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

Her smile grew. How could she be anything but happy when her newly engaged friend was as excited as this? It was also a timely reminder of how Victoria had faced her fears by opening up to Oliver, she’d taken her curveball and batted it right out of the park, gaining her perfect man in the process. But as Malie had said to Zo, that was V, it wasn’t her, V deserved that happiness and more.

She typed a reply:

Hey, gorgeous! Zoe’s mid-air on her way to visit me but I’m one hundred per cent here for this! Give me five to get home! Can’t wait to hear! Mxx PS Do I need to have bubbles at the ready?

She sent it and continued on, her mind now racing with what the news could be and providing the distraction she so desperately needed. Anything to take her mind off Todd, off what-ifs, off her parents and how different things could be.

She was unlocking the door to her apartment when Victoria’s reply came in:

Bubbles?! I haven’t stopped, lol! And this celebration is all Blake Hawkesbury’s fault, eek! Xx

All Blake’s… what could he have to do with this?

Blake owned the sprawling Hawkesbury Estate back in Hawke’s Cove. As kids they’d spent their summers borrowing boats from old Mr Michaels at the harbour and rowing around to the estate’s private beach, catching mackerel and cooking it up on the sand, swimming and generally having a whale of a time. If Blake knew of their antics, he never called them out on it. He was kind and caring to them all… particularly after the car accident.

Her smile dropped a little. It hadn’t just been them affected by the tragedy. Blake’s only child, Henry, had been a passenger in the car that had ploughed into Victoria’s. Henry’s girlfriend, Claudia, had been driving and she’d died on impact, Henry escaping with cuts and bruises and what Malie could only see as a shedload of guilt. He’d hit such a downward spiral shortly after that and there were rumours that his father had cut him off financially, their relationship ending with it. Henry hadn’t been seen in the Cove since.

Was it any wonder Blake now doted on Lily, and by proxy them, too, filling the hole left by Henry?

And for Lily, having lost her father at such a young age, having someone as talented and successful as Blake sharing his wisdom with her, teaching her all he could about the hospitality industry, about the estate and its winemaking, he’d ultimately filled a hole for her too. Now Lily ran her own restaurant that stocked wine from the Hawkesbury Estate and used the skills he’d taught her daily.

But his generosity didn’t end there, he’d even helped Malie all those years ago when she’d mentally broken down after the crash. She’d been desperate to leave the country, to get away from the trappings of her life with her parents but she hadn’t had the means or the know-how. He’d given her the financial aid and the confidence to just do it and she’d been so grateful. She’d paid him back, every last penny, as soon as she’d been able. He hadn’t wanted her to, but she’d insisted, she wouldn’t be a charity case and she wouldn’t take payment for any weird sense of guilt he may have felt about his son’s involvement in the crash. It had been an accident, plain and simple. They all knew that.

Malie, where are you?! I’m getting desperate here!!!!

Victoria’s message lit up on her screen and she shook herself out of the past and into the present. The crash was ancient history and they were all slowly putting it behind them. Weren’t they?

Well, V certainly was… and Zoe would be surfing again very, very soon. Todd had opened Malie’s eyes to what that would mean for her, to see it, to live it again with her friend.

Calling now!

She tossed her phone onto the bed and pulled out her laptop from beneath it, plonking herself down.

Oops, bubbles!

She shot back up, setting the laptop to ring out and placing it on the bed as she raced into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge.

‘Finally… Malie?’ Victoria’s voice filled the room, going from relieved to confused. ‘Malie, where are you?’

‘I’m just coming!’ She yelled over the fridge door. She pulled out a bottle, kicked the door back in place and grabbed a glass from the side, shimmying her way back to the bed and flopping down in front of the laptop.

‘Hey!’ Malie raised the glass and bottle to the screen, grinning as Victoria’s flushed face beamed back at her. ‘You look so happy!’

‘I am!’ Her long dark hair fell in waves around her face, notably dishevelled as though she’d just crawled out of bed and still she looked amazing, amazing and in love.

‘Have you just woken up?’

‘Pretty much!’ There was the sound of a male in the background and Victoria wriggled, her hand pushing someone away.

‘Still in bed though, yeah…’ Malie teased as she sat the glass between her legs and started to unwrap the foil on the bottle. ‘Hey, Oliver,’ she cooed.

‘Hey, Malie,’ came his muffled reply. Victoria pulled the laptop closer and wrapped her fluffy white robe around her tighter before reaching off to the side and bringing a full glass of bubbles into view.

‘I was woken up by the delivery man…’ Victoria dropped her gaze for a second. ‘Where’s Lils, come on, Lils, pick up!’

‘What time is it there? Eight in the morning?’ Malie asked, uncoiling the wire from the cork. ‘She’ll likely be out foraging for ingredients, you know how she likes to keep it fresh and all that jazz in the restaurant.’

‘Never mind foraging, I need her here before I burst.’

‘Am I not good enough?’ Malie whined, feigning hurt.

‘Shut up, you know full well I’d spill all to you, I just hoped to have Lily here because I think