Shit, Kai must have heard us this morning. I wasn't really thinking about who else might be around, but of course, his room is directly across from mine. He doesn't seem upset, so I'm not going to let it worry me.But hang on, since when did I back down so easily?
“Maybe next time you can come and join us,” I mumble back, watching him closely. His head shoots up, and he looks at me wide eyed. This time, I wink, and just before I roll over and put my back to both of them, I catch him adjusting the bulge that has appeared in his pants. Yeah, that's what you get for teasing me.
Chapter Twenty
Kai
The rest of the flight is quiet. Harlow naps while Jaxon and I do some work. I set up appointments with the agents of the two surfers I want to check out and book us a snorkeling tour to do once all of the business is out of the way. Hawaii is one of my favorite places to go, and with how little of the world she’s gotten to see, I want to make sure she loves it too.
“Do you want to come snorkeling with us?” I ask Jaxon before I make the booking.
He looks up from his laptop. “I’ve got meetings with contractors for the next two days. I wanted to squeeze in as much as possible so I could get at least one day with our girl.”
I smile as a feeling of warmth flows through me at his words. Yeah,ourgirl. I like the sound of that.
“Ok, well, we’re going to head to the North Shore tomorrow, so I can check out these two surfers I’m interested in. I wanted to take her along to see them with me because I thought she’d get a kick out of watching them surf the famous Pipeline. After that, we’re heading to Waikiki for a longboard lesson. The next day, I'm going to take her to one of the waterfalls and maybe have a picnic and a swim, and then I’ve chartered a helicopter for the afternoon to do some sightseeing by air.”
Okay, part of me knows that I might be overdoing this, but I can’t do what the others can. I’m not as suave as they are, and I don’t have Thomas’ 007 thing going on, or Oli and Holden’s… whatever the hell it is they have. But I can show Harlow that she’s special, giving her experiences she’s never had and stealing her away from the bad parts of the world for a while. I want her to know the real me, and the guy that can do those things is definitely a huge part of who I am, but soon, I’m going to have to share the rest of me with her. I think that I just want to show her that I’m worth it before I throw my baggage on her shoulders.
“Dude, that sounds awesome.” My brother sounds a little envious, but I'm not going to feel guilty. If I'm going to share Harlow with them, then I'm going to make the most of the time I get to spend with her. He’ll find his own way to have some special time with her. If I know Jaxon, he’s already got something underway.
“How about that last day, we do a snorkeling tour in the morning? We can take her to the Honolulu Zoo in the afternoon. I overheard Nana and Poppy talking, and they said she loves exotic animals. I guess she wants to do an internship at a zoo, and even had an interview before Holden got shot, but she didn’t get the position because of the crap with the billboard.” Jaxon’s eyes tighten, and his mouth purses. I know that he feels more guilty about it now, which is good. That can’t get Harlow’s opportunity back, but Jaxon is a fierce person to have by your side, almost as bad as Jacinta, so maybe we can all work together to try and fix this.
“God, I should have stopped Jacinta.” He runs a frustrated hand through his hair until it sticks out like he’s touched an electric fence. “Between my own fuck-ups and not stopping Jacinta from making her own, I have so much to make up for.” He blows out a defeated sigh.
“I have faith in you, man. How about you have tomorrow evening with her alone since I get her during the day? If you get your meetings finished, you can come on the helicopter tour as well. We could take her out somewhere special on that last night before we leave. If we’re all in this, then it’s not some kind of competition. Would I love to have more time alone with her? Yeah. Do I want to share some time so that you can make things right and we can make her happier in the long run? Fuck yeah. We’re brothers, and if we get this relationship situation off the ground, we’re a team.”
“Good plan,” he tells me, looking happier. “Make it fancy and I’ll make sure she has something nice to wear for it.”
“Okay, will do. We’ll have to bring her back again for a longer stay so she can do all the other things, but for a short trip I think she's going to love everything we’ve got in store for her.” With that, the two of us go silent, each lost in their own thoughts or work, and my mind flashes back to Harlow’s whisper.
When she suggested that maybe next time I should join them, my cock got so hard in my pants it was uncomfortable. Each of us is as kinky as the next, and joining in really wouldn't have bothered me. Not with Oliver and Holden, I’m not inclined that way, but I would have liked to help please Harlow. For the two of them, their prior relationship trumps a brotherly one, but they’re strictly in the family category for the rest of us.
But maybe you’ll get your chance on this trip, whispers through my mind, and I unabashedly adjust myself again. I already know there’s a gift basket waiting in her room, packed with all kinds of toys, as Jaxon’s first attempt at an apology. If nothing else, she’ll be able to have some fun on her own while I lay in my suite and dream about all the things I’d like to be doing to her. I’m not totally sure what Harlow’s into, but I have a feeling she’ll adapt. She’s potentially tying herself to six men who all have less than vanilla tastes in the bedroom, so I guess we’ll find out pretty quickly.
