Page 79 of Big Island Horizons
“Of course. I’m picking up Kai and the twins anyway. I could bring them all back to our place for the afternoon and then drop the girls off later. Unless you want me to keep them overnight?”
“Olivia’s probably desperate to sleep in her own bed tonight, but if she wants to hang out with you this afternoon that’s fine by me. Maybe Tenn can get a nap in before she gets home.”
“I’d be happy to feed them dinner too, if you want.”
“Sure.” Lani poked her head into the living room to ask Tenn what he thought, but he had already dozed off. She went back to Emma and nodded. “Definitely. Thank you so much.”
“Anytime.” Emma pulled her into another hug. “You get some rest too, okay?”
“Okay.” Lani squeezed her tight. “I’m glad that you’re home.”
“Me too.”
29
‘Olena
When Nate showed up unannounced for the second time that week, ‘Olena felt a warmth in her gut that couldn’t entirely be attributed to irritation. Which, the moment she realized it, only made her more annoyed with him. She refused to let her attraction show.
She crossed her arms and looked down at him from thelanai.
“The girls aren’t here today. My parents took them to the hot ponds.”
“I know.” Nate grinned up at her. He knew her too well to be put off by a few curt words.
She squinted at him suspiciously. “Have you been talking to my parents?”
His grin was unrepentant. “They’ve always liked me.”
“What are you doing here, Nathan?”
“I want to show you something.”
“What?”
“It’s a bit of a drive.”
“No.”
“Not far. But too far to walk. It’s on the other side of the highway.”
She narrowed her eyes, hoping that if she glared at him hard enough, he would go away. But his expression remained serene, even hopeful.
“Please?”
“Fine.” Going against all logic, she walked across her front yard and got into his truck.
The truth – and it was one that she could hardly admit to herself, much less anyone else – was that she wanted to be near him.
That magnetism, the sense of peace that she felt when she was by his side, had never really gone away. It had been overpowered by grief and resentment for the brief period of their divorce, and it had been relatively easy to resist over the years when she only saw him for a few minutes here and there, when he was on island and would come to pick the girls up for a day at the beach or some other weekend outing.
But now, things weren’t so clear cut. The longer he stayed, the more he kept showing up and investing time in the community and keeping his word, the harder it became for ‘Olena to resist the gravitational pull that she felt towards this man.
It didn’t mean that she had to like it. As a matter of fact, she downright resented the hold that he still had over her, all these years after their separation. But, at least in her own head, she had given up trying to pretend that attraction didn’t exist.
They didn’t speak as Nate drove up themauna.
But then, he had always been comfortable with silence.
