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She nodded. “I like that.”
He pulled her to him. “I like that you like that. And if you ever are uncomfortable sharing your location with me, you know how to turn it off.”
“As do you.” Her gut twisted. “You might find a new girlfriend. She might not want you tracking the old one.”
He took her hands in his. “I don’t want another girlfriend. The way I see it, Maui brought us together when she made you slip on that trail. I’ll be back. I just don’t know when.”
She looked up into his eyes, her heart full. “Ninety-nine.”
“I need to up my game,” he said and kissed her so thoroughly that her head spun, and her knees turned to jelly.
When he finally raised his head, she clung to him. “Keep that up, and we won’t make it out of this room.”
“Challenge accepted.” He lowered his head to kiss her again.
Before his lips touched hers, a knock sounded on the door to Leilani’s suite.
Angel sighed, brushed his mouth lightly over hers and stepped back. “We’re being summoned.”
Leilani laughed and hurried past him to open the door.
Olina stood there with her three children. “Tell me the truth...do I look all right?” She wore a sleeveless sundress in a bright red, pink and orange pattern that perfectly complimented her dark skin.
Leilani hugged her friend. “You’re adorable.” She looked past Olina to the children, all wearing shorts, T-shirts and tennis shoes. “Are you ready for the Lahaina Olympics?”
All three children shouted, “Yes!”
Noa reached for Angel’s hand. “I want to do the three-legged race, but no one will do it with me. Will you, Mr. Angelo?”
Angel knelt to get on eye-level with the five-year-old. “I’d be honored to race with you.”
Noa’s smile lit his face. “We’re going to win!”
Angel laughed and straightened. “I don’t know about that, but we’re going to do our best.”
“You sure you don’t mind that I’m taking your car?” Olina asked.
“Not at all,” Leilani said. “But after tomorrow, we’ll have to juggle our schedules again.”
Olina’s eyes widened. “That’s right.” She looked at Angel. “You’re leaving. We’ll miss you.” Her gaze shot to Leilani. “Are you going to be all right?”
Leilani forced a smile because crying on a day of celebration wasn’t cool. “I will.”
“Let’s get moving,” Angel said. “The guys are following us to the event location.”
They met Dev, Reid and Teller in the parking lot and piled into three vehicles. Angel and Leilani led the way in the first car, and the others fell in behind them. In twenty minutes, they pulled into the parking lot of a park with a large pavilion lined with picnic tables and several tents with different foods offered for an early dinner. After they ate, a three-person band played traditional Hawaiian music while two women wearing colorful dresses and flower leis performed the hula dance.
During a pause between activities, several people gave updates on the cleanup effort in Lahaina and shared information about timelines and agencies they could contact for assistance. By the time announcements were done, the children were restless, ready to start the Lahaina version of the Olympics.
Dev, Reid and Teller had found the beer tent and were ensconced in folding chairs, talking with other men, probably swapping war stories.
Leilani was glad the men were having fun on the last night of their vacation.
Olina stood with the mothers of her children’s friends, catching up on where they were and how the children were doing in their temporary schools.
Mamo and Palili participated in running an obstacle course set up with a low balance beam, rope ladder, rope swing, culvert pipe and old tires to run through. They were winded and laughing when they finished.
The sun sank low on the horizon when they called for contestants for the three-legged race. Noa grabbed Angel’s hand and dragged him to the starting line.
