I climb out of bed, still tired and a little disoriented as I make my way to the front door. Pulling it open, I find Kai, shirtless, with the hammer raised to strike the nail again.
“Good morning,” he says with far more enthusiasm for this hour. “Sleep well?”
Any response I have is stuck in my throat as Kai stands there looking like something out of a surf magazine. Shirtless, water droplets running through the lines of his toned abs, a deep tan that only comes from hours out on the water in this tropical paradise.
Then there’s that smile, that cheeky yet oh-so-gorgeous smile of his, with perfectly straight white teeth that are set off even more by his sun-kissed skin and striking deep brown eyes.
His hair is damp, as if he’s just showered or come from the ocean, and when I glance over his shoulder, I see his car parked in the driveway with a surfboard strapped to the top.
“How long have you been up?” I ask groggily, letting out a yawn, and when Kai continues hammering, I close my eyes. The sound is too much for it being so early.
“Been out on the water since five,” he tells me as he adjusts the pineapple, positioning it back to upright. “Swell was fucking epic. You should get out there.”
“Out where?”
“On the water,” Kai replies, looking at me like I’m crazy, and I guess if I’m going to be here permanently, I need to learn the lingo.
“I don’t surf. I’m much better at sleeping. Do you know how early it is?” I say, letting out another yawn but sounding a little bitchy in the process.
“Yeah, it’s when the swell is the best,” Kai clarifies, tapping the pineapple with his knuckles. “All good now, Quinn. No one will think you’re up for swapping partners now.”
“Thanks,” I mutter, still attempting to adjust to the early morning wake-up.
“Wanna learn?” Kai now says, and I feel like I have whiplash. The questions are hard for me to keep up with.
“Learn what? Swinging?” I question, confused and in desperate need of coffee if I’m going to be up for the day.
I have a job interview in a few hours, the second one I’ve had since I got here, but that first one didn’t really pan out. The one plus I have going is I did take half from our joint account before I left, so I’m good for at least a few months. But the idea of living off Sean kind of makes me sick, and I’m even more grateful that I never quit my job like he wanted me to. I’d be left with nothing right now.
Or maybe I’d be eligible for spousal support.
Not that I want it.
“Quinn,” Kai purrs, and suddenly I don’t feel as tired as I did before, my stomach flipping and my thighs clenching at the way he says my name. “I don’t like to share. I told you that earlier.”
His eyes scan my body as I stand in the doorway dressed in a tank and underwear. I jumped out of bed so confused and tired that I didn’t even think to put on more clothes.
I can’t remember the last time Sean looked at me the way Kai is looking at me right now, and something about it feels so freeing and intimate and erotic.
Wetting his lips, his eyes graze over my bare thighs and then to my breasts, but he moves higher, his eyes connecting with mine. A fire burns in them, and we stand suspended in this moment, a moment that feels like there’s something between us, something I’m not ready to admit to.
“I was talking about surfing. Wanna learn how to surf?” he asks, smiling sweetly. “I happen to know one of the best instructors on Maui.”
“Let me guess, you’re talking about yourself,” I tease, stepping aside so I can invite him in. He’s been standing on the deck since I opened the door. It’s rude not to ask him in given he fixed my door decoration. “Coffee?” I now ask.
“Sure, and yeah, I’m talking about myself. You can’t come to Hawaii and not learn to surf. Come on, it’ll be fun,” he presses, and I narrow my eyes at him.
“Fun? There are fish and sharks and turtles and all kinds of other things that live in the water. I’m not sure ‘fun’ would describe me running into one of those things.” I shudder, and Kai lets out a chuckle. “Oh, and jellyfish. No thanks.”
“I’ve been surfing since I could walk, and I’ve never gotten attacked by a shark,” Kai tells me as he pulls out a chair at my small kitchen table.
And again, his eyes fall to my barely covered body, reminding me that I’m not wearing enough clothes for this interaction. A silence passes between us, and the room feels charged with electricity. Having him in here with me feels like I’m dancing dangerously close to doing something I’m going to regret.
A broken heart is a liar and will make you think the way to heal is to find someone to dull the ache, but it’s wrong. Hooking up with Kai will only make things worse, even if he does look like his abs were chiseled from stone, and he has a smile that makes me want to drop my panties.
Tossing a thumb over my shoulder, I say, “I’m going to put on some more clothes.”
“It’s not bothering me,” Kai calls out as I disappear into the little bedroom, and I find myself smiling at his comment.
