AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I laughed. "What are you talking about? Every time I see her, she's talking to somebody new. She looks pretty involved to me."
Mahina waved an impatient hand at me. "I mean more than that, we have the festival coming up and we could use her help. You've been such a vital part of it the last couple of years. I can't think of a better ambassador to get her involved."
I nodded nonchalantly, even though I was secretly glad for another excuse to knock on her door later to ask her about it.
When I got home and stopped by Haley’s, I was slightly alarmed when she called out, "The door's open. Come on in."
"Haley," I scolded, "I could've been anybody. Don't you lock this?"
She gave me a dry look from her place behind the kitchen counter. "You worry too much," she said. "Besides, the only person who ever shows up at my door as you... although now Evelyn and Natalie will be too, because they're coming over tonight."
"Evelyn and Natalie?"
"Yeah, Evelyn runs a fruit stand at the farmers' market, and Natalie is semi-retired. They're coming over for dinner tonight. It's going to be fun, although there will probably be a lot of girl talk, so I doubt you’d want to join us, but I can make extra if you want leftovers," she said happily, as she worked at stirring something on the counter.
All of this was so different, and I felt like I was being yanked back in time, long before Haley and I split up, when she was still light and happy.
"Here, come give this a taste. I'm not sure if it's turning out right..." she said, holding out a spoon to me. I looked at it skeptically, but then dutifully took a taste, holding her eyes as I licked at the sweet concoction. "Perfect," I said hoarsely.
A thrill of satisfaction ran through me at the way her eyes observed me and then dilated at my words. Yep, there’s definitely still something there. Dammit.
But there was no way Haley was going to let anything happen. She'd made that abundantly clear, so I cleared my throat and continued, " I actually had a purpose in coming over here, not just to taste test your baked goods."
"Well, I appreciate it," she said.
"No problem, Haley. I'll taste whatever you have to sample any time," I said, not realizing how suggestive it sounded until it came out of my mouth.
Her cheeks turned pink, and she smiled, as I rushed to explain, "So Mahina asked me to recruit you to help us with the festival that's coming up."
"Is it already time for that?" She asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, and it's really important this year. I'm hopeful you've noticed that the community center is in pretty bad shape. We want to use the funds from the festival this year to fix it up, but we don't have as many volunteers as past years, so we could really use your help."
I was prepared for some pushback, but she looked at me amicably and said, "Okay, what do I need to do?"
Suddenly feeling nervous, I sucked in a deep breath and said, "Well, they're having a town council meeting tomorrow night at the town square to discuss the plans and assign roles. You could come with me and I’ll introduce you to everybody you haven't met yet, and then we can figure out where your skills could make the most impact."
She nodded. "Sounds good. Let me know when we leave."
I stood stunned for a moment. No arguing, no pushback. She was ready to be a part of this community, and I had to bite back the smile that was threatening to overtake my face.
"Okay, well, sounds good," I said, backing away, smiling at her.
She smiled back. "Yep, sounds good."
I felt something hit my lower back and realized it was the knob on the door. I looked at it in surprise and then looked at her. She was fighting back a laugh. "Okay, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Okay, Cooper, see you then."
Her sweet smile was the last thing I saw before I closed the door behind me and called through the door to Haley, “make sure you actually lock the door this time.”
“Okay, Cooper,” she sang out, as I waited. Only when I heard the lock click and Haley holler through the door, “happy now?” did I step towards my porch, calling out behind me, “Yes, Haley... yes.” And for the first time in a long time, I actually meant it.
Haley
Dinner with Evelyn and Natalie was a blast. I hadn’t laughed like that in so long. They’d fawned over my paintings and I couldn’t tell if they were just doing that to be nice or if they genuinely meant it, but I didn’t care. They were fun and completely separate from Marcus, or anyone else in my past, for that matter.
Of course, they’d heard about my next-door neighbor. Hanalei was such a small place, no one could resist noticing the “hunky, ex-football player turned surf instructor.” Those were Natalie’s words, not mine, but I could hardly disagree.
