“Your pineapples are so flavorful.”

  “Come here.” He wrapped an arm around me and whipped out his cell phone, the camera already open as he held it in front of our faces.

  We looked really good together. Like a couple.

  He snapped more than one, and then before I knew it, my phone was pinging out text notifications. I grabbed it off the counter and saw his name on my screen. Flipping through the photos, I felt my heart thump even harder in my chest.

  “I love these,” I admitted, feeling emotional.

  “We look hot,” he said, and I turned around and agreed. We did. “Now, send one to your family.”

  “Oh my gosh. You’re relentless. All that’s going to do is make them ask a million questions,” I complained, but I sent one of the pics to my sister anyway.

  My phone rang instantly, but it wasn’t a call; it was a video chat.

  “Look what you did.” I turned my phone to face him, and he grabbed it, pressing Accept before smiling into the screen.

  “Delilah?” he asked, and she started laughing.

  No one called her that, but it was how I had her listed in my phone Contacts. I had no idea why.

  “Who are you? Did you kidnap my sister? Turn her into your little island sex slave? And if so, do you have a brother?”

  “Diego. Not yet. Yes. Yes, but he’s not single.”

  “Damn, Diego. What good are you?”

  “I have a lot of good-looking, single friends if that helps,” he said, and I knew he’d won her over with that remark.

  “Hell yes, that helps! How am I ever supposed to get out of this town otherwise?”

  I ran behind Diego and peeked over his shoulder. “I heard that!”

  “Good! God, Spring, it’s so boring here without you. And your ex is dating every girl on the planet, and I don’t know why, but it’s so annoying,” she said before making a face. “But I guess it doesn’t matter because look at you.”

  Diego turned to look at me then, giving me a kiss, and Dee gasped.

  “You guys look like you’ve been together forever.”

  “It kind of feels like it too,” he said, and I nodded.

  Apparently, we were saying these things out loud, to other people, making them even more real.

  “I approve,” Dee said, and I was glad she’d called.

  The buzzer dinged on the oven, and my eyes widened. “Dee, gotta go.”

  “Are you baking?” she screamed, and I laughed as I ran toward the oven, grabbing an oven mitt from the countertop.

  “Hang up on her, Diego, or you won’t get to eat any,” I demanded as I pulled them out.

  Even without touching one, I knew the cupcakes were ready. I could tell by the smell. I double-checked and gently pressed a finger to the top of one. It sprang back against my touch, and I knew for sure that they were done. “Gotta go, Delilah. Talk to you later,” he said before ending the call.

  “Did you just hang up on her?” I asked, a little horrified, and he shrugged.

  “You told me to!” he defended himself before adding, “I like her. She’s funny.”

  I was dying to try the cupcakes, so I ripped the top off of one before it even cooled and put it in my mouth. The pineapple flavor was definitely intact but not as strong.

  “Here. Tell me if you like this,” I said, bringing some of the warm cake to Diego’s already-opened mouth.

  “Yeah. It’s subtle, but you can definitely taste the flavor,” he said after swallowing.

  “Okay, give me a second.”

  I walked back toward the warm pan, flipped it over, and separated the cupcakes from each other, so they could cool off. Grabbing a Ziploc bag and a spatula, I spooned some of the frosting into the bag before pressing all of the air out and zipping it closed. I reached for a pair of scissors and cut off one of the bottom corners. The makeshift piping bag always seemed to work in a pinch. I guessed we’d see.

  Piping the frosting on top of one of the cupcakes, I watched as it started to melt slightly because I wasn’t being patient and waiting. But I was dying to see how they tasted together, and it was killing me to wait for them to properly cool. I took a knife, cut the cupcake in half, put it on a plate, and walked back over toward my man.

  He was practically drooling. “If this tastes even half as good as it smells in here, I’m keeping you.”

  We both grabbed our half and moved it toward our mouths at the same time. Apparently, we were in this together. I took a bite before smiling. The flavors were perfect together, in my opinion.

  “Looks like someone can’t leave the island,” Diego said as he chewed, and I started wondering if I’d even want to when the time came.

  SHE CAN’T LEAVE

  DIEGO

  We’d gorged on Spring’s blissful cupcakes before I took her into the pool and fucked her in it. I wanted to have her everywhere. And I never wanted her to leave.

  When I woke up this morning and saw her sleeping in my arms, I swore I’d never been happier.

  Easing away from her body so that I could go give lessons was brutal but necessary. I planned on showing her some of the local sights and food later, so she’d want to stay here just as much as I wanted her to. I wasn’t sure where we were headed, but I knew that I didn’t want it to end. I’d already started thinking about when I could fly to California to see her again.

  I could do long distance ... I think.

  I’d gotten more than a few text messages last night, asking about her, so word had definitely spread around town, if not further. I wasn’t shocked, to be honest; I was more shocked that it had taken this long in the first place. My thoughts briefly drifted to Kaylee once more, wondering if she’d reach out or say something and how that would make me feel if she did, but I compartmentalized all that the best I could and put her away.

  I wanted to focus on Spring.

