Page 15 of One Night in Hawaii

“You know this is private property,” he said.

I flipped onto my back. “I’m here to drag you out of the house.”

“No thanks.”

“Are you going to come down here and have some fun or are you going to work all day long and be boring as hell?”

He stepped down from the deck and strode toward me, his eyes never leaving mine. He put his hands on his hips and stared at me. The way he was staring made me feel like he was trying to decide the best way to devour me.

Or maybe that was wishful thinking.

I quickly shook the thought out of my head and made my way back to shore, feeling self-conscious under his gaze. I walked toward him, watching him watch me. If I didn’t know any better, I might think he was a little bit interested.

“What are you doing here?” he asked in a thick voice.

“I told you, I’m dragging you out of the house.” I picked up my shirt and pulled it over my head. My feet easily slipped into my sandals and I opted to carry my shorts.

“To do what?”

“Anything you want to do.”

“Anything?” he asked with heat in his eyes.

“Why don’t you follow me? I have an idea about what we can do.”

“Follow you where?”

I flashed him a smile and slipped on my sunglasses. “You’re going to need actual swim trunks. I’ll wait.”

“And if I say no?”

I took a deep breath. “Then be prepared for me to annoy the hell out of you until you agree to do what I want.”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Why do I think Penelope put you up to this?”

I flashed him a cheesy grin. “Hurry up. It’s hot out here. I’m going to have to get back in the water.”

“You make it sound like I should care if you do.”

I laughed at his surliness. He walked away without another word. If he didn’t return shortly, I would go pound on the door, but something told me he was coming back.

As expected, he returned wearing a colorful pair of blue trunks, a black T-shirt, and boat shoes. He looked very much like a yuppie. I was just glad he wasn’t wearing a ridiculous Hawaiian shirt.

“Where are we going?”

“Back to my boat. Not my boat, but the dock.”

“Are you planning on pushing me off the dock?” he asked dryly.

“I guess that depends on your attitude.”

We had only been walking for about ten minutes when he started to complain. “Where exactly are we going?”

“I told you.”

“How far is it? I have a rental car. We could have driven.”

“Why would you want to drive five miles when you could walk a mile along a pretty beach? You’re in Hawaii. You can drive anytime. Can you get this view in New York?”

---