Meet Me in Hawaii by Georgia Toffolo (novels for beginners txt) 📕

pretty face of it…’ She gave him a teasing wink that made his pulse trip over itself… again, ridiculous. ‘But you clearly spend enough time with these kids for them to feel as comfortable around you as they do.’

‘I work at the centre when I’m in London, it’s how I fill my spare time.’

‘I’m surprised you have any.’

He shrugged. ‘I enjoy it, and it’s not like—’

He broke off, knowing what he was going to say and not feeling comfortable putting words to his feelings.

‘It’s not like—?’ she pressed.

He aimed for another nonchalant shrug, but it was stiff with guilt and something else he didn’t really want to examine too closely. ‘I don’t have family and friends to share my downtime with.’

‘No one? You have your father…’

He could hear the continued surprise in her voice.

‘I see him occasionally.’

‘And that’s all? Don’t you get… lonely?’ The last was said so softly but he could feel her sympathy, her worry in that one word. He could imagine it softening her green gaze even as she watched Nalu and Tara approach the shore.

‘Life’s just easier that way.’

She sent him a look and he could see so much, feel so much in that one glance that he tensed and pulled his eyes away, focusing on the surfing duo instead. It was easier, it was less… hang on… He squinted at them still standing on the board, saw Nalu flexing and shifting…

‘Don’t tell me Nalu is helping to balance the board?’

‘He is…’ she said vaguely, her mind presumably still on their conversation.

He kept his eyes locked on the duo, on the safe subject. ‘That’s amazing.’

‘Yes… he is.’ She looked from him to Nalu now and his shoulders eased. ‘He’s great for helping those that need the extra assistance. Although to be fair, I think Tara has got it.’

The board slid up the beach and both Tara and Nalu jumped off together. They could hear the girl’s excited chatter as she rubbed Nalu’s head, congratulating themselves on their ride.

‘That was sick, Tara,’ said Louis, offering his hand up in a high-five which she quickly swiped.

‘I’ll never understand how sick came to mean cool,’ Todd said to Malie.

She laughed, the easy sound working away the rest of his unease. ‘Now you’re just showing your age.’

‘Hey, I’m hardly ancient.’

She studied him for a second, a little crease forming on her forehead. ‘How old are you?’

‘I’m thirty-three. You?’

‘Twenty-eight.’

‘Oh.’

‘Oh?’ She sent him a look, ‘What’s oh supposed to mean?’

‘Nothing, I just assumed… you just look younger, I guess.’

‘You guess?’ She laughed and shook her head.

‘I’m sorry, that came out wrong, it’s more… you have an aura about you, a fun-loving edge, it made me assume you were younger.’

‘Well, you act older than your years.’ She turned to him then, her eyes glinting with mischief, her lips quirking up at the edges. ‘Are you ready to loosen up a little?’

‘Try me.’

‘Your turn now, Mr Masters!’ Tara called out as soon as they were on dry land. ‘It’s a real buzz, you’ll see.’

He did see. He didn’t need to experience it for himself, just viewing it through the eyes of the kids, through Malie’s, feeling their positive energy, their vibe, it was contagious.

‘She’s right, you know.’ It was Malie who spoke. ‘You ready to catch a wave?’

‘Absolutely.’ He strode over to his board and was about to pick it up.

‘Na-ah. Leave it there, make sure the fins are in the sand, we’ll do some land work first.’

He didn’t know why but the idea of being the only surfer in their group trying to conquer the board while they all watched on made him feel oddly foolish. But a group session… now that was different.

‘How about you kids do it with me? I could do with the moral support.’

The excited gabble around him told him it was a definite yes, only Jonny played it cool.

‘I’ll show you how it’s done, Boss.’

Malie laughed. ‘I thought you paid for private lessons, Todd?’

‘I’m hoping we can start those when the kids leave for the day.’

He’d meant nothing by it, no innuendo, yet the colour in her cheeks, the heat he could feel rising in his own, suggested that neither of them was thinking of surfing.

‘We’re ready!’ Tara shouted, slicing through the sudden atmosphere and they both turned to see all five boards lined up, Todd’s taking centre stage. Just how long had they stood staring at one another for?

He shook out his fingers as he made his way to the line-up and took a deep breath… This was going to be interesting…

‘And pop!’

Out came the instruction, complete with laughter. And Malie knew she shouldn’t laugh, she knew it, she kept telling herself, but it was impossible not to. And it was all his fault. Never had she seen someone pop and produce windmill arms as swiftly as she could say the word pop.

And the result… Todd face-planting each and every time.

Even better, the kids were absolutely loving it. Great big belly laughs filled the air as a sand-covered Todd brushed himself off and lay himself forward on the board once more.

Louis piped up, ‘Like this, Mr Masters.’ Both he and Tara had taken it upon themselves to manhandle Todd and demonstrate the entire movement again and again, their patience never-ending. Meanwhile, Sky and Jonny had given up after fifteen minutes to go and enjoy the last few waves before their minibus arrived to take them back to base.

The thing that got her the most was the change in Tara, from when she’d first arrived to now. She wasn’t self-conscious, she wasn’t anxious, she was wholly wrapped up in teaching Todd to surf.

‘I think I may have been wrong about you,’ she spoke up as Todd popped to Louis’ instruction and Tara stood beside him braced for his failure, her arms outstretched to offer a counter-force should he fall her way.

‘You don’t say,’ he said, wobbling this way and that but managing to stay on his feet this time.

‘Yup…’ she folded her arms as she eyed