“Speak for yourself,” Kai chides. “Maybe you were the only one who didn’t know I was introducing Quinn as my girlfriend.”
“Seriously?” Miles responds, sounding slightly insulted as he looks over at Daisy. “Did you know?”
“I mean, I had an idea. They’ve been getting close for a while now, and Kai has been talking about her a lot. And he hasn’t…” She trails off, giving Kai a sheepish look, and the table erupts with laughter.
“We all know how Kai is,” I say, sticking up for him. “It’s okay, Daisy.” I pat his thigh under the table, and he gives me a playful smile.
“We talked all about this last night at dinner. I took her to the Orchid Bay for the sunset private dining,” Kai tells the table, and Miles’s mouth falls open. “Shit, bro, you trying to catch some flies over there? Close your mouth, you guppy.” Kai’s words are teasing and fun, with his mom shaking her head at her boys.
“You’d think they’d outgrow this nonsense,” Luna says. “But nope, still at each other’s throats. Best friends and mortal enemies.”
“You’ve never taken me to the private dining at Orchid Bay,” Daisy adds in, mock insulted. “You going to let your brother outdo you?”
“Oh please. Kai’s got a lot of catching up to do if he thinks one date is going to outdo me.” Miles lets out a bothered huff, the table laughing again. “Right, babe?”
Leaning over, Miles wraps an arm around Daisy’s shoulders, pulling her close, he presses a soft kiss to her lips.
Cutting through the teasing, I open with a question that I know will elicit a big response. “Tell me about Kai. I think today is the perfect time to learn all about him.”
“I’m an open book,” he says, holding his arms out. “Give it your best shot. You know there’s nothing you can tell her that I wouldn’t share myself.”
He leans back in his chair, his arm slung over the back of mine, and his fingers begin to absentmindedly play with my hair.
Miles puts on a contemplative face, eyes narrowed, lips pursed as he begins to drum his fingers on the table. After a few silent seconds pass, Miles lets out a hard sigh.
“He’s right. I’ve got nothing on him that would embarrass him. He does everything out in the open without any concern for looking like a fucking fool.”
“Miles, language,” Luna chides.
“Sorry, Ma.”
Daisy looks over at me, smiling as she begins to talk, sharing some really sweet sentiments about Kai, and I can see why he loves all of them. “He loves to surf, and he’s really good at it. Probably the best out of all of us because he has no fear. He’ll catch the biggest waves, getting ragdolled and not caring.” She stops for a second, seeing if anyone else wants to join in.
But they’re all listening to her, smiling and waiting for her to continue.
“He has the biggest heart and puts everyone ahead of himself. If you need anything, he’s there. No questions asked. Honest to a fault, but so much fun too. He makes me laugh regularly, and he loves, loves, loves my coconut cake.”
Again, she pauses, her eyes welling with tears just a little, so much care and kindness in her words.
“And if you’re lucky, he’ll make huli huli chicken for you. His is the best, but it’s a rare occurrence, and he keeps his recipe a hidden secret.”
Luna swipes at her eyes, brushing back the tears. Every person needs people like this in their life. People who love them and tell them how special they are. Every word Daisy has said is an homage to Kai and his loyalty to his friends and family.
“Sold,” I reply when she falls quiet.
Leaning over, I press my lips to Kai’s in a kiss that says I’m forever grateful that he picked me.
Breakfast is as I expect it to be: my whole family giving me shit and trying to embarrass me at every turn. They don’t, of course, because, like I said, I don’t really care about any of the shit I’ve done. If I did, I wouldn’t have done it in the first place. So they can try all they want, but it doesn’t work.
But the best part about breakfast is how much my whole family embraces Quinn. I mean, Miles and Daze were a given. They already know her and have spent more time with her, but seeing my parents, who had only met her once, welcome her into our family breakfast is cool.
Really cool.
Dad pays the bill, waving away Quinn’s offer of cash. I know she’s all tied up in this divorce with her ex and him offering her money to stay silent, but she probably doesn’t realize that my family is also pretty okay from that side of things.
I mean, probably not Grammy Award-winning rock star okay, but the family business does well, really well, and none of us are struggling for cash.
“What are you two up to for the rest of the day?” Mom asks as she comes around to hug Quinn.
