“You saw?”
Doug nodded.“Had you not had everything under control, I’d have been at your side.”
“I may have had the boy under control.The woman—not so much.”Towel Guy rubbed his temple again, and Doug chuckled.
“One more whack and I’d have stepped in.”
“You couldn’t have thought to do that a little sooner?”Towel Guy smiled at her brother, his gaze darting to Amy, and she thought a hint of embarrassment colored his cheeks.Or maybe it was just the Honolulu sun.
Doug shrugged and turned toward the sound of laughter drifting up the hall and growing louder.
“I think that may be my key.”Towel Guy tightened the knot once again and circled the room, giving Doug and Emily a wide berth.Opening the door, he met his wife along with another attractive woman.
Towel Guy turned and lifted a hand in a brief wave.“Thanks.”
Doug shot him a thumbs-up, and Amy wondered why not even one of the guys she’d dated had looked like Mr.Towel.Then she wondered why couldn’t she have found him first.
“I’m starving,” Jessica announced.
The hostess seated their party at a large table in the hotel restaurant.
“You think they have cheeseburgers here?”
“Most likely,” her husband assured her.
Jessica and Josh.And baby Anthony.Ray concentrated on gluing the names to the faces he’d seen briefly a couple of hours earlier.Lisa and Matt held hands as if they were still newlyweds.All of the women, he’d learned, had met while taking a yoga class his sister taught.The men each had met and married in the last few years seemed to get along as easily as if they’d known one another all their lives.Ray was the only outsider.Although everyone was friendly and tried to include him in their conversations, the attempts seemed like courteous obligations for the benefit of the new guy.
As soon as Josh removed the infant from the carrier and sat him in the high chair provided, the baby began to cry.“I think he’s hungry too, Jess.”
The baby’s mother shoved her arm into the diaper bag and retrieved a cloth towel, then a bottle and a warming device.She took the baby from her husband and settled Anthony on her lap.“He’s sleepy too.”
“Not surprising,” Josh said, “since he was awake and wiggling the whole flight.”
“Guess all you guys are pretty tired.”Tish looked at Ray.“At least we got some sleep on the plane.”
“Speak for yourself.”Ray hadn’t slept a wink, but that was by choice.Flying over the Pacific hadn’t been quite as exciting as the awesome view of the Grand Canyon on his way to Los Angeles, but, even just watching clouds and ocean, he’d felt as excited as a kid at Christmas.
A gorgeous red-haired woman, wearing a halter top and one of those skirts that were actually shorts, appeared at the restaurant entrance and glided toward them.Were all California women beautiful?Surely this onemustbe the bride.Ray eyed his sister, and she nodded.
“I got us booked on the all-day island tour tomorrow,” the redhead announced, holding up a fistful of tickets.She glanced at Jessica and Josh.“Good thing you guys already have plans to go to Pearl Harbor because there were only five spots left.”She slid into the empty chair between Josh and Matt and counted on her fingers.“So it’ll be Matt and Lisa, me, and Tish and—”
Ray stood and reached his hand across the table.“Ray Varner.Best wishes on your wedding.”
“Courtney Clark.I’m glad you could come.”She shot him a megawatt smile.“Tish, you never told us your brother was so hot.”She leaned across the table and stage-whispered to his sister.“Is he the brain or the athlete?”
So that was how Tish had described him and his younger brother, Bobby.“Neither,” Ray said, scooting her chair to the table.“I played football in college but that seems like ages ago.”
Courtney smiled up at him.“Got a girlfriend?”
He lifted a brow at his sister.
“You’ll get used to Courtney,” Tish said.“She has no filter.Says exactly what she means.”
The bride pouted affectedly.“I resemble that remark.”She smiled at Ray as he retook his seat.“So, no girlfriend.”
“Not currently.”For some reason, he glanced around the restaurant, as if expecting to see… who?The pretty blonde?Even if she were interested, and she’d looked for a moment during his hallway mortification as if she might be, she was taken.
“Well, this is a great place to find romance.”Courtney’s gaze took the same tour of the restaurant patrons his had.“I’ll bet we could find you—”
