His closed expression fell away, and he looked at her with raw vulnerability.
“It was never about you and me,” she said. “I wouldloveto spend more time with you. I just wasn’t ready to make it a family affair, I guess. I didn’t think we’d be involving the kids so soon.”
“They see each other every day.”
“It’s not the same! Letting someone into Mia’s life – or being a mother figure to ‘Iolani… that’s something that I take very seriously.”
“You think I don’t?” Kekoa’s thick black eyebrows huddled together above his dark eyes. “You think I would let just anyone around my son?”
“No,” she acknowledged quietly.
“Laurie, I’veneverbrought a woman around ‘Io. Never. Not once.”
“But you want me around?”
“You’re already around!” He threw his arms wide. “You live in my parents’ back yard!”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t think I do.”
“I’maroundlike any auntie is around. I’m not in his house, taking away from his time with his dad.”
“You wouldn’t be taking away from anything. You would bring so much light into his life. You already have, you and Mia both. We’remoretogether, Laurie. Not less.”
Tears stung Laurie’s eyes. She pressed her lips together, trying to contain the emotion that tore through her chest.
“I’m sure about you, Laurie.” There was so much love and vulnerability in his eyes that it nearly broke her. “Are you sure about me?”
“It’s notaboutthat. I keep trying to tell you.”
“It feels like it is.”
“It’s not my fault you take everything so personal.”
“Laurie, what could possibly be more personal than this? I want a life with you. I’m not trying to rush you to the altar or get you to move in with me, but I do need more time with you. I need you to be a part of my son’s life, because he’s the center of my life.”
She put her hands over her face and took a breath. She could feel his good intentions, and she loved him for it, but she also felt frustrated that she couldn’t make him understand where she was coming from.
They were going around in circles.
“Can we sit down?” she asked, dropping her hands.
“Sure,” he said with a sigh. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Yes please.”
They walked from the shop to his house, and Laurie was acutely aware of the fact that she had never been inside.
Kekoa was right; shewaskeeping her distance. And he kept his distance from her now, walking with enough space between them that their arms wouldn’t accidentally touch.
He went inside, and Laurie paused on the front steps. After a moment, she settled onto the handcrafted bench swing that hung on the lanai.
Kekoa came back out and handed her a deep red glass of hibiscus tea.
He studied the empty space on the bench for a moment, then grabbed a chair instead. He pulled it over and sat directly across from her, leaning forward with his arms braced against his knees.
“Dawn and Kimo weren’t my first foster parents,” she began.
