Page 23 of Fake Dating the SEAL
That was what she wanted some day. A love that would last through the years, all of the ups and downs. Just like Doug and Emily, Nick and Kara, and Billy and Angela. Some days, she thought maybe tomorrow would be her turn. Other days, she thought every good man on the planet was taken. Then there were days like today, when she wondered if her Navy knight in shining armor was going to turn into the proverbial toad. After all, for her, they always did.
Chapter Ten
If Kenny checked his watch one more time, the thing would probably shout back at him to get a grip. He’d checked out of the hotel this morning and taken his gear to Nick’s old apartment over the Surf Up Saloon. Nick’s previous tenants had moved out a couple of days ago and the cleaning crew had finally come through.
His challenge for the day was it was still only one o’clock in the afternoon and he had nothing to do for two hours until he picked Sara up at the hotel. Having fully unpacked, and not wanting to check out the downtown decorations without Sara, he opted to kill a little time at the dive shop. Pulling into the parking lot, he looked up at the sign and smiled. Giving up the Navy had been a tough decision, but it became easier when he realized that retiring didn’t mean he’d have to give up the water.
Pushing the door open, the place was quiet, except for a radio playing a local Hawaiian station. Kenny nodded to Lexi behind the counter.
“Well, look who the cat dragged in!” The dive shop manager set her pen on a pad of paper, and hopping off her seat, hurried up to Kenny for a hug that only an old friend could offer.
“Good to see you too.”
Lexi chuckled and stepped back. “Nick mentioned you were in town for a bit. I was starting to wonder if you were going to come say hello or if we were going to have to go looking for you.”
“That wouldn’t be too hard.” Billy came out from the back room. “He’s been keeping company with Sara Alani.”
Lexi’s brows shot up high. “Really?”
Lord. He really did not like lying to his friends, but if this pretense was going to work with the families, it had to be just their little secret. “She’s a nice girl.”
“No one is going to argue with you over that one!” Billy slapped him on the back. “You joining us for a dive today?”
Kenny shook his head. “Another time. Just popping in to say hello before heading out for some Christmas shopping.”
The bell above the door chimed as a family tumbled through the entrance like a small hurricane of enthusiasm. Kenny pegged them as related within seconds—they all shared the same animated gestures and that particular brand of barely contained excitement that suggested they were having the time of their lives.
The patriarch, a man in his late fifties with Einstein hair and cargo shorts, made a beeline for the counter. “Aloha! We’re here for the long-term rental gear we reserved. Name’s Thorne.”
“Nice to meet you, Professor.” Lexi stepped away from Kenny and extended her hand to the smiling man.
“This is my wife, Abigail, my son Kurt, and daughter Chloe.”
Kenny’s gaze swept the group. No doubt the family Nick had mentioned at dinner last night. Two younger versions of the professor—Kurt and Chloe—both in their early twenties who’d inherited his wild hair but thankfully not his fashion sense, were already examining equipment with the focused intensity of people who actually knew what they were looking at. Definitely fit the description of Marine Biology major and computer whiz.
Beside the man, a slender woman with golden shoulder length hair in white slacks and neatly pressed peach button down shirt, noticed Kenny and smiled politely. He had to smother a smile. The man appeared to be the typical absent minded professor but his wife beside him looked like she’d fallen off a magazine cover for what to wear when you’re over forty and still look smashing.
“We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow morning.” Lexi held her smile. “Nick, your captain, is just finishing up some of the list you gave him.”
“Wonderful.” The older man pulled out some rolled papers from a pouch slung over his shoulder. “I wanted to go over a few last minute things with him. Is he available?”
“Not right now, unfortunately.” Lexi glanced at Billy. “Perhaps Billy can help you?”
Not losing any of his enthusiasm, the man unrolled the papers on the counter, but his son was the one to step forward. “We’ve been doing a little last minute math, and now that we’re here, we suspect we might have to shift our coordinates a bit.”
The daughter nodded. “My suspicions are that we overestimated some of the silt shift.” She pointed to a spot on the map. “Instead of starting tomorrow’s dive here.” Her finger slid a short distance to the east on the map. “We’d like to start here.”
Lexi studied the map with Billy looking over her shoulder.
Nodding his head, Billy took a step back. “If that’s what you folks would like, I don’t see any problem with it.”
“Perfect.” The man beamed at them. “Then we’ll see you in the morning.”
As the family practically bounced out the shop door, Kenny’s phone buzzed with a text from Sara.
Getting off early. Can you pick me up in twenty?
Absolutely.Slipping his phone into his pocket, he glanced up at Billy and Lexi. “Have to run. I’ll be curious to hear how tomorrow goes.”