  When I walked back into the house the morning after my lessons, carrying two coffees, Spring was already awake, up, and sitting outside, watching the ocean.

  “You’re a goddess,” I breathed out against her neck as I placed the coffee in front of her and moved her hair to the side so that I could kiss her.

  She spun around, a giant smile on her face. “I hated waking up without you.”

  She leaped up, wrapped her arms around my neck, and pressed her lips against mine with passion. She kissed me like she’d missed me, and it made me feel so good ... so wanted.

  “I loved waking up to you,” I teased before pressing a kiss to her nose.

  “Thanks for the coffee.” She took a sip. “And I had an idea.”

  “What idea might that be?” I asked before sitting down on a chair and pulling her onto my lap.

  “I was thinking that you were right,” she said.

  I nodded my head. “I like where this is going.”

  She giggled. “About staying here. There’s no way I’m sleeping a single night at the resort when we could be here. So, if your offer is still open ...” She paused, and I turned her head to kiss her even though our positioning was awkward.

  “Hell yes, it’s open. I’ll call my brother and handle everything, if that’s okay with you,” I suggested because he could have her room packed, things delivered, and checked out within the hour.

  “That would be nice. Thank you.”

  “Done,” I said before lifting her off my body and placing her back down on the chair. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

  I walked inside, reached for my phone, and told my brother everything. He didn’t sound shocked, but he still warned me to be careful. Something about falling too hard, too fast, even though that wasn’t my MO at all. At least, not usually.

  Grabbing a bowl of fruit, I headed back out to where Spring sat, the sound of the waves hitting me instantly. No matter what the ocean did, how angry or vengeful she was, she still brought me comfort. I hated being too far away from her. I respected her. But I didn’t trust her. The ocean could turn on you in a heartbeat and with no warning.

  “You okay?” Spring asked, and I realized that I was standing still, the bowl of fruit in hand, not moving.

  “Yeah, sorry.” I started walking again. “I was just looking at the water.”

  “Me too,” she said dreamily.

  “Someone from the resort will bring your things to the house,” I let her know as I sat down and placed the bowl between us.

  “They’re going to bring it all here?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s so nice. Thank your brother for me.”

  “I was thinking that we could go hiking today. I really want to show you Waimea Falls. And take you to get shaved ice. And shrimp from Kahuku.” Her expression shifted, and I smiled. “Too much?” I asked, wondering if I was laying it on thick.

  “No. I just like the names of everything. All of that sounds perfect. But I need my luggage because my tennis shoes are in my bag,” she said with a grimace.

  “No rush, babe. Waterfall isn’t going anywhere.”

  “Will there be a lot of people there?” she asked, and I shrugged.

  “Depends. Sometimes, yes, and sometimes, no.”

  “Okay then.” She laughed at my non-answer.

  My phone vibrated. I grabbed it, and my heart dropped when I saw Kaylee’s name there. She’d sent me a text, and I knew it could only mean one thing—she’d heard. My heart was racing inside my chest, and I suddenly felt awkward in my own skin.

  “Diego?” Spring said my name, grounding me.

  “It’s, uh ...” I wondered for a second if I should lie, but I really didn’t want to. She’d been nothing but honest with me about her ex, even when it was uncomfortable for her. “Kaylee.”

  “Your ex?” she said, her voice dropping.

  “Yeah.”

  “Is she calling you? Should I give you space?”

  “No, no. It’s just a text,” I said, still feeling torn in half. “I haven’t talked to her in months.”

  “I know. I remember. Do you think she heard about us and that’s why she’s reaching out?” Spring asked, and I nodded because that would be the only reason Kaylee had texted. “I’m going to get some water. Do you want anything?”

  She was giving me a minute to process, to read the text without her watching me doing it. Spring just kept getting more and more perfect.

  “I’m good. Thanks.” I gave her a soft smile and watched as she walked away. I wondered what was going through her head.

  Pressing on the message button, I swallowed as her text popped up on my screen.

  I heard you’re dating someone, D. I just wanted you to know that I’m happy for you. It’s all I want for us both.

  I wasn’t sure what to make of the message. Was it something that required a response? I hadn’t been happy at all when I found out she was dating that guy in San Diego, but now? Now, I cared a whole lot less than I ever had before.

  Spring walked out slowly, almost unsure if I was ready for her to come back or not, and I jumped up from my chair and handed her my phone. She took it, uneasily at first, but she still didn’t look at the screen once it was in her hands.

  “Read it, Spring. Read the text.”

  She moved the phone toward her face, and I watched as her eyes roved across the screen, reading the message more than once.

  Handing it back to me, she looked deep into my eyes and asked, “How do you feel?”

  “I don’t know.” It was a cop-out of sorts.

  I was feeling all kinds of things, but what if they made Spring feel badly or want to leave? I’d just had her checked out of the resort and said she could stay here, for fuck’s sake.

  “Do you want to call her?”

  “No. Not at all. Honestly,” I said, hoping to reassure her. I didn’t want to call Kaylee or talk about my personal life with her because it wasn’t really her business anymore.

  “Can I ask you a hard question?”

  “I think so,” I managed to say with an uncomfortable laugh.

