Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (bts books to read TXT) 📕

I laugh as Caleb hands me one of the glasses and offers the other to Oli. “Nah, I’m good.”

“Phew, now I don’t have to hide the vodka in it,” Caleb jokes. Mom, on the other hand, has ignored the three of us to go over and hug her grandchildren, who are super excited to see her. Caleb chuckles. “She always do that?”

“Ignore us?” I ask, and Caleb nods. “Yep. One time, I damn near bled to death in the kitchen because she was so busy playing peekaboo with Leah.”

“Oh, stop,” Oli says, laughing. “You nicked your finger with a knife. You didn’t even need stitches.”

“Yeah, but I got salt and lemon juice in the cut,” I add. “You know how much that shit stings?”

We all laugh, but then I make a serious face. “Hey.”

“Yeah?” Oliver asks.

I look across at Rafe and Leah, who is laughing her head off as Mom pushes her in the tire swing. “Don’t worry about Hawaii. Consider it taken care of.”Hannah

“A-lo-fucking-ha!” Cassie cries excitedly, peering out the window of our plane. Luckily we’re flying business class, and I was able to get some much needed sleep in. Either Cassie did too, or her energy has no bounds. “Check that out, Hannah. Have you ever seen anything better?”

I have to admit, it’s gorgeous. Peering out from my window, I see nothing but clear skies and sapphire blue waters. I’ve never really been much of a Pacific girl, preferring the warmer Atlantic and the crystal clear Caribbean, but damn if I might not want to change my opinion. Honolulu itself looks like any other urban city, but surrounding it . . . absolutely amazing. Lush green mountains, tropical forests, and on the horizon, I can even see the majestic brutality of Mauna Loa with its constant eruptions. It takes my breath away. Part of me regrets having to pack my camera in my luggage, but there just wasn’t enough space in my carry-on, and the view I have can’t be translated to a damn iPhone lens. It’s the kind of place where I’d want to live if I ever ‘make it’.

“It’s gorgeous,” I say dreamily. I can see the pale ribbon of beach, and I already want to pull on my bathing suit and try to soak up a few rays. Staying professional is going to be harder than I thought it’d be with that much natural beauty to take up my attention.

“Oh, yeah, can’t wait to get down there and show Hawaii what Cassie White is all about!” Cassie says excitedly.

I groan, rubbing at my temples. “You keep saying stupid shit like that, and they might be calling for an evacuation. First time they called one that didn’t involve a volcano.”

Cassie turns and wiggles her tongue. “Oh, come on! We’re gonna have so much fun!”

I scowl. “We’re here to make this deal. I’m not saying you can’t have some fun too. I might do a little sightseeing myself. But getting this job done is our priority.”

Cassie snorts, flipping her hand dismissively. “Come on, pull the barbed butt plug out of your ass. I’m just trying to be in a good mood. We’re not in the office anymore. This Wesley guy? He’s gonna be giving us the property for free when I’m done with him. Just watch. We’ll have the rest of the time to party and have fun. I’m going to find a man with a nice longboard for me to surf on!”

I stare at her, unmoved. “You go in like that, and we’re going to be flying home—and our first stop will be the unemployment office.”

Luckily, that quiets her. The plane shakes as some crosswinds shake us, and I swallow. I hate landings, but at least I get a blissful nine minutes of relative quiet as our plane makes one more turn and comes in for a landing. We get off the plane and grab our bags, catching a cab to take us to our hotel. I have to hand it to Myra. She booked us in a nice place, not one of the big touristy resorts but instead a beachside spot that’s normally used for family getaways, honeymoons, and stuff like that.

“We’ve arrived!” Cassie says cheerfully, throwing her arms out as if to hug the whole island as we step out of our cab.

I shake my head as I pay the cab and we make our way down the path to the hotel entrance.

Cassie’s wearing heels, which might have looked sexy as fuck on the tiles of the Honolulu airport, but they just look out of place and clumsy on the gravel paths of the hotel. I’m glad I decided to go with some platform sandals instead, still sexy but I’m not tripping over every crack in the damn walkway.

“Just a sec,” I say, taking out my phone. I just can’t help it. “Strike a pose for me!” Cassie does, and I roll my eyes. “One that you don’t mind being put on Facebook!”

“Spoilsport,” she says, but she still looks cute and fun as I snap a shot with my phone before letting her take one for me.

We enter the hotel lobby, where I see the restaurant off to the side. My stomach grumbles at the sight, but I take a moment to give the desk staff our bags, telling them we want to eat before we check in.

Cassie is grumbling slightly behind me about sand in her heels, but I ignore her as we approach the hostess, a pretty Hawaiian lady who smiles at us with dimples that rival Cassie’s. “Aloha, how many?”

“Just us two.”

The lady checks her seating chart, and while she does, Cassie nudges me. “Hey, check that dude out. He’s hot as fuck and he’s staring at you!”

“Uh-uh,” I comment, refusing to look. “I don’t need any distractions. Besides, they’re all the same from Honolulu to Hackensack.”

Cassie shakes me so violently I almost pop her. “Will you just look? The one on the left.”

Scowling, I turn my head.