My Beloved: A Thin Love Novella(17)
“What is that song?”
“I heard it in Waikiki when Malaine took me to the farmer’s market. There was a player with hulu girls performing for the tourists. I liked the melody.”
“It sounds so familiar.” But he couldn’t place it, then didn’t care about anything but feel of Keira’s soft skin rubbing against his face as she snuggled down deeper onto the mattress.
“I’ve loved you for half my life.” She said that like the idea surprised her, like she couldn’t believe all the time they’d been apart, then together again had added to something like more than half of her life.
“You’re just figuring that out, Wildcat?”
“It’s just something that popped into my head.” She turned onto her side and Kona followed pulling her against his chest as they faced each other on the pillow. “That half a year at CPU, all those years you were gone, and the almost half a year since you came back. That’s half my life.”
“You counted the time we weren’t together?”
Keira’s smile was easy, sweet as she moved her chin, let her thumb trace across his scar. “Just because you weren’t around doesn’t mean I didn’t love you. I had a daily reminder of how thick my love was for you, bebe.”
“You never stopped either?” She grinned wider and shook her head. Kona couldn’t help kissing her then, small and brief, but those lips, that tiny taste, was still drugging. Like always. “I think it gets better, stronger the older you get.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
He kissed her forehead, hugged her against his chest. “Me either, but I got no problem waiting to find out.”
Kona felt relieved, unbelievably lucky that Keira hadn’t taken off again. He always expected it, anytime she got scared, anytime she let the worry overwhelm her. But lately, before now, everything had been going well, with the exception of missing her so badly his stomach ached when he was off commentating at a game. But then, naked Skype chats had helped dull that particular ache.
He was uneasy with her claim that he loved the spotlight too much. He couldn’t lie and say he didn’t enjoy it, but it was no comparison to her, to their life together. Still, Kona would have to have a long talk with Keira about their future, about his career and the new opportunity that Devon had brought to him earlier today in what had to be some of the worst timing, ever. He wanted to shove that conversation aside. Keira felt too good in his arms, seemed too content, for him to upset her.
But one aspect of that very prickly topic couldn’t wait, not with the concerns she had shared with him earlier. Keira had to be told before the wedding tomorrow. As much as he hated damaging her calm, Kona was worried that he’d have no other chance to break the news to her, especially since Ransom still hadn’t managed to find the nerve to talk to her about his unexpected wedding guest.
“Keira?”
“Hmm?” She snuggled closer, clearly comfortable resting against him. Kona had slept next to Keira every night for the past nearly five months. He’d already learned when she was drifting off by the rhythm of her heartbeat and the slowed breaths that tickled his chest.
“Baby, I need to talk to you about something. You awake?”
“Hmm… what?”
“I said are you…” Kona’s phone sounded, pulling Keira from drifting off completely and he looked down at her, giving her what he hoped was an apologetic frown when she sleepily glared at him. A quick glance at his screen and Kona hurried to accept the call. “Hey man, just a sec.” He shifted to the edge of the bed and pulled on his boxers, tilting his head at Keira when she turned away from him. “Baby,” he said, covering the phone speaker, “it’s the wedding planner guy. I have to take this.” Keira looked over her shoulder when he touched her, the line between her eyebrows disappearing as he kissed her. “I’ll just be a few minutes.” Keira nodded, seemed a bit less irritated and Kona took that as his cue to finish his conversation.
But a few minutes turned into close to an hour when Ronnie Christenson, the owner of Happily Ever After Events, wanted to profusely apologize for Nya’s inappropriateness and then wanted to go over, in precise detail, the agenda for the wedding day. Kona tried four times to tell the guy he had to go, but Christenson was resilient, insistent and highly anal about details.
By the time Kona returned to bed, Keira was sleeping soundly, small little snores coming from her. Kona leaned down to kiss her, stopping short when he saw that the wrinkle between her eyebrows had returned and a harsh frown pulled down her mouth as she slept.
During the flight to Hawaii, Keira and Kona had agreed that there would be no bachelor or bachelorette parties. They were long past drunken frivolity, strippers and having one final stab at decadence before they tied themselves to each other forever. So the rehearsal had been the night before the wedding, and instead of spending their down time relaxing and getting ready for the next day’s chaos, Keira and Kona were having make-up sex. Not that she was complaining.
Though they hadn’t wanted debauched parties with their friends, Kona insisted that Kiera be given some princess time before the ceremony, setting her up the morning of the wedding to be treated to a massage and pampering at the resort spa. So she left that morning early, leaving a kiss on Kona’s lips as he snored steadily.