Page 72 of Try Easy

“Sounds made up to me,” Lou said, kissing him back.

Keoni laughed and ran his hand up Lou’s leg, causing goosebumps to break out along her skin. His hand dipped under the hem of her dress and went still when he realized she wasn’t wearing the bottoms of her bikini. His eyes flew to hers, and she shrugged.

“I couldn’t find them,” she confessed in a husky voice.

Keoni crushed his mouth to hers, and Lou never did hear the rest of the story about Diamond Head Crater.

By the timethey made it to Henry’s house, it was afternoon. Lou only had a few hours before her flight left. She needed to change, finish packing, and tell Keoni goodbye. As soon as they walked into the house, Lou could tell something was wrong. It was eerily quiet, and no lights were on.

Keoni had expected Bones and Henry to be back from the dive, and when they weren’t, he was visibly nervous. He went into the kitchen to use the phone.

“I’m going to call the marina,” he told Lou as he dialed.

Lou nodded and went to the bedroom to find Penny. She switched on the light and saw Penny’s suitcase on the bed, closed and ready.

“She’s outside on the deck,” Keoni called from the living room.

“Anything from the marina?”

“The boat is back. They’re probably on the way now.”

Lou spotted Penny on the deck. She was sitting on a chair with her knees pulled up to her chest, staring out at the backyard.

“Penny?” Lou asked, stepping out on the porch. “What’s the matter?”

Lou knelt down by the chair and brushed Penny’s hair out of her eyes. Her face was streaked with tears and her hair hung in limp strands around her face. Lou assumed Penny was just as sad about saying goodbye to Bones as she was about saying goodbye to Keoni.

“Samuel dumped me,” she said.

Lou gasped. “What?”

“He said he didn’t mean it. He didn’t really want to marry me. He was just having a good time.” Penny sniffed back tears as Keoni came out onto the deck behind Lou. “You’re all the same, aren’t you?” she asked, leveling Keoni with a pointed stare.

Keoni’s face turned red, and he glared back. “No.”

“It’s gonna be okay,” Lou told Penny. “You’ll get back to Seattle and forget all about that big oaf.”

“He’s not an oaf,” Penny wailed, finally succumbing to her tears. “Don’t say that.”

“I’m sorry,” Lou said, bewildered.

She wasn’t sure what to say. She looked up at Keoni for help and saw that he was staring at her with narrowed eyes. His dark eyebrows were drawn together over his eyes, and his mouth was set in a frown. He turned and went back inside the house without another word.

Lou tried to console Penny for a few more minutes, but there wasn’t anything she could do or say to make her friend feel better. Lou sighed. It was going to be a long flight to Seattle, but first, she had to say goodbye to Keoni. It was going to be the hardest thing she’d ever done.

Lou took a deep breath and went inside to find Keoni. She found him sitting on a stool in the kitchen. He had helped himself to a beer and was tipping it back when she walked up beside him. She laid her hand on his shoulder. He set the can of beer down and pulled away.

“Is that what you’re going to do, Lou?” he asked, his voice sounding hollow.

“What are you talking about?”

“Are you going to go back to Seattle and forget all about me?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer before he plowed on. “This is why I don’t date tourists,” he said, making the word sound like a curse. “They all leave at some point.”

Lou realized he was trying to make a joke, but it was terribly unfunny.

“You knew I was leaving today. Nothing has changed. Except now Bones has broken Penny’s heart.”

Keoni looked away, but not before Lou saw the flash of guilt cross his face.

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