Page 184 of Smoke and Fire
My teasing expression faded. “Yeah,” I murmured, then dropped my gaze to fiddle with my cup of black coffee. “Maybe. I do enjoy the RV. I haven’t been many places, honestly. Visited some aunts and uncles and my grandparents.”
“Tour of your family?”
I grinned. “You know it. Now I’m here with Sione.”
“Looks like a great place.”
The answer hummed all the way to my bones. “It’s a wonderful place.”
“No ocean.”
I sighed. “No ocean. The mountains almostmake up for it. When they aren’t on fire, anyway. I still miss the surf.”
We fell into small talk, discussing the career paths I considered, his plans to see his grandparents in Tonga at Christmas, and updates on his family in California.
When the chatter dissolved, so did the conversation. Though I wracked my brain for something else to say, it didn’t come.
Hadn’t it always been that way, though? We never had much to say to each other. We enjoyed each other, but beyond our love of people and our culture, we didn’t have much else in common.
“I’m happy,” I finally said. He met my gaze. “I’m grateful, too. If you hadn’t broken things off, I wouldn’t have. We’d still be in something that didn’t really serve either of us. So thank you.”
An expression I couldn’t read flitted through his eyes. His shoulders lifted with a breath, swelling high on his neck, then dropped all at one. He swallowed and said, “I thought you hated me.”
I laughed. “At first, I think I did. Now? I see it.”
He closed his eyes. “Thank you. That’s . . . that’s what I needed to hear. I worried I’d made a mistake or . . . I don’t know.”
His eyes opened again, a rich velvet that I’d always consider a friend.
“Thank you, Dahlia. I miss you but I know we made the right decision. I just needed to be sure.”
He stood up, arms held out. Willingly, I stepped into a warm, familiar embrace. A rush of affection welled up inside me, but it was soft. Present, but not overpowering. Nothing like what I felt when I thought of Bastian.
I stepped out of Jakob’s embrace, but I held onto his arms. He smelled like home. “Flying or driving?” I asked.
“Flying,” he said. “Going to stop, see Sione, and fly out tonight.”
“Be safe doing all of that. And thank you. That’s . . . a big trip to make for a single conversation. Give my mother a hug for me?”
He smiled. “Of course. The trip was long but worth it.”
The door opened and the smell of smoke entered the shop on a breeze. My head snapped to the right to find a familiar figure silhouetted by the sun. Bastian stood there, halfway inside, his body crowding the doorway. I sucked in a breath.
Good heavens, but Bastian could enter a room.
Bastian’s gaze darted from me to Jakob and back again. Suddenly self-conscious, I stepped all the way out of Jakob’s arms and kept my attention centered on Jakob or else I’d never get through this moment. I’d throw myself into Bastian’s arms or kiss him or something equally desirable and crazy.
“Have a good trip,” I said to Jakob. “Sione is up the canyon, really easy to find. Follow the signs to Adventura. Park in the lot there, and go inside the main building. Mark or Stella will find him for you. He’ll be excited to see you."
Clearly seeing a change in me, Jakob studied my face, then Bastian. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. His expression became a silent question, but I shook it off.It’s good, I mouthed.
Jakob reluctantly nodded, then sent an assessing look to Bastian, who stood tall at the door.
By sheer willpower, I didn't look at Bastian. My heart galloped in my chest as Jakob gathered keys to a rental car and headed for the door. When he stepped outside, he sent one last wave, a long look, and turned his back.
Moments later, I stared right into Bastian’s ocean-sapphire eyes again.
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