Page 3 of Blue Hawaiian
“Only the garment bag with my tux. The rest is in my carry-on.” He pointed to a rolling black suitcase beside him.
“Sorry your tux went missing. But I lost everything. No dresses, no swimsuits, no cute outfits for all our activities.” She grimaced as she imagined her sister’s reaction if she were to show up at every event wearing the hideous pink t-shirt. “I’m not even worthy to be the second-string maid of honor.”
He placed his hand on her arm. “You’re here, aren’t you? That’s what counts. It’s not your fault the airline lost your suitcase.”
Goose bumps prickled her skin. Even after all this time, his touch still had a powerful effect on her. “True, but Gabi suggested I squeeze everything into a carry-on. I ignored her, and look what happened.”
Not that her sister had followed her own advice. But Gabi didn’t suffer from the bad-luck gene like Jess. Both of Gabi’s suitcases had arrived when she did.
Connor gave her a sympathetic shrug. “Don’t sweat it. There’s no way you could have known.”
She regarded him with uncertainty. Bantering with her was one thing. But he was treating her decently. Like hecaredabout her.
What was his game? Was he trying to bridge the gap he’d created between them?
Or did he have a different agenda?
Connor turned his attention to the counter clerk, who had called him to the front. As he approached the shapely blond woman behind the desk, he said something that made her lean forward and laugh appreciatively.
Jess clenched her jaw. How could she have forgotten what a player Connor was? Around women, he wielded his charm like a weapon. She should have been immune to it, but she’d allowed him to slip past her defenses. And she’d been joking with him as if they were friends.
But their friendship had ended five years ago, after she’d made the mistake of sleeping with him and thinking itmeantsomething.
At the time, she was eighteen and he was twenty-two. She’d been house-sitting for her mom’s boss at his cabin on Big Bear Lake when Connor showed up at his family’s lodge next door. Though they’d known each other for ten years, they’d never been alone like this. Just the two of them, both adults, without their families around to pass judgment.
Within a day, they gave in to temptation and ended up in bed. Over the next two weeks, her childhood crush on Connor grew into a deep, passionate love. Like a fool, she professed her feelings the morning he was scheduled to leave. But her confession only drove him further away.
After he left, she texted him in desperation, begging him to reconsider. But he cut her off completely, rupturing their long-standing friendship.
She hadn’t heard from him since.
Get over it. You’re here for Gabi.
Gabi had asked Jess to stand in as maid of honor only after she promised to be on her best behavior. No emotional breakdowns, no sudden crises, and no romantic catastrophes. She intended to keep her word. Better than that—she intended to show everyone she wasn’t the same disaster-prone drama queen she’d always been. She was twenty-three, which meant it was time she started acting like an adult.
That was the plan, anyway.
But when had her life ever gone according to plan?
She seethed as Connor took his time with the clerk, laying it on extra thick. When she came up to the counter, the woman told her, without a shred of compassion, that her suitcase might not arrive for another two days.
Connor leaned against the wall, waiting for her to finish. Jess made no attempt to hide her annoyance. “So, did you slip her your number?”
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
Who was he trying to fool? “The clerk. I saw the way you chatted her up.”
“I didn’t hit on her. I was trying to lighten things up because she said she’d had a rough day. How’d you like to be stuck listening to everyone whine about their luggage?”
She flinched as the guilt hit her in full force. Her last temp job had been in customer service, and the experience had been humbling. “Sorry. I’m not at my best. But I’ve been traveling for twenty hours straight.” And she still had another forty minutes to go, assuming she could get a ride-share at this hour.
“No problem. Do you want a ride to the resort? I’m getting a rental car.”
“You’re renting a car? Why? Gabi told me she hired a shuttle van for our excursions.” Panic surged through her, sending her pulse racing. Should she have rented a car? Gabi had sent so many texts over the last week she might have missed a few.
“Relax,” he said. “This is for me. I wanted to have a little freedom.”
Freedom to do what? Hit the club scene and pick up women? Her earlier irritation rose back to the surface. “I’ll take a Lyft,” she said.
