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Worst meal ever!
Nani.
There was that word again. I really needed to find out what it meant. Whenever it came out of Kai’s mouth, it sounded special.
I swallowed my surprise—and excitement—at seeing him, opting to play it cool. I stood and faced him. “What are you doing here?”
“I told you I was coming home if I didn’t get the job.”
“Yeah, about that. No hard feelings, right?”
I twisted my hair around my finger and shifted my weight from one foot to the other, both nervous habits I’d ditched years ago. But this was drama of soap-opera proportions, and it seemed to have awakened all of my dormant tics, such as my old nemesis—compulsive lip chewing.
I needed Kai to not hate me for being chosen for the job—I didn’t know why, but I definitely needed it.
“None. Congratulations, by the way.” His deep voice tickled my ears. There was nothing about the way he looked at me that hinted at hate. He was actually sending the opposite signals, and I certainly wasn’t hating that. Relief nearly buckled my knees.
The waiter cleared his throat. I whipped my head around to face him. “Oh, sorry. I forgot all about you.” I winced at my words almost as much as he did. “I mean, I forgot you were waiting for my order.”
“No problem. Would you like me to find this gentleman a table of his own?”
“This gentleman is happy right where he is,” Kai said, stepping up behind me.
I picked up the menu and stared at it, my brain in too much of a tailspin to read a single word. I sucked in a sharp breath when a large, tan hand enveloped mine and held the menu with me. Kai leaned in close behind, reading over my shoulder.
How was I supposed to order my lunch with his hot, minty breath steaming up my neck?
“What do you want?” His husky voice rumbled in my ear.
Was he serious? Did he really want me to answer that? Because at that moment, I think I wanted him to make his move. Well, he kind of already was, but he was holding back; I could feel it. He was only teasing me and trying to make me want more.
It was working.
“This is the best seafood place on the north side of the island,” he said.
I slid my hand out from under his and stepped to the side. I needed some space if I were to ever quiet the wild thoughts racing through my head.
“I was going to order the tuna, but now I’m not sure.” I tucked my hair behind my ear as if I were used to having men I barely knew whisper sweet nothings about lunch in my ear. “I was born and raised too far inland to know much of anything about seafood.”
Kai stepped between me and the waiter. Both men stood a little taller as I choked on the testosterone filling the air. He handed the menu to the waiter. “Two orders of the mahi-mahi.”
The waiter looked right through Kai. “I would suggest the Hawaiian Plate. It’s a sampler of all our best traditional dishes.”
There I stood—two gorgeous men staring at me. Both wanting me to side with their choice of fare. I couldn’t help but feel like I wasn’t choosing a menu item anymore but rather the man behind the suggestion.
Kai winked at me as if he knew he had the inside lane. I was about to go with the Hawaiian Plate, just to show him that I wasn’t quite so easy to influence, when he flashed his dimple.
That was it. The end of my life as I knew it. A man I’d spent a mere three hours with had ruined me for all other men. Nobody measured up to Kai.
Sorry Mr. Waiter.
“I think I’ll have to go with the mahi-mahi.” I flashed an apologetic smile at the waiter. I think he caught on to the fact that things were definitely over between us because his shoulders slumped as he headed to the kitchen with our order.
Kai pulled my chair out for me and took a seat on the other side of the table.
There we were, sitting at a picture-perfect outdoor cafe. Lunch was on order. And now he was gazing into my eyes over the tropical flowers that decorated the table.
Everything about this moment felt exactly like a date—but it wasn’t. He’d never asked me out, and what’s more, I’d never agreed to go. As if I’d have ever turned down an invitation from that man. Now that we weren’t competing for the same job, why should I?
