Page 17 of Forbidden Hawaiian Nights
As luck would have it, and for the first time in weeks, dazzling blue skies had been replaced with driving rain.
It was a little after four and Mia had cycled from one of her clients, a guy with a roof garden and ambitious plans to turn it into a vegetable paradise with wild flowers in tubs. She had had to gently dissuade him from plans to add a couple of bee hives to the mix because he liked honey.
The sun had been shining when she’d left her house but in the space of a couple of hours the skies had gone from cerulean blue to leaden grey and then the heavens had opened.
Instead of the twenty-minute ride to the hotel, she had taken over forty-five minutes, and it was after five by the time she pulled away from the main drag and along the quiet side roads that led to the construction site.
The hotel was located in a brilliant spot, a taxi ride from the city but edging towards the sea, against a backdrop of stunning land dense with trees and threaded with waterfalls.
It was the perfect getaway, a child-free hotel where there would be no limits to the luxury on offer.
The site had been very carefully chosen and it was a brilliant example of the magical juxtaposition on the island of wild nature, urban seaside and captivating metropolis.
The sun was fading by the time she skidded to a stop and wiped the rain from her eyes to look at what had been accomplished over the past few months.
Less than Max had expected. She knew that from a couple of the things he had said after his abbreviated visit there with Nat. In fairness, she couldn’t blame him. The schedule had been pushed back several times because first of all Izzy had decided not to go with any of the suggestions her brother had made and then, having charted a different route, she had dithered when it had come to making her mind up on several crucial points.
Tarpaulin protected some of the half-built rooms, and for the rest foundations had been laid and were patiently awaiting stage two. The weeds coiling round the cement and bricks seemed to indicate that several of those foundations had given up all hope of being completed and were happy to wave a white flag and kick back for the duration.
Mia leapt off the bike while shoving it upright all in one smooth motion and sprinted towards the one bit of the hotel that was the least forlorn.
The extensive kitchen was pretty much done, which was to say that there were walls, a roof, concrete ground and various partitions, gaps and openings where appliances would eventually fit. The space was enormous. She arrived in a soaking rush to find Max already there and waiting for her.
The construction workers had kitted out the place as best they could so that they could do some very rudimentary cooking. There was a kettle, some mugs, an electric hot plate and a motley assortment of mismatched chairs.
A working mini-fridge was plugged into a socket and there was an electric fan.
‘You’re late.’
Still trying to dry herself the best she could in the absence of a towel, Mia screeched to a halt and glared at him.
He was as dry as a bone and had helped himself to a mug of coffee, which he was loosely holding, half-resting it on his lap. He dwarfed the chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. He looked dry and comfortable and utterly elegant in an understated way. Faded jeans, tan loafers and a white short-sleeved tee shirt.
‘Thank you for pointing that out,’ Mia snapped. She gave a final squeeze of her hair and saw that he was holding out a handkerchief for her. Pride made her want to ignore it completely, but pride would have to take second place to practicality, and right now she just wanted some part of her to be dry.
She wiped her face and handed him back the handkerchief. It was late, so a completely wasted trip, because there was no way she would be able to show him anything now.
She’d cycled like a maniac to get here and his opening words were you’re late?
Mia thought he was lucky she didn’t hurl something at him, and she wouldn’t have cared whether she was a handsomely paid employee or not.
‘I cycled here,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘It was fine when I left but, since I’m not a meteorologist, I didn’t predict this thunderstorm, so it took a lot longer than I’d banked on.’
Max stood up and continued to look at her while she cast him a glowering, baleful, sullen look.
‘You’re soaked.’
‘Thanks for pointing out the obvious.’
‘You should have pulled over and phoned me to cancel. It wouldn’t have been the end of the world.’
Mia didn’t say anything because that hadn’t even occurred to her. She’d been running on adrenaline, not paying as much attention as she should to her client, keen to head off, because the thought of seeing Max had been a hot, driving excitement in her veins.
So hot and so driving that common sense had taken a back seat. Of course she should have called him! As soon as the clouds had started turning an angry black, she should have pulled over, got out her mobile phone and explained the situation. An idiot would have been able to figure out that driving rain would make a nonsense of her timings.
‘Come on.’ He urged her towards the door, hand cupping her elbow. ‘There’s a half-dirty tea towel hanging around here somewhere, but no convenient pile of towels, I’m afraid. I’ll get you home.’
‘Get me home?’
