Page 84 of Stone
Another loud cheer drew my attention. I lifted my gaze to the limbo contest, laughing as I shook my head. “She’s fearless.”
“She’s pretty amazing if you ask me. Maybe you should tell her you think so.” He leaned further in and we both watched as she took her turn. With her lithe body, she easily slipped under the teak pole. “Oh! Would you look at that? She’ll go to the final round.”
“I tell her.” Nope. I’d done nothing more than tell her she was beautiful. I threw back the remainder of my whiskey, wondering how to break through the final barriers we continued to have. Maybe not keeping things from her was my best option.
The collective cheer made her laugh, the lilting sound filtering all the way to where we were sitting.
I was thrilled for her, sticking my knuckle and thumb between my lips and whistling my appreciation. “You go, girl.”
She continued laughing as she took a bow, stepping away as two guests lowered the bar one last time.
“It’s like she belongs here, bro,” Kekoa said in my ear.
I curled my upper lip, giving him a quick toss of my head. “She wants to go back to Paris.”
“I don’t think so.” His voice held a singsong timbre. “But she’s torn.”
“Did she say that?”
“She might have a good opportunity that she’s unsure about.”
Shifting closer, I got in his face. “Spill it.”
“Nope. Like I said. The two of you need to talk.”
Gritting my teeth, I hissed under my breath. I’d sensed something had been on her mind since talking with her friend in Paris. Why wouldn’t she be up front with me?
Well, fuck. The answer was easy. Because I’d been all over the place with my emotions.
“Mind your own business, Kekoa.” I shifted in my seat, prepared to order another drink. I’d covered all the bases and felt secure enough to relax for the evening. However, Bradford’s call had pissed me the hell off. He was hiding something, determined to talk to her and avoid my questions.
I’d point blank asked him who Matis was to him and he’d ignored me. I knew when someone was lying or purposely keeping something from me. He was doing both. His urgency in needing to speak with Dani troubled me the most.
Was Dani hiding something from me as well? I hated myself for thinking that way, but I’d sensed her needing to tell me something from the beginning. Granted, my brooding mood swings hadn’t offered her the most trustworthy opportunity, but she’d also never held anything back from me.
Until I’d started to make her feel as if there’d been someone else. If only she knew how lonely the nights had been. Maybe that was something I should explain to her.
“You should spend more time talking to her, bro,” Kekoa advised. “Your mood swings can be a killer. She’s light and bubbly and you’re like Jack the Ripper.”
“What?” I threw him a harder look, laughing at the same time. He was perhaps the only man who knew how drastic the mood swings were. I could fake it with everyone else, but he’d seen me at my worst.
Which had happened a hell of a lot.
“Just sayin’. A woman like Daniella is tough to find once, let alone twice. If you lose her this time, you’re going to be one miserable son of a bitch to deal with. What am I saying? You are already a miserable son of a bitch to deal with.”
“Fuck you.”
“She’s one great girl.” His eyes narrowed as soon as the words came out of his mouth and instantly, my hackles were raised.
I snapped my head toward her, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. I pushed the empty glass onto the bar, standing and taking a step closer to the makeshift dance floor.
Kekoa was still searching the woods surrounding the dance floor.
“What did you see?”
“Maybe nothing. Some guy standing in the shadows by the tree over there. As far as I can tell, everyone invited to the party is hovering by the bar or surrounding the limbo contest.”
The moment I turned my head looking in the direction Kekoa indicated, someone slipped out of view. The split second was all I needed to confirm it was a man dressed in dark attire. While Ihadn’t been able to see his face, I could swear I caught a glimpse of a weapon cast against the torch light.
