LITMIR.BIZ

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gazed at her, a little teary-eyed, then reached out and squeezed her fingers. “You’re about the most amazing person I’ve ever met, Megan. You know that?”

      Megan rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t help being touched. “You should know better than that by now.”

      “I’m serious. I can’t believe I’m so lucky to have you and the girls in our lives. Before I met you, I was so afraid you would hate me. My mom has hated every single one of my dad’s subsequent wives, including the one he’s bringing to the wedding. And she hasn’t even met her yet.”

      “I don’t hate you, Cara,” Megan assured her. “Nick and the girls both love you, and that’s more than enough for me.”

      Cara squeezed her fingers again before flopping over onto her back. “See how lucky I am?”

      Megan didn’t have an answer to that, so she just rested her cheek on the rough weave of the towel and watched Sarah put the finishing touches on her castle.

      A few moments later, nerves jumped in her stomach when she heard Shane’s voice.

      “So this is where everybody’s hanging out.”

      She looked up to find him standing near his sister, again wearing board shorts that bared all those delicious muscles.

      Feeling at a disadvantage stretched out at his feet in a skimpy bathing suit, she rolled over and sat up.

      “Oh. Hi.”

      “Hey! Hi.” Sarah beamed, delighted to see him. She offered up a shaka, which he returned with a grin. “Look at my castle. Isn’t it awesome?”

      “Truly spectacular. You did all that yourself?”

      “Well, my dad helped a little, but I did most of it.”

      “Looks like that parapet is tilting a little. Do you mind if I help you with it?”

      She frowned. “I don’t see any parrot pet.”

      “Parapet,” he said with a smile. “It’s that tower thingy there.”

      He plopped down on the sand by Sarah’s creation and straightened one angle with deft motions. “There you go. Now it won’t fall down when it’s attacked by hermit crabs.”

      Sarah giggled. “Not hermit crabs. The bad guys are coming to take over the castle from the princess but she’s going to jump out the window onto her horse and fight them and she’s going to chase them into the ocean.”

      He blinked a little. “Okay, then. Good plan.”

      Cara stood up. “I think I’ll take one more dip before I go in and shower. Sarah, do you want to come with me? We can look for more fish out there.”

      “Okay!” Eager for more time in the water, Sarah dropped her sand shovel and hurried to pick up her boogie board.

      Only after they took off together did Megan realize this left her alone with Shane. She wanted to chase after them but couldn’t figure out a graceful way to pull it off, especially when all she could think about was his exploring mouth, his tongue sliding against hers, the strength in those muscles as he’d held her.

      She flushed, not quite sure what to say to him.

      He was the first to break the silence. “Look, I’m sorry about what happened this morning. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I promise, it won’t happen again.”

      Though she agreed in theory, his words still sparked a little pang. “It wasn’t your fault,” she finally said. “I didn’t exactly push you away. It’s easy to get carried away by this romantic setting.”

      “The romantic setting,” he repeated.

      She shot him a quick look. “Sure. Sunrise, beach, palm trees. Paradise makes people lose their heads.”

      “It is beautiful,” he agreed. He gazed out at the water for a moment before turning back to her. “I would still love to take you and the girls around the island, but I completely understand if you want to take a pass, given the circumstances.”

      That would be an easy out. She could rent a car herself or just hang out here on the beach with the girls.

      But she wasn’t a coward. Hadn’t she raised two daughters mostly on her own the last five years?

      “We’re both adults,” she said quietly. “I think we can handle a little inconvenient attraction.”

      Before she realized what he intended, he reached for her hand almost casually, his fingers twining around hers. “Is that what you call this?”

      “What else?” she countered, tugging her fingers away.

      “To tell you the truth, I’m not really sure.”

      She knew. Trouble. That’s what she would call this attraction that seemed to seethe and eddy around them like the frothy waves on the sand.

      “I think I’ll go back in the water while I have the chance,” she said, escaping the currents tugging between them to head to her own boogie board. “Do you still want to take off about noon?”

      “What is that, about an hour and a half? Will that give you enough time?”

      “Yes. I’ll swim for a minute and then take the girls over to their hula lesson. We’ll meet you at our cabana after we clean off.”

      “Deal.”

      He grabbed his own board and headed for deeper waters while she waded toward the others.

      * * *

      “EVERY TIME YOU turn a bend in the road, the view becomes more breathtaking. How is that even possible?”

      Shane shifted his gaze from driving for just an instant, enjoying Megan’s wide-eyed excitement immensely. The craggy, raw green mountains and stunning blue sea seemed even more spectacular when viewed from her perspective.

      “I’d forgotten how beautiful it was,” he said. “It’s the Garden Island. I’ve been to Oahu, Maui and Hawaii, and I think I’d have to say I still like Kauai best. If I had to picture the Garden of Eden, this would be the place.”

      “I love the flowers most,” Sarah announced.

      “I liked the waterfall. It was huge,” Grace said. In the rearview mirror, he saw her hide a yawn after she spoke.

      Both girls looked tired, probably still struggling a little with the time change.

      “Chicago in January seems like another planet right now. It’s tough to think about returning to below-zero temperatures and bitter winds.”

      He had enjoyed the last few hours with them and hated thinking this magical time had to end.

      “Hey, Shane, is that a geyser?”

      He looked down where water shot high through huge lava rocks. “No. That’s called a puhi, or blowhole, like what whales have. Water comes up through a lava tube then shoots out. Pretty cool, isn’t it? This one is called Spouting Horn.”

      He pulled into an overlook and they watched it for a while. Okay, if he were honest with himself, Megan and her daughters watched the blowhole. He mostly watched them.

      They, not the beauty of the island, were the real reason he didn’t want to return to Chicago. He would treasure the memory of their few hours together always. He loved being with them—Grace with her quiet courage and strength, Sarah with her energy and her inquisitive mind, and Megan, who drew him to her like the moon directing the tides.

      All of them were entwining their way around his heart.

      “I came here when I was a kid and heard a story about this place. I guess there’s some Hawaiian legend about a giant lizard that used to patrol this area and was trapped in the lava tube. According to the legend, that’s her breath coming out, and that noise you hear

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