He laughed and slid his chair around the table so he could sit beside her. The delicious smell of coffee tickled her nostrils, she curled her fingers around the mug, inhaling the aroma as they looked out to the beach.

  “Hawaiian coffee?”

  “Kona.” He took a sip of the black liquid and sat back with a sigh. “There’s nothing in the world like it. Black gold.”

  Lana reached for the cream and poured a generous dollop in. Lifting the mug she took a sip and nearly died with delight.

  “Oh my God, this is the best coffee I’ve ever had.” She took a sip again and glanced at him over the rim of her mug. Now why on earth would he have such a secretive smile? “What? Why are you looking at me like that? It’s not like I haven’t had coffee before, or Hawaiian coffee. Kona. But I’ve never had anything taste so good.”

  “Maybe it has something to do with freshness.” He smiled and took a sip of his own.

  Lana nodded. “Perhaps there’s a better way to ship Hawaiian coffee, keep it fresher for the export market.”

  “Oh, are you an expert on shipping and product freshness? Is that what you were away on business for?” Grant inquired.

  “It’s part of what I do. If you want a good product, you need to take care of it while getting it from A to B.”

  “You’re absolutely right, Lana.” Grant lifted a plate of what smelled like freshly made biscuits, jam and fresh island fruit off the tray and placed it before them. “It’s one of my directives.”

  “Mm-hm. Wow, this fruit looks wonderful.” Lana leaned forward and picked a piece of pineapple out of the bowl. Its juice dripped over her fingers. She put the piece back on the plate and sucked the sweetness off. She realized Grant was watching her lick the sticky syrup off and she blushed. Lana speared the pineapple with her fork and took a bite. She thought she’d died and gone to heaven. It was the best pineapple she’d ever tasted. “What with coffee, the pineapple, the view, what more could a girl ask for?”

  “Anything your heart desires.” Grant took a biscuit and Lana watched as he chewed and took another bite. The muscles in his jaw were just as powerful as the rest of him.

  “Anything, huh?”

  “That’s what I said.” Grant gave her a slow wink, and her belly did a little tumble.

  “Well, if you want me to hang around, I’m game. I’ve never been to Hawaii before and I would be ready to see anything—” she paused and gave him a steady look “—or do anything. I’d also be very content to stay here and enjoy the view. I’m easy.”

  His eyes met hers over the rim of his coffee cup, blond brows arching. He put the cup down, pushed his chair back and stood up. “It seems rather silly to me to stay here all day when there’s a big, beautiful island to explore.”

  Lana took another sip of the wonderful coffee and set her mug down. “Okay, then. Shall we?”

  She stood and held out her hand to Grant. He took it, and the next thing she knew they were roaring down his driveway in a Jeep with the top down. Lana hung on to the dashboard and laughed out loud when her hair whipped around her face from the wind as they took off down the road.

  5

  BANZAI PIPELINE WAS usually a hit for most visitors. Grant made it a stop whenever he was on island. The waves were smaller now than during the winter, but still very impressive. If they were lucky there might be a few surfers out there to watch.

  “How about we stop here and grab a few things for our trip around the island?”

  He pulled into the lot of an old local bakery.

  “Wow, how long has this place been here?”

  “Long time. It’s a great spot with good food. Since it’s early in the morning, and you didn’t have a whole lot for breakfast I thought we’d pick up some pastries to tide us over until we eat later.” Grant held the door for Lana and followed her inside. It was a great place to meet locals, surfers and, of course, tourists. They’d been carrying his coffee for a while and Grant liked to give back business to his customers.

  He watched Lana beeline to the display of baked goods.

  “Wow, these look amazing. I could easily gain a hundred pounds coming in here. I’ll have one of everything, please.” She laughed and took a step closer to Grant as he came beside her. He dropped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug.

  “Is something calling your name?”

