Page 7 of Christmas in July

CHAPTER 4

LEILANI

“There! I’m done!” Theo shouts, closing his laptop with a dramaticbang.

I stir awake, and realize that I’ve been sleeping on his shoulder. Good grief… have I been drooling? Well, I warned him that wine would make me sleepy. He’s the one who kept ordering champagne every few hours.

“Are you happy with it?” I ask him, suppressing a yawn.

“Yes. Actually, can you read it over for me?” he asks, opening the laptop again. “I got suddenly inspired, thinking of the mountains.”

“Sure,” I say, rubbing my eyes. I tilt his laptop toward me, and scan over the article, illustrated by stunning photographs. I take my time and read over his work, impressed at all the clever phrases he managed to string together. I place my elbow on the arm rest and my chin on the palm of my hand. He writes about Hawaii being a land of hidden treasures below the surface, just like the mostly submerged mountain.

I nod appreciatively as I finish the final paragraphs. “It’s good,” I tell him. “You visited a lot of cool touristy spots, but I still feel like there’s a lot more to Hawaii that you didn’t get to see… or understand.”

“Maybe someday we can go back, and you can give me a proper tour,” he suggests. “Have you lived there for very long?”

“My whole life,” I respond. Then I frown. “Your article shows a lot of appreciation for the landscape and the natural formations, but what about the people? You know, Mauna Kea is like our Mount Olympus. To the Native Hawaiians, it’s the place where the gods live, an important part of our creation myths. Now it’s just covered in telescopes.”

“I’ve heard about those issues,” he responds.

“It’s all politics and arguments over who owns the mountain,” I explain to him. “The U.S. government has never done a great job of respecting native lands. But it’s such a rich spot for history, with dozens of archaeological sites and cultural properties. I just wish it was a bit more protected.”

“Isn’t it also one of the best spots for astronomy in the world?” he asks.

“Yes. I attended the University of Hawaii, and they own most of the observatories and sell viewing time for ridiculously high prices. Just seems a bit slimy to take something that has been so precious to so many people for so long, and monetize it for tourism.”

“Oh, I feel awful now,” he says. “My article is definitely encouraging more tourism, and not really focused on preservation.”

“That’s okay, Teddy,” I say, patting his hand. Too much champagne is never a good idea when there’s a handsome man around. Just a few drinks in, a little nap on his shoulder, and I’ve already moved firmly into Teddy-territory. I’ve even released my inhibitions enough to actually touch his hand instead of just fantasizing about it. I need to slow my roll.

“The mountains are beautiful and maybe your article will bring more people to the island, so that they can enjoy those spectacular views.” I release a sleepy yawn. “Who cares if it makes the University rich… it might make the people happy. People who might otherwise live their whole lives without visiting Hawaii. They’ll read your article and decide they have to make the trip. They’ll travel to my beautiful home and get to experience something magical. Something they might never have seen without your pretty story.”

Smiling to myself, I don’t even notice that my head is drifting back onto his shoulder. Images of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa dance across my mind, along with memories of family road trips to the summit when I was a child. My twin sister Kailani playing silly games with me along the way.I spy, with my little eye…

“You’re something magical,” Teddy says softly, when he thinks I am totally asleep.

My eyes shoot open with surprise. “What?”

“Oh, nothing—erm.” He clears his throat awkwardly. “Uh, I was just suggesting that we could save some money by sharing a rental car to Snowflake Creek, once we get to the airport.”

This invitation snaps me back to reality quite suddenly.

What am I doing? I don’t even know this man.

And I’m napping on his shoulder and calling him nicknames, like an idiot. I drag the back of my hand across my eyes to wipe the sleep away, as I sit up abruptly. I’m doing it again. Getting too comfortable with a stranger without asking him qualifying questions to make sure that he’s even a suitable person to date.

With my previously devastatingly bad lack of luck, I have proven that I’m cursed. Just a magnet for creeps. Good guys surely do exist, but they all seem to be taken. And if they are single, they just don’t seem to be attracted to me. They feel like great buddies, and friends, but there is zero chemistry. Zero spark.

And when there is a spark—well, they just end up being bad news. Everything seems to go wrong. My love life has been one comical disaster after another.

I reach up and smooth my clothes, straightening my posture. I try to brush away whatever silly sensation of excitement had begun to wash over me. And cause butterflies to flutter around in my stomach.

Calm down, body.It’s probably just the champagne bubbles, anyway.

“We should probably rent our own cars,” I tell him firmly. “I appreciate the offer, but we hardly know each other.”

“I’m not asking you to share my bed, little lady Lani,” he says with a chuckle. “Although you’re sort of already doing that. But we would have a lot more personal space in any sort of car than we currently have in this plane.”

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