Page 101 of Try Easy

Promises

Keoni

Adjustingthe strings of his guitar, Keoni strummed a few chords and glanced up at Lou. She was standing in the frame of the bathroom door wearing his shirt. It hung down to mid-thigh, leaving most of the creamy expanse of her long legs bare. His mouth watered thinking that she was naked under his shirt.

God, she was beautiful with her hair all messy from his hands running through it.

His fingers stilled on the guitar, and he thought about putting it down and picking Lou up instead.

“Is this my gift?” she asked, looking at the guitar.

Keoni nodded. “I wrote you a song. You want to hear it?”

“Yes.” She took his hand and led him down the hall. “This is my room,” she said. “The view isn’t as nice as yours, but…” She shrugged.

Keoni smiled, watching her. Ending her sentence with “but” and shrugging was a very Hawaiian gesture. He wondered if she had managed to pick it up in her short time on the island.

He looked around at Lou’s bedroom. The colors were vibrant—bright blue bedspread, purple paint and dozens of photographs adorned the walls, but she was right, the view was awful. All he could see out the single window was the brick facade of the building next door.

He realized he hadn’t officially asked her to come back to Hawaii with him, but he was getting there. The song was part of his plan.

Keoni started strumming the guitar, coaxing a sound out of the instrument that was melancholy and romantic. He glanced up at Lou and saw that her eyes were tearing up.

“Sit down,” he said. “Try listen.”

She sat down, and she listened while he sang the words to a song he’d written for her. The lyrics had been inspired by the story of the Diamond Head. It was about a man who had been searching for his perfect bride only to find her in the most unlikely place. As he sang the last few lines, he hoped she would understand what he wanted.

“Once I found you, I knew you were the one. Take a risk on me. All that you are is all I’ll ever need. Come away with me. I will give you everything. Come away with me, you’re all I’ll ever need.”

Keoni finished the song and looked up at Lou. She was silent, studying his face with tears shining in her eyes.

“Are you asking me to come back to Hawaii?” she asked.

Keoni reached for Lou’s hand. He wanted to ask her to marry him, but he knew it was too soon. He would settle for her coming back with him to Hawaii.

Keoni was about to answer Lou when there was a loud knock on the door. Lou’s eyebrows drew together, and she glanced at the clock on her dresser.

“I better go see who that is,” she said.

Lou stood up and went to the living room. Keoni sat on the bed, looking at the photographs decorating her walls. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said she was a fantastic photographer. Every picture was amazing. Lou was going to be famous one day, Keoni would bet on it.

Lou came back into the room looking upset. She was dressed in her skirt and blouse, and she handed Keoni his shirt.

“What’s the matter?” Keoni asked, taking his shirt.

“Paul’s here,” she said.

“I thought you ended things with him.”

“I did,” she said. “I just haven’t told him that yet. I just decided it when I saw you in the lobby of the bank.”

Keoni blew out a frustrated breath. “What are you going to do?” he asked.

She pinned her hair up on top of her head. “I’m going to break up with him.”

Keoni couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over his face. “Do you want me to stay in here?” he asked.

Lou studied him for a moment, her eyes trailing over his naked chest. “It might be better,” she said. “I’ll take care of it, okay?”

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