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“Shit,” she hisses. “I don’t have a towel or a stitch of clothing out here.”
I glance around the patio and I see nothing except my T-shirt. I toss it her way, and she pulls it on over her head. I want to groan. If anything, she looks sexier. Her nipples poke the meshy blue fabric. The hem flirts with her thighs. Seeing her in my shirt and having that stamp of ownership on her is definitely doing something to me. And it’s really not good that I have no way to cover my obvious erection.
“Noah?”
I stop cold at that voice. It’s definitelynotTrace’s.
Fuck me.
“He brought a woman with him?”
I sigh. “He brought my mother.”
Harlow’s jaw drops. Her eyes flare wide. “Are you kidding me? Is there a hole in the yard I can hide in?”
“Nope.” I take her hand. “We’ve going to have to brazen it out, baby.”
“If they’ve been reading the tabloids at all, they know we’ve spent the last few days together.”
“Exactly.” And because no one in my family thinks I’m a saint, they know I’ve been sleeping with Harlow.
Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. They’ll get to meet this woman who’s wrapping herself around me while she’s not at her best. Maybe they’ll see the real her. Hell, maybe I will. Maybe they’ll be able to find faults that I can’t…or they’ll figure out she’s every bit as amazing as I suspect.
I tug on her hand and head for the open accordion door. “Out here, Makuahine.”
“What does that mean?” Harlow whispers.
“It’s Hawaiian for mom or mother.”
“Gotcha. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,ku`uipo.”
Before she can ask me what that word means, my mother and my brother both appear on the other side of the wide, retracted door that leads to the patio. Trace grins. My mother stops short and takes in our lack of clothing and clasped hands in a glance.
“Hi,” I say into the awkward silence.
Trace breaks the ice with a laugh. “We should have called first.”
I nod. “It might have been nice. This is Harlow, bro.Makuahine, say hello.”
My brother dutifully extends his hand, pretending that Harlow isn’t half-naked. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too.” Her smile is strained, but she’s managing the situation with grace.
My mother looks her up and down before a little smile dances at the corner of her lips and takes her hand. “Hello, Harlow.” Then she turns to me. “Is she yournalohia?”
My girlfriend. I don’t know if Harlow would object to that term, but it will make my mother feel a lot better. “Yeah.”
Harlow looks a little confused, but I give her an encouraging smile when my mom turns back to her and squeezes her hand. “From what I understand, you’ve been through a lot recently. I hope my son is making you happy. And that you make him happy, as well.”
Harlow relaxes, and her smile looks genuine. “He’s great at putting a smile on my face.”
As soon as the words leave her mouth, she realizes how suggestive her reply sounds and closes her eyes, face flushing. Trace laughs. I do my best not to smile. Even my mom looks amused.
“That came out wrong. I meant he’s easy to be with and he’s a good listener. On that note, I’m just going to go upstairs and…” She shakes her head as if thinking twice about mentioning that she’ll put on some clothes. “I’ll be back.”
“Looking forward to it,” Trace calls after her.
