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“Yep,” I concurred, trying not to laugh at her reaction. “And you’re gonna eat it.”
She made a face at me, and we both laughed, but I could tell she was excited for every aspect of the experience.
A woman’s voice came over a PA system, gaining our attention. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you will make your way to your seats, it is time for dinner and for our show to begin.”
Once more, Georgia was practically vibrating with excitement. Taking her hand, I led her back through a soft spray of ocean water to our table. We had just settled in when the waiters came with the first course. I could tell Georgia was a little leery of some of the traditional Hawaiian foods she’d never seen before, but she tried all of the items presented to her and enjoyed most of them. The meal was served in three courses, including dessert, with plenty of drinks. By the time we’d taken the last bite of our pork, we were both feeling light as air, and when Georgia bit into her coconut cookie for dessert, she was grinning from ear to ear.
About that time, the show began. I was glad that I was sitting with a view of both the stage and my date as I was more excited to see her face than the performers. I’d been to this luau and several others before, so I knew what to expect, but she had no idea.
The show was full of fun dances, lots of singing, ukulele playing, and other performances. With each one, Georgia clapped and cheered with the rest of the crowd. Then, the fire dancers came out. I loved watching Georgia see them for the first time as two chiefs twirled torches around, dodging and catching them, gyrating quickly to the pounding drums as they moved in traditional island dances. When the chiefs took turns eating the fire and blowing it back onto their poles, I thought Georgia was going to explode with enthusiasm.
“Amazing!” she shouted to me over the music.
All I could think to say was, “Yes, you are.”
When the fire dancers finished, we all stood up and clapped, and our hostess invited us to stay on our feet. “Please join me in a traditional hula dance as we bring our night of celebration to an end.”
I could tell that Georgia was sad that the event was almost over, but she was also keen to learn the moves. Following along with the dancers on stage, she moved her hips and fluttered her hands in such a graceful way, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything but stare at her even if I was trying to do the dance myself, which I was not. She was such a vision there, with the moonlight gleaming off her hair, a beautiful smile on her face, and tears glistening in her eyes. As the singer broke into “Aloha ‘Oe,” the same song I’d requested be played at the airport when we landed, Georgia’s tears began to streak down her cheeks.
Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her to me. “Are you all right?” I asked her, nuzzling against her cheek.
“I’ve never been happier in my whole life.” Georgia leaned in and kissed me, and I felt my heart surge in my chest. I was so glad I’d made this perfect day for her, and I couldn’t wait to see her experiencing everything else I had on the agenda for the first time.
With the luau over, we headed home. Georgia was drained. I could tell by the way she had her head resting against my shoulder all the way back to the house. When we arrived, I guided her up the stairs and helped her get into her pajamas. I wanted to make love to her, but tonight, I’d be content to hold her close and let her dream of her perfect day in paradise.
22
GEORGIA
The morning after the luau, I awoke with a minor headache. I’d obviously drunk too many cocktails at the event, but when one was in paradise, it was difficult to stay in bed and mope around. Rather, I hopped up and popped a few pain pills before walking to the sliding glass doors that led to the lanai and heading outside to stare at the beautiful view. In the distance, the turquoise waters lapped against the shore, their rhythm calming and making me feel even better. I didn’t mind standing there in my pajamas, not when the sun was beaming down on me, warming me to the bone, and everything was so breathtaking.
I’d noticed Beau wasn’t in bed when I’d woken up and just assumed he’d gone on with his meeting. I felt bad that I hadn’t been there with him since I’d come along to help, but he’d let me sleep, which I appreciated. Getting my body and mind to adjust to the time zone was proving more challenging than I’d thought it would be.
The sound of the sliding glass door opening behind me had me turning around with a wide grin on my face. Beau stood there, dressed in nice slacks and a button-down shirt, one without a floral pattern on it. In his hands, he held a steaming cup of coffee and a large blueberry muffin. My mouth began to water at the thought of both of them.
“Good morning, gorgeous,” he said with a grin. “How did you sleep?”
“Good,” I said, stepping over to take the offered goodies. “Thank you for this.” I sank down into a chair at the table, still staring out at the ocean, though I was now distracted. My head wanted to incline toward the handsome man who was now seated next to me.
“Of course,” he said in response to my thanking him. “Did you get enough sleep?”
He had a teasing tone to his voice, but I couldn’t blame him. He’d probably been up for hours. “I did. Sorry I missed the meeting.”
“It’s okay. It didn’t take long. Everything is well managed here, so it takes very little effort on my part.” He continued to smile at me, but in his eyes, I thought I saw an indication that something was wrong.
“Is everything all right?” I asked him, still sipping my coffee.
Beau let out a soft sigh. “Not exactly.” I felt my stomach tightening. Was he about to tell me I’d embarrassed him last night at the luau and I needed to go home? Or maybe he thought this wasn’t working, and he was ready to send me off. “We have to leave earlier than expected.”
I felt my heart drop into my stomach. The information wasn’t quite as bad as the conclusions I’d jumped to, but it still wasn’t good news. I’d thought we’d have more time to explore the island, to swim in the ocean, maybe even see a whale or two. “Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say, but I tried to accept the reality of the situation. There had to be a good reason for Beau to be saying we had to leave early.
“There’s a storm moving in over Lauterbrunnen,” he explained. “If we don’t get back to the plane and on our way in the next hour or so, we may miss our window to land, which means we’d have to wait a couple of days. If that’s the case, I’ll have renters at the house, and I won’t be able to visit it at all.”
“I understand,” I said with a smile. “It’ll be hard to top this place, but I’m so glad I got to visit. I’d love to come back someday.” He stared at me, unblinking, and I couldn’t read his expression at all. I thought maybe he wouldn’t want to bring me back here, so I said, “I guess I could always rent it out from you.”
Beau snickered. “If you want to stay here again, Georgia, that’s no problem at all. Say the word, and I’ll arrange it.”
My grin widened at his kindness, but I was curious as to whether or not he would be along with me for the visit. I was too shy to ask, though.
