Page 4 of Blue Hawaiian
“Come on, Jess. It’s after midnight. At this hour, it’ll probably cost you fifty bucks.”
She didn’t have fifty bucks to spare. “Fine. I’ll ride with you.”
She could endure a forty-minute drive with Connor.
But if he thought she’d forgiven him, he was sadly mistaken.
Chapter 2
Connor wanted to kick himself for the surly way he’d greeted Jess. But the long, stifling flight from San Diego had left him with a headache. He hadn’t expected to run into anyone until the following morning, at the “mandatory” beach outing Marc and Gabi had scheduled for the entire wedding party. By then, he hoped to be well rested and in full vacation mode.
To make up for his rudeness, the least he could do was offer Jess a ride.
If he was being honest, he owed her a hell of a lot more.
He pointed to the doors leading outside. “Let’s go. We’ll have to take a shuttle to the rental car place.”
Jess hiked her tote bag over her shoulder and followed him. “Sounds good. I’m wiped.”
“Want me to take your bag?” he asked. “It looks like it weighs a ton.”
“Only because I’m carrying the world’s largest binder.” She set down the tote and pulled out a thick white binder labeledGabi & Marc Wedding. “Have a look.”
He flipped through the gigantic tome and reeled at the sheer mass of information and instructions, subdivided into specific categories. Interspersed among the pages were swatches of fabric, printed menus, and photos of elaborate place settings.
He passed it back to her. “You’re in charge of all this? No wonder Gabi’s friend bailed.”
“No. Gabi put this together. This isn’t even the original binder. She keeps that one with her at all times. This is thebackupbinder. She insisted I carry it on my person in case my luggage got lost.” She pushed it back into her tote bag. “Smart move on her part, but it’s a pain to lug around.”
Who creates two wedding binders?He’d always considered Gabi a control freak, but this was extreme. He held out his hand. “Let me take it. I don’t mind.”
“Thanks. Just don’t let it out of your sight.”
The bag was even heavier than it looked. He felt a pang of sympathy for Jess, who’d been forced to carry it all day.
Outside the terminal, the night air was balmy and fragrant. After hours inside a plane with the air-conditioning cranked to the max, Connor appreciated the warm, tropical breeze. The palm trees across the road brought LAX to mind, but without the smog and traffic.
As they waited at the curb, he stole another glance at Jess. Her pink t-shirt was one of the ugliest things he’d ever seen. Not that it detracted from her appearance. If anything, the low-cut neck put her generous cleavage on full display. He couldn’t fault the yoga pants either, since the thin black fabric molded nicely to the curve of her butt. Her dark brown curls were wildly out of control, but he liked them that way. He had a sudden flash of memory as he recalled tangling his fingers in her thick, unruly hair when they were in bed together.
Damn, but those nights had been incredible.
Don’t even think about it. Jess looks as if she wants to kill someone. Possibly you.
She glared at him. “Are you checking me out?”
Busted.He held up his hands. “No. But I’m curious about your shirt. Are the bridesmaids doing a photo shoot wearing trashy t-shirts?”
She granted him the faintest of smiles. “Do you honestly think Gabi wouldevergo for something so basic? I got drenched with coffee halfway between Chicago and L.A., so I had to find a new top at LAX. I wanted to spend as little as possible, since I purchased a bunch of clothes for this trip. Now they’re missing, and I have nothing to wear.” She sighed. “I should have seen it coming. I’m cursed when it comes to planes.”
Even as a kid, Jess tended to exaggerate. “You had one bad day. It happens.”
“If you’re me, it happens all the time. When I went home for Thanksgiving last year, a blizzard shut down O’Hare Airport. Home for Christmas? Mechanical issues. And on the return? A series of ice storms in the south that delayed air travel all over the U.S.”
“What about today?” he asked. “It’s July, so the weather couldn’t have been an issue.”
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But summer in Chicago means big thunderstorms. The storm system grounded the planes at O’Hare forfive hours.” She gave him a cheeky grin. “All because I chose to fly.”
“That’s kind of scary. Remind me never to fly with you.”
