Page 5 of One Night in Hawaii

He laughed. “You’re lucky you’re pretty. Do you know how much those slips go for?”

“I do and I’m always very appreciative for the free docking,” I said.

Fortunately, I had a lot of friends around the islands. Oahu was one of my favorite places. Maybe because Ryder lived there. He worked on the North Shore, which meant, when I wasn’t working, I could hang out on the beach and watch the women fawn all over Ryder. A little downtime might not be a bad thing.

Together, we docked the boat at the marina. He quickly hopped out and tied it up. I walked him to the gate and gave him a hug. “Thanks for hanging out with me.”

“Anytime,” he said. “Are you going to stick around a couple of days? You better not take off without saying goodbye.”

“I think so. Unless I get a job. I need to stock up on some supplies.”

“I’ll text you later.” He waved and headed up the ramp. I shut the gate and went to the office to talk to the manager.

“Hello, Bree.” The woman I had come to think of as an older sister was behind the desk.

“Shiloh!” She hopped up and gave me a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Thank you. How are you?”

She blew out a breath. “Busy. As usual.”

“Is it okay if I hang out for a couple of days?” I asked. Her marina was always full. If I wasn’t paying, she was losing money.

“Of course. He’s gone for at least another month.”

“He” was her brother who spent his time sailing around the Pacific. She let me borrow his slip when he was out. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“Just remember to include me in the movie they’ll make about you one day,” she said with a laugh.

“I’m afraid if they’re making a movie about me, it’s going be a tragic story. I’ll be the little girl lost in the Pacific. Her boat and body sank and were never seen again.”

“Stop,” she chided. “You’re going to be fine. I hope you get lots of pictures. I’m going to be on your grand adventure with you in spirit.”

“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” I said, smiling. “I’m still a little short on cash.”

“I think you should do a fundraiser. You have a lot of friends that would love to help you.”

“Thank you, but I’ll do it on my own. It’s just taking a little longer than I hoped.”

I left the office and made my way back to my boat. I locked the door and went below deck to make myself a quick dinner. I went to bed early with plans to get up and do some shopping and maybe, just maybe, I would spend my afternoon doing absolutely nothing. That would be a first.

I put on one of my many bikinis and threw on a pair of shorts and my sheer pink coverup and headed out. I decided supplies could wait. I was going to enjoy the beach. My first stop was at one of the many tourist traps that Waikiki offered. The place was packed—as always. There was never any downtime for the busy city.

People wearing colorful shirts and hats meandered in and out of the shops, spending money on trinkets that would sit on a shelf and collect dust. I found the store I was looking for and browsed the titles of the books. I wanted something juicy and spicy.

Armed with a book, a towel, and a fruity drink, I stretched out on the busy beach to soak up some sun. As I lay there, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of restlessness. I had always been one to seek adventure and excitement, and lately, life on my boat had felt mundane and predictable. The thought of spending another day doing nothing but lounging on the beach made me feel antsy.

I had to force myself to shut off that little voice that was always telling me to go here. Do this. Clean that. Research this. I was going to take Ryder’s advice and spend the day doing nothing. I took a drink of the strawberry margarita in a plastic cup with a lid and smiled. There was something to be said for taking a day off.

I blocked out the screams from kids running around the beach and all the different music being pumped through Bluetooth speakers from the people enjoying the beach. I gave my full attention to the book. Just when things were really starting to get good, a shadow fell over me, blocking the sun.

3

ARCHER

“Crap! Sorry!”

I barely managed to hop over the woman stretched out on a blanket. A family with what felt like a million kids barreled toward me and nearly took me out. My only option to spare myself was to hurdle the tanned body barely covered in a black and white bikini.

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