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She smiled. “I don’t know yet,” she clarified. “Maybe we can just…see how it goes.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I nodded. “Like I told Jason, there’s absolutely no pressure. If you decide you enjoy the atmosphere here, the job’s yours.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me, Molly,” I smiled. “I’m more than happy to make the offer, especially because I know how good you are at your job.”
She raised her eyebrows. “How do you know that?”
“Your parents,” I admitted. “And Jason.”
She smiled. “They might not be the most unbiased sources.”
“I trust them,” I said. “Speaking of your parents, how are they?”
“They’re both doing really well,” she replied. “Neither one shows any signs of slowing down.”
“It’s the work ethic all three of us learned from,” I said. “My father was the same way.”
Molly’s eyes turned soft for a moment. “I was sorry to hear about your father, Tristan,” she said. “I wish I could have been there for the funeral.”
“It was…a difficult day,” I nodded. “But it didn’t come as a shock, and that helped. A part of me was relieved, you know. At least he wasn’t suffering anymore. The chemo was very hard on him.”
“I imagine it was hard for you, as well.”
I cleared my throat and changed the subject abruptly, unwilling to appear vulnerable in front of Molly. “It was a while ago now. Anyway… Have you had a chance to explore the resort?”
She seemed to understand my reluctance to talk about my father. “Not yet,” she replied. “I’m going to start exploring tomorrow. Once I’ve caught up on some sleep.”
“You’ll need to have dinner once you’ve rested a bit,” I pointed out. “I can hold a table for you at one of our four restaurants?”
“Alani already offered,” Molly answered. “But I think I’m just going to order in room service tonight.”
“No problem,” I nodded. “The food here is amazing. We’ve got the best chefs from around the world.”
“You always did strive for excellence.”
“Anything less is unacceptable,” I nodded.
“I’m proud of you,” Molly said unexpectedly. “You achieved everything you set out to achieve—in record time no less.”
“I didn’t start from scratch,” I pointed out. “My father built up the empire halfway; I just took over from there.”
“And took it to greater heights,” she said. “Starting a resort in Hawaii was always a dream of yours, wasn’t it?”
“I… Yeah,” I nodded. “How did you know that?”
“You mentioned it to me once,” she said. “The last time we saw each other…at the family Christmas party six years ago.”
The Christmas party… I kept my expression calm, even as the memory came rushing back to me. I could almost smell the scent of holly and mistletoe.
“We kissed that night,” she said unexpectedly. “Do you remember?”
I sat there for a moment, blinking at her like an idiot. I had not expected her to bring up the kiss like that. There was no inflection in her tone, but her expression was studying, and I felt suddenly self-conscious. I remembered the day after the Christmas party. I had been staying at her parent’s house in the guest room, next to Jason’s.
When I had gone down for breakfast, Molly had been there, looking like sunshine. She had turned to me with expectation, and I had watched the joy fade from her face at my indifferent and uninterested attitude. I made a point of announcing to the whole table that I drank too much last night and couldn’t remember a thing that had happened.
A couple of hours later, I packed my bags, said goodbye to Jason’s family and drove off, while Molly stood on the porch steps next to her brother and parents, looking hurt and disappointed.
