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Yeah, but “all week” for them ended in two days. She returned his stare for a long, drawn-out moment, possibly thinking the same thing. Or waiting for him to say something? “Czarina, I—”
“Oh. My. God.” Her gaze flickered away before he could get out the words.
Attention locked on something over his shoulder, she moved past him. He turned to find her closing in on a waist-high chunk of koa carved into a tiki figure.
He followed. “Goddess, I think.”
“Goddess Pele,” the young guy manning the stall supplied helpfully. “Carved here on the island by a master artisan from solid Acacia koa harvested before the turn of the century.”
“I have Kamapuaa on my hearth at home, just sitting there all lonely and ugly.” She ran a reverent hand over the large spiky crown arching over the figure’s head. “I found him at a gallery in Paris, of all places. I’ve been looking for his perfect mate ever since.”
The thing had to weigh a hundred pounds. “Czarina, a four-foot tiki won’t fit in your luggage.”
“We ship,” the clerk interjected, clearly prepared.
“Do you take Visa?” she asked, also clearly prepared.
“All major credit cards. Follow me, please.” He gestured to the counter. “I’ll ring you up and take your shipping information.”
She looked back at him. “Do you mind? If you need to get back, I can—”
“Take your time. I’m going to grab a gift. I’ll find you when I’m done.”
Once she turned away to follow the clerk, he backtracked to the stand with the anklet. He hadn’t bought jewelry for a woman in a long time, but when he saw the Engraving While You Wait sign above the kiosk, that sealed it for him.
The kid lounging on a stool behind the counter looked like he’d made good use of some of the merchandise, but he stood and smiled broadly when Nick approached. “Help you, brah?”
“Yeah.” He picked up the anklet and flipped the biggest of the charms. Still pretty small, but the back of the heart offered a broad, flat surface. “Is the engraver here?”
Another broad smile. “You’re looking at him.” He pointed to a small caddy containing notepaper and a few stubby pencils. “Write it down and I’ll price it out for you.”
Nick took a slip of paper, a pencil, and wrote out the letters as carefully as he’d write a chart instruction. Legibility counted. When he finished, he turned the slip of paper toward the clerk. “Can you engrave this right here?” He tapped the heart.
“No problem.”
In under ten minutes the clerk showed him the results. “This okay?”
Nick checked it and reached for his wallet. “You’re an artist, man.”
The guy accepted cash from Nick, then placed the anklet in a Baggie and handed it over with a laid-back shrug. “Hope she likes it, brah.”
…
Spend the night. That’s all she had to say. Just look over at him and say, “Want to spend the night?”
Bad idea.
Why? She wanted him to spend the night. No shame in admitting it. She wanted more of his tireless and oh-so-talented body.
You want to spend more time with him.
Bingo. The end of their arrangement loomed in just two days. Two short days to get her fill, and she was very worried she wouldn’t be able to do it.
This thing doesn’t include sleepovers. The hotel is right there, but he always takes you out. Don’t you think there’s a reason for that? A boundary.
Scenery zipped by her passenger window, mocking her indecision on such a simple question. They were almost back to the resort, and she was still second-guessing herself. Ask? Don’t ask? Maybe tomorrow night would be better?
&n
