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

spy in her gaze as she joined him. It wasn’t nerves, it wasn’t embarrassment, not anymore. She was trying to read him, to understand where they stood.

He broke away and gestured for a nearby waitress to bring her a glass.

Malie took it from the tray, with a small, ‘Thank you.’

‘No one said I’d be made to stand up front,’ she said between her teeth, smiling at the room.

She smoothed her dress down with her free hand and he traced the move, seeing that the red silk fell to the floor with a split that ran all the way up to her thigh – he snapped his eyes to her face as his body warmed and swallowed. Her eyes were almost level with his, which meant her heels were high – he’d never seen her in heels. He couldn’t stop himself looking down past the gentle curve of her behind to the delicate point of one heel just visible beneath the hem of her dress and he swallowed again.

‘Please tell me you’re not waiting for me to speak,’ she murmured, ‘I haven’t prepared anything.’

He pulled his eyes back to her face, to her flushed cheeks and bright green eyes that twinkled in the soft lighting of the room and laughed, the sound low and husky with the need he couldn’t shake.

‘You’re safe, I just want you up here while I thank you.’

She glanced at him, her eyes piercing and full of so much… so much what? He couldn’t tell. He couldn’t read her – and how it frustrated him.

He gave up and scanned the waiting crowd, shutting that side of him down to do what he was good at. He was Todd Masters, the guy who headed up a charity foundation and a billion-pound firm, he could talk about the woman who had changed the lives of these kids for the better in just three weeks. He could do her justice.

‘So, ladies and gentlemen, some of you have already met this incredibly talented woman and for those of you who haven’t, this is Malie Pukui.’ He smiled at her vibrant beauty and tried to make his heart immune. ‘She’s the person we have to thank for the progress each and every child on the programme has made over the course of the last three weeks.’

He raised his glass to her as he continued on, ‘I’m sure many of you have heard a tale or two about her by now, even if you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her in person. She’s someone who has the greatest belief in our cause, giving young lives hope for the future regardless of the path on which they tread. Her passion, her determination, rubs off on those around her, making them realize they are capable of so much, if they just try and don’t give in. She gives them courage in the face of adversity. She makes them smile when they feel glum. She makes them feel alive and capable of living. Real living. In a world that isn’t as inclusive as we’d like, but one in which we can work together to make it so.’

He met her eye and could feel the heart behind his speech pour into that one look. ‘To Malie Pukui, and the surf school for their fantastic efforts to make not just this venture a success but many, many more to come!’

He lifted his glass in toast and the room cheered. ‘To Malie Pukui.’

Yes, to Malie Pukui, the woman who had stolen his heart and yet he couldn’t win hers.

She turned to him, her eyes glistening. ‘Thank you, Todd…’ Her voice quivered with emotion and then she dragged in a shaky breath and smiled to the room, visibly composing herself. ‘Thank you all, too. I couldn’t do it without the awesome pool of kids coming to my sessions and the support of the surf school itself. In particular, the school’s owner, my godfather, Kalani… Don’t try and hide now, Kalani.’

Sure enough, the big guy was trying to duck behind tall, slim Grace and failing miserably. The room all toasted him with their glasses and a mixture of laughter and cheers.

‘I think you’ve made him blush,’ Todd murmured close to her ear.

She shivered a little, and he watched the tiny tremor in the curls that brushed over the nape of her neck, his fingers itching to brush them aside, to wrap one around his finger, to whisper closer to her ear all the things he felt, all the things he wanted…

‘Yup.’ She swallowed and glanced to him, her voice tight. ‘He’s gonna kill me later.’

He pulled himself up sharp. He was losing himself again. The personal taking over the professional. And she’d made it so painfully clear she didn’t want the former. He needed to get away from her, reset his mind and his body. He needed to prep himself for goodbye too, because this was it. His chest, his throat squeezed tight and he coughed, fighting against it, forcing it back as he focused on their audience.

‘Now, please enjoy your evening, everyone, let’s celebrate.’ He lifted his glass one final time. ‘To us all!’

Everyone toasted and immediately the buzz of conversation filled the room, their focus on one another freeing Todd and Malie to step away.

‘Excuse me,’ he said.

‘Todd,’ she said at the same time, turning to face him and blocking him in, ‘I—’

He looked past her and spied Tara’s parents, his escape. ‘Tara’s parents have been asking after you, they’d like to speak to you.’

He saw the briefest flash of disappointment, so brief he wondered if he’d imagined it, and then her perfect smile slid into place, ‘Of course.’

On impulse he rested his palm in the small of her back to lead her to them and instantly regretted it. She looked to him, her lips parting over a rush of air, the look in her eyes searing him to the core and then she looked away, and he followed her lead. But he couldn’t pull his hand away,