“Well, I’ve gotta go,” Luke says and walks away, kicking up sand in front of him as he moves through it.
I just stand here, frozen, confused, and wanting to toss the distracting cell phone into the ocean so I can think! And Luke just gets farther and farther away. Then he stops and turns around. He points at me and shouts across the beach, “Remember what you promised me! You have to give it some real thought!”
I hesitate, but finally raise my hand and wave good-bye. “I promise!” I shout with a big bewildered smile.
And Luke keeps on walking.
When the numbness finally wears off, I leave the beach and go back to the hotel to pack.
NINE
Luke
That was probably the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done, even more embarrassing than waking up naked the morning after a party, on the front lawn of Seth’s parents’ house. The neighbors got an eyeful that day.
I smack my palm against my forehead, at first because of making an idiot out of myself in front of the first girl I’ve ever met that made me want to make an idiot out of myself. But then I realize I left the surfboards and my phone on the beach. Make that two stupid things I’ve done today, all because of a girl.
My brother would be so proud.
I turn on my heels and head back to the spot where I left them. Sienna is long gone; I look out at the beach toward the hotel and my shoulders slump with a heavy sigh. I run my hands over my face and then just fall against the sand in a sitting position.
Sitting between the surfboards, I gaze at the ocean, thinking about the girl who got away and the brother who went away. I think about China and then again about the girl who got away. I can’t get Sienna out of my head. I text Seth to see if he’s still hiking with Kendra even though I know he is—they probably won’t be back until this evening. I decide to just go into the shop and hang with Allan, and see if he has any appointments for me today after all.
When I get up and turn around, I freeze, seeing Sienna staring back at me.
“Aloha,” she says in the meekest, cutest voice, her freckle-splashed face smiling gently.
“Aloha,” I say back, and my stomach does shit it’s never done before—it feels warm and mushy and I will never admit that to Seth, lest I become more like a girl to him than Kendra.
She approaches me, and I find myself just looking back at her, immobile, still surprised that she came back. Her smile is so beautiful, and the way her hair is blown gently against the side of her face makes me want to reach out and move it away just so I can touch her.
“I know I don’t know you,” she says, stopping two feet in front of me, “and this is the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but I want to know you.”
I’m still speechless.
Sienna steps a few inches closer. I still haven’t moved.
“Have you ever had that feeling,” she goes on, “when you know deep down that you should do something? Like if you don’t do it, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life?”
I nod. “Yeah, when I asked you to stay,” I answer honestly.
She steps up another few inches, not with a beach bag or a towel, only herself this time. She smells incredible, like soap and sunshine.
“Well, I felt it as I was packing,” she says.
She grins and shakes her finger at me. “Now, don’t think I’m that into you,” she warns, still smiling. “I’m just giving in to the curiosity, Luke Everett, so don’t get the wrong idea.”
I laugh out loud, shaking my head at her.
“Same here, Sienna Murphy—I’m not into you at all,” I lie through my teeth, “but I just feel like we might have … things to learn from each other.”
She nods with a serious face as if to second that motion, but I think she’s as full of shit as I am right now.
“But I thought you had to go back to work?”
“I did,” she says, “but I had a talk with my boss.”
“And?” I raise an inquisitive brow.
“Well, I have two weeks of vacation saved up that I never got around to using. I wanted to take my parents somewhere nice, but they’ll never go.” She crosses her arms and tilts her head to one side. “So I asked my boss if I could take it now since I’m already in Hawaii.”
“And your boss agreed?”
She shrugs and purses her lips. “She was hesitant to let me take it at such short notice,” she explains, “but after I saved the Oahu wedding yesterday, she agreed to let me have the time off now.”
“Just like that?” I hear every word Sienna is saying to me, but behind all that I really can’t focus on anything but the strange turn of events and how glad I am that she came back.
She bobs her head once and says, “Yep. Just like that—granted, she was worried about my event in Jamaica, but she has other employees at her fingertips to take over for me. And I know Paige will cover for me.”
A bit surprised, I say, “You turned down a trip to Jamaica to stay here?” With me? I want to add, but feel like it might be overkill.
Her freckled face flushes pink and then she shrugs as if it’s no big deal.
“Yeah, I guess I did.”
Knowing that I’m about five seconds away from being unable to stop myself from kissing that perfect mouth senseless, I smack my palms together loudly, breaking the tension. Sienna jumps a little. God, she’s so damn cute.
“So two weeks in Hawaii,” I say. “That’s a lot better than three hours.”
“Definitely.”
Who needs the sun with a smile like that?