Seashells & Mistletoe (Hawaiian Holiday Book 2)

by Rachelle Ayala

  “How so?” I try to yank my hand away, but Stephen keeps me corralled as we saunter past other couples out on the deck.

  “I was testing him, too,” Stephen said, squeezing my hand hard enough to hurt. “I suspected he had the hots for you. I put you two in the same cabin. I told him it was okay for him to press you for sex. In fact, I would give him a bonus if he brought me proof. I incentivized him to get you to fall in love with him. But when you decided to move out of his cabin, I knew you were mine. A bird in the hand.”

  “No, you don’t get to mix metaphors.” I stomp on his foot and twist my wrist from his grasp. “You killed two birds today. I’ll never be yours. Ever. Post that on social media and rack up your sympathy points.”

  Chapter 17

  “Go away.” I yell at the door of my cabin. “I don’t want to speak to you ever.”

  “It’s us, Alice and Sylvester. Are you okay?” A pair of reedy voices pipe from the outside.

  I slump off my bunk and open the door. “I’m not okay, and I’m not up for shuffleboard.”

  Alice snickers. “Do you think we have nothing better to do than shuffleboard?”

  “We’re here for you.” Sylvester wrings his baseball cap in his hands. “We heard what happened.”

  “Everyone’s talking about it, but we want to hear your side of the story.” Alice plops herself on Jordan’s bunk.

  “This isn’t gossip central.” I also plop down on my bunk. After this roller coaster of a day, I have no muscle tone left except to melt away like a jellyfish out of water.

  Sylvester, surprisingly, sits on my bunk and takes my hand. “I’ll always respect you. Do you want to be my date for the New Year’s Eve party?”

  “I haven’t even thought that far. All I want to do is hide in my room.”

  “That won’t do,” Alice says. “You have to get out and about. Not let anyone get you down. You came on this cruise to chin up and have fun.”

  “I came to meet people and forget about Stephen,” I wail. “How can I forget about him when he’s on board the ship stalking me?”

  “Hiding in your room isn’t the answer,” Sylvester says. “Besides, you’ve made a lot of friends, like me and Alice. We have your back.”

  Alice snickers but says, “I agree. We have your back. Tell me exactly what happened with Jordan.”

  The reminder of Jordan’s betrayal brings fresh tears to my eyes, and I can’t help it, I bawl like a baby. It takes a while for Alice and Sylvester to calm me down. Eventually, I run out of tears and tell them what happened on the mountaintop.

  “I exposed my true feelings for him and I thought he shared them, too. I wanted to run away with him. He seemed to have agreed, but it turns out he was working for Stephen the entire time.”

  Snickers explode from Alice’s mouth in rapid fire. She flaps her hands and stomps her feet, shaking her head. “Unbelievable. That explains why he thought he was doomed.”

  “You’re not supposed to repeat confidences,” Sylvester says. “Jordan said not to tell anyone.”

  “What did he say?” I grip Alice’s arm tightly. “Tell me. Why did he say he’s doomed?”

  Alice grimaces and rubs her arm. “Remember he left you alone after the Yuletide Ball?”

  “Yes, after I unexpectedly insulted him by giving him a raspberry instead of a kiss.”

  “Ewww, fart sounds are disgusting,” Sylvester says, waving his hand. “Is that what you did to drive him away?”

  “No, I was pranking him. I wanted him to be off balance.”

  “She was teasing him,” Alice says. “But Jordan was in great turmoil. He kept pacing back and forth, pulling his fingers through his hair, and sighing like a broken stovepipe.”

  “What did he say? Why was he so upset?”

  “He didn’t say.” Alice purses her lips, but no snicker snaps from them. “I thought he wasn’t sure he could cheer you up. I told him not to give up.”

  “I could have cheered you up better,” Sylvester says. “But I stepped aside to let the younger men have a chance.”

  “Both of you have cheered me up.” I blink and flash a tentative smile. “You sitting here with me is special.”

  “Especially since the casino’s open,” Alice says, rubbing her hands together.

  “Oh, yes, we’re really good with the mathematics of casino games,” Sylvester agrees. “You want to come with us?”

