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

sex, she wasn’t off men, she was just distracted, exposed, vulnerable, turned on, falling for and quite frankly out of her comfort zone with one in particular. ‘I have no idea what I mean, this cheap plonk has clearly gone to my head.’

‘Well, on that note, I’m going to have to love you and leave you, honey. I have to get this lot back to the restaurant and get marinating.’

‘Sure. Speak soon, babe. Happy marinating!’ She blew Lily a kiss and closed the lid of her laptop, placing her glass and the bottle on her bedside table.

The distraction of her friends and getting wrapped up in V’s excitement had sure gone well—Not!

She’d only managed to turn the conversation right back to her own mess by the end of it. And still, she was no closer to sorting any of it out.

Well done, Malie, well done… She flopped back on her bed, staring up at her smooth white ceiling and watching the fan at its centre go round and round and round.

In less than twenty-four hours Zoe would be here and then she could really avoid sweating the serious stuff. And speaking of Zoe, she raised herself up on her elbows and scanned the open-plan room. She could give it one more once-over. A dust, a hoover, perhaps… yeah, her neighbours in the block would really appreciate that at this time of night. But there was plenty she could get done quietly. She could reorganize the crockery for starters and add some fancy hotel touches to Zoe’s room: toiletries, towels on the bed, maybe move a plant in there…

God, what was she doing? She may have teased Victoria about losing her mind but Malie was well ahead of her. Thank heaven for Zoe’s visit, her no-nonsense attitude would have Malie thinking straight again… once Malie had convinced her friend that there definitely was no hope, not even a smidgen of a future for her and Todd – Ah, Todd… even now her body warmed, the tiny little flutters starting up, well-fuelled by the bubbles she’d consumed. She turned onto her side and pressed her face into the pillow, breathed in her own familiar scent and tried to block him out.

That was how she found herself when her alarm went off at 5.30 a.m., the creases of her pillow ingrained in her face, her body as tight as a coiled spring and Todd’s name on her lips. Oh yeah, she’d only gone and dreamed of him, too.

She just prayed her morning workout would burn him out of her system… before they started his lesson at dawn. She could always ask Kalani to take her place if not.

No, Malie, it was your charity donation. Not Kalani’s.

Perhaps a swap then? She hadn’t seen who’d won Kalani’s lessons, perhaps it would be some overweight, balding dude with a BO problem. She shuddered. Better the devil you know than…

She sprang out of bed, refusing to listen to the rambling of her head, or her heart any longer.

She would get through the morning and then she would be safe in Zoe’s company having the time of their lives! Perfect!

FOCUS. ON. THAT.

Chapter Fourteen

HE’D TOLD HER DAWN but Todd arrived at the surf school long before that. It was still dark, the moon and stars still bright, the breeze rustling in the palm trees and the sound of the waves rushing over the sand the only real noise.

It was serene, soothing to his hyped-up body that had spent the last few hours in bed, wishing sleep would claim him and dreading the ping of his phone telling him she wouldn’t be coming to the lesson. Even now he half expected one, and if not that, then Kalani appearing to tell him that he’s standing in. And not just for this session but the whole damn lot.

He couldn’t blame her either. He’d really overstepped the line last Sunday and in pushing her for more last night, more of her, more of her past, more of what was going on beneath the surface, he’d pushed her away.

He of all people understood not wanting to talk about the personal. He’d kept a close lid on it his entire life. Social workers couldn’t even drag the truth out of him. But Malie… she’d managed to crack his life-long hard exterior and she’d done it in less than a week. Maybe that was the reason he couldn’t let it go – let her go – he couldn’t believe that a connection as powerful as this could be one-sided. She had to feel it too. And if she did and was still fighting to hide it from him, heaven knew how vulnerable she was beneath the captivating front.

He’d felt so close to breaking down her walls last night, so close to understanding and getting to know the real her. But then she’d run as fast as she could. Hiding, blocking him out, again.

The swing from sheer joy at Tara’s progress, through the sight of Tara being so lovingly embraced by her parents when they’d returned her to them, through their continued chatter through the glass… Malie had watched it all and slowly her expression had changed and it had killed him to witness the tears, to see her cry and not have her confide in him, not to trust him with it.

He leaned against the trunk of a palm tree and stared out at the sea, breathing in deeply and letting it out slowly. It truly was beautiful here, such a contrast to the cities he was used to and the twenty-four-hour hive of activity. To be able to walk and find peace in the sound of the ocean, the quiet of the hour, had its appeal. No wonder Malie loved it.

In the distance the odd boat bobbed at sea, along the coastal road a few early workers prepped their shops and bar fronts for a day of trade, and on the beach there was the odd walker, the odd runner, some