“Aww,” I coo. That’s so adorable.
“Don’t get your panties all in a twist. It’s a good song,” he says.
“Damn straight.”
“So … Kai was giving you a lingering look,” he says while looking at the slips hanging from the heating bar.
“It’s just the shorts,” I tell him.
“Nah, she was looking at you earlier while you and Aya were at the pool too.”
“She seems uptight.”
“There’s a reason for that,” Noa says. “A legitimate reason. She’s a good person, even though we fight more than we talk.”
“Interesting. What’s her reason for being uptight?”
“Not my story to tell, bro, but she’s single. Word on the street—or from her sister—she’s as pure as they come … if you get my drift.”
I’m not sure I’d believe that. With her confidence mixed with her looks, I would bet she could have any guy wrapped around her finger with just a blink of her eyes. “We’ll see where life takes us, I guess,” I tell him.
“Life should take you to her house.” The girl I automatically nicknamed “No.” I think I might have better chances elsewhere. Not that I wouldn’t try, but I think that would be a dead-end.
“Thanks for the advice. I’m going to go see if any other tables in my section have been seated.”
“No problem, dude. Showtime is in thirty minutes.”
Fuck.
Chapter Eight
Kai
I’m not sure how much longer I can give Lea a dirty look before she’ll acknowledge it, but I’m completely uncomfortable sitting here while she talks with her friends. I’ve worked with these people longer than she has, but I keep to myself for the most part. Lea has taken on the role of a socialite for most of our lives. I don’t feel like I have a whole lot in common with these people, I guess, even though we’re all in our twenties, single except Lea, and have lived here in Maui our whole lives. I’m sure we have things in common, but they want to live it up and have fun, and I’ve never taken an interest in that part of being twenty-something because I’ve been living the life of a single parent instead.
“Kai, have you seen anything interesting tonight?” Lea asks. “You’ve been staring at the chalkboard menu on the other side of the restaurant for the last twenty minutes.”
“Nope. Nothing interesting,” I tell her.
Noa sits back down at the table, wraps his arm around Lea’s neck, and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. Seeing them in this setting, minus the whole, mostly naked men part, is giving me a different view of their relationship. I’ll just pretend like I didn’t see the whole bicker war when we first arrived, especially since I know how Lea is. I don’t think I’ve ever gone a day without having an argument with her, so I can’t hold those scenes against Noa. Wow … now I’m defending Noa, owner of this man-whore bar and grill. What is my life coming to?
“Your friend, Denver, seems nice,” Lea tells Noa. “He’s really down to earth. I’m kind of surprised he agreed to work here, actually.”
“He didn’t agree as much as I kind of tricked him, but hey, it all worked out,” he tells her.
“Guess so. What’s his story other than he has a daughter and just moved over here?” I would have assumed Noa had told Lea more about Denver, but she seems to know just about as much as I do. Plus, I’m sure if she knew of an eligible single man moving to our island, she’d make mention of him to me.
“He’s just a good guy. What else can I say?” Noa says.
“Hmm,” Lea pipes up. “Interesting.”
I surely don’t find anything interesting in that. “Well, I’d like to make a toast while we wait for our food,” I stand up with my second, strong Rump Punch and hold it in the air.
I watch Lea slump into her seat a little, and a part of me breaks inside. Is this what I’ve done to her? I’ve become this figure in her life who mortifies her? It wasn’t what I intended. Never.
I close my eyes and pull in some vinegary-scented air, letting it out slowly through pursed lips. “Despite not knowing that we were celebrating Lea and Noa’s engagement tonight until just a few hours ago, I still have something prepared to say because I’ve been thinking about it for years, before Lea was even in the mindset of settling down, and before she knew Noa for that matter.” I lower my arm a bit, feeling the weight of the heavy glass in my hand. “Lea is bright, happy … a full-of-life kind of person that matches who I am somewhere deep inside my quiet soul. She loves to love and has a heart of gold. She’s fierce and knows what she wants. That’s why I didn’t blink when she called me shrieking about Noa asking her to marry him.” I settle my eyes on Lea, noticing she’s pulled herself back up to a normal sitting position. “I knew if she agreed to marry a man, he must be the right guy for her.”
“Kai,” Lea tries to interrupt me.