  “Not tonight. I’m going to sit here and have my own pity party, then tomorrow, I’ll get back into the cruise. I’m not going to let Stephen and his hired henchmen ruin my New Year.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Alice says. “For what it’s worth, I believe Jordan cared about you. That’s why he said he’s doomed.”

  “He’s got balls,” Sylvester says. “Big bull balls.”

  “I can’t believe you’re talking about his balls.” I cock my head, unable to follow the older man’s line of reasoning.

  “He took you on all those dates knowing he would never win you at the end. I thought he was a lunatic.” Sylvester makes a rolling motion with his index finger pointed at his own head.

  Alice presses my hand. “I think what we’re trying to say is that Jordan might have made a huge mistake, but he decided to give you the best five days he could.”

  Her words bring a fresh bout of tears and I sniffle. “He did. Five days in paradise. He wants me to remember them. I think I’ll sit here and go over every moment again.”

  “Yes, do that,” Sylvester says. “Remember the good and forget the bad.”

  I remove the Van Gogh scarf Jordan gave me and hang it above my bunk. “He gave me this starry night so I can remember him.”

  “It’s beautiful, and you never know what crazy things can happen on a starry night,” Alice says.

  They both thank me for the presents I gave them and ask me again if I want to go to the casino.

  “Tomorrow,” I promise. “I have to unpack now that I’m not leaving the ship.”

  “See you tomorrow, then,” Alice says. “You can’t miss the big sale they’re going to be having on the promenade deck.”

  “Or the New Year’s Eve party. Come with me and Alice,” Sylvester says. “We’ll have a threesome.”

  “A threesome it is!” I manage to giggle. “There’s nothing better than ringing in the new year with friends.”

  “And seashells.” Sylvester points to a conical shell hanging above Jordan’s bunk.

  “Seashells?” I didn’t notice it before when I was packing his things. Did someone sneak into my cabin while I was eating dinner or arguing with Stephen?

  But no.

  I saw Jordan standing on the dock.

  No way is he on this ship.

  Chapter 18

  As soon as Alice and Sylvester depart, I climb up on Jordan’s bunk and untie the brown and white cone-shaped shell hanging from a mesh net.

  This could be a trick, I warn myself.

  Or there’s a hidden microphone tucked inside.

  I untangle it from the net, half expecting a worm or snake to jump out, but there’s only a small slip of paper.

  I unfold it to read: Password: Loki

  Password to what?

  “Jordan, I’m not amused,” I say out loud in case the miscreant has indeed snuck back on board and is secretly recording me. “I don’t care what Alice and Sylvester said, it was dirty of you to work for Stephen and not tell me. You can take your stinking password and shove it.”

  I’m going to have to assume my room is bugged and my phone is being monitored.

  I scramble in my purse and encounter a lock screen. I type in my code, but it remains locked. Horror dawns on me when I type in the numbers corresponding to L. O. K. I., 5654.

  My phone unlocks, and the first thing that pops up is a gallery of pictures of me both on board and off the cruise ship. There’s me going through security and getting hassled about my foil-wrapped vibrator. Another series of shots has me taking pictures for the reunion folks. Jorda
n photobombs me in some of the pictures, and in other ones, I’m trying to play shuffleboard while wearing a slinky, red dress.

  Who took these pictures if it wasn’t Jordan?

  Had to be Stephen, but why would he pretend to be a crew member and spy on me himself when he has so many other important things to do?

  Oh, right, he too, had two weeks of vacation for our supposed wedding and honeymoon. But he was the one who called off the wedding, and I would have expected him to vacation somewhere else.

  I scroll through the pictures. There’s me dancing the waltz with Sven. Jordan and I doing the jitterbug. Jordan talking to me on the top deck under a moonlit sky. Jordan and I disembarking Christmas Day. There are no pictures of us in the cave, thankfully.

  But they got us at the Poke Bar sipping red and green shaved ice. There are hundreds of pictures of me at every jewelry store in Oahu and several shots of me, Alice, and Sylvester at the Hula Girl Bar playing shuffleboard.

  Someone even followed us around Kauai when we rented mopeds, and oh no! The red dirt T-shirt factory fight was recorded on video. Every messy, muddy bit of it.

  Who would be that obsessed with me and Jordan?

  There’s me sitting with Joy and Sheri on board the ship. Another set of shots at the spa getting massages. The cakewalk and musical chairs. Me judging the Banning Pilots cheer squad and helping them do their human pyramid. The big guy wearing the red and black disco outfit and a 1970s’ style hat, red and black, over his afro.

  All of us hula-hulaing away at the luau at Kona. Joy, Sheri, the big guy, Alice, and Sylvester, me and Jordan, all of us wiggling our hips, followed by a video of the entire reunion crowd singing and dancing to the Banning High School Fight song.

  I play it and watch over fifty senior citizens prance and dance, tap their walkers, and wiggle their hips. There’s Sheri and Joy jumping like the cheerleaders they were, and the big guy in the disco outfit shouting into a megaphone.

  Fight, fight, fight for ol’ Banning High

  Win the victory

  We’re gonna win this game

  For the red and the black

  Best in the west

  You know we all do our best, So

  On, on, on, on, fight till the end

  Honor and glory we must win

  So, fight, fight, fight for ol’ Banning High

  And vic-tor-y.

  “Who took all these pictures and videos?” I yell at the ceiling in case anyone is listening. “I don’t see proof that I stayed loyal to Stephen.”

  The last shots are of me and Jordan getting into the helicopter, with me flapping my hands and joking about barfing and being afraid.

  Jordan calmly hugs me, and there’s a tender moment when he readjusts my headphones, then dots a kiss on my cheek.

  We look so happy and hopeful as if we were embarking on a new beginning.

  Why is the photographer documenting all of this?

  Who took these pictures?

  I refuse to believe Stephen took these pictures, but there’s no other explanation.

  Five minutes later, I’m rapping on Stephen’s penthouse door.

  “Yes?” He opens the door and steps back to let me in. “I knew you’d be back. Couldn’t stay away, could you?”

  “I’m confused.”

  “Really?” He lifts an eyebrow and goes to a decanter where he pours me a scotch on the rocks. “Here, drink, and talk to me. What are you confused about?”

  “Why are you on board this cruise ship?” I take the tumbler but don’t put it to my lips. I’ll need all my wits when dealing with a slippery politician. He’s still wearing crisply pressed slacks, a button-down shirt with sleeves rolled up to display his expensive watch, and no tie. It’s late in the evening, but he’s cleanly shaven, as if he expected me to visit.

  “I want you back,” he says. “We make a great team together, and while I had to punish you for jumping out of the cake and ruining my bachelor’s party, I did a cost-benefit analysis and decided being married makes me a more attractive and stable candidate than being single.”

  I set the scotch down on the table and walk to the balcony. “I, I, I. Everything centers around you, doesn’t it? I play by your rules. I make you look good. I’m helpful to your career. You just don’t get it, do you?”

  He touches my arm, and I cringe. “You never complained before about being seen with me. You came to all my events, enjoyed expensive trips, meeting royalty and important leaders. You most certainly enjoyed the personal shopper and the gifts I bestowed on you.”

  “Yes, I did, but that was before I came on this cruise and spent time with the guy you hired to test my loyalty. It was before I realized what’s important is not appearances and image, but what’s inside—feelings and emotions. Having fun, being honest. Taking risks and being vulnerable.” I brush his hand from my arm and turn to face him. “These last few days were crazy and full of surprises. I let my feelings hang out and stopped caring what other people thought. I opened up my heart, and I risked being betrayed. I was teased, pranked, and lied to, but I also lived more life than I ever had. I got into a mud fight. I jumped into a hula dance. I stripped myself naked at a remote beach. I stayed up all night playing mahjong.”

  “So, you got all the wildness out of your system.” Stephen strokes his chin as he peers at me like a psychoanalyst evaluating a lunatic. “I know how poised you are and how well you hold yourself in public. You truly are an asset, which is why I was so shocked when you embarrassed me at my bachelor’s party.”

  “Maybe I’m tired of being the picture-perfect politician’s wife. Maybe I don’t want to live in a glass house and be talked about, photographed, picked apart and analyzed for every expression, gesture, mannerism, or hand motion.” I tilt my chin up and straighten my shoulders, knowing that he’s not looking for a wife as a life partner, but one as a living mannequin. “I will always have that wild side, Stephen. After being with Jordan the last week or so, I’m afraid I rather enjoy the unexpected prank and the state of chaos he leaves me in. I cannot go back to my overly regimented and orderly existence.”

  “You’re turning down a lot.” His gaze shifts, and he sets his mouth in a harsh line. “Are you sure you want to walk away from our future? How will you feel when I become president and you’re not the one holding the Bible for my inauguration?”

  “I’m walking away from your future.” I also set my mouth in a firm line. “Now, tell me where Jordan is and how I can get in touch with him.”

  “He’s no longer working for me.” Stephen crosses his arms and glares at me. “I’ve terminated him.”

  “Why?”

  “Insubordination. But don’t worry, he gave me a good report on you. Said you never once compromised your virtue. That you were fun and engaging, but you did not respond to his advances.” His glower deepens and he leans toward me, flaring his nostrils. “Did he lie?”

  “He didn’t lie. Since you’ve been spying on us, you already know the answer.” I push him back with both hands and whip around, heading toward the door. “Jordan is ten times the man you are. When I’m with him, I feel truly alive.”

  “He used you. Hit the jackpot. He’s gone.”

  “Where?”

  “Off to his next gig with all his debts paid. He’s a con man, Dani.”

  “I thought you said he cleans up your messes, that you two roomed together in college.”

  One corner of Stephen’s lips tilts up. “He creates as many messes as he cleans up. Always gets away before the crap hits the fan. But mark my word, one of these days, he’s going to get trapped in his own schemes, pinned down and unable to escape.”

  “Where can I find him?”

  Stephen rolls his eyes and whistles. “Good luck. He can’t be found if he doesn’t want to be. The last thing he did was turn over your phone to me after checking that my payment hit his bank account.”

  “He took those pictures? But how? He’s in half of them.”

  “The picture
s were texted to your phone. Jordan dutifully carried your phone everywhere you went and had GPS tracking turned on. He recorded your conversations and kept a record of everything you did. He probably cleaned up some of it, deleted audio, and omitted details. I wouldn’t put it past him, but I got my money’s worth.” Stephen’s jaw tenses, and he narrows his eyes. “Because I now know you can’t be trusted to be my wife.”

  “I thought you said I passed.”

  He grabs my arm and marches me toward the door. “A word of warning. Never ever divulge anything about me or I’ll out all your dirty secrets, including what you tried to do with Jordan inside that dark cave on Christmas Day.”

  Chapter 19

  I’m furious as I go through my phone, replaying my conversations with Jordan.

  He also set up a website where he offered money for people to upload pictures they took of me. No wonder there were so many.

  Worst of all, he sold me out. Took money from Stephen and now he’s gone.

  The vile treachery.

  The evil heartbreak.

  The unforgiveable sin of betrayal.

  I shut off the light in my cabin, curl up under the covers of my bunk, and call Jade. It’s late at night, and the charges would be horrendous, but I don’t care. I need bestie therapy, and I need to warn her about her cousin.

  “Jordan? What’s going on?” Jade sounds like she’s almost purring, relaxed and very heavily satisfied.

  “Jordan?” I exclaim. “It’s me, Dani.”

  “Oh, Dani. Is everything okay? How’s Jordan?”

  “I’m not disturbing anything, am I?” I’m momentarily peeved that she’d care more about her cousin than her best girlfriend.

  “Oh, no, everything’s great over here. Ahhh …” She moans. Ick.

  I hope she’s not in the middle of anything.

  “Are you okay to talk?” I ask.

  “Just chilling. Say ‘hi’ to Jordan.”

  “Actually, he’s not with me.” I scratch my head, wondering why in the world Jade would automatically assume the two of us are together. “He jumped ship at Maui.”