Page 20 of The Wrong Fiancée

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I'd been so judgmental, I realized. Elikahadbeen saving to go to school but couldn't because she'd sacrificed her future to help her sister. I admired that. I'd do the same in a heartbeat for my brothers. And, yet, I'd seen her as a loser college dropout.

"Noe isn't nice to Elika?"

"Fuck no," Theo snapped, his voice sharp with anger. "She kept going on about how Elika can still walk and she can't. It was so uncomfortable. I asked Elika why she doesn’t just give up on her sister, and—you know her, she’s such a sweetheart—she just said, ‘family first.’ That’s always how she’s been. Even though Fee and Ginny treat her like crap, like she’s the enemy or something, she’s still nice to everyone. I wish I could help her, but I don’t get my trust fund until I’m thirty."

You have a shit ton of money, Dean; maybe you can take your finger out of your ass and help someone in need.

"Wait a minute," I said as something Theo mentioned clicked. "She was studying art history?"

Had she told me that before? I couldn’t remember—probably because I hadn’t bothered paying attention. Too busy being a douchebag, making snap judgments about her supposed lack of ambition or drive.

"Yeah," Theo laughed. "She used to get into these art discussions with Sam and Felicity back when they still talked. A lot of the time, she knew more than they did. Sam was so proud of her, but that just made Fee hate her more. Elika was always fascinated by island-based art. She once told me she wanted to curate exhibitions that celebrated the blend of art and island beauty."

My throat felt like it was closing. All the while, I'd thought she wasn't my intellectual equal, and now I was finding out that she was working in the same field as me or had wanted to until her dreams had disappeared in the flames of a car crash.

"I didn't know," I admitted softly.I hadn't bothered to know, either.

"Well, why would you? Have you ever met her? I mean, besides seeing her serve you drinks or clean your room?" Theo asked, running a hand through his now dry, dirty blonde hair.

I shook my head.

It was a lie. But was it? Had I ever tried to meet therealElika, or had I boxed her away as a fun fuck and nothing more because she was a hotel maid?

"You should talk to her…I mean…." Theo's eyes brightened. "You can maybe give her a job at Archer Arts & Antiquities. You know, so she could do something she cares about. I don't know her qualifications or anything, but she's super smart Dean; I'm sure she'd be really good at whatever you ask her to do."

I looked into the gray eyes of Theo, who seemed like such a nice young man, much too nice for the girlfriend he had.

"Theo, you should dump Cristin," I told him and took a pull of my beer.

He grinned. "Already planned on it…just taking the coward’s way out and waiting until I’m back in New York. I’ve got some in-person meetings I need to be there for anyway."

Theo worked for his father's investment firm and was working remotely so he could spend part of the summer in Hawaii. His parents were planning to join the Thatchers for a week during their vacation. Thanks to the pandemic, we'd all become experts at handling Zoom calls, which gave rich shmucks like us the freedom to work from anywhere in the world—even a luxury resort.

"Why not do it now? It's going to be unpleasant no matter what."

Theo laughed. "I ain't staying here after we break up—you can't imagine the shit that'll rain down on me from all ends. No, thank you. I'm gonna end itaftermy meetings in New York and face the music from Bondi Beach, where I'll be through Labor Day."

Yeah, we were wealthy, entitled assholes who could hop from one beach to another without a care, while someone like Elika—someone I had unfairly judged as lesser—cleaned their rooms and worked twice as hard as the rest of us.

The shame I felt was…immense.

Chapter Eight

ELIKA

"It's like the universe is shitting on me," I said to Chef Nalu Malulani when I saw the hostess seat the Thatcher party in my section.

Chef Nalu glanced over from the open kitchen of the steakhouse, wiping his hands on a towel, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips. "Are they following you around, or areyoustalkinghim?"

I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe three nights in a row they've been where I've been. First at Ke Kai, then at Lava Lua, and now here."

"You're just lucky," Chef teased.

I groaned, leaning against the counter. "Why is Lono punishing me?" I muttered under my breath. Lono, the God of fertility and peace—neither of which seemed remotely in my future, I thought bitterly as my eyes flicked toward Dean. At that exact moment, he brushed his lips against Felicity’s, and she laughed, her voice light and carefree, while he wore that smug, indulgent smile that made my stomach churn. "Did I piss off the gods in a past life or something?"

Nalu was married to my boss, Leilani, and knew almost everything about my life. They were the closest thing I had to family.

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