Not Always Happenstance (Power of the Matchmaker) Read online

  Easton hid a smile and tried a different tactic. “Your grandma is worried about you.”

  Apparently that was the golden ticket because Lani hesitated, then looked over her shoulder. “Okay, you win. I’d love a ride.”

  “Even if it’s with me?” he asked.

  “Even with you.” She sounded resigned, but turned her bike around and began pushing it his way. Easton jogged across the street and took it from her, carrying it back to the car. It took folding down the back seats and taking off the front tire, but they were finally able to get it inside.

  “Mahalo,” she said, once they were out of the drizzle and back in the car. Easton slid the key into the ignition but left it there, twisting toward her and resting his elbow on the steering wheel instead. “I think you’ve been avoiding me.”

  She stared out the dashboard window, her palms rubbing together like she was cold. “What is it you want from me?”

  Easton started the car and turned up the heat. Then he chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to figure out what he did want. Yes, he’d like access to her knowledge of the land and her understanding of local ways, but he also missed seeing her, talking to her, making her lips strain whenever she tried not to smile, or watching her emotions play across her face like a movie screen.

  “I want to be your friend,” he finally said, cringing inwardly at how cliché it sounded. Heart-to-hearts weren’t exactly his style. They made him uncomfortable, just like goodbyes, define-the-relationship talks, and confrontations made him uncomfortable, or pretty much any conversation involving the need for him to share his innermost thoughts and feelings. Easton preferred lighter topics.

  But lighter wasn’t going to get him anywhere with Lani.

  “I’m not sure you’re capable of being friends with a woman,” she said.

  “I’m friends with Pearl and your grandmother.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  In the rearview mirror, a silver SUV grew closer then passed. A kid had his head out the window and was flapping his arms wildly in the air, looking like he was having the time of his life. Part of Easton wished that he could hitch a ride, so he could get away from the expression in Lani’s eyes that said, I need you to be serious and tell me what you’re really thinking.

  In other words, if he couldn’t come up with something, he might as well take her home and plan to stay out of her way the rest of the summer.

  Easton continued watching the SUV until it disappeared from sight. Then he drew in a deep breath and forced the words out. “I’m not going to deny that I’m attracted to you, or that I want to keep spending time with you. But I’m truly sorry for making you uncomfortable by not respecting your relationship with that guy in California—”

  “Derek,” she said.

  “Yes, him. And… I guess what I’m saying is that I’d rather be your friend than nothing.”

  “Derek and I aren’t together anymore,” she said quietly—too quietly. Easton wasn’t sure if he’d heard right.

  “Puna has been trying to tell me we weren’t right for each other, but I didn’t want to believe it. So I agreed to move back and marry him at the end of the summer, only… I can’t—not when I’ve felt more and more unsettled with each passing day. So… we’re not together.”

  The car suddenly felt like a sauna, so Easton cracked the window. He hadn’t expected this. Had she broken up with Derek because of him? Did her feelings run deeper than she’d let on? Was she wanting—

  “Your head is swelling by the second,” said Lani.

  “What?”

  “Believe it or not, this isn’t about you. It’s about me finally figuring out that I could never make Derek happy and feeling horrible for letting our relationship drag out for so long. The only reason I’m telling you is because I don’t want you to feel guilty either. Apparently you saw what Puna, and even Pearl, saw. I was just blind, I guess.”

  Easton should correct her. He should tell her he hadn’t seen any writing on any wall. The only thing he’d seen was an intriguing and beautiful woman who wasn’t wearing a ring on the fourth finger of her left hand.

  But he didn’t.

  “We still need to get something straight,” she continued. “In a few months, you’ll be leaving. And even though I’m technically free now, I’m still not interested in a short-term relationship with you or anyone else. So if you think you’re capable of friendship, great. If not, I need you to keep your distance, and I’ll keep… keeping mine.”

  Easton bit down on his lower lip. He wanted to argue the merits of short-term relationships. No expectations, no DTRs, no stress about the future. Just live-in-the-moment fun. Even Samah had been fine with it. Her beef had come from him leaving without a goodbye.

  But he didn’t do that either. Something told him Lani wouldn’t see things his way.

  Several cars zipped past, and Easton continued to watch in the mirror as they rounded the bend behind them, choosing his words carefully. “You’re right in thinking I might not be capable of friendship. But I know I’m not capable of keeping my distance, so… friends?”

  She snickered then shook her head as she looked out the window. “At least you’re honest about it. Just promise you’ll tone the flirting way down, okay?”

  “I can’t even flirt with you?” Even friends flirted with each other on occasion, didn’t they?

  “Please, Easton.” All traces of humor gone, her voice was a quiet plea, an honest plea. One that said, Don’t break my heart.

  In that moment, Easton finally understood. She did have feelings for him. Maybe her breakup with Derek hadn’t been all about him, but part of it had been. And if that was the case, then a third option existed. An implied option. She said she wasn’t interested in a short-term relationship, but had said nothing about long-term. In other words, if he was going to play the game, he’d better be playing for keeps.

  Easton suddenly felt weighted down with a responsibility he didn’t want. It changed things, made them more serious. But he wasn’t ready to think beyond summer and into the future or even move forward with that as a possibility. So when it came down to it, he really did only have two options.

  Friendship or distance.

