Page 7 of Duty and Desire

I bit back a smile. “And do you get many of these feelings?”

She let out a chuckle. “Yes, I do. You ask any of my children about their mother’s hunches, and they’ll all tell you the same thing. ‘If mother says do something, do it.’”

She was right about one thing. A break would do me good.

I closed my notebook. “Fine. I’ll go see what’s on offer at the bar.” I pushed my chair back. “Apart from Kai’s lethal cocktails.” They weren’t that bad—in fact they were pretty damn good—and although I wasn’t the sort of person who drank in the middle of the day, maybe it was time I changed that.

Who knows? It might even help.

I’d try anything once. Writers love to cite Ernest Hemingway’s famous advice, ‘write drunk, edit sober.’ Trouble was, Hemingway never actually said that. If anything, he advocated writing sober.

Yeah, but it might be fun trying to disprove that theory.

Kai placed a tall glass in front of me, its contents a blend of red and orange, an umbrella speared through a piece of pineapple, a cherry bobbing in it. “You’ll like this. And the shrimp won’t be long.”

I removed the paper umbrella and took a sip. “Okay, that’s good.” I could taste juice, but there was also a good measure of rum in there.

“So how’s the writing going?”

I snorted. “It isn’t.” Then I smiled. “Maybe I should write about you. The flirtatious, confident bartender who always seems to be in a good mood. You could be my main character.” I might have only been on Bora-Bora for a week, but I’d made two friends—Kai and Aulani. Kai was good for a laugh, and I needed that.

He was also very easy on the eye.

Kai laughed. “Not me, man. This is my whole life. No hobbies, no interests…. Your readers would be asleep by the end of the first page.” He glanced over my shoulder and smiled. “Thanks, Nick. Stick it behind the bar.”

I turned to discover who Nick was.

He was in maybe his mid-twenties with a shock of unruly black hair, a beard stuck someplace between five o’clock shadow and a baby beard, dark brown eyes, and a sweet smile. He carried a large box in both hands.

“Sure thing. Tamaroa apologized. Seems the delivery guy didn’t read the address label correctly.” There was a trace of an accent, not Tahitian, not French, but something vaguely European.

Kai nodded. “Yeah, he called to say you were bringing it over.”

Nick gave a wave of his hand. “See you around.” Then he was gone.

Kai watched him go, and I didn’t miss the gleam in his eyes.

“So is this Nick someone you’re interested in?” I had a feeling Kai batted for both teams—he flirted with everyone.

Kai chuckled. “He’s cute, but he isn’t my type. He’s a strange one, though.”

I frowned. “He didn’t strike me as strange.” Attractive, sure, but there’d been nothing out of the ordinary about him.

He leaned forward, his elbows on the bar. “He’s worked all over the island. He’s a lifeguard at one of the swanky resorts. He gives lessons in water sports, he works on one of the glass-bottomed boats that take tourists out to feed sharks, manta-rays, barracudas, he takes tourists out in a motorboat to explore the lagoon, he tends bar…”

I was impressed. “He sounds like a hard-working guy.”

“Oh, he is, but…” Kai’s brow furrowed. “Nick’s been living on the island for two, three years now, and I don’t know a damn thing about him.”

I smirked. “Just becauseyou’rean open book doesn’t mean everyone else has to be.”

His eyebrows shot up. “But to know absolutely nothing about him? That’s just weird.” Then he stilled. “Hey, now there’s an idea.”

“What is? You’ve lost me.”

He inclined his head in the direction Nick had taken. “You want a main character for a book? What about Nick?” He narrowed his gaze. “You mark my words. There’s more to him than meets the eye.” Kai grinned. “Aw, come on. There’s got to be a story there, right? And if there isn’t, you could invent one.” His eyes sparkled. “Why is he here? What is he running from? Why is he so secretive?”

I laughed. “Ever thought it might only beyouhe doesn’t engage with because he knows what a flirt you are?”

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