Page 32 of Try Easy

“Henry…”

“No arguments,” he said. He shooed Lou out of the kitchen. “This kitchen is too small for two people, especially when one of them is as gorgeous as you.” Henry fanned his face dramatically. “I’ll burn the food trying not to look at you in that outfit.”

Lou’s cheeks reddened. She was wearing pink satin shorts and a matching camisole. She hadn’t even thought to cover up. “I’ll go change,” she said.

“Oh, God, you’re blushing,” Henry said. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Don’t change. Don’t change a thing. You’re perfect just as you are. I was just kidding.”

Lou backed out of the kitchen. Henry poked his head around the corner, holding a frying pan in one hand.

“Mary Lou, don’t change. It’s Hawaii. I see girls in a lot less every day. I’m an idiot. I was just trying to flirt,” he said. “Ignore me. And don’t you dare change.”

Lou went back down the hall and ducked into the bathroom. She used the toilet, brushed her teeth, and raked her hair back into a severe bun. The humidity on the island was more than her hair was used to, and it sprang out from the confines of her pins to curl around her neck. She rinsed her face with water, clearing away the sleep, and confronted her reflection.

Her breasts were clearly defined under the thin material of the camisole, and if that wasn’t enough, her nipples stood at attention like two hard pebbles. Lou’s cheeks darkened with embarrassment as she realized the outfit left little to the imagination. Henry had probably thought she’d done it on purpose, that she was trying to flirt with him.

Lou went out of the bathroom and threw open the door to the bedroom.

“Wake up,” she told Penny, who was sleeping diagonally on the bed.

Penny grumbled, but rolled to her feet and shuffled out the door to the bathroom. Lou opened up her suitcase and searched for something to wear. She came across the white bikini she’d ordered from California to wear on the trip. It consisted of a few strings and two triangles. Lou groaned and threw it on the floor.

When Penny came back in the room, Lou was standing over her suitcase, scowling.

“What’s the matter?” Penny asked.

“I’m a shameless hussy,” Lou said.

Penny laughed. “What?”

Lou was thinking more of the kiss with Keoni than the contents of her suitcase, but she couldn’t admit that to Penny. “I didn’t bring anything decent to wear,” she said.

“Don’t be stupid.” Penny scooted Lou aside and pulled out the swimsuit bottom that matched the tiny white bikini. “This is perfect. We are in Hawaii, Lou. People don’t wear regular clothes.”

“That’s what Henry said.”

Penny crossed her arms and looked down her nose at Lou. “What else did Henry say?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

“My cousin is an idiot.”

“Actually,” Lou said, smiling, “he did say that.”

“Henry has been trying to hit on my friends for years. He’s harmless. He just likes to flirt.” Penny went to her own suitcase and started pulling out clothes. She showed Lou the bikini she intended to wear, which was even tinier than Lou’s. “Don’t worry about Henry. I already told him you’re practically engaged to a dreamboat in Seattle, and that you are the most respectable person I know. Henry knows he doesn’t stand a chance.”

Lou sighed and began tidying the contents of her suitcase. She meticulously folded a shirt as she thought about that kiss she and Keoni had shared. That single kiss had ignited something in Lou, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to put out the flame.

She shook out the skimpy swimsuit top and placed it on top of the rest of her clothes. She had been thinking of the warm Hawaiian sun when she’d bought the suit. She’d wanted to get the most exposure possible. Now, when she looked at it, she thought about wearing it for Keoni. What would he think if he saw her in that? What was the Hawaiian word for sexy? Would he teach it to her?

Lou closed her suitcase and zipped it up. Thinking about Keoni was pointless. She wasn’t likely to ever see him again. She planned to convince Penny over breakfast that they should cancel their plans with the two handsome locals and explore Hawaii on their own. The experience might not be as authentic, but it would be safer.

“Do you smell coffee?” Penny asked, interrupting Lou’s thoughts. “I smell coffee.”

Lou sniffed the air and detected the faint spicy and earthy scents of coffee. She loved the smell of coffee, but she barely liked drinking it. The only way Lou could stand the taste of coffee was with a heavy dose of cream. Her friends teased her that she liked drinking milk with a shot of coffee instead of the other way around. Lou knew she had enough cream in her coffee when it lightened to a soft caramel brown, which happened to be the same color as Keoni’s eyes.

Penny and Loutook their fresh-brewed coffee out onto the deck as Henry finished cooking them breakfast. As soon as they walked outside, Lou stopped and stared.

“This isn’t real,” she said, spinning around to take in the view.

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