Page 109 of Try Easy

The Plan

Hale’iwa,Hawaii

March 17

Lou

Lou stoodin Keoni’s driveway and watched Henry drive away. She turned to look at the house. It was just as charming as she’d remembered. The sloping shingled roof was framed by the blue sky. The white paint on the porch looked fresh, and flowers spilled from their beds into the lawn.

The breeze lifting her hair off her neck smelled of the salty ocean.

Lou took a deep breath of the fragrant air and marched up the steps of the front porch with her suitcase. She took another deep breath and knocked.

Lou glanced around as she waited.

Keoni’s beige VW Bug was in the driveway, and an upside-down canoe was in the yard next to a giant palm tree.

It was early afternoon, and the kids weren’t home from school yet. The street was quiet.

It struck Lou that Keoni may be asleep. He worked nights at the cannery, so it was possible.

Lou knocked again, louder this time in case Keoni was asleep. Doubts that had been circling her mind since she boarded the plane in Seattle grew stronger.

What if he turned her away?

What if he didn’t love her?

What if he wasn’t alone and another woman was sharing his bed?

Lou shoved the doubts to the back of her mind and raised her hand to knock again, but before her knuckles could touch the wood, the door flew open.

Keoni stood in the doorway, wearing only a towel around his hips.

Lou sucked in a surprised breath, shocked at how his appearance affected her. Keoni was just as stunning as she had remembered. His wet hair dripped onto his shoulders, and water clung to the perfection of his muscled chest.

Keoni’s presence was a dynamic force. He exuded quiet power and strength. Lou remembered seeing Keoni for the first time at the airport and thinking he was majestic. He was no less so right now, even dressed in only a towel.

Lou dragged her eyes up to Keoni’s face. His mouth was slightly open, and his eyes were guarded.

“Lou?” he asked. “What are you doing here?”

She had rehearsed this. She was going to lead with the picture in the magazine and the interview. She was going to apologize for not asking his permission to submit it, even though she hadn’t submitted it, that was Mr. Tollison.

Her mind was rambling, and when she opened her mouth, the words tumbled out. “I wake up thinking of you,” she said.

Keoni’s eyes flicked away from hers, and Lou had a sinking feeling that he didn’t feel the same.

Keoni glanced over his shoulder behind him, and the sinking feeling turned to despair.

He wasn’t alone.

“Lou,” he said with a sigh.

“Oh, god.”

Her throat clogged with tears and she started to turn away, then she realized she had made Henry leave. She was stuck.

Keoni reached out for her hand. When they touched, Lou felt the familiar frisson of electricity in their connection. Keoni’s fingers wrapped around her wrist, and he gave her a tug so that she stepped closer.

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