Meet Me in Hawaii by Georgia Toffolo (best affordable ebook reader TXT) 📗

godfather – grew up together, and when I was done travelling the world conquering the surfing circuit, he offered me a job here.’

‘Conquering the surfing circuit, hey?’

‘Total world domination.’ Her eyes laughed with her words and he knew she wasn’t taking herself seriously. But she didn’t need to. The surfing world did that for her and he knew from the research his team had done just how impressive she was on paper. He just couldn’t believe he hadn’t worked out who she was sooner, like on the beach, in his semi-drowned state…

‘But there’s only so much competing you can do, and it wasn’t enough.’ Her eyes stopped dancing, her smile once again turning wistful. ‘I wanted to help people find what I do in the sea. I wanted them to realize that no matter what their disability or their background or their rough lot in life they could find some magic in the waves… sounds corny, hey?’

She was suddenly all coy as she looked to him and he realized she was embarrassed, feeling foolish even, her hair fluttering across her flushed cheeks as the sea breeze picked up around them. And he couldn’t understand it. She was remarkable, her ability on the waves and her decision to use that skill to share that joy with others was something to be celebrated, to be proud of.

‘No,’ he said softly, watching her lashes flutter, her eyes dark and glittering in the moonlight as they held his own captive. ‘It’s not corny at all.’

Before he realized, he’d closed the distance between them, his hand reaching out to tuck the loose strands behind her ear, his fingers soft as they stayed to cup her cheek and he couldn’t seem to pull them away.

‘To want to help people isn’t corny, Malie,’ he spoke over his inability to act, taking advantage of her gaze on his as he told her the honest truth. ‘It’s special, admirable, and the desire to help comes off you in waves… if you’ll excuse the pun.’

Her laugh was quiet, caught in her throat as she continued to look at him. Then she took a breath, stepped away, her head shaking, her eyes averted.

‘Yes, well, that’s me, that’s why I’m here. How about you?’

He was slow to move in step with her again, to counteract the desire to bring back the intimacy of seconds before.

‘I own the charity,’ he said simply.

‘Cheers, Captain Obvious, I never knew!’ She turned to him with a laugh, punching him gently in the arm, the brief contact stirring up the skin beneath. ‘Here I am practically telling you my life story and…’ She waved her free hand through the air and he knew she was trying to make light of the connection swelling between them.

‘Fair point.’

They reached the water’s edge and she dipped her toe in the damp sand, tracing patterns in the grains as she waited for him to divulge a part of himself, a part he never really discussed with anyone. And it wasn’t easy. It didn’t come naturally to him. His motivations were private, they weren’t part of the sales spiel that his PR team produced, even though they insisted it should be. Telling him it would be good for others to read, to see how far he had come from nothing, to see what’s possible if you have the drive and the commitment to succeed.

She lifted her gaze to him suddenly, a frown marring her expression.

‘You don’t have to tell me… not if you don’t want to.’

But he wanted to. That was the truth of it. He’d known her just a few hours and the desire to open up, to share that passion and the reason for it with someone who also sought the same, was strong.

‘I understand completely if you don’t, but you’ll find no judgement here, just someone who shares your desire to help people.’

Her earnest words were wise beyond the fun aura she gave off and he felt something resonate. Something that told him there was so much more to the reason she gave for her life in Hawaii now and he wondered if she would share it with him in return.

‘You could say my childhood was very different to yours…’ His mouth dried up, a physical sign that he never did this. He cleared his throat and wished he hadn’t brought the drink with him as his hands longed to dive into his pockets. Instead he took a sip through the straw, his nose getting assaulted by the vibrant umbrella as he did. ‘Good grief.’

She laughed a little. ‘They look pretty until they almost take your eye out, don’t they? Here, let’s leave them with our shoes.’

She took his glass and whizzed them back up the beach, returning in seconds, surprising him by hooking her arm through his and encouraging him into walking beside her.

‘In what way was it different?’

It took him a few seconds to realize she was back on his childhood, he was too busy reeling from her arm being in his and just how comfortable it felt, how natural…

‘My mother died when I was born,’ he said eventually. ‘There were complications… unexpected and sudden. They were lucky to save me.’

He felt rather than saw her eyes looking up at him, the sympathy he knew that would exist in those enchanting green depths.

‘My father… well, you can imagine… he returned home with no wife and a new-born baby to take care of…’ Even now he could feel the pang of guilt, the idea that his own birth took away his mother, his father’s childhood sweetheart. He’d come to terms with it so long ago but still, the idea of it – the idea that he’d ruined his father’s life – haunted him.

‘That’s so sad, I’m so sorry…’ She shook her head, her eyes still on him but he couldn’t look at her, he was too afraid of the raw emotion painted in his face to let her witness it too. ‘Your poor father, and you, not to