Page 76 of Fast Fury

He hid a flinch, stared down at the polished surface of it while the pastor continued with his prayer in Hawaiian, offering words of comfort. They didn’t comfort Kai much. The only thing that helped was knowing Hani was in a better place now. No more suffering, no more fear. The only pain now was for the living.

His grandmother pulled away to gather a handful of earth from the pile beside the grave. She stood at the opening for a long moment, staring down at the casket, then tossed it in, her lips trembling. Kai went next, murmuring a prayer in Hawaiian to his cousin.

Soon after that it was over. People moved out of their way as Kai led histutuand Abby through the cemetery and back to the parking lot.

She glanced up at him, gave him a sad little smile of understanding. She was beautiful in her cobalt blue dress, the color a few shades darker than her eyes, making her fair skin almost glow in the late afternoon sunlight. The scrapes on her chin were healing, along with the rest of her cuts and bruises.

At first, she’d been shocked at the thought of wearing such a bright color to a funeral, but he’d assured her that’s how they did things here. They were focused on celebrating Hani and his life today, rather than on mourning his loss.

A few dozen people came back to histutu’splace for the reception. Mostly his and Hani’s old friends, and Hamilton and Taggart, who stood out like sore thumbs in their somber, dark suits.

Abby booted everyone out of the kitchen to visit and mingle while she bustled around readying the food the three of them had prepared the day before. Hani’s favorites.

Out on the lanai and in the back garden, everyone gathered to eat and share stories about Hani. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of reminiscing about the good times they’d shared over the years.

The gigantic knot in the center of Kai’s chest eased as the hours passed. All he wanted now was to be alone with Abby.

He caught her around the waist as she bustled past with a tray of appetizers, and pulled her close to kiss her. “You don’t have to serve us,” he murmured against her mouth. “Everyone can help themselves. Come out and visit for a while.”

“I will when everyone’s fed,” she said, kissing him lightly before sauntering off, tossing him a half-smile over her shoulder.

Hamilton stepped up next to him, his gaze trailing after Abby. “Seems like a keeper to me, man.”

“Yeah, she definitely is.” He’d thought she was strong before, but her actions the other night had completely stunned him. And she’d done it to protect him as much as herself. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could contain his feelings for her.

“What’s happening? What’d I miss?” Taggart asked, stopping beside them with a fresh beer in his hand. He’d cut his red-gold hair short for the trip, but at least had ditched the somber suit jacket and tie for the reception.

“Just admiring the view,” Hamilton said with a smirk.

Kai ignored them both, his gaze stuck on Abby as she bent slightly at the waist to offer one of his oldest friends something from the tray. Whatever he said to her must have been funny as hell, because she laughed, and in that moment she was so beautiful—inside and out—it made him ache. Their time together here on Maui hadn’t been at all what he’d imagined or hoped it would be.

And yet…everything that had happened, including the bad things, had only brought them closer and intensified his feelings for her.

Someone nudged him in the ribs. He tore his gaze away from Abby, blinked at Taggart. “Sorry?”

His commander chuckled. “She’s got you twisted around her finger already, huh?”

“More like welded, I think.”

He took them both around, introducing them to various people, and stopped finally at histutu, who was seated on the padded bench in the corner of the garden, holding court like a Hawaiian queen of old, no less than a dozen men surrounding her, hanging on her every word.

As the conversation flowed around him, Kai’s gaze drifted back to find Abby, who was near the kitchen talking with two women. She was watching him.

The instant their gazes met, she smiled, a private smile just for him. And the open admiration and reverence on her face was so powerful it hit every last undefended piece of his heart.

She wasproudof him.

For a moment, Kai couldn’t breathe. No one had ever looked at him like that before. Not even histutu, who loved him to death and was proud of him in her own way. But not like this.

Because Abby looked at him with total pride—as though she was honored to call him her man.

Heart thudding hard against his ribs, Kai set his beer down on a nearby table without even looking, unable to tear his gaze away from hers, and closed the distance between them. He needed to tell her.Now.

She stood and met him partway, her eyes searching his anxiously. “You okay?” she murmured, cupping the side of his face with her hand.

Her concern and touch almost undid him. Kai curled his fingers around hers, his heart about to burst. “Come with me.” Holding her hand tight, he started for the front door.

“Where are we going?” she asked, trailing after him.

---