He shrugged. "This is a Hawaii thing, right?"
"As far as I know," Maile agreed. "I didn't peg you for liking cow stomach."
"C-cow... what?"
He looked over at Pallas for confirmation. He knew Pallas wouldn't lie to him.
"Stomach," Pallas filled his spoon with stew. "It's pretty good, right?"
Cameron's stomach seemed to be waffling between yum and yech.
He watched as Mailed reached out and picked up the bottle of Chili Pepper Water that was always on the table at Kawehi's house. She splashed a generous amount of the water on her stew.
He didn't even need to ask.
Maile just handed it over to him and he copied her movements.
He took another bite of the stew and shrugged. "It's good."
He wasn't sure what reaction he was expecting but Maile nodded. "There's hope for you yet."
He didn't know why but he liked hearing that.
Even from her.
THREE
MAILE
It wasfun watching Cameron turn three or four shades of green when he first heard that tripe was the stomach lining of a cow.
It was even more satisfying to see him actually like the dish and devour his second bowl hungrily.
There would have been a time when she would have leaned into her cousin and they could have giggled over it.
But that time was gone.
Now, the person leaning into Kawehi's side was Pallas, or as Kawehi called him Dom. Dominico Pallas.
Maile didn’t mind too much.
Maile knew how great Pallas was for Kawehi. And great for her, too. He’d been amazing from the moment he’d entered their lives.
A steadying influence.
And a man willing to stand up for her cousin. To get her justice.
He was there for Kawehi. And now they were expecting a baby.
Oh, they'd done a civil ceremony to make things official and planning to do a big splashy event for family and friends, but for now? All that mattered was how happy they were.
That was the important part.
After a few years of waiting for news of her husband who'd left her behind and in the lurch, she could now trust the man she was with.
Pallas whispered something in Kawehi's ear and she blushed furiously.
"What do you think he said to her?"
