Page 34 of Big Island Moonlight
“How’s it going?” Tenn asked as he walked in.
Lani tossed her tablet to one side, where it landed on the couch with a gentle bounce.
“That good, huh?”
She huffed out a laugh. “It’s fine. The drawings are done, but I’m having trouble getting it formatted.”
“You’ll figure it out.” He sat beside her and draped an arm over her shoulders.
“I know.” She sighed. “It’s just fidgety and annoying.”
“Try it tomorrow when you’re rested.”
“I have to get the girls out the door first thing in the morning to get them to that game up in Waimea. And I feel like I’ve been working on this for ages. I just want to finish the thing so that I can see if it even sells.”
“It will.”
“I just…” She looked towards her tablet, hating the process and itching to get back to it at the same time.
“Give it another try after dinner.”
“Good idea.” She slumped in her seat, finally relaxing into his embrace. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know. Being frazzled and distracted. Being pulled a dozen different ways at once.”
“Is there anything that I can do to help?”
“You already cook all of our meals in addition to running the restaurant. What more could a girl ask for?”
“Well…” He ran a hand over her head, brushing the hair back from her face and massaging her scalp at the same time. “If you think of anything, let me know.”
“Mama!” Rory ran in and vaulted over the side of the sofa. “Can I do Italian?”
“Sure.” Lani pulled up the app that she’d downloaded and handed over the tablet.
“Grazie!” Rory snatched it and ran off.
“She’s been consistent with that,” Tenn said.
“Yeah, she’s getting pretty good. She’s even further along than I am.”
He pulled away so that he could look her in the eyes. “You’re doing it too?”
“Sure.” She frowned up at him, surprised by his tone.
“You never said that you were learning Italian.”
“Well… yeah. Rory and I are learning it together.”
He removed his arm from around her shoulders and scrubbed the palms of his hands against his pants, something that he only did when he was really agitated.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. It feels weird that you didn’t tell me.”
“I’m… sorry?” She gaped at him in surprise. “I didn’t think I needed to. I mean, we’ve talked about me taking Rory over there for a visit…”
