“I will certainly miss the Hawaiian food,” I said as the haupia’s coconut richness melted on my tongue.
Around us, laughter punctuated the rhythmic beat of the ukulele, which I’d learned on this vacation was an import from Portuguese immigrants when they emigrated to the island from Madeira in the 1800s.
As the sun dipped lower, casting long shadows on the beach, Noah burst into the crowd’s center with the infectious energy of someone who refused to be anything but the life of the party. “Come on, baby. Let’s dance.” He grabbed Lior’s wrist, yanking him from the edge of the blanket where he sat beside Lex and Emery.
Lex must have noticed the panic in Emery’s eyes because he turned to his fiancé and said, “Are you ready for dessert? I saw some people with ice cream.”
“Sold,” Emery replied, standing like his feet were springs.
Adam laughed. With his hair tousled by the sea breeze and his blue eyes reflecting the twilight, he got up and joined his older brother. His movements were not the practiced steps of the hula dancers who had performed earlier. Adam’s hips moved with a rhythm all their own.
I stayed put, praying he wouldn’t come get me because this was one of those rare moments when I got to just stare at him and let my guard down. I loved him from afar, and without anyone’s eyes on me, I didn’t have to pretend. Just for a moment.
Watching him, I was acutely aware of the suitcase waiting in the hotel room. In the morning, everything would change again, and I still hadn’t made a decision.
As the song neared its end and the tempo slowed, our eyes met across the distance. His smile reached me, warm and open, beckoning me closer—an invitation or maybe a challenge.
When I shook my head, his smile wavered a little, but it was soon back on his lips as he turned around to dance with Noah and Lior.
The luau ended, the fire dancers extinguishing their flames with flourishes that drew the final round of applause as everyone settled under the waning light of the last flickering tiki torches.
I’d expected Adam to sit beside me on my blanket, but he walked past me toward the shore.
I turned and watched him from where I sat, considering how he must be feeling.
With Noah back from his honeymoon, the three brothers would be back in the office, working together like they had since they’d founded Spencer Brothers PR Agency. But with Lex and Noah in domestic bliss, where did that leave Adam?
He’d been the first to get engaged. But since then, both his brothers had not only found their own partners, they’d found their soulmates. The kind of connection I only ever read about in the hundreds of romance novels on my bookshelves at home.
I stood to join Adam.
“Find any good stars?” I asked, hoping to coax him away from whatever worry was creasing his forehead.
“Trying to,” he replied with a half-smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “But I think they’re all hiding tonight.”
“Or maybe they’re just waiting for the right moment to shine.”.
“Maybe.”
He shifted uneasily in the sand. Our conversation had lulled into a comfortable silence, but it was clear the quiet only masked the thoughts raging in his mind.
“Something on your mind?” I ventured.
He released a sigh. “It’s just… Victoria might come back, you know? And even if she doesn’t…” He paused, swallowing hard. “I can’t crash with Lex or Noah. They have their own lives, and…I’m really happy they’ve got Emery and Lior. I really am…”
“But it’s not easy being around two loved-up couples.”
“Yeah.”
The thought of Victoria returning to Adam’s life, even briefly, bothered me. She didn’t deserve a second of his time, but I knew he’d give it to her because that was the man he was.
He needed answers, and he deserved them. I couldn’t give him those, but I could give him a sanctuary, a place to call home, even if temporarily.
“Hey, Adam,” I began, the words forming with a nervous clarity. “You know you always have a place with me, right? If you’re looking for somewhere to stay…”
His eyes met mine, wide with a mixture of surprise and contemplation. A moment lingered between us, charged with something I couldn’t name, and for the first time since I’d met Adam, it wasn’t my imagination conjuring something that wasn’t there.
“Like college?” he asked, a hopeful note threading through his voice. “Aren’t we too old for that?”
