Page 12 of Tropical Inferno

They ate at the Golden Porpoise that night and he’d breathed a sigh of relief when she came out of the bedroom wearing an off-the-shoulder white peasant-style top with khaki shorts and white sandals that had straps that wrapped around her ankles and crisscrossed to about halfway up her calf. She was dressed casually but was no less alluring so his relief was short-lived. Her hair was long, falling in soft waves down her back, her rosy skin a glowing contrast against the white of her blouse. The swell of her modest breasts peeked above the top of the fabric when she leaned forward and he couldn’t help but think how perfectly they would fit in his hands. She was simply stunning, her eyes shining as she spoke to the waiter and waved to someone they’d met on the beach earlier.

The best thing about Maddie was that she had no idea how enchanting she was. She mesmerized him as they talked and laughed, and he noted the way every man in the room, no matter what age, noticed her. Maybe it was her smile or the way she talked with her hands, adding passion and expression to everything, but most likely it was her aura. She appeared to love life and lived it with zest, despite yesterday’s setback. As soon as things had turned around she’d embraced her good fortune with enthusiasm, treating a guy she’d only known for two days like a good friend and behaving as though two stolen kisses weren’t even an issue.

He really liked her. Not just because she was sexy and he wanted to sleep with her—he thought about sex all the time, especially when he met attractive women—but because she was his own personal sea nymph. He didn’t know why he thought of her that way, or why she affected him like this, but he hadn’t wined and dined a woman in ages. Not since his last steady girlfriend, and that had been over two years ago. Yet with Maddie, he wanted to show her everything he loved about Oahu and spend every waking moment with her. He wanted to race her in the water again, he wanted her to go running with him in the morning—he even wanted to take her shopping. Not to buy her things, but to see what made her eyes sparkle. When she talked about things that made her happy, her entire face changed and it took his breath away. He wanted to find ways to recreate that look because it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. And he only had three more days to enjoy it.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she demanded. “I asked if I could run with you in the morning, not bear your children.”

He snorted, realizing he’d missed part of the conversation. “Sorry, momentarily got caught up in how beautiful you are.”

She paused, setting her fork on the edge of her plate. “Why would you say that?”

“Because you are? I’ve already said I’m not looking for sex… I wouldn’t say no to it but—”

“You already did,” she pointed out.

“I said we should wait. I wasn’t going to take advantage of a woman who’d just been shot at, but I definitely didn’t say no.”

She met his gaze curiously. “I’ve never met anyone like you. You’re so…”

“Cute?” he prompted with a grin.

“Yes.” She grinned back. “But I was going to say different. I don’t think I’ve ever met a guy who looks like he should be in a motorcycle gang but behaves like the CEO of a big corporation.”

He chuckled. “I am definitely not the CEO of anything! I’m an athletic mechanic who was lucky enough to make some money. Which may all be coming to an end if I don’t figure out what I want to do with my life.”

“What do you want to do?” she asked. “In your case, it should be simple. Do you want to work for your family? Do you want to open your own shop? Do you want to focus on cars, bikes or something else—okay, maybe not so simple.” She flushed. “I just mean, what does your heart want? I know what my heart wants, but I can’t have it, and that’s why I’m in limbo.”

“What does your heart want?” he deflected gently.

She looked away, staring at some imaginary point of interest on the far wall. “To be a professional athlete like my brothers. I mean, Dwight isn’t anymore, after he blew out his knee, but he was good enough and knows it was just bad luck that he got hurt, so he was able to move on. I’ll never know because I was overshadowed by two amazingly athletic brothers.”

Shit! This wasn’t the turn he’d expected the conversation to take and the last thing he wanted to do was talk about her brothers. Especially not Jamie. Yet there was no polite way out of this, and she looked so sad, he had to say something. “What sport do you play?”

“None anymore,” she admitted. “That’s just it. I was athletic just like them growing up, but they got good so fast, at such a young age, my parents started focusing on them. I mean, scouts were looking at Jamie by the time he was fifteen. He wasn’t big, but he was super talented, always a playmaker. They whisked him away to the juniors and—”

“Uh, what sport?” He had to ask even though he already knew everything; but if he didn’t it would give him away.

“Hockey. My older brother plays in the NHL. Well, he did.” She sighed.

“Did?” He was going to hell; there was no doubt about it now.

“He was hurt—beaten by a group of skinheads and almost killed. They don’t know if he’ll ever play again.”

“I’m sorry. That sounds terrible.”

“It was.” She took a breath. “Anyway, I’m trying not to think about it. It gives me nightmares and my therapist said I should completely detach from everything that happened while I’m on vacation.”

“Were you with him?” he asked in surprise.

“No.” She shook her head. “But you have no idea what he looked like when we got to the hospital.” A single tear dripped down her cheek and Hawk reached out to wipe it away.

“I’m sorry—we don’t have to talk about it. Tell me about the triathlon.”

“It’s actually part of my therapy,” she said. “My doctor recommended I do something physical because it helps with anxiety, but also so I could push myself out of my comfort zone. He suggested running a marathon but that’s lame—everyone does it. I wanted to do something more, something to prove to myself, if no one else, that I’m as athletic and talented as they are. I know it sounds silly, but I can’t help it. I need to do it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. A triathlon is incredibly hard and would be an amazing accomplishment. You’re really going to have to get on the bike-riding part, though. You seem to have the swimming down, and we’ll see how you are when we run in the morning, but you said you don’t really have access to a bike. You need to get one.”

She nodded. “I hate asking for anything expensive, especially now, but I’m going to tell Jamie that’s what I want for Christmas. A triathlon bike.”

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