They’d been sitting on the balcony of his suite together while they drank juice and Paige watched the sunrise. It was hard to believe this was the last Hawaiian sunrise she would see. It seemed like only yesterday that she was standing alone on the beach at sunrise, wondering how she was going to spend all this time in Hawaii by herself.
“A week anywhere else would’ve taken far longer. It feels like I’ve only just arrived and yet I go home today.”
He smiled and sought out her hand. “Have you considered that’s because you’ve spent a good part of your trip in my bed? Time flies when you’re having fun and all.”
“Is that the problem?” she asked with a laugh. “It’s all your fault, then.”
Mano just shrugged off her accusations. “I told you I was a terrible tour guide.” His expression grew more serious. “It is hard to believe that you leave tonight. What time is your grandfather’s service at Pearl Harbor?”
“Two in the afternoon. Then it’s time to pack up and head to the airport this evening.”
“This is our last day together, then.”
The words seemed to hang in the air between them. She didn’t want to let go of this moment here with him. And yet she knew she had to. She’d cherished every moment of their last night together, especially when she’d fallen asleep cradled in his arms. Waking up had been bittersweet. Tomorrow would be back to reality. Back to home and plans for the baby. Back to her shift at the VA. Back to tell Wyatt he was going to be a father.
It had become too easy to lose herself here. She’d gotten used to room service and amazingly high thread count sheets. Her shower at home wasn’t filled with coconut soaps and fluffy, freshly laundered towels. Her grandfather had given her this moment of paradise, but soon it would be time to face the life she’d ignored for the past week. She wished she could put off that eventuality for a little while longer, but she knew it would just hurt more if she did.
“I wish you could stay longer.”
Paige sat up, startled, and pulled her hand away from his. He’d spoken the words that were on her mind, but she didn’t dare say them aloud. He couldn’t possibly mean what he’d just said. At least, not the way she wanted him to mean it. He probably wanted her to stay another week, not the lifetime she hoped for. “Don’t say that,” she chastised. “It will only make it harder for me to go home and deal with reality. Staying in Hawaii isn’t an option, and you and I both know it.”
“I don’t know it. Who made that rule, anyway?”
“The universe did, Mano. And even if I could stay, what would it mean for us? Not much. You yourself said that you don’t do relationships that last longer than a week.”
Mano sat forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees. “You’re the first woman I’ve met that makes me want to break that rule.”
His words of longing for her made her chest ache, but she knew she couldn’t let her feelings for him overtake her like they had last night. They’d urge her to make a hasty decision that she’d regret later, and in the end it would only complicate the matter further. “You say that now,” she insisted. “I guarantee you’ll be relieved when I’m gone.”
Mano flinched as though she’d hit him. His brow furrowed deeply as he turned to her. “Why would you say something like that?”
Paige knew that she had to convince him of the truth. He would forget about her, and she’d rather he remember her fondly for a short while than grow tired of her and wish her away. “Because I know it’s true. As much as I might like to be, I know I’m not the woman for you, Mano. We’ve come together for a short, beautiful moment in time, but it won’t last. It can’t. I’m sure there’s someone here on Oahu that’s perfect for you. Someone whose life isn’t quite as complicated as mine.”
“How do you know who’s perfect for me?” There was an irritated edge to his voice.
“I know what I look like and you don’t. I know you can do better. I want to thank you for everything you’ve said to me this week. It’s really worked wonders for my self-esteem, but the truth is that you’re out of my league.”
“I am not,” he snapped.
“Mano, if you really knew how I looked, you never would’ve laid a hand on me.” That was the truth and she knew it. Those women by the pool had reminded her of the unavoidable reality of it.
Mano shook his head as he sat back in his chair and turned away from her. “That’s not true. I know exactly what you look like.”
Paige regarded Mano with suspicion. “Please tell me how such a thing is possible.”
“Well, for one thing, I’ve touched you. Every inch of you. There’s nothing boyish about you, Paige.”
“It’s not the same.”
“Perhaps. But I also have a staff of a thousand here at the hotel. They are my eyes and ears. I asked around about you those first few days. They told me exactly what you looked like.”
Paige’s mouth dropped open. Could he really have known this whole time? It couldn’t be true if he was sitting here, asking her to stay longer to be with him. And yet, she knew how often he wore that earpiece, how frequently he was in communication with his staff. It seemed perfectly natural, since they acted as his eyes around the hotel, that they would report on her to him if he’d asked.
“You think I’ve been operating under some kind of delusion this whole time, but I haven’t. I know exactly what you look like, outside and in. Even a blind man can see the pure light that shines from inside you. You’re a good person. I have spent this week with you, I’ve made love to you, because I like you just as you are, Paige.”
She tried not to cry at his words. Never in her life had a man said that to her. All his assurances that she was attractive, all the compliments this week...she’d taken it all with a grain of salt because she didn’t believe he knew the truth about her. Could he really have meant it all? He sounded so sincere.
“Do you want to know what a lot of my staff told me about you?” he asked.