Page 37 of Kai
“That you are too good to be true,” I offered bluntly. “Men like you don’t really exist. And if you tell me you play the ukulele, your favorite song isSomewhere Over the Rainbow, and you’re a top-of-the-line hula dancer, I’m going to drop you into my cliché category right here, right now.”
“Good to know you’ve got a cliché category,” he said. “I imagine it’s just one of many.”
How the hell did he know that?
“That’s a no to the ukulele,” he offered. “I’m gonna go meh onSomewhere Over the Rainbow, unless it’s Iz’s version, may he rest inPo. It always leaves me misty-eyed. Do you have a problem with that, Cece?”
“Who? Me?” Whenever I heard the sweet melody, I wanted to cry rivers of emotion, but I would never admit that. “A problem with sentimentality? No, not me.”
“’Cause you’re so tough?” he ventured.
I taunted him with another smirk. “Do you have a problem with toughness, Kai?”
“I like toughness. Especially mental toughness. As for the hula dance thing, sorry but not sorry,” he said. “My grandmother made sure I learned the traditional dances. It’s a way to honor my heritage. Does that mean you’re gonna stick me into your Hawaiian cliché category for-fucking-ever?”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
This man was a mix of so many things. He was a prime example of the American melting pot and yet didn’t fit into any one category. He was hunkyandhumble, tough as nailsandsoft as a down duvet, sensitiveandstrong. Talk about a bunch of contradictions.
“Sorceress, please, have mercy.” He pressed his hands together as if in prayer and kept a straight face. “I can’t bear to be anyone’s cliché. It’s humiliating. Punch me, kick me, shoot me, stab me, but don’t punish me like this. I don’t wanna be December in some Hawaiian calendar.”
The laughter burst out of me, rusty but honest. His pleading expression made his plight even more comical. He was doing his best not to laugh himself, but he was losing.
An amused smile curved my lips. “Would you settle for January, then?”
He rolled his eyes. “Please kill me now.”
“All right.” I had to get a hold of my giggles. “Not a cliché.”
“You have my most sincere gratitude.”
Time to stop fangirling the man and move on to the business of finding out more about him. “Is this your personal boat?” I asked.
He looked around and flashed a proud smile. “She is.”
“You’ve done well for yourself.”
“I’ve got what I need and a few extras, likeSerenity, but money is not a huge incentive to me.”
“That sounds a little disingenuous.” This was my chance to test whether he fit into my gold digger category. “Everyone loves money.”
“As a means to an end, maybe,” he admitted. “When your goal is to enjoy the present and live at peace with who you are, you don’t need a lot of money.”
“But you want it, right?” I pushed the issue, willing his aura to assist me in my quest for truth. “You make a lot of dough plying your trade.”
“True.” As if responding to my summons, his remarkable aura reappeared and purred in my ears. The radiance made me squint as he continued to speak. “Dagger is a generous boss, and BB is a co-op that rewards its team members well.”
“A guy as smart as you could turn into a money-making machine.”
“I’ll take the smart and reject the money-making machine wholeheartedly.”
“My father did it.”
“No offense, but the last thing I ever want to be is someone like your father.”
“No offense taken.” His aura shimmered for a second, as if betraying a whiff of indignation on his part, but I was relentless. “So, if making money is not your thing, why work for Dash and Tracker Team?”
“Because I love my job,” he said. “I love the change itcan bring about in the world and the brothers and sisters I fight with. I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s got nothing to do with greenbacks. I got paid what most people would consider a pittance while I was on active duty, and yet I served proudly.”
