“Awesome. It’s so beautiful here. The weather is absolutely perfect. Is it always like this?” she asked in awe.
“We get some pretty nasty storms here, but yes, the climate is usually pretty temperate in this area. The mountain areas are more volatile, but it’s a beautiful place to live.”
“I can’t imagine what it would be like to live here full time. It must be paradise. I live in the south, and it gets so hot and humid in the summers that it’s miserable. I swear, some days, it’s so damn hot that my eyeballs sweat. It’s truly ridiculous.” While it was warm here, it was a comfortable warmth. Gone was the oppressive heat of the south that made her want to hide in her air-conditioned apartment every day.
“I’m sorry. That sounds miserable.”
“It is. I could get used to this. A little too easily,” she admitted, wondering what it would be like to drop everything and start a new island life. Her parents would probably be crushed if she chose to move so far away, but they would be okay with it if moving to follow a new dream made her happy. They, like most parents, just wanted what was best for her.
She would miss her friends, but then again, it wasn’t like they couldn’t hop on a plane and come visit. As for her job? She was a romance writer who hadn’t been able to type a single damn word since she had found her fiancé in bed with her best friend.
“I’ll be the first to admit island life is a great life. I can’t imagine moving to the mainland and giving up all this. So tell me about Emmy. What brings you to our beautiful slice of Heaven on Earth?” he asked, pulling her from her thoughts.
Emmy debated on how much she wanted to tell the hunky stranger, but she figured she might as well shoot for absolute honesty. That’s what she would expect.
“Well, this trip was supposed to be for my honeymoon,” she said.
“Supposed to be?” Kingston nearly choked on the words.
“Yep. But I called off the wedding when I found my fiancé in bed with a woman who had been my best friend since we were kids.” At least it was getting easier for her to say.
“Wow. That’s …”
“Awful? Yep. It sucked. The whole damn thing. But it is what it is, and I wasn’t about to let a fully paid trip to Hawaii go unused.”
“I guess the appropriate thing to say is that I’m sorry. Though, at the same time, I’m really glad you still came on this trip. Even if it’s for a completely different reason.”
“Thanks. I just want to move on with my life. I need to figure out what I want. That’s why I decided to come here by myself. I’ve got the next three weeks to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it all out. Or at least some of it, anyway.”
“I sure hope so,” she said, leaving it at that. As they walked along in silence, she had to admit his company was nice. She felt comfortable around him. There were no weird vibes or anything for which she was thankful. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have him show her around the island after all.
After about ten minutes of walking in one direction, they turned and headed back toward the hotel. Emmy paused by the water and allowed the incoming wave to wash over her feet.
“The water is so warm. I don’t know why, but I expected it to be cold,” she said, hiking up her long maxi dress a few inches and wading ankle-deep into the water. She spun around and glanced up at the crescent moon. “This is surreal.”
“Do you want to go for a swim?” Kingston asked.
“I bet it would feel so good right about now. Sadly, I don’t have my swimsuit on under this dress, or I absolutely would.”
“Who says you need a swimsuit?” Kingston asked, pulling his tight T-shirt above his head.
Emmy’s mouth nearly hit the ground when she saw row after row of hard muscles rippling with each move he made. And those arms of his. God, they were as big as the Rock’s. She wondered for a second if they were related in any way. She flung the thought out of her brain as quickly as it had entered. There was no way they were related. Kingston was sexier, hotter in every way imaginable.
“You mean you want me to chunky dip?” She laughed, galled by his assumption.
“Unless you’re afraid to. Why not? Besides, I’ve already seen you in your swimsuit.”
“Yeah, well, that’s a whole lot different than seeing me in nothing.”
“True. Tell you what, I’ll turn around, and you can do what you need to do. Then I’ll meet you in the water.”
Emmy thought about it for a moment. Just before the wordsyou’re crazyflew from her mouth, she stopped herself. This trip was all about getting out of her comfort zone, or that was what she had told herself anyway. Why not take a night swim with a local hottie? It didn’t mean anything had to happen between them, right?
CHAPTEREIGHT
Emmy waited until Kingston dove under the water before shimmying out of her dress and sprinting for the water. She opted to leave her sexy bra and panties on because she didn’t see much difference between wearing those and any of her bikinis.