  “I wouldn’t know where to begin. It all looks so yummy. Since you’re familiar with the place, what do you recommend?” Lana smiled at him and it was as if the sun had just filled the room with golden light. Grant felt like sweeping her into his arms right there and kissing her until she was breathless. There was something about her easy nature that made him feel comfortable. Like he didn’t always have to be on guard. Plus, he was sure she had no idea the sexuality she radiated. Being near her kept him in a simmering state of arousal.

  “All right, then.” He turned to the girl behind the counter. “We’ll have a piece of the pineapple macadamia nut cheesecake, lilikoi cheese pie, one each cornbread and brownie with two large Americano coffees.”

  “Holy, Grant, that’s a lot of goodies. I won’t be able to eat all that.”

  “Trust me, you won’t let any of this go to waste. It’s the best you’ll ever taste. And if we don’t eat it, we take it home and throw it in the fridge.” They could enjoy something more savory later. For sunset. He had a plan for this evening and needed to make a phone call to set it up.

  He followed Lana out the door, watching the sexy sway of her ass in her white shorts. He couldn’t wait to get her back into bed. Grant usually moved on after a night with a woman, not wanting any complications. He never had breakfast with them. Ever. His divorce had burned too badly. That Lana didn’t seem to know who he was eased his mind. Being the owner of King’ha Coffee made him cautious. Especially with his expansion plans. So far, he wasn’t getting any indication Lana was a gold digger. She appeared in control of her own destiny and content to spend time together, but that didn’t mean he’d let his guard down.

  A mile or so down the road they stopped at the pipeline and stayed in the Jeep under the overhang of palm trees and hibiscus.

  “This is impressive,” Lana commented. “I’ve heard of the Banzai Pipeline before but never realized just how...gosh, I don’t even know how to describe it. Dramatic! Those waves are huge.”

  Grant took the pies out of the bag. “The waves are bigger in the winter and are starting to ease up now. If you think these are huge, wait until you see them in January.”

  Did I just make a plan for nine months from now? He took a quick look at Lana to see if she’d picked up on that, but she was still staring out over the water. Had she heard him? If she did, she wasn’t letting on. What had happened to the caution he was adamant about?

  “Okay, so we have two completely different pies here. Take a bite from each one and tell me which one you’d rather eat.”

  She swung her gaze to the treats he held out. She touched her tongue to her top lip as she tried to decide. Grant’s groin tightened thinking of her pink, wet tongue licking his cock.

  “I can never make a decision when it comes to stuff like this.” She sighed, then bit her lower lip. Her concentration on which piece of decadence to eat charmed him. She glanced up at him, her eyes dark and mysterious. “How about we each eat half and then trade? That way we don’t have to choose.”

  Grant smiled and cut the pieces in half. “I guess it can be hard to choose sometimes. Depending what those choices are.”

  Keeping his gaze on hers, Grant leaned over, unable to deny himself a quick kiss. Her eyes widened as he covered her mouth with his. Her lips opened, and that was all he needed as an invitation. He found her tongue with his, tasting and pulling it into his mouth. Liking the soft moan that came from deep in her throat.

  His thigh muscle clenched when her hand rested on him. Her palm was warm, electrifying against his flesh, and when she slipped her fingertips underneath the edge of his shorts, he was all but ready to forget about the bakery treats.

  A siren screamed behind them as an ambulance raced past, shattering their intimate moment. Breathless, Lana sat back and blinked, her eyes glazed with desire. Grant knew it would be way too easy for them to get carried away out here under the tropical trees.

  “That was an ambulance.” Lana craned her neck to see where it had gone, her breathing still ragged.

  “Yeah, not a good sign when you’re up by the pipeline.”

  “I imagine people could get hurt a lot here.”

  He nodded. “It’s not a place for those who don’t have experience.”

  Grant shifted in his seat and handed her the box of goodies.

  Lana speared the point of a slice of pie and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes closed and she let out a very sultry groan, an echo of the noises she made last night. “This is amazing. What a good call to make a stop here.”

  Grant savored a bite of his own. “Yes, this place has been a landmark for many years.”

