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"Yes, I do," I sighed quickly. Nervously. Take charge? Even though I had done it many times in Iowa, it had never come with the title. Nor had it come with the perks that went with it. I'd always felt the duties and punishments when things didn't go Jane's way… and now I was about to be officially promoted to restaurant manager of theHonolulu Sun?
Now a grin spread across my face.
"There you go. That's what I wanted to see," Kaia purred. "I'll email you the amended contract later. There's a party on the beach tomorrow night. You pick up where Kelsi left off with her planning. Oh, and I'll see you at Kaden's tonight– we're celebrating the promotion."
She backed away, waved, and disappeared from the restaurant. I didn't wait a second, though, and ran to the back and burst through the swinging doors. Jean looked up from his pot just in time to intercept my fierce embrace.
Grinning, I planted a kiss on the older man's cheek.
"Promotion?" he asked in his French accent– a slight hint in his voice that he already knew.
I nodded. The next thing I knew, he was grabbing my hand, spinning me around, and doing a happy dance with me.
"Congratulations, girl. What I've seen of you in the last few weeks shows that you've got what it takes. Kelsi was good, but you're going to rock. Take two hours to familiarise yourself with everything and tonight you'll show everyone". The genuine joy on his face made me happy. It showed me that I had come to the right place. That I hadn't made a mistake in accepting Kaden's strange offer.
Hawaii was my home. O'ahu was my island. And I could finally explore the version of myself I had suppressed for so long in theHonolulu Sun. Because of my family. Iowa. Jane. All those things that had always mattered. Now they had absolutely no value.
I hugged Jean once more before heading into the office. It wasn't going to get any easier just because I got promoted.
* * *
Kaia handedme the champagne glass, a mint leaf and a raspberry floating in it, and toasted me. It was just before midnight, Kaden was still in the office and I had been back from the restaurant for less than an hour. But I wasn't tired, nor did I feel the need to send Kaia away.
We had got on well before, although we had never spent much time together. Sometimes we had just bumped into each other. At school. At her parents' house. In between, Kaden had dragged her along when he had to look after her.
Our glasses clinked and I took a sip. It tingled on my tongue. Kaia pointed to the table and the small cake on top.
"Jean made that. Nothing you can get in the supermarket."
I would have recognized the star chef's signature even without her mentioning it. He was always meticulous about what he cooked, trying to add that extra kick that ordinary food didn't provide. So whatever he had backed was bound to be a surprise in my mouth. He had probably been experimenting with unusual flavor combinations again and– just like that– had come up with something that could only be described as terrific.
"I still don't know what to say about this favor." Even though, strictly speaking, it hadn't been one. In fact, there was no doubt in my mind that Kaia's choice had been on the basis of the criteria she had mentioned, but not explained any further.
"How about I put a cherry on top?" she asked, emptying her glass and setting it down before looking at me urgently. "I'm glad you're here, Nika. Not just glad. Euphoric is more like it. For the past few weeks, Kaden has been… more Kaden than ever. I don't think anyone but me has noticed, but he'd lost himself in the last few years. Work was his priority. I don't know if I ever saw him relax. I can't remember if he ever laughed in all that time. But since you've been here… he's at peace again. I'd like to slap him for waiting so long to bring you here. After all, I've had to put up with his moods, and it's rarely been fun." Kaia winked. But she stood by her words. I knew that. None of what she said was meant to reflect poorly on Kaden. She used what she said to make a point.
And I understood that point, even though one of those statements made my chest tighten. We had been moving at cross-purposes for so long and had no problem finding each other again. It was as if we had never been apart. It was uncanny. A little dubious, if you like.
Still, I was happy about it. Especially for Kaden, but also for myself, because without him I wouldn't be here.
"It's not only good for him if we're honest," I replied. I mumbled because I didn't want to admit it in front of Kaia. "I still can't believe he screwed up the second date already."
Though Kaia didn't know the exact details, she did know that Kaden and I were going to bed together– and that I was in the process of finding him a wife. She'd never asked me to elaborate, but I hadn't failed to notice the raised eyebrows whenever we talked about this.
"Maybe you need to practice dating with him. Who knows, maybe he acts like a total idiot," Kaia suggested, with the broad grin of a younger sister who loved nothing more than getting on her brother's nerves.
"You mean I should establish myself as his personal dating coach?"
"Exactly. He doesn't need coaching in bed, of course, but when it comes to dating… Maybe he really is a bit awkward."
I couldn't imagine a man like Kaden making mistakes on a date. Quite the opposite, in fact. Whenever we had gone out together, he had behaved like a gentleman. Never for a second had it felt forced. We had never run out of things to talk about. But we had also known each other for many years and there was an undeniable chemistry between us. Everything was easier for me in his presence. I was sure he felt the same.
Irritated, I wrinkled my nose. "This would turn into role playing. We'd have to do the pretense of being strangers and…"
"Actually, I'd take a wager on how long it would take him to be annoyed by that."
Smirking, I shook my head. "I'm afraid he's not even going to get involved."
"Try it. And then report back to me. Or maybe I should be a fly on the wall."
