Page 29 of To Steal a Heart

She tipped her head. “Small kine?”

“It’s Hawaiian Pidgin, meaning that it’s no big deal.”

She was intrigued. “How did you learn Hawaiian Pidgin?”

“A good friend of mine is part Hawaiian. He uses the phrase often. I guess it kind of stuck.” He gave her a boyish grin.

“Small kine.” She ran the phrase through her head. “I like it.”

“So you came from a good family?”

“I did.” She wrinkled her nose. “Granted, every family has their share of problems, but as far as families go, mine is pretty darn good. My mom and dad are still very much in love—gooey sweet. My oldest brother is happily married with a young daughter, who’s the cutest thing ever. My younger brother is a bit of a rebel. My parents wish that he’d straighten up and get serious about life, but he seems to be doing okay by playing it his way.”

“Sounds like my kind of guy.”

“You’d probably get along well with Forge,” she laughed.

“Forge. That’s an unusual name.”

Her eyes widened.Please don’t let him connect Forge with his YouTube channel. Gah! This fibbing thing was tough.

Concern touched his features. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she blinked. She glanced up. Clouds had moved in, obscuring the sun. “I wonder if we should head back. We don’t want to get caught out in a storm.” She grimaced. “I’m not sure how well I could handle the boat in bad weather.”

He looked up. “We should be okay for a while longer. Tell me more about your family.”

Arden was impressed that he wanted to know more about her, especially considering that he didn’t realize who she really was. In the past, Arden had gone on the defensive when her dates or boyfriends started asking too many questions about her family. However, Crew was simply trying to get to know her. “My baby sister’s name is Charlotte or ‘Charlie.’ She’s an anthropology student.”

“Where?”

“Harvard,” she answered as casually as she could.

“Wow. That’s impressive. She must be super smart.”

“She is. Also, she’s the high achiever in the family … at least when it comes to academics.” The wind picked up with a vengeance, rocking the boat and whipping Arden’s hair into her face and mouth. Her insides tightened. “We’d better head back.”

Crew took hold of her hand, blitzing electricity through her. “I’ll make you a deal.”

She was both intrigued and a little wary. “What sort of deal?”

“You can talk me through the mechanics, and I’ll take the helm going back.”

A clip of laughter tickled her throat. “Are you serious?”

He grinned. “I am. I love a good challenge. If I get us back before the storm, then you have to agree to spend every day of the rest of this week with me.”

“What?” It was Wednesday. That would mean she had three glorious days with Crew. Could she postpone her research for that amount of time?

“We’ll go sailing again. Next time, I’ll rent the boat. Also, we should rent bikes and go up 17-Mile Drive. It’s a scenic road that goes through Pebble Beach,” he explained.

“I’m familiar with 17-Mile Drive,” she retorted.

He acknowledged her comment with an indulgent grin. A second later, his voice gathered excitement. “Whaddaya say, Arden Croft, are you game? We’ll suck the marrow out of the next few days. Me and you.”

How could she saynoto a man like him? His challenging expression called to that inner part of her. She could make up the time lost. Heck, spending more time with Crew might even give her some good writing material. Hadn’t she just thought last night that she wished she could craft a character like Crew? Well, spending more time with him would certainly help. “Okay.”

A large, brilliant smile curved his lips. It had the effect of melting Arden to mush. It was a dang good thing Crew didn’t realize the large amount of control he had over her affections. “Good,” he said exuberantly. Then, he blinked. “Oh, there’s one more thing.”

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