I, for one, am beyond ready to find out. It’s my opinion that she’d look beautiful tied up, but I’m willing to go slow. She’s worth it.
* * *
The sun is setting on the horizon once we eventually land in Honolulu. Harlow slept until about ten minutes before we landed, though that’s no surprise. We went straight from the airport to our dinner reservation, snagging a seat on an open balcony with magnificent views. The ocean in front of us was glassy and still, and the view over the bay was spectacular. The colors of the setting sun reflected off the ocean, creating a magical effect. The meal was filled with easy questions, and Jaxon and I were locked onto Harlow’s lips the entire time, transfixed with her stories about why she loved exotic animals and the career she was hoping to establish.
An hour or so later, I’m still fondly thinking about our dinner as I pull the Jeep into the parking lot of the shopping complex Jaxon directed me to. The reason that we’re here pops back into my head, and I realize I should update the others. Plus, that’ll give Jaxon a little time to work on his one on one time with our girl. Staying where I am, I pull out my cell phone. “You guys go ahead. I’m going to make a call and find out how Holden is doing, and I want to talk to Declan about those things we discussed.”
As they wave goodbye and disappear into the nearest shop, I make my call to my oldest brother, hoping that he may have a few ideas regarding the whole situation.
“Hey, how’s paradise?” Declan's deep voice answers after the second ring. “I can’t believe I had to stay here and deal with these meetings. I would have loved to do some snorkeling with Harlow.” I smirk at how disgruntled he sounds.
“So I take it you’ve changed your mind?” I tease, even though I’d had no doubt about it.
“Fully committed. I’ve even told Jacinta. Of course she just said ‘duh’ and ‘of course you are.’ Then she proceeded to lecture me on the best ways to woo a woman. Fucking hell, Kai, when she started giving me tips on the best way to go down on one, I ran. Like... what the fuck? I’m not some fucking horny teenager.” Declan sounds disgusted, but I’m laughing so much I have tears running down my face. Jacinta likes to fuck with us all, but because he’s normally the responsible straight and narrow one, he gives her the best reactions.
After I calm down, I ask him about Holden and Dec reports that he’s doing well and that he and Oliver are acting like a couple of lovestruck teenagers, neither wanting to let the other out of their sight for too long. “We’ll let them get away with it for a week or so since the shooting really shook us all up, but they’ll need to go back to work eventually. Hope came out to talk Neighpalm Records with Holden, and while she was here, Oliver made some calls about the East Coast shop, but he still needs to interview a few artists for it. At least they were all amenable to coming out here for the interview. It also helps that Jonah’s going to be around to see them too.” Declan rambles on about a few more business things, but eventually, I get a chance to tell him about the suitcase debacle and my theory. He was livid that she would have the audacity to do something like that. Getting a new PI and having them dig into Cecelia is on the top of his list.
Neighpalm Industries does extensive background checks, especially for employees in positions like Cecelia’s, but that only guarantees that she was clean at the time she was hired. We don’t routinely conduct follow up checks once someone is formally working with us, so who knows what shady shit she could be into now. Though if she checks out clean again, that might be worse. All it would do is point a bigger arrow at the theory that she has something on Dad.
The biggest thing we disagree on is whether or not we should confront Dad or talk to Nana and Poppy yet. I’m a bigger fan of just getting this out in the open, but Dec is of the opinion that confronting Dad could just lead to an even more complicated problem and that talking with Nana and Poppy might stress them out too much. I hate to admit it, because I want this settled, but he’s got a point. If Cecelia really has something on Dad, something bad, then we need a plan of attack before there’s any chance she knows we’re onto her. Otherwise, it could be catastrophic for Dad as well as Neighpalm Industries.
Once that matter’s settled, I let him go, knowing he’s itching to get started. I expect Jaxon and Harlow to be a little while longer, so I decide to head inside one of the shops on my own to kill some of the wait. By the time I leave, not only do I have a spring suit that’s hopefully in her size, thanks to Jacinta’s advice, but I also have an extra special surprise. A silver anklet from one of the displays caught my eye, the delicate chain decorated with charms in the shape of a dolphin, fish, and sea turtle. Maybe this could be the start of a new tradition for us, adding something to represent the experiences that we plan to give her and all the adventures ahead of us. With a final check of my phone, I finish up and tuck the small bag with the anklet into my pocket before rushing back to the car. I want it to be just my secret for now, so I can maybe plan some special way to give it to her. Now I just have to come up with an idea...
