Between Hello and Goodbye(38)

Asher rolled his eyes. “Here we go again.”

“Again? Have we previously discussed the Titanic door raft without my knowledge?”

“Kal loves shipwrecks and it’s Nalani’s favorite movie. Consequently, I’ve seen the damn thing a hundred times and get an earful from her every time about how Jack could’ve been saved.”

“And you disagree?”

“Yes. The door couldn’t hold them both and it doesn’t matter, anyway. That’s not the point of the scene.”

I smiled at the seriousness of Asher’s conviction. The adorable furrow between his brows returned with a vengeance.

“Clearly you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

“Against my will.”

“Want to hear my preferred scenario? Rose could’ve laid on top of Jack, wrapped in his arms. Their shared body heat would’ve helped to keep them both alive.”

“Or their combined weight would’ve pushed the door under the surface, and she’d have woken up stuck to his dead corpse.”

“A lovely visual. Okay, how about lying side by side?”

“Major ballast issues.” When I started to protest, Asher shook his head. “Look, they could’ve made a bunch of attempts to both get on the door and would’ve spent a lot of time flailing around in the icy water. Jack knew that was too dangerous. Of all the options, he chose the one that was going to give Rose the best shot at surviving. You can see the exact moment he understands what has to happen and how he instantly makes peace with it.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” I managed, glad I was off my feet, or my knees would’ve gone weak. “You’re a romantic.”

“I’m practical. He did what he had to do to keep her alive.”

“At the cost of his own life.”

He shrugged. “If that’s what it takes…”

A strange shiver went through me that was both thrilling and profound. It skimmed along my skin while sinking deep into my bones at the same time. Asher’s face was still inches from mine, drops of ocean water on his full lips that dared me to lean down and taste their salty warmth. To kiss the mouth that said such courageous things so casually, as if giving his life for someone else was a foregone conclusion.

But kissing Asher would be a Very Bad Idea and break my Number One Rule and a bunch of other Capitalized Adjectives that served to protect my heart from this man. But I could not be this close to him on such a glorious morning, after hearing such a declaration, and do nothing.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I kissed the tip of my index finger and touched it to the furrow between his brows. It smoothed out instantly as Asher’s expression relaxed into a kind of mild surprise, his eyes darkening and his breath catching.

“What was that?” he asked gruffly.

I swallowed hard, scared my voice was going to be high and fluttery like the erratic beats of my heart. “That was a thank you.”

“For what?”

“Being you.”

We were floating a mile from shore with a half a dozen other people nearby and yet we might as well have been alone in the middle of the ocean. Asher’s intense gaze held mine and then dropped to my mouth. For a few breathless seconds, I thought he was going to shatter my Number One Rule and kiss me. His Adam’s apple bobbed in a hard swallow, on the brink of breaking free of his restraint…and then he wrenched his gaze away.

“Time to head back.”

He took hold of the nose of the surfboard and swam me back to the boat. We said nothing on the return voyage to the marina, but when it came time to disembark, Asher handed the crutches to his captain friend and wordlessly offered me his hands. I took them, and he pulled the maneuver he had the other day at the shave ice stand—he spun to give me his broad back and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He piggy-backed me off the boat and onto the gently swaying dock. We said our goodbyes, but still, he didn’t put me down. He took the crutches and carried them and me until we got to solid ground.

But when it came to my feelings for Asher Mackey, there was no solid ground. I was standing on a precipice, about to fall in. Or jump .





Chapter Ten



Though it was another Very Bad Idea, I agreed to have dinner with Asher in Hanalei later that evening. He drove me back to my condo and walked me to the door, holding it open for me so I could hobble inside.

There was a short moment as I crossed the threshold when I entered the protective circle of his body as he held the door. I felt the heat of him, smelled the ocean salt on his skin, instantly intoxicated by his nearness while visions of him shirtless danced in my head. I nearly turned into that circle, nearly let the crutches fall to press myself against the brick wall of his body, tilting my mouth up to let him have me and damn all my rules.

But I slipped inside and shut the door behind me with a murmured thank you, and if that’s not self-restraint of the most epic and admirable proportions, I don’t know what is.

“The monks have nothing on me,” I muttered.

I rested my foot for the rest of the afternoon, made a few calls to the agency to check on my accounts.

“They really want you back,” Jess told me. “Have you heard of Zuma?”

“The winter wear company, right?” I said. “Snowboarding gear, skiing…”