“Yeah, no, I can give you recommendations,” Mark said. “Better yet, if you need a driver while you're here, I can give you my number, and you can call me up anytime. Even if you're stumbling back drunk from the clubs or something like that. Or if you want to take a personal tour of the island.”
“You got a sister?” I asked, grinning over at him.
Mark laughed. “Man, that's not even cool!” he said. “But no, I don't have a sister. Thank god, or else I'd have to be worrying about her now that you're here on the island. I've just got a couple of younger brothers, though, and I guess you wouldn't be too interested in them. But I know a lot of the girls on the island. Like I said, I've grown up here. We had this big locals’ luau the other night, and it was surprising how many of us showed up. Kind of like a big reunion. It was neat.”
“Sounds nice,” I said, already beginning to feel a bit bored.
“Do you surf, man?” Mark asked. “Because that's another thing I could recommend, all the best surf spots on the island. The waves this time of year, man. They're the best.”
“There's not much surfing around New York City,” I told him.
“Well, no shit, I imagine the water's fucking cold,” Mark said. “But how much of the year do you even spend in New York? It seems like you're always off doing this or that.”
I laughed. “Unfortunately, I'm usually traveling on business, so my days are pretty busy. I get my evenings free, but that's about it.”
“But you snowboard, right? There were all those stories about you and Jamie Michaels and that trip to the Alps.”
“I ski.”
Mark gave me an astonished look. “Man, what are you doing with your life?” he asked me. “My dad skis, and he's practically ancient. Even when he was younger, he didn't go out partying like you do.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I just like it. I've tried snowboarding a few times, but it never really stuck.”
“You should try surfing while you're here,” Mark said. “It's the best.”
I shook my head, still grinning. “Yeah, maybe I will,” I told him. We pulled up in front of my resort. “Hey, here's my card,” Mark said, grabbing one out of the center of the dashboard. “Seriously, man, if you need recommendations or a ride or whatever else, you just let me know.”
“Thanks,” I said, slipping the card into my wallet. It was a strange thing to have in there amongst the real estate cards and other miscellaneous things that I was starting to associate with my quote-unquote old life. Paul said that they would take me back, but I could already feel myself beginning to cut ties with that. I didn't think George would take me back. This leave might not be permanent, but that didn't mean that it wouldn't stretch on for as long as he chose.
I grabbed my duffel bag and walked up to the resort. It was a nice place, just as pretty as advertised. When I walked into the vast, tiled lobby, two Hawaiian women in hula skirts swayed over to me and deposited leis around my neck. I laughed. “What do you know, I got laid within an hour of reaching Hawaii!” I said.
They must have heard it before, but both of them still giggled, and I felt my spirits rise a little. Maybe Hawaii would be everything that I needed. Maybe I'd be able to get both of them in bed with me, together, even, by the end of my stay there. We'd see.
I made my way over to the desk and picked up my room key. The suite was spacious, and the décor matched the idea of tropical paradise. Gauzy white curtains waved lazily beside open French doors on the far side of the living room, and I made my way over. The view was impressive, a long stretch of sandy beach with only a few umbrellas dotted along it, and leafy palm trees leaning toward the water. The waves were crashing against the shore, but it looked like the perfect place to swim. The weather was perfect for it that day, too.
I smiled a little to myself. Maybe this whole “taking time off work” thing wasn't so bad after all. I turned toward the mini-bar and inspected its contents. There was an ice tray in the freezer; thoughtful of them. I poured myself a glass of whiskey on the rocks and turned back toward the view. Yes, this would do quite nicely.
Chapter Eight
Gretchen
I looked up as I heard the bells chime over the door, a greeting a
lready on my lips even though my first appointment wouldn't be there for another twenty minutes or so. They wouldn't be the first clients to come in early. It was unfortunate on that particular morning since I was trying to get some of the shop paperwork finished, but I could do it later, I supposed.
My face melted into a smile when I saw that it was Mina there, though, and she had brought a bowl of fresh pineapple over with her. “Good morning, darling,” she said, coming in for a hug.
“Good morning!”
“I thought you could do with some pineapple in your life,” Mina said, holding out the bowl and a fork.
“I could always do with some pineapple in my life,” I said, grinning at her.
“I am sick of pineapple,” Mina announced. “In fact, I think I quit. I'm not going to work there today; I'm going to come work for you. You could use an assistant, right?”
I laughed. “Sure, I could! Especially if it was an assistant who I liked.”
Mina laughed as well. “Nah,” she said. “You know I love what I do. I love that I can make people happy and give them a little taste of this tropical paradise that we live in. But some days, I do wish we could work together so that I could see a little more of you.”