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

‘I have half an hour, let’s see if we can get this wrapped up.’

He had some place else he had to be.

They had it done and dusted in twenty and he was out the door, Grace on his tail updating him with all things urgent. His hotel was two blocks away and she was racing to keep stride with him, taking his instructions and doing her best to keep it brief. When they hit the lobby of his hotel, she left him, heading back to the office with a thumbs-up for luck.

He entered the lift, yanking his tie free and shucking his jacket off. Don’t miss it. Don’t miss it.

The lift took an eternity to get to his penthouse suite but then he was there, his jacket tossed over the back of the sofa, his hand on the remote and keying in the number for the surf channel that he’d memorized this past week.

And there it was. The Banzai Pipeline. The waves immense, the crowd unbelievable. He pulled a beer from the fridge, and dropped onto the sofa edge, his body hunched forward, his elbows on his knees.

The first mention of her name and his heart leaped into his throat, the first glimpse of her smile and his eyes pricked.

She was radiant. Everything about her so familiar, so heart-warming, yet so far away. He cursed the miles, he cursed the screen that sat between them, he wanted to embrace her, to wish her luck, to tell her how proud he was. It didn’t matter whether she won, or not. She was about to go out there and do what she’d refused to since she’d lost her brother. And as he thought it the commentator made reference to Koa, the surf legend, and the man she had thought she couldn’t replace.

‘You’re not replacing him, Malie, you’re doing him proud.’

He barely blinked as he watched the entire thing unfold and every time she caught a wave, he fisted his hands around the bottle and screwed up his face, his eyes peeking through slits. He knew she had it, knew she knew what she was doing, but the waves were fierce, the wipe-outs he’d already witnessed terrifying and bloody.

Come on, Malie, come on.

It was a constant mantra, his oxygen-starved body going dizzy. He opened another bottle of beer and another and then it was done and my God, she was through to the next round. The commentators were praising her prowess as she walked through the crowd, her grin lighting up her face, her friends running up to her cheering her on.

He shot up and almost showered his room in beer. He stepped closer to the screen, watched every flicker in her face. Kalani came up to her, swung her around and then there was a woman. Todd stilled, his head cocking to the side. She was small, blonde, he didn’t recognize her at all but as he looked to the obvious love in her face as she embraced Malie, he knew in his gut who she was. The man behind her wore the same doting expression. Love and pride. Her parents, it had to be.

He raked his hand through his hair, stared at the happy group.

You did it, Malie, you did it all.

You didn’t just conquer the waves, you conquered your fear of your family too.

He couldn’t move. Even as the camera panned away and they moved on, he remained standing there, eyes fixed, body still. He missed her. Missed her more than he imagined possible. Did she miss him too? Did she even think of him?

She looked so happy. Could she be that happy and miss him?

Unlikely.

He raked his fingers through his hair once more and turned away from the screen, the rollercoaster of emotion underway inside too unsettling. Yes, it was great – more than great – to see her doing what she was born to do, but it didn’t mean she was ready to move on with him. It didn’t change—

‘Hey, check it out, folks,’ the commentator’s voice piped into the room, ‘Stevie’s managed to tear the awesome Malie Pukui away from her family for a quick catch-up.’

He was already turning back to screen, already eager for more of her, of whatever glimpse he could get.

‘So how does it feel, Malie, nailing your first ever Big Wave competition?’

She beamed at the commentator and then the camera. ‘Incredible!’

‘I bet! Gotta admit, we all wondered why you never took the leap before with skills like yours.’

She shrugged and Todd could tell she was trying to make it seem nonchalant, but he could read the blazing emotion in her eyes, read the truth of it – Koa. ‘I just never felt I could do it, it… it wasn’t for me.’

‘So, what changed?’ He shoved the mic back under her face and Todd watched her take a breath, saw the way her lashes fluttered before she looked to the commentator, to Kalani and her family behind her, before coming back to the camera.

Her smile was wistful, her eyes sparkled, and her cheeks flushed deeper. ‘Let’s just say, I met a certain someone who reminded me that life needs to be lived to the full, and this was a big part of that.’

Todd’s heart pulsed in his chest. A certain someone. Him.

A big of part of it? Was there another part to it too? A part that meant she was ready to commit, ready to take that leap with him?

‘A certain someone, hey?’ The commentator grinned. ‘And are we allowed to know who this special someone is?’

Todd’s heart didn’t just pulse now, it launched into his throat as he waited on her response, unable to breathe.

‘His name’s Todd…’ The camera zoomed in close to her face and Todd could see it all – her passion, her love, not for the water now, but…

‘And he is special; very, very special,’ Malie added, as though she was reading his mind and confirming everything he wanted but never thought