  “Normally I’m not a dessert person, but this could definitely change my way of thinking.” She tasted the other piece of pie and gasped. “Wow. And I have a party in my mouth! What an explosion of flavor, love it.”

  He laughed and dug in to his piece. It wasn’t hard to pass the next few minutes in silence as they ate and drank the coffee. The brownie and cornbread could easily wait until they needed a snack later on. The sun was higher in the sky and it was time to get going.

  She took a sip of her coffee and then turned to him. “What are the chances of two good cups of coffee in such a short period of time?”

  “The bakery has the same kind of coffee I had this morning.”

  “Is that so? What, are you a coffee tycoon or something?”

  There. The perfect opportunity. Yet he hesitated, still unable to let his guard down. It would be easy to tell her he’d made his fortune in Hawaiian coffee and in the thousands of coffee shops scattered across New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. About his expansion plans into the US and Canada. But if he told her, then she’d know who he was, and that could change everything. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for that level of openness. Yet. He wanted, needed, to get to know her a little better. He wanted her to know the real him. Money had a strange way of clouding the issue.

  Instead of answering her, he laughed and put the Jeep in gear. He didn’t like not being honest with her but he’d been burned once by a woman he had trusted. Plus, it was rather nice to live in anonymity for a change. With no worries.

  “So, what do you have up your sleeve for the day?”

  Grant rested his wrist on top of the steering wheel and reached across to take her hand with his free one.

  “We’ll just tour the island and stop anywhere you feel like stopping. Maybe end up taking in a sunset.”

  Which reminded him he had to make that phone call.

  * * *

  LANA WATCHED LUSH foliage rush past them as they drove down the road. He’d made a few references to the future, the sunset tonight, even the waves next January. It would be easy to fall into the trap of thinking about tomorrow with him. Her scheduled time here was only brief. Was it fair to spend the whole time with him? She had work to do, which she should be doing now! And what about him? He had a business to run, too.

  Lana didn’t want to be a leech, but he sure made her want to spend time with him, enjoy another morning waking up in his bed. She turned to Grant and watched him drive for a few minutes before asking, “Who do you think that guy I saw on the beach was?”

  He shrugged. “Hard to say. All our beaches are public. We don’t get too many people out front of my place, but it does happen. Are you a sun worshipper?”

  “Not really. I like to be outside, and I wear lots of sunscreen, but it’s hard for me to just lie in the sun and do nothing. If I get a tan it’s usually from hiking, swimming or just being outside. Do you spend time outside? Surfing?”

  He was tanned, but not super dark, and she could tell he was outdoorsy. Not just from his muscular physique—he had fine lines around his eyes that crinkled up when he laughed. Totally charming. All perfect to go with his blond hair. He could totally pull off surfer boy.

  He laughed out loud and she wondered what was so funny.

  “No, I don’t have a death wish anymore. I surfed when I was younger, but wasn’t that great at it. You may have noticed this.” He pulled up the leg of his shorts and pointed to the scar she’d seen last night. “Reef damage.”

  “That’s quite a battle scar.” She placed her palm over the jagged, healed-up flesh. A tremor ran through him when their skin touched and she glanced at him.

  “My days of being an adrenaline junkie and doing pretty much anything to get a high are long gone. My brother carries that torch.”

  Adrenaline junkie and crazy brother. How interesting. She pondered those tidbits, which made him even more intriguing. She’d wondered about his career. What he did that allowed him to have a beach house, fly first class and seem to live a carefree lifestyle.

  She reminded herself that she’d just met Grant yesterday. Or was it two days ago? She never could keep the days and hours straight after crossing the international dateline. Either way, Grant was a mystery. One she had a notion to solve.

  6

  “THIS IS INSANE!” Lana cried, and stared out the window as the Bell 407 tour helicopter took a sharp bank over the shoreline below. Spectacular beaches were tucked in between the lava flows spread underneath them, and she placed her palms on the window, bracing herself even though she was wearing a four-point harness. The sensation of flying overcame her and she let out a whoop, nothing but the glass between her and the vista below. She turned to Grant. “I wish I had my camera,” Lana shouted into the microphone of the headset she wore.