  The once-refreshing overcast skies turned gloomy and dank. Despite the light sprinkle, Easton rolled his window all the way down and drew in a deep breath. He glanced over his shoulder to wait for a break in traffic, and as soon as he could, pulled out onto the highway.

  Easton ran a screwdriver underneath the rim of the bike tire, then pried it up so he could remove the flattened tube. He wasn’t sure why he’d insisted on fixing Lani’s tire for her, but he had.

  “I’ll fix it,” he’d said.

  “Please don’t worry about it.”

  “It’s not a problem.”

  “Yes it is,” she insisted. “Those brakes are a pain to get off.”

  “Which is why you should be thanking me instead of arguing.”

  Things had escalated from there, turning into a full-blown argument before she’d finally thrown her hands into the air and said, “Fine. If you want to waste your vacation fixing a flat, feel free.”

  No mahalo. No nothing. Just frustrated movements as she stalked away, leaving Easton with his stubborn pride, a neon pink bike, and a disorganized shed. It took him nearly thirty minutes to find a patch kit.

  Only then had he paused to consider his motives or whether or not he needed his head examined. Easton hated fixing bike tires almost as much as he hated serious conversations. Yet here he stood, wrestling a flimsy tube from a stiff, rubber tire.

  Why did he care so much? Why couldn’t he forget Lani, focus on what needed to be done, and go his merry way? That would be so much easier and less complicated.

  Maybe Lani was right. Maybe this was a game to him—one that he’d never lost and couldn’t stomach losing now. Maybe all he really wanted was to prove he could get the girl and the fun would be over.

  Or would it?

 
He had no idea. His thoughts were all over the place, his emotions almost foreign. All he knew for sure is that no female had ever driven him to verbally duke it out over a twenty-six-inch bike tire.

  His fingers ran along the inside of the rubber, searching for the source of the flat. When he found no thorns or nails, he filled the tube with air and hunted for holes. Still no luck, which was strange. The tire had been completely flat—not sort of flat, completely flat. That typically meant a large thorn or nail had forced its way through. It should be whistling and wheezing right now.

  Cursing himself for having to deal with this, Easton stalked up the hill to the bungalow, filled his sink with water, and slowly pushed the tube through the bath, watching for air bubbles. When none surfaced, he pulled the tube from the sink and frowned.

  Then it hit him. Maybe the reason that Lani had been so opposed to him fixing the flat was because she knew it didn’t need fixing. She’d let the air out on purpose.

  But why? It didn’t make any sense.

  Maybe she’d known her grandmother would worry about the rain and there would be a good chance Easton would come to get her. Maybe all the “avoiding” she’d been doing over the past three days had been her way of playing hard to get, and this was an additional ploy at attention.

  It sounded way out of character and ludicrous, but what other explanation was there? Easton held the proof that someone had tampered with the tire, and who else but Lani?

  Clutching the still-full tire, he trotted back down to the main house, where he found Lani in the office, staring at her cell phone with a perplexed look on her face. She’d changed out of her wet clothes, and her still-damp hair surrounded her face in loose waves.

  She stared at Easton, though her eyes seemed lost in thought. “Would you believe the Nielsons just cancelled their room reservation? That’s the fourth time this has happened. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

  Easton had no idea what she was talking about, nor did he care. He held up the tire. “What’s strange is there are no holes in this tube.”

  Her brow wrinkled, and she glanced from the tire to him. “What are you talking about?”

  “Why did you let the air out of the tire?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Then how do you explain that it’s as full now as it was thirty minutes ago when I pumped it up?”

  Lani pushed her chair back and came around the desk to inspect it herself. She played with it a moment before handing it back. “Haha, joke’s on me. Now where’s the real tube?”

  “Right here.”

  “That’s not possible. The tire went flat in seconds.”

  “Yeah, because you deflated it.”

  She gaped at him. “Why would I do that?”

  “I have no idea. Maybe because you really don’t want to avoid me and knew Cora would send me to come find you after it started raining.”

  Her jaw dropped open slightly before she recovered. “Do I look like someone who can control the weather? How was I supposed to know it would start raining?”

  Easton had no ready answer. It was one of the things he hadn’t thought through completely. Unless… He jabbed a finger at her. “You let the air out after it started raining.”

  “What?” she spluttered. “Why? So I could sit on the side of the highway and get soaked on the off chance you might drive by and rescue me? That’s the most ridiculous thing anyone has ever accused me of.”

  “No more ridiculous than you accusing me of pretending to get pulled overboard by a one-pound fish.”

  Lani opened her mouth then closed it, shaking her head as though she couldn’t believe this conversation was taking place. Easton couldn’t believe it either.

  She let out a breath and took a step closer, meeting his gaze with open honesty. “I didn’t let the air out of my tire.”

  “And I didn’t pretend to catch a whale.”

  For a moment they both stood in a tense, silent stand-off, so close he could almost touch her. She smelled like she’d just walked through an orchard of apples and plums and flowers. Her hair had fallen forward slightly, sweeping across her forehead and hiding one of her beautiful, telling eyes. The other held fear and uncertainty and possibly even desire.

  More than anything, he wanted to push her hair back, touch her cheek and kiss her.

  Would she let him? Was her heart pounding in her ears also? Did she have to fight against closing the distance between