Page 94 of Try Easy

Lou released him and turned to look at the wall of photographs she’d spent years admiring. She felt as though she was queen of the world with her picture on that wall. This was the best moment of her life, and it pained her that the only person she wanted to share it was across the Pacific Ocean.

Lou walked backto the bank on a cloud of happiness. Even the rain didn’t bother her.

She went in through the employee entrance at the back and headed straight to the bathroom where she planned to lock herself in and look through the rest of the photographs.

“Mary Lou?”

Lou stopped and turned to look at Jessica, one of the newest tellers at the bank. Jessica had been hired while Lou was in Hawaii.

“You can call me Lou,” she said. “Everyone does.”

“Okay.” Jessica stepped closer, her face lit with curiosity. “There’s a very handsome man waiting for you in the lobby.”

“Oh.” Lou clutched her purse with the photographs tight to her side. “Can you tell him I’m coming?” she asked Jessica. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Sure, but I wouldn’t keep him waiting too long. The girls are circling him like sharks.”

Lou was sure Paul could handle himself for as long as it took her to glance through the photographs. She would spend more time looking at the prints and negatives tonight, but she couldn’t wait to get a glimpse of them. The fat envelope felt like it was burning a hole in her purse.

Jessica went out into the lobby, presumably to tell Paul Lou would be right out. Lou hurried into the bathroom, locked the door, and took out the envelope of pictures.

The first few had been taken in the graveyard. There were the crooked tombstones poking through the grass and a spectacular one of the Honolulu skyline in front of the sea. She flipped to the next photograph, and her heart lodged in her throat.

It was shot of Keoni standing on the hilltop. He was wearing the dark sunglasses, so she couldn’t see his eyes, and his hand was raised in the shaka sign. His hair was damp, and the white shark’s tooth necklace winked against his throat.

That was the first day they had met.

The photograph slipped out of her fingertips, and she let it fall to the bathroom floor. A sob caught in her throat, and tears filled her eyes.

She loved Keoni. There was no way she could marry Paul. Even if she never saw Keoni again, she still couldn’t marry Paul. She couldn’t settle for a mediocre love knowing that spectacular love existed.

Lou reached down and picked up the photograph of Keoni and replaced it in the stack with the others. She put the pictures back in her purse and left the bathroom.

She walked down the long hall to the lobby, knowing that Paul was out there waiting for her, and she was going to break his heart.

She opened the door to the central part of the bank, bypassed the tellers, and walked into the lobby. A strange sense of calm settled over Lou, and she knew she was doing the right thing.

She scanned the faces of the customers, but she didn’t see Paul. Maybe he had decided not to wait any longer. Lou sighed and turned to leave. Then her eyes lit on a man sitting with his back to her. Her eyes widened, and her pulse raced when she saw the guitar case resting at his feet. There was no mistaking his broad shoulders, his thick unruly hair, or the faint scent of the ocean he carried with him.

It was Keoni. He was here.

Lou studied the familiar set of his shoulders encased in a tan colored jacket. She had never seen Keoni in a jacket, or anything other than a T-shirt, but she knew it was him.

And then he turned and looked over his shoulder, giving her a glimpse of his strong profile. The bruise on his eye was gone, and the split on his lip had healed. His face was cleanly shaved, and his hair had been trimmed so that she could see his ears.

He had nice ears.

Keoni saw her, and he got quickly to his feet. Lou stared at him, taking in everything about him. His eyes, his hair, his body.

It was really him.

She moved toward him as if she was being pulled toward Keoni by a magnet. She had no choice but to get closer.

He must have felt the same, because in two long strides, he was standing in front of her, close enough to smell the ocean in his hair. Lou was eye level with his throat where the shark’s tooth necklace disappeared under the collar of his shirt.

“Howzit?” he asked.

Lou couldn’t stop the smile from taking over her face. “It’s really you,” she said, reaching out to touch his hand.

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