  “If she told you that she wanted you back, that she’d move home, how would you feel?”

  It was the most loaded question that could have been asked. One I’d asked myself at least a thousand times before. The answer used to be so simple. I had been so brokenhearted at first that I would have done anything to have her come home. But I didn’t feel that way anymore. And that had started before Spring ever entered the picture.

  “That used to be the only thing I ever wanted. To hear her say that,” I admitted, and Spring nodded, seeming to understand. “But she hurt me too bad to come back from it. I would never trust her again. I’d always be walking on eggshells, waiting for her to tell me that she wanted to leave. We want very different things from life. I couldn’t see it then, but now, it’s all I see.”

  I’d never said any of these things out loud to anyone before. I wasn’t even sure I’d formulated them in my own mind before this moment. “No matter what, it wouldn’t work anymore. What we had is gone. It’s broken. And I don’t want to fix it.”

  Spring inhaled long and quietly, blowing it out so slow as she processed my words. “You don’t want to fix it? If she wanted to, you’d say no?”

  “First of all, she wouldn’t want to,” I said because it was the truth. Kaylee wasn’t the kind of girl to play games or go back to me because her ego was bruised. “But, yeah, I’d say no.”

  Her hazel eyes started to water, and I closed the distance between us before taking her in my arms and holding her body against mine.

  “It’s not fair, and it probably sounds really selfish, but I’m so relieved that you’d say no,” Spring said, her breath warm against my chest.

  I gently pulled her away, so I could see her. “It’s not selfish. It’s the same way I feel when you talk about your ex. If you wanted to go home and get back together with him, I think I’d fucking kill someone.”

  “I shouldn’t like hearing that nearly as much as I do,” she admitted, and my doorbell rang in the distance.

  “Your stuff’s here.”

  THIS IS INTENSE

  SPRING

  The text message and the conversation that had followed was intense. I was scared to death that Diego was going to say I needed to leave, so he could get back together with his ex. It was funny that he’d mentioned the same thing to me, regarding Mitchell. I guessed we were both in the same boat when it came to our previous relationships.

  It was early, we’d only just met, but I had feelings for him, logical or not. That much refused to be denied. I heard the wheels of my suitcase being rolled across the tiled floor and Diego yelling that he was bringing it upstairs.

  It was official; I was staying here until my flight left.

  Jogging up the stairs, I stopped in the bedroom to watch Diego as he placed my suitcase on top of the bed and unzipped it. He grabbed my makeup bag and brought it into the bathroom before finally seeing me on his way back out.

  “How long have you been standing there?”

  “Not long,” I assured him. “But can I hang my dresses up?”

  “You can do whatever you want. That closet is all yours.” He pointed toward the closet that wasn’t filled with his clothes. I only knew that because I’d seen him grab things out of it before.

  I hesitated for a second when I reached the doors before pulling them open. Another woman had lived here. This had been her closet first.

  “Don’t go there, Spring.” Diego’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

  “Go where?”

  “I know what you’re thinking. It used to be hers. But she was barely here. We were barely here. This house was never our home.”

  I knew I was being unfair and ridiculous, so I tried not to think about it as I opened the door and saw a bunch of empty hangers waiting. There was no trace of her. No garments left behind. Nothing hanging or forgotten about.

  “You can take these drawers too.” He pointed at the dresser.

  “I feel like I’m moving in,” I tried to joke, but it really did feel that way.

  “So, do it.”

  I emptied out my entire suitcase, and Diego moved it into the hallway closet and placed it next to his. It felt like we’d taken a step in acknowledging that whatever this was between us, it wasn’t normal. At least, not that I knew of.

  “You ready to sightsee or what?”

  I looked down, and he was slipping into a pair of shoes.

  “Almost,” I said before running into the bathroom to braid my hair.

  Diego followed. “I sent her a text back. I wanted you to know.”

  I forced a smile. “Okay. Am I allowed to ask what you said?” Everything seemed so inappropriate, so none of my business, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to know.

  “I just told her thank you. That I was dating someone and I was happy. And I heard she was too.”

  “That was nice of you,” I breathed out, wondering if they would start texting regularly now.

  Had he opened a door that would never be closed?

  “Did you hear what I said?” he asked as I finished off my second braid, wrapping a ponytail holder around the end.

  “Huh?” I looked at his reflection in the mirror.

  “I told her I was dating someone.”

  “Yeah, but I mean, what else were you supposed to say?”

  He grabbed my shoulders with both hands and spun me around to face him. “I’m trying to tell you that when you leave to go back to California, I don’t want this to end.”

  “Oh.” I stumbled on my words as my heart leaped into my throat, almost making me choke on it. “Oh, so you were serious when you said that you were dating someone. You want to date me?”

  “I know you literally just got out of a relationship, but don’t you think we should see where this goes?”

  I didn’t care how asinine this was anymore. Or what people might say or think. My heart was screaming at me to say yes, to give in, to acknowledge that we were more than just an indulgence. Diego felt right. He felt like home. And if that wasn’t some kind of sign from God or whoever, I didn’t know what was.

  “Yes. I don’t want this to end when I leave either.”