  “Nothing better than memories to take with you.” His voice, coming through her earpiece, was comforting and deep.

  The whomp whomp of the helicopter blades thudded up through the seats, creating a bass backdrop for the majestic view.

  Lana turned back to the window, in awe of the vista below. They’d leveled out and finished the turn. The last thing she ever expected was this little jaunt over to the Big Island of Hawaii. Grant had been mysterious about making a phone call earlier today; clearly he’d been planning this surprise. He’d told Lana a good friend owned a helicopter tour company, so he’d made arrangements for them to be picked up in Honolulu and flown to Kona for this sunset tour.

  When they’d zipped low over the water in the open-door helicopter on the flight between the islands, it had been exhilarating. The helicopter they were in now was far more luxurious than that one, almost like a limo.

  Lana had no clue what the rest of the night would entail, but being with Grant was all that mattered. She reached over and took his hand, never looking away from the window, and he tightened his fingers around hers. A sense of contentment swelled inside her. Grant filled every minute of her thoughts. Had it really only been a couple of days since they met?

  “I’ve never seen anything so spectacular in all my life.” She craned her neck so as not to miss a thing as they flew toward the volcano.

  The pilot’s voice came through the earpieces. “Take a look below. With the sun behind the mountain you can get a good look at the lava and magma lake in Halema’uma’u Crater. Beyond that we’ll fly over the Punalu’u black sand beach and Punalu’u green sand beach.”

  “Green sand? I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Lana exclaimed.

  “It gets its color from the olivine crystals created from eruptions of a dormant volcano a whole lot of years ago.”

  Lana fell quiet, completely in awe. She took a quick glance at Grant, who was watching her rather than looking outside. Impulsively she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss before focusing on the view again, drawing in a breath when she saw the orange glow from the lava.

  “This is magnificent.”

  “The sun will be setting soon, and you don’t want to miss that,” the pilot advised.

  The pilot provided a narrative for the tour. “New land is made when the lava hits the ocean. You may have noticed the coffee farms at the beginning of our flight. There are a few, and I’m sure you’ll see the oldest one later. Grant should—”

  The deep timbre of Grant’s voice interrupted the pilot. “The sun is setting, Lana. You don’t want to miss it. I doubt we’ll see a green flash today with the clouds on the horizon.”

  They flew just above the puffy softness of the clouds. She forgot about the island and the volcano behind her as the magic of the sunset ahead of them filled her with wonder. She had no words for the vision of the sky streaked with pinks and oranges. All she could do was gasp and watch as the colors shifted to deep tones of blazing red and purple.

  “Look behind us, Lana.”

  She turned her head, sucked in a breath and whispered, “Oh my God.”

  The view behind them was just as spectacular, the clouds stained from the reflection of the sunset. She couldn’t have been more surprised when her eyes filled with tears. Grant squeezed her hand and she turned to look at him, a huge lump in her throat.

  “Thank you. I’ve never been more moved by nature.”

  Grant smiled and leaned forward, catching the tear on her cheek with his thumb. “It was my pleasure to see you enjoy yourself. I’m glad you’re happy.”

  She nodded. Strangely, she didn’t feel at all ashamed or self-conscious that it had made her cry. When she could speak without a catch in her voice, Lana told him, “These past two days with you have been totally unexpected, and I’ve loved every minute. I don’t know how to thank you.”

  His smile widened and her heart lurched a little.

  “I’m sure I could think of something.” Grant winked and Lana burst out laughing.

  * * *

  AS IF THE day could get any better, a car was waiting for them when the helicopter landed to whisk them away to a very exclusive luau. When they arrived Grant handed her off to a group of ladies who carefully outfitted her in the most gorgeous native Hawaiian outfit. She couldn’t believe the vision that stared back at her when she looked in the mirror.