Page 77 of Try Me

Pearl pursed her lips and shook her head. “I’m going to regret this,” she muttered. “Don’t make me regret this, okay?”

Declan nodded.

“You blink and look to the right every time before you lie,” she said in a rush of words.

Declan’s mouth dropped open. “I don’t.”

“You do.”

Declan thought about it. Did he? “Ask me something to test it.”

“Okay.” Pearl tapped her bottom lip with her fingernail, thinking. “What do you think our chances of getting out of here in time for the contest are?” she asked.

Declan planned to do everything he could to get them back to Oahu on time. As soon as it was fully light, he would walk down to Wainiha, find a phone, and get some help. But he knew things didn’t always go as planned. The roads could be out. The river flooded.

Keeping his face as still as possible, Declan lied, “I think they’re good.”

Pearl’s eyes narrowed and she nodded. He must have passed the test. He gathered her in his arms and rolled so they were lying back on the bed. Pearl settled against him, using his chest for her pillow.

“I’ll get you back to Oahu in time,” he promised.

“I’ll have to fly again,” she said, shivering.

“Don’t worry about that now.”

She brushed a hand over his collarbone and then down his chest to flatten against his ribs. She took a deep breath and then sighed against him. Declan traced circles over Pearl’s arm, and she snuggled into him, hooking her leg over his hips. His fingers delved into her hair, and he kneaded her scalp.

After a moment, her breathing slowed, and she fell asleep. Declan closed his eyes and listened to the sound of Pearl’s breathing and the rain pounding the roof. He should have been itching to leave. The endless rain should have been driving him mad, but it wasn’t. He was fine. Even the pressing urgency of the contest wasn’t worrying him. When day broke over the mountains, he would go into town and find a phone. Until then, he wasn’t letting go of Pearl.

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