Page 35 of One Night in Hawaii

She came downstairs and took one look at me before letting out a whistle. “Damn, girl. You clean up very nice.”

I laughed. “Thank you.”

“Seriously, you look hot.”

I smiled again and turned back to the mirror to put on my sheer lip gloss.

“Is everything okay?” she asked. “You took off pretty quick today.”

“Everything is fine,” I said, smiling.

“I know we don’t know each other well, but I can tell something is up. Did my brother do something?”

“No!” I shook my head. “Of course not.”

“He’s acting a little weird, too. Are you sure everything is okay?”

“Actually,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t want you to pay me. You guys feel like friends. I can’t take money from you. It wouldn’t be right.”

“Of course, it is,” she said. “I hired you. You’re doing your job. I want to pay you. You deserve to be paid. You’ve been a miracle worker with Archer. He’s acting so normal. He’s actually smiling and laughing.”

“I can’t take money from you,” I insisted. “I’ve enjoyed hanging out with you guys. I consider you guys friends. You can’t pay someone to be a friend.”

Penelope gave me a warm smile and put her hand on my shoulder. “You’re right. You can’t pay someone to be a friend. But you can pay someone for their time and expertise. And that’s exactly what we’re doing. We appreciate what you’re doing for Archer. You’re making a huge difference in his life. It’s only fair that you get paid for it.”

“He should at least know about the deal,” I said. “If he finds out, I think he’ll be mad and hurt. He’s not a bad guy. No one needs to be paid to hang out with him. I’ve been having a lot of fun with him.”

“Until today?” she asked softly.

I wasn’t about to tell her I was falling for her brother that was off limits. Archer had a messy relationship back home. He would end up marrying Ashley and his time in Hawaii with me would quickly be forgotten. I didn’t want to get involved in something that could make me the other woman.

“He’s a good guy and I just don’t like lying to him,” I said.

“Okay, we’ll discuss this later, but don’t tell him tonight. He’s excited for this party. I’ve never seen him excited about anything.”

“Except for his wedding,” I said.

She snorted. “He was as excited for that wedding as a man on death row walking to the electric chair.”

“Really?” I asked with surprise.

“Really. He didn’t want to marry her. He’s lucky she ran out on him. Let him have fun tonight. It’s not going to hurt anything.”

“I feel so guilty.”

“Don’t feel guilty,” she said and stepped in front of the mirror. “I’m the one who did it. If he gets mad at anyone, it will be me. But I don’t think he’ll be mad at all. The money I’m paying you is worth every penny. It showed him how to let go and have a good time. That’s more valuable than gold.”

It sounded good, but it still didn’t sit quite right. “Okay. We’ll let him have tonight and talk about it tomorrow.”

We went up on deck. Archer, Ryder, and the guys were all waiting to go. Archer was wearing shorts and a black button-up shirt. He seemed to be in a much better mood than he was earlier after the phone call.

“Are you guys ready?” I asked.

“Let’s go!” Ryder hollered.

“Alright, ground rules,” I said, knowing Ryder’s buddies and their tendency to party hard. I planned on letting loose myself, which meant there needed to be some rules.

“No rules,” Ryder groaned.

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