Page 96 of Try Me

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“She accused me of telling everyone that.”

“You never even talked to me, let alone told me you loved me.”

“Sorry about that,” Declan said, taking Claudia’s elbow to help her over a puddle.

“Don’t worry. I knew you were a dud going in. Why else would you have to pay for dates?”

“Ouch.”

“Truth hurts,” she said, blowing smoke in his direction. “What are you gonna do about it?”

“About what?”

“Miss Hawaii,” Claudia said, exasperated.

Declan’s whole body hurt thinking about losing Pearl. He couldn’t let it happen, but he didn’t know how to fix it. His head throbbed. It had been the longest day of his life, and tomorrow he had to face Sunset Beach.

“I don’t know,” he admitted.

“I’ll tell you what you’re going to do,” Claudia said, grabbing Declan by the arm. “You aren’t going to give up on her.”

Declan couldn’t help but smile at her determination. “What am I supposed to do?”

“You’re going to fight for her. Like they do in the movies.” She linked her elbow through his as they crossed the street. “Do you sing?” she asked.

He grimaced. “Only in the shower.”

“Recite poetry?”

After a moment’s consideration, he shook his head.

“Everyone thinks you’re this charming playboy,” Claudia said, squinting up at him as she took a drag off the cigarette. “Is that the best you got?”

“I can be charming,” he insisted.

She glared at him from the side of her eye. “I won’t hold my breath.”

They crossed the sidewalk that led to the beach, and Declan inhaled the salty air. He struggled to think of something he could do to win Pearl back, but all he could think of were her dark eyes filled with tears after seeing him kiss Claudia.

“You need to think,” Claudia said, smacking his shoulder with the whiskey bottle.

“Ow.”

“You need to channel a Hollywood hero! What would Clark Gable or Rock Hudson do? What would Keoni Makai do?”

“Keoni?” Declan asked. Stopping on the sidewalk, he narrowed his eyes at Claudia. “How do you know Keoni?”

“This isn’t my first time in Hawaii,” Claudia said. “I came here years ago, back when I was just a farm girl from Minnesota on a family vacation.” She took another swig of whiskey, wincing as it went down. “I met the man of my dreams and then I broke his heart.”

Declan’s jaw dropped. “Keoni hates tourists.”

“Because of me,” Claudia boasted.

Declan couldn’t convince his mouth to close. It had been the summer he’d finished high school when Keoni had disappeared every day for two weeks without explanation and then resurfaced with a newfound hate for everything involving tourism.

---