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

around him as she kissed him hard. ‘I haven’t changed my mind,’ she said between kisses, ‘but you might when you come in.’

He laughed, the sound deep and throaty as he kissed her and backed her into the apartment. He broke away, his eyes dancing as he looked at her. ‘What are you afraid of, that I’ll—’ He lifted his gaze to the open-plan space and his eyes widened, his mouth too. ‘What the hell happened here?’

‘Me,’ she squeaked, her shoulders up around her ears as she gave him a sheepish smile. ‘If you close your eyes, you can’t tell.’

He shook his head, amazed and looked back to her. ‘You really do need me, you know.’

‘You won’t hear any argument here.’

He laughed again and swept her into his arms. ‘Do you think you can direct me to the bedroom, or am I better off ravishing you on the semi-clear sofa?’

‘As much as that sounds perfectly agreeable, I’m all for the bed, that way,’ she pointed, laughing and blushing at the same time. She was a slob and still, he loved her.

He kicked open the door and she peeked through squinted eyes. ‘Not too bad, is it?’

‘In all honesty, Malie, we could be in a pig-sty and even that wouldn’t stop me making love to you.’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘You’re kidding, right?’

‘No, I’m definitely not.’

He threw her onto the bed as she let out another ripple of laughter, watching as he dragged his T-shirt over his head, the muscles of his torso flexing with the move and making her mouth water. She climbed up onto her knees, pulled her own shirt over her head and shuffled forward, stripping her bikini top as she went.

‘In that case,’ she purred, tugging on his waistband, ‘get a move on, I’m ravenous over here.’

He looked down into her face and stilled, his eyes softening. He cupped her jaw, his thumb sweeping over her bottom lip. ‘This is really happening, you and me?’

She nodded. ‘It’s really happening.’

‘I love you, Malie.’

‘I love you too.’ And then she yanked his waistband, harder this time, and he fell on top of her, his lips claiming hers. The mess forgotten, the world forgotten, everything but the love they shared, the love and the phone buzzing against Malie’s butt cheek. She wriggled and adjusted, pulling it out of her pocket with the intention of tossing it aside.

‘Who is it?’ he murmured against her neck.

She peeped over his shoulder at the screen, seeing several missed video calls and a text. ‘Oh no.’

He lifted up, his hands pressed into the mattress either side of her. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘It’s my friends, Lils, V, Zo, they’re requesting a Lost Hours call.’

‘A what now?’

She frowned at the phone. ‘It means it’s an emergency.’

‘You have to take it?’

She gave him an apologetic smile. ‘It’s kind of our code.’

‘Far be it from me to stand in the way of girl code.’ He smiled to soften the blow and rolled onto his back. ‘So long as you don’t expect me to clear out while you have it because now I finally have you back, I’m making the most of being by your side.’

‘You and me both.’

She collapsed down next to him, her head nestled in the crook of his arm and swiped to join the group call.

‘About bloody time, Devil!’ It was Zoe, her anxious frown filling the screen. ‘I’ve been trying to reach you for the last ten minutes.’

‘Hey, Malie,’ V and Lils chimed in, looking exhausted in their dressing gowns, their eyes half asleep.

‘Sorry, love, it’s only just started ringing through now, what’s up?’ It had to be something huge for her to wake V and Lils up so early.

‘I’ve decided to stage an intervention,’ her friend declared, her voice firm and brooking no argument. ‘It’s time you woke up to…’ she broke off, her frown deepening as she loomed into the screen, ‘Malie, what’s that behind your head?’

‘Hmm? My what?’

Zoe flapped a finger at the screen. ‘There, behind you? Good God, Malie, are you naked?!’

Malie felt her cheeks colour, looked down at her chest and realized that she was indeed half naked. ‘Never mind all that, what’s the problem, who needs an intervention?’

‘That’s an arm,’ said Victoria with a yawn. ‘Behind her head, it’s an arm.’

Lils squinted into the screen. ‘It is, you know, a definite male arm.’

‘Whoa, Malie,’ Todd started to wriggle away. ‘You didn’t tell me it was a video call.’

Malie looked to Todd and back to her friends and gave a guilty shrug. ‘I guess now would be a good time to introduce you all… Todd, meet V and Lils, you already know Zo,’ she swung the phone at him and back, ‘guys, meet Todd.’

‘Todd? Isn’t that the guy we’re having an intervention over, Zo?’ Victoria asked.

‘Not being funny,’ Lils said, smothering a laugh, ‘but Malie doesn’t look like she needs an intervention to me. The words horse and bolted spring to mind.’

Zoe was shaking her head, her smile slow to form. ‘So… you and Todd, you’re…’ she gestured at the phone.

‘Well, we were about to,’ Malie said, ‘but then you called.’

‘Malie!’ Todd blurted and she looked to him.

‘Sorry, we kind of tell each other everything, is that going to be a problem?’

‘Don’t worry, Todd,’ came Oliver’s disembodied voice from V’s screen, ‘you’ll get used to it.’

They all laughed, even Zoe, who was slowly coming out of her shock enough to ask, ‘So you’ve seen sense without our help?’

‘Not quite,’ Malie admitted, ‘you helped, Zo, more than you know.’

‘Nice to know your friends saw sense before you did,’ Todd ribbed her as they all giggled.

‘Well, in that case, Devil, we best leave you to it.’

‘Please… oh, but before you go…’ Malie pulled the phone close, trying to smother it and the microphone.

‘I don’t need to see your boobs, Malie,’ came Lils’ voice.

‘Just Todd’s chest will suffice,’ added V with a sharp ‘Oi!’ from Oliver.

Malie shook her head, grinning as she looked to Todd.

‘Would you be free this summer to come to Devon –