Page 17 of Harmless Scandals

She grabbed her raincoat and waterproof camera. She wanted to get some pics of the storm before it moved into her area.

She hurried down the path to the beach, the rain pelting against her skin so hard it hurt. The wind danced through the trees and left her unable to hear anything but that.

“I have to be insane. Like straight up legit insane.”

And, she was talking to herself again. A sure sign of insanity.

She ignored everything and let the electricity from the storm feed into her creativity. She reached the beach and found a few folks gathered to watch the approaching storm. Hawaii rarely got storms this big without a name attached to them.

She found a good space without anyone near her and started to snap a few pics. The dark, threatening clouds against the breaking waves made a dramatic backdrop, and she knew they would be popular with her followers. In fact, she might get a few of these printed up for Dai. They would sell well at his shop, but also at the Aloha Swap Meet. Or, she could keep them to include in her book she was working on.

“Hey,” a male voice shouted over at her.

She jumped, then noticed it was Mick. It had been days since she’d talked to either of her neighbors. She had seen them a lot, but from her window, or a wave to them on their lanai.

“Hey, yourself.”

“What the hell are you doing out here?”

“Pics,” she said holding up her camera.

“You’re crazy.”

She laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

The rain started to pour harder and the wind changed directions.

“I think you should get inside.”

She nodded and started back to the path that lead to their houses. He followed her, then when the path widened stepped up beside her.

With the trees taking some of the rain off them, Serenity looked at him. Okay, he was still ridiculously beautiful. Even with his dark hair plastered against this head, he looked good enough to eat. He wasn’t wearing anything over his clothes, so his t-shirt clung to his muscles. She could easily see his six pack of abs. Damn.

“You think I’m crazy, but you ran out there without anything to protect yourself.”

He glanced over at her with a smile, dimples and all.

“I never said I wasn’t crazy.”

They reached his house first.

“Why don’t you come in for a cup of coffee?”

She should say no. Keeping her distance hadn’t been hard, but it hadn’t been easy either. And it hadn’t helped one bit. She had been having dreams about both men. But, she’d barely talked to anyone in the last week, and she did like their company. Especially Mick. He was so easygoing and sweet.

“Sure, as long as Adam doesn’t mind.”

“He had a job today, so it’s just me.”

“Ah.” That would be easier. Adam was nice, but he was always so intense.

She stepped through the door and immediately took off her shoes. He helped her off with her jacket. She immediately shivered.

“You need some coffee to warm up.”

He led her to the kitchen. The boxes were gone, and the place was neat and orderly.

“Jeez, it took me forever to get settled in. I think I was unpacking months after moving. And you have a lot more things than I do.”

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