Pulling my phone from my back pocket, I snapped a few pictures before texting them to Dee and my parents, letting them know I was safe and sound at the resort and would talk to them later. I sat down on one of the chairs and closed my eyes. As I breathed in long and slow, the sound of the ocean quickly turned into the soundtrack I wanted to define my life by.

  I planned on never closing the back lanai door.

  Does Oahu have bugs?

  So far, I hadn’t seen any, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t wake up, covered in them, if I left my door open all night. Right? I made a mental note to ask someone but still didn’t move from my spot even though I should have probably been unpacking and getting some food.

  I must have fallen asleep because the next time I opened my eyes, I was met with a darkening sky. I could see tiki torches lining the property in the distance, but I had definitely passed out. Glancing at my phone, I noticed two missed calls and a handful of text messages. Mitchell had sent one, and my heart sped up when I saw his name.

  We hadn’t talked much since the breakup, so it was an uncomfortable feeling when I pressed the message icon. He told me that he hoped the resort and Oahu was everything I’d always wanted it to be and to enjoy myself. It was a sweet message. Something he hadn’t had to send, but I was thankful that he had.

  I stood up from the chair and stretched my arms over my head as my neck and shoulders cracked. At least I hadn’t slept through dinner. Stepping inside the room, I flipped on the lights and closed the door until I could find out about the bugs. Seeing my reflection in the mirror made me stop in my tracks. I looked awful.

  I started laughing and shaking my head. My hair looked like birds had made a home in it, the humidity giving it volume and fullness it didn’t have in Lake Bliss. I decided to hop in the shower, wash the travel grime off my body, and slip into a sundress for dinner at The Club. It seemed like the easiest option.

  Twenty minutes later, I was heading out the door. When I found the secret entrance to The Club, I swiped my key card against the pad and waited for the door to unlatch. Pulling it open, I was met with a plethora of sounds, smells, and sights.

  This room was incredible. Views of the setting sun lined an entire wall as soft music played from a live band. There was a full bar and multiple tables for dinner.

  “Evening,” a voice said, and I turned to focus on the guy greeting me, only slightly disappointed that it wasn’t the man from earlier. “Will you be dining with us tonight or just hanging out?”

  “Dining.”

  “Just one?” he asked before making a face that told me he probably shouldn’t have asked the question that way.

  “Yeah,” I said as my mouth grimaced.

  I’d thought it would be fine to travel alone, but everyone around me was partnered up. No one was here by themselves. It was awkward, to say the least.

  He waved his arm and told me to sit wherever I wanted. I surveyed the room, looking for a table that would make me the most comfortable. When I spotted a two-person one in the corner, I made a beeline straight for it.

  You can do this, Spring. It’s just a meal. No one cares that you’re here alone.

  I felt a little childish and ridiculous. I owned my own business, for Pete’s sake. I could eat a meal in a room filled with strangers by myself and survive it. And I was going to have to do it for the next nine days, so I might as well get used to it.

  I looked up to see the sexy man from earlier looking around the room. When his eyes caught mine, a small grin appeared, and he headed in my direction.

  There is zero chance this guy is going to walk right up and start talking to me, I thought to myself, but he did exactly that.

  He stopped in front of my table, looking even better than he had when I first saw him. “Good evening,” he said, and I noticed a small scar underneath his eye. I wanted to reach out and trace it with my fingertip.

  “Good evening,” I repeated as I started sweating underneath my dress even though the material was light and breathable.

  This man made my heart rate speed up and my body turn to fire.

  “Are you waiting for someone?” He looked down at the seat across from mine.

  “No,” I answered, and I wondered what he might do next as he reached for the place settings on the table and started gently removing them without making a sound.

  Oh my gosh. He worked here. He wasn’t picking me out of the crowd to hit on me. He probably didn’t even remember me from earlier this afternoon, and here I was, drooling over him when he was just doing his freaking job.

  I was a disaster. I had no idea how single people did things anymore. I’d been out of the game for so long. No, that wasn’t true. I’d never even been in the game in the first place. I was reading all the signs wrong, placing weight on a sexy smile and a friendly attitude when it was all part of his profession.

  “Can I get you anything to drink?” he asked as he placed a menu in front of me. “This is our set menu for this evening. Please let me know if you any aversions or allergies.”

  “Um ...” I felt almost too dumb to speak, but I somehow found my words. “I’ll take a mai tai?” I said it like it was a question.

  “Are you asking me?”

  I let out an uncomfortable laugh. “I have no idea what I’m doing. It’s my first time here. I don’t know what to order, but everyone said that mai tais are your signature drink?” Another question instead of a statement. I was on a roll tonight.

  “They are one of them, yes. Do you like rum?”

  “I do,” I said as I nodded, and he grinned.

  “Do you like sweet drinks?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You’ll like it then. I’ll be right back.”

  He turned to head toward the bar, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t watch him walk away, my eyes zoning in on his butt before settling on those broad shoulders. His arm muscles were so big, and I wanted to reach out and touch them. Mitchell was good-looking, but this man was on another level of hot. They didn’t make guys that looked like him in Lake Bliss.

  I spotted him carrying what I assumed was my drink on a tray as he headed back toward the corner of the room, where I sat.

  Placing the drink in front of me on the table, he asked, “Did you look at the menu?”

  “Oh yeah. It looks great,” I said, pushing the paper away from me and reaching for the drink instead. Grabbing the straw, I swirled the liquid around before taking a sip. Sugar and alcohol hit me all at once. “Oh, this is dangerous,” I said with a laugh.

  “Are you really here alone?” He looked like he couldn’t believe it.

  My eyes roved the room really quickly before landing back on his hazel ones and holding. “Is it really that hard to believe?”

  “It’s just that most people don’t come to the island by themselves,” he said as if he were an expert on what people did and didn’t do.

  I took another long swig of the drink before swallowing. “It was supposed to be my honeymoon,” I started to say, and he gave me a knowing look. Before he could say anything in response, I made sure he knew the truth. “I called off the wedding.”

  His face morphed from sadness to surprised shock. “Really? And why was that?” he asked before pulling out the seat across from me and sitting down.

  “Don’t you have to work?” I asked, wondering if he’d get in trouble or fired for sitting with a guest instead of waiting on the other tables.

  “My brother owns the resort. I was just helping out.” He gave me a small shrug. “I didn’t want to go home. You’re my only table.”

  I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but something he’d said struck me. “You didn’t want to go home?”

  He leaned back and let out a gruff laugh. “You first, sunshine. Why’d you call off the wedding?”

  It was my turn to laugh. “I feel like that’s a longer conversation than what I asked you.”

  “Fair,” he agreed before blowing out a breath. “I live alone. But sometimes, I don’t want to be alone.”

  His words settled somewhere inside of me. He lived alone, but he didn’t want to be alone. Sadness was my innate response, but before I could ask him something else, he put up a hand.

  “Now, give me the short version of why you called it off. Did you not love him anymore?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I loved him. But I wasn’t in love with him.”

  “What changed?” he asked, leaning forward on his elbows like he was genuinely interested in whatever had happened in my failed relationship.

  “Nothing. Time? We’d been together since I was fifteen,” I admitted to this perfect stranger, and instead of the conversation being unpleasant, it was comforting somehow.

  “That’s a long time. I mean, it’s a long time when you’re that young to start.” He stumbled on his words, but I knew what he’d meant.

  I continued drinking my drink, apparently way too fast because all I tasted was the sugar and not really the alcohol.

  “Slow down, girl, or I’ll have to carry you back to your room.”

  “Oops,” I said as I finished. “What’s your name anyway?”

  “Diego. And you are?”

  I extended my hand toward him, and he grabbed it. His touch gave me goose bumps.

  “Spring.”

  “Spring. I like it.”

  “Thanks. Are you from here?”

  He nodded, that giant smile back. “Born and raised in the North Shore.”

  “Never leaving either, I bet,” I added with a grin of my own. This place was beautiful, and I could see why people loved it.

  “Don’t plan on it,” he answered, but there was sadness in his response. “Let me go check on your food.”

  He pushed the chair back and stood before I reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him.

  “Can you eat with me?” I asked before I knew what I was even doing.

  Diego didn’t respond, only walked away, so he shocked me when he reappeared, carrying two plates of food, two glasses of water, and two fresh drinks on a tray in his hands.

  FALLING FOR A TOURIST

  DIEGO

  I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I didn’t work at The Club. I had only stopped in to get some food to go when I saw Spring again and asked one of the servers if I could take her table. Not like they would ever tell me no—my brother really did own the resort. I’d seen Spring arrive earlier that afternoon, by herself, but I’d had no idea what her situation was up until a few minutes ago.

  I hadn’t been lying when I told her that most people didn’t travel to the island alone. At least, not to Oahu. It was mostly couples and families that came here to vacation and explore all that our beautiful island had to offer. The more I thought about how I’d approached Spring without thinking, the more I realized that maybe I was running away from my issues.

  Spring was a tourist. She would be leaving the island as quickly as she’d arrived on it. I had nothing to lose by spending time with her while she was here. We could give each other the things that we needed with no expectations. I wouldn’t expect her to stay. And she wouldn’t expect me to leave. It was a win-win situation.

  I set the tray of food on top of the table before placing the plates in front of each of our seats. Handing her another drink, I warned, “Not so fast this time. They sneak up on you. And I brought you water. Hydrate.”

  She smiled as I essentially bossed her around, and it took everything in me not to lean across the table and claim that mouth with mine. Spring was sexy as hell, and the things I wanted to do to her body should be illegal—and probably were in some states. Not here though. I’d make sure of that. As long as she was willing, of course.

  “Thanks. For eating with me,” she said, her voice soft and kind.

  It felt like it’d been forever since a woman had spoken to me with genuine kindness even though I knew that wasn’t the truth.

  “Was your breakup recent? Like, did you bail on him at your wedding, or did you split before the big day?” I asked, sounding like a dick but not at all meaning to.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” she said as she took another drink of her second mai tai. “We broke up a couple months ago.”

  “And you didn’t cancel the honeymoon?”

  She slowly shook her head. “He told me that I should still come.”

  “Wow,” I said, hoping I sounded as surprised as I felt. “That was”—I sucked in a breath—“generous.”

  “It was thoughtful.” She replaced my word choice with one that obviously suited her situation better.

  “I have a question that’s none of my business,” I started to say, and she smiled.

  “But you’re going to ask it anyway?”

  I let out a laugh. “Yeah. Did you keep the ring?”

  In my breakup, she’d kept the ring. I thought she should have given it back to me even though I sure as hell didn’t want it, but still. Shouldn’t she have at least offered? She hadn’t. She’d kept it and most likely pawned it for cash after she bailed.

  “I gave it back.”

  I felt a pang of jealousy zip through me. “That was the right thing to do,” I said because I agreed with Spring returning it.

  “I thought so too.” She took a forkful of salmon and put it in her mouth. “Oh, wow. This is the best salmon I’ve ever eaten.”

  “Yeah. The chef here is top-notch. He doesn’t make a bad dish,” I explained as I ate some of my own plate before it got too cold.

  “You said your brother owns the resort?” she asked before taking a drink of her water.

  “He does.”

  “But not you? Like, you’re not a shareholder or part owner or anything like that?”

  “Nope. I just help him out sometimes during the busy months,” I said, and she took another bite of her food.

  “Like now?”

  “Exactly.”

  “So, what else do you do besides serve people food at The Club?”

  She watched me, her eyes roving over my face, oscillating between my lips and my eyes. It only made me want to kiss her more.

  “I give surf lessons and handle a few of the excursions.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “I love it,” I said honestly. “It keeps me busy.”

  I watched as her expression twisted a little and her eyes narrowed.

  “So, when you’re not working here for your brother, you’re not working at all?”

  I could tell that she wasn’t trying to come off as rude. She was genuinely asking. It told me one of two things about her. Number one, she worked hard and most likely rarely took days off. And number two, she didn’t respect laziness. I admired both of those qualities.

  “I have my hands in a lot of different businesses these days,” I said, evading the question a little bit because I wasn’t quite ready to divulge my whole life story to her. She’d find out soon enough. Everyone always did. “What about you?”

  Her face lit up, like she’d been waiting for me to ask this question forever even though we’d just officially met. “I own a bakery with my sister back home.”

  “And where is home?” I asked, taking another bite of food and a sip of my rum and Coke.

  “It’s a small town I’m sure you’ve never heard of, called Lake Bliss.” She pursed her lips together as she waited for my response.

  I slowly shook my head. “Nope. Where is it stateside?”

  “Stateside?” she repeated with a laugh.

  “Yeah. You’re from the mainland. What part?”

  “I love that you have your own language,” she said with a dreamy sigh before answering, “California.”

  “I like California,” I said, thinking of all the times I’d been there, surfing.

  “You’ve been?”

  “A few times, yeah.” I nodded. “So, this bakery,” I said, wanting to change the subject back to her.

  “Mmhmm?” She leaned forward, her eyes a little glassy, and I could tell that she had a buzz on.

  “Tell me more about it.”

  “Okay.” She grinned again before finishing off her drink and downing her water. “Um, my sister and I started Bliss Bakery about five years ago. She does all the marketing, and I create all of the flavors.”

  “You’re the baker,” I said, leaning back into my chair and folding my arms across my chest.

  “Yep.”

  “And you love it?”

  Her smile faltered for only a split second, but I caught it.

  “I do,” she said, but it was partially a lie.

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “How’d you know?” she started to ask before stopping herself. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell you. Not like I’ll ever see you again,” she said, and for some reason, the words burned. Like a knife to the chest. “I love the bakery and what we built. I just don’t know if I want to stay in Bliss forever.”

  Her words were familiar—too familiar—and they brought back a slew of memories I’d done my best to bury and never think about. But here they were, rearing their ugly head, all because her words had invited them to come out and play.

  “Are you okay?” She reached out, her hand touching mine.

  “Yeah. Sorry.” I shook my head. “So, you don’t want to stay in Bliss. Do you think that’s why you broke up with your fiancé?” I was pushing the subject. Navigating the discussion in a direction that suited my own needs.

  I’d had this conversation with my own fiancé before she left. Maybe if Spring gave me some insight, I’d understand Kaylee’s mindset better. Take it less personal somehow. Be able to fucking heal once and for all.

  “Wow,” she said, almost like I’d struck her. Spring pulled her hand from mine and sat back, her fingertips pulling at her bottom lip. “You know, I’ve never thought about that before. Like, I’d never even put two and two together.”

  Her forehead creased like she was deep in thought. I knew I’d struck some kind of nerve, but she didn’t seem upset about it. Matter of fact, she seemed the exact opposite.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed,” I said even though I really wasn’t sorry.