Page 33 of The Wrong Fiancée

"But she feels like she's lost herself," Dean finished quietly, surprising me.

I nodded, my voice catching. "Yeah."

Dean glanced at me briefly, then back at the road. "You have faith in the treatment at Ka Pono?"

"Yeah, I do," I said softly. "But not Noe. It's hard for her to believe in it, you know? After so many years of nothing changing."

I could feel his eyes on meagainlike he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. We just drove. The air smelled of salt and plumeria, and for a brief moment, my worries felt far away. Maybe it was the drive, maybe it was the island, or maybe...it was Dean.

Chapter Thirteen

DEAN

When we stopped at the Ka Pono parking lot, I asked, "Can I come in with you?"

She gave me an incredulous look. "Why?"

"So, I can give you a ride back. Maybe stop somewhere to have your bike tire fixed."

She was taken aback by my offer. "Ah…it's fine. I can?—"

"Pleaselet me help, Elika."

Theplease,it appeared, did it. She nodded uneasily. "Ah…just fair warning. Noe can be in a bad mood, and then she's difficult. Butpleasedon't judge her for that."

I smiled tightly. "You'll be happy to hear, Elika, that I have retired from the business of judging people."

She smiled softly at that remark, and I felt the grip on my chest loosen.

My father and now mother, because if you told something to one of our parents, the other would know, had both given me a thumping for being disrespectful to a woman. They didn't care that it happened four years ago, and I was a grown-ass man, too old to be scolded. In any case, like Damian and Emilia said, I deserved it. Yeah, so they knew about Elika as well.

"I'm surprised Dante didn't knee you in the balls," Damian grunted.

"Please," Emilia scoffed. "You said worse things about me."

He sighed. "Come on, Em, you can't keep going back and digging up the past."

"But it’s okay to dig up Dean’s past?" Emilia asked. "He was just a kid then. I forgive you, Dean. Elika, though? I don’t think she ever will—just saying."

Needless to say, my family ripped me a new one. My oldest brother, Duncan, who I met in Paris on my way to Hong Kong, bless his black heart, didn't see the problem. His wife, Elsa, refused to make me her passion fruit macaroons as punishment.

Being with my family also made me reflect on Felicity's behavior. They were surprised to hear of how she behaved with Elika but accepted my excuse that she was being influenced by Ginny, whom my parents disliked intensely.

"You were traveling?" Elika asked as the heat of the afternoon sun beat down on my neck, and I followed her into the Ka Pono Rehabilitation Center.

"Yeah. I was in San Francisco. Stopped in Paris to see my oldest brother and my baby niece. I had a couple of auctions I had to be in Hong Kong."

"What a life you live," she said simply. There was no judgment or malice in her tone, just awe. "It must be so much fun to see all these places."

When I met her four years ago, she had never left Hawaii. I doubt that had changed. I felt like a thoughtless jerk who was showing off about my world travels to someone who neither had the time nor the funds to go anywhere.

Maybe I could take her, I thought, imagining how wonderful it would be to watch her experience something new with me as we walked through the state-of-the-art facility nestled along Kauai’s coastline. The rehab center was stunning—modern, with sleek lines and open spaces, yet close enough to the ocean that, if you stood still long enough, you could hear the waves crashing. Large windows framed the endless blue horizon, with lush greenery outside and the scent of tropical flowers lingering in the air. It felt peaceful, a far cry from a sterile hospital.

This place must be expensive as fuck, I thought. No wonder Elika had to keep working and live in that dingy hovel while she did.

The nurses all knew Elika. They were all hugs and welcomes. She was well-liked, which was no surprise. I'd seen the same dynamic at the resort. People liked Elika; even though she'd become more withdrawn, her charisma shone through, attracting people to her.

"How is she today?" Elika asked the nurse who walked us to Noe's room.

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