“I missed you too,” I admit. “An unreasonable amount, actually. Having you this close still feels weird in a good way.”
She hooks her arm through mine. “Well, if you’re determined to embrace island-van gremlin life, I’m not going to stop you.”
“Thanks for respecting my journey.”
“I’m tolerating it because I love you.” She snuggles me more.
“That’s fair.”
“But you’re still coming over all the time.”
I glance at her. “Absolutely.”
“Good.” She brightens a little, that spark coming back into her voice. “Because tonight you’re meeting my people.”
I groan softly. “The crime people.”
“The Mai Tai Mystery Club,” she says with a smirk. “Put some respect on the name.”
“You’ve made them sound unhinged, and who named it that?”
“They are but they’re lovable. You’ll fit right in, and my sister loves a Mai Tai cocktail, so we went with her choice.”
“That doesn’t reassure me.”
The bus starts slowing, and Clio gets to her feet, smoothing her sundress down over her hips. “We need food first,” she says. “I’m not cooking, you’re definitely not cooking, and if I show up empty-handed, Aura will give me that look where she judges me.”
“Yeah, your sister can definitely be judgy.” I laugh and follow her toward the stairs. “So what’s the plan?”
“Maybe plate lunches and something sweet.”
“And then I get dragged into your terrifying little murder circle?”
“We have a very organized corkboard. There may also be red string.”
I stop short. “You’re joking.”
“It helps.”
“With what?”
“With the drama, mostly.”
I laugh despite myself, and by the time we hop off the bus, I’m lighter than I was five minutes ago.
We wave to the older driver, who smiles at Clio, and then we’re out in the warm evening air, the sky darkening above the shopping center as we head off in search of food for Clio’s weird little homicide hobby group.
Ala Moana is enormous and buzzing, all open-air retail energy and the smell of sunscreen and something frying somewhere. We’re strolling through the underground parking lot. The food court building is ahead of us on the left, already glowing with dinner crowds. And diagonally across from it is a display window full of chocolate.
See’s Candies.
I stop dead. Full-body shutdown in the middle of the parking area like someone’s yanked my power cord because suddenly I’m back on the plane.
Ace leaning sideways in that oversized first-class seat as if he had nowhere better to be, that delicious mouth tipped in a smile that said he knew exactly what he was doing. He’d held out the little bag of See’s like it was nothing, just a lazy offering between strangers. And when I’d taken one, he’d watched me eat it like the whole thing was foreplay.
I can still see the way his fingers brushed mine when he passed me the bag again. Still hear that low growl under his words, feel the heat of him later, the look in his eyes when the flirting stopped being a game and started feeling dangerously real.
My chest tightens.
