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

son – hell, my father… it crippled him when my mother died, but a son… and to almost lose their daughter too.’

Her eyes glistened as she looked to him. ‘It was the same for my parents. I was much older than Tara when we lost Koa, but they stifled me, all the more so after the car accident, and I knew they only wanted what was best, what was safe…’

She shuddered and wrapped her arms around her middle. He had to fight the urge to reach for her, to offer her comfort like he had the previous night, knowing the trouble it had led to, the kiss, crossing a line that neither of them wanted to go beyond.

‘I just couldn’t live that way,’ she said quietly.

‘Did you tell them how you felt?’

She scoffed gently. ‘I tried, but it never came out right, we always ended up arguing instead.’

‘And so, you chose to avoid it?’

‘Yes… They weren’t going to change, and I couldn’t live their way, so I left.’ She looked back to the car in the distance, her mind clearly switching to Tara now. ‘I wish we could help them, though, as a family, not just Tara.’

‘I do too.’

She gave him a small smile. ‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’

He gave her a hint of a smile in return, but it fell away as he went back to watching the car disappear on the horizon. ‘It’s hard. It’s not just about protecting Tara and keeping her safe for them, it’s the fact they suffer under the weight of their own guilt too.’

‘Guilt? Over the fire?’

He nodded. ‘From what I’ve gleaned, the fire alarms in the house weren’t working, and the fire was caused by a set of hair curlers left plugged in.’

‘So, they blame themselves for the fire, for their son’s death and their daughter’s injuries?’

‘Exactly.’ He turned back to her. ‘Their marriage is under a lot of strain and the fact they focus so much on Tara, suffocating her in the process…’ he shook his head, ‘it’s an impossible situation, but they need to loosen the reins a little and they need to spend some time together as a couple.’

Her brow lifted, her eyes bright with realization. ‘And you’re hoping this trip is going to help them do that, don’t you?’

‘If it makes them realize that their daughter needs her space just as much as she needs their love, it’ll be a start. And if in the process they can use the time she’s busy to actually have some time alone together all the better.’

‘Clever.’

He smiled. ‘I like to think so.’

She smiled with him, her frown from moments ago easing with it.

‘Malie, Todd!’

They turned to see Kalani standing in the entrance to the surf school, waving at them, Nalu at his feet. ‘You good to lock up when you’re done? Everything is tidy, there’s just your boards to hose down and put away.’

‘Sure,’ Malie said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

‘Cheers, Kalani!’ Todd looked back to her. ‘Lesson time?’

‘You’re on… but no more messing around, no dunking!’

‘Hey, that was all Jonny’s idea.’

She laughed, shaking her head. ‘Whatever.’

She started off towards the shore, to where their surfboards lay side by side in the sand. She scooped hers up and looked over at him, her grin loaded with teasing. ‘Although judging by your performance on the sand earlier, I think you’re going to experience plenty of dunking.’

‘I wouldn’t be so sure.’ He bent and lifted his own board. ‘You know I was doing that for the kids’ benefit, right?’

She giggled, and threw her hair over her shoulder. ‘We’ll see.’

He would have had some cheeky retort if not for the fact that he was momentarily stunned again at the sight of her. Board under her arm, her face looking out to sea, all golden in the sun as her hair fell wild down her back. His stomach felt tightened by a spasm of heat and his mouth turned as dry as the sand beneath his feet.

‘You ready to—’ She turned to him and her words trailed off. ‘What?’

He swallowed. The idea of putting some water between him and her sounded mighty sensible right about now. With any luck it’d be cool enough to come to his aid too.

‘Ladies first…’

It had been his intention to get her eyes off him and give him the chance to recover, instead he had her perfect rear to follow into the water, the trace of coconut in the air, the trail of her curls over clinging pink, her slim waist and the perfect swell of her hips… none of it helping.

He ducked to waist level in the water as soon as possible, thankfully, before she turned to him.

‘We’ll practise paddling first, get you to catch a wave, then we’ll see how you fare popping up.’

She was enjoying this, he could tell. The twinkle was back in the green of her eyes. What he couldn’t work out was whether it was the teacher in her excited about getting him to catch his first wave, or the idea of him losing his cool when he failed to pop?

He’d play along for now, but he was pretty sure his skateboarding days were going to work in his favour…

‘Whatever you say, Boss.’

She laughed. ‘I love how Jonny calls you that.’

‘I tell them to call me Todd, but none of them will have it, the whole Mr thing wasn’t for him though.’

‘No, I can imagine.’ She slid up onto her board and he followed suit, grateful their conversation had distracted his body enough to calm him in more ways than one.

He followed her direction, paddling out to sea.

‘Slip back a little on the board, your nose is digging water.’

He shuffled back and the nose lifted, his paddle becoming more efficient.

She nodded. ‘Better.’

When she turned, he turned with her, her eyes scanning the water behind and coming back to him as the first promising wave approached.

‘Now check the wave, the speed… and paddle.’

He threw a look over his shoulder, paddled and assessed, changed his pace to