Page 15 of Taboo

She laughed, and just this once, she didn’t worry about her schedule or people waiting on her.

chapter six

Julienne fell asleep justafter takeoff and missed most of the trip. Nothing new for her. She tended to sleep during a flight or if she wasn’t driving. Truth was, though, she needed the sleep. She hadn’t had enough the night before, and she was still groggy when she finally stepped out of the Wulf family jet. The balmy Hawaiian air wrapped around her, making her want to go back to sleep. One of the things about Hawaii was that her type A traits did seem to disappear. When the air was so warm and sweet, why would she want to do anything but sit on the sand and enjoy it?

“Bloody hell, I love it here,” David said as he walked beside her. He had been chomping at the bit to find out what happened, but he knew Julienne wouldn’t talk in front of their flight staff. That just wasn’t done and, for a woman who was suffering in the rags back in England, Julienne wanted to make sure not to give any of them any more information.

Besides, she wasn’t sure how to explain what happened.

“Welcome back to the island, Ms. Wulf,” John their family driver said. She smiled at him, as staff ran around them bringing her luggage to the back of the town car.

“Mahalo, John, and I’ve told you to call me Julienne.”

He just smiled and held the door open for her. She slid inside as David made sure their luggage was stowed properly.

Julienne to the family: We made it to Oahu.

Nic: Oh, good, and you’re a couple of days early. Sit by the pool and get a tan.

Mother: Good to know, dear.

Jensen: She has work to do, Nic.

Nic: She flew halfway around the world. She gets a few days off.

Jensen: Excuse me. I thought I was the CEO of the company.

Julienne rolled her eyes. Her brother and sister-in-law were always bickering. She assumed it was their personal foreplay. Knowing them, they would end up having sex just because of this conversation. And thinking that made her feel icky.

Jakob: Who is this and why are you telling me you’re in Hawaii?

And, then there was Jakob, the brother who could charm anyone, especially all the women who flocked to his movies, except the women he was related to. He irritated everyone in their family line. Well, except Mother. Her mother didn’t put up with any of his antics, so he knew not to even try.

David slipped into the town car beside her. “I take it that everyone knows we’re here?”

“Yep.”

“Good,” he said. “I could sleep for a thousand days.”

“The ride back the other way will be much worse. Remember the wedding?”

“That’s because you insisted on getting right back to work.”

She had. Maybe she should have spent more time on the island last time, but at least she should have at least a month here to explore everything. And the Johnson Hotel was on Maui, so she would get to spend some time over there too.

They talked about nothing important as they made their way through the mid-afternoon traffic. Oahu had always intrigued her. She had traveled all over the world, but she didn’t think she had ever been any place that had so many different climate zones as the most populist island in the chain. Growing up on an island had a very different feel in England than it did here, she thought with a smile.

Before long, they were pulling into the house her brother had purchased for the family to use. Marta met them at the door.

“Aloha, Marta,” Julienne said with a smile. “How are you doing today?’

“Fine, Ms. Jules.”

At least she wasn’t Ms. Wulf to Marta. It took them about thirty minutes to get their luggage into the house and get settled in their rooms. By the time she was walking down the open staircase that led to the main living area, she was ready for a nap again.

David was waiting for her. He’d already thrown on his swim trunks and was sipping a martini. Marta appeared with a glass of whiskey for her.

“Thank you, Marta.”

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