Page 14 of Trust

“Still too young.”

“Agreed. Still, I understand what he’s going through.”

“Oh, you do?”

“He’s in love with a woman he thinks is too good for him.”

Her heart melted. How did he still keep doing that after the past few years? “I’m not too good for you.”

“Oh?”

She shook her head and bit her lip.

“How about I show you how bad I can be?” he asked, lifting her out of the water and into his arms.

Four

Jakob sat in the back of the family limo and waited. John and he had arrived ten minutes earlier, but Jakob still hadn’t moved to get out of the car. He should have rented a car, and he would tomorrow. It was pretentious to have the family limo drive him around Oahu. Plus, he wanted a convertible. Jakob always felt everyone should ride in a convertible in Hawai’i at least once.

Thinking of convertibles, he thought about Lani’s. The fact that Ben didn’t seem upset by what happened with her car bothered Jakob. It was so out of character. And he felt there was more that Lani wasn’t telling him. Her unhappiness was easy to see…but more, he could feel it. No one else noticed in the years since he’d met her, but Lani’s moods often affected him.

He glanced around the parking lot once again. He did not see the SUV Lani had been driving earlier, so he waited. He didn’t want to go into the restaurant and be alone with Ben and Royal. He hated that the thought even crossed his mind.

He and Ben had clicked as friends from the moment they’d met. He’d been on the island to play a professional surfer, and Ben had been eager to help him portray the culture properly.That’s why dating Royal was an odd choice. Hell, marrying her…he would have laughed in Ben’s face just a couple of years ago.

Someone tapped on his window, and he started. Lani was standing beside his car.

“John, I’m gonna go in. Why not take the rest of the night off?”

“Are you sure?”

“Lani or Ben will give me a ride home.”

“Of course. Have a good night, sir.”

“You too, John.”

She stepped back to let him open his car door.

“Daydreaming?”

“No. Thinking about when I first met your brother.”

Her smile dimmed a little. “Oh.”

“Yeah. When I came to the island, the one person in the world of surfing everyone said would be best to talk to was your brother. Kingston Surfing had a reputation of sponsoring some of the best surfers in the world and showcasing the Hawaiian culture.”

She nodded. “We did.”

“Not anymore?”

She shrugged. “He’s changed.”

The sadness he heard in her voice struck a chord in him. He did not like it one bit. He wanted to make her smile. Better yet, he would love to hear her laugh.

“Yeah, well, sometimes the right woman can still make a man do crazy things.”

Like, sign a contract to act in a show based in Hawai’i. Jakob was starting to realize that his motives might reach beyond career aspirations. Maybe the main reason was standing in front of him.

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