her friends high-fiving her, Kalani swinging her a full 360 in the air so fast she almost lost her balance as she climbed the steps, but then she was there looking out, the crown hers, the crowd’s cheer like a soundtrack to her dreams.
‘Speech,’ they called. ‘Speech!’
She smiled, felt tears tighten up her throat as she coughed them free, scooped her hair out of her eyes.
She knew what she wanted to say, the words flowing from her with choked-up ease. ‘I wouldn’t be here if not for the love my parents have for the ocean, which they instilled in me as a child, and for my brother, who pushed me to go bigger, go stronger, live the dream… Losing him was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through, but winning this for him has been the easiest. This is for you, Koa!’
She raised the trophy to the heavens and blew him a kiss, letting the tears fall freely now. As she looked back down, the dummy cheque was passed to her. Her smile grew, her heart pulsed in her chest. This was her ticket to New York or wherever else Todd may be. She’d find him and use the money to secure the flights she needed to win back her man. She clutched it to her, the trophy too, and climbed down the steps, her footing unsteady as the tears continued to swim before her eyes, her body weak in the aftermath.
She’d won, she’d come and achieved what she set out to, but now she needed him, just as much as she needed her next breath. She stumbled up to her parents; Kalani was standing between them, but then he stepped aside and she frowned into the eyes of the person standing directly behind him… no, it couldn’t be… she shook her head, expecting it to clear, for it to be a figment of her adrenalin-infused brain.
Surely she’d conjured him up, with all her conviction that he was there watching her while she’d been on the waves, how much she’d wanted him to be there. He stepped forward, ever more real, his eyes glistening, his brow furrowed, his smile so proud, so full of… no… she walked up to him, slowly, unsure, not daring to believe.
‘Todd?’
She felt her legs give way beneath her, felt the trophy slip from her grip as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her up against his solid strength and warmth.
She breathed him in deeply, took a moment to find her voice, to feel capable of looking up at him and really believing. ‘It really is you.’
His smile was small, but it was there. ‘Yes.’
A fresh wave of tears filled her eyes as she tried to blink them back. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘Is that a good can’t believe it, or a bad, because I can leave if you want me—’
She kissed him, every second that she’d missed him pouring into the gesture. She clung to him, praying it wasn’t a dream, that he had really come back for her in spite of all she had done.
‘I’m so sorry, so very sorry,’ she hurried out as she broke away and stared up at him. ‘For pushing you away, for leaving…’ she shook her head, ‘it was foolish, wrong. I was confused. But I’m not anymore, I’m not.’
He chuckled softly. ‘And here I was ready to apologize to you.’
‘Apologize?’ She frowned. ‘Why?’
He squeezed her tighter against him. ‘For turning up, for looking like I’m making demands of you, when I’m not, I just didn’t want to miss this.’
‘Oh, Todd!’ She leaped up, kissed him again, deeply, thoroughly, all her love, all her happiness fuelling that one move. She didn’t want to stop, didn’t want to break away, didn’t want this moment to end, and would have carried on if not for the sharp cough directly beside them.
‘And this is Todd,’ Kalani said, after another good throat-clearing and reminding her that her parents were witnessing this whole crazed reunion without any introduction.
She pulled back on a choked laugh.
‘Sorry, Mum, Dad, I just need to get this off my chest first.’
Todd blinked down at her, his eyes glazed by her kiss as they searched for the confirmation he truly needed; she didn’t want him to search anymore, didn’t want him to question.
‘I love you, Todd Masters. I’ve loved you from the very first second you made a fool of yourself in my surf lesson, I loved you when you almost drowned yourself trying to rescue Nalu, I loved you then, I love you now, and I will always love you. And if you can forgive my stupidity, my ridiculous behaviour that must have driven you crazy—’
She couldn’t finish, his lips crushed hers now, his groan one of sheer bliss as he twirled them both on the spot. ‘You can drive me crazy for the rest of my life, Malie, if you promise to love me like that.’
She laughed, delirious, heady. ‘I will.’
He set her down, grinned down at her, ‘I love you, Malie.’
‘I know you do.’
Another throat was cleared right next to them, this time Hani’s imposing frame took out the sun to their right. ‘Er, Todd meet my father. Dad, this is Todd.’
Introductions were made, celebrations were had but all Malie wanted to do was whisk Todd away so that they could be alone. They had two weeks to catch up on, two whole weeks of missing one another and a whole lifetime to look forward to.
Night fell, the celebrations continued back in Nani Kumu and finally she felt able to leave her parents with Kalani and invite Todd back to hers. Anticipation coursed through her – excitement, joy, the realization that they were now together and there was nothing holding them back.
She unlocked her apartment door, turned into him for a long, drawn-out kiss and then flicked on the light and—
‘Oh, God, Todd, close your eyes.’
‘Malie it’s…’
‘Please, if you love me… close your eyes.’
He did as she asked and she looked at the flat through Zoe’s eyes. Had it really only been a few weeks since her visit? Oh, God. She’d lived on her own far too long. She hurried about the room, pulling stuff into her arms, moving it from surface to surface…
‘Malie, look, if you’ve changed your mind, and you want more time
, it’ll kill me but I—’
She threw the stuff over her head and ran to him, swinging her arms around him as she kissed him hard. ‘I haven’t changed my mind,’ she said between kisses, ‘but you might when you come in.’
He laughed, the sound deep and throaty as he kissed her and backed her into the apartment. He broke away, his eyes dancing as he looked at her. ‘What are you afraid of, that I’ll—’ He lifted his gaze to the open-plan space and his eyes widened, his mouth too. ‘What the hell happened here?’
‘Me,’ she squeaked, her shoulders up around her ears as she gave him a sheepish smile. ‘If you close your eyes, you can’t tell.’
He shook his head, amazed and looked back to her. ‘You really do need me, you know.’
‘You won’t hear any argument here.’
He laughed again and swept her into his arms. ‘Do you think you can direct me to the bedroom, or am I better off ravishing you on the semi-clear sofa?’
‘As much as that sounds perfectly agreeable, I’m all for the bed, that way,’ she pointed, laughing and blushing at the same time. She was a slob and still, he loved her.
He kicked open the door and she peeked through squinted eyes. ‘Not too bad, is it?’
‘In all honesty, Malie, we could be in a pig-sty and even that wouldn’t stop me making love to you.’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘You’re kidding, right?’
‘No, I’m definitely not.’
He threw her onto the bed as she let out another ripple of laughter, watching as he dragged his T-shirt over his head, the muscles of his torso flexing with the move and making her mouth water. She climbed up onto her knees, pulled her own shirt over her head and shuffled forward, stripping her bikini top as she went.
‘In that case,’ she purred, tugging on his waistband, ‘get a move on, I’m ravenous over here.’
He looked down into her face and stilled, his eyes softening. He cupped her jaw, his thumb sweeping over her bottom lip. ‘This is really happening, you and me?’
She nodded. ‘It’s really happening.’
Meet Me in Hawaii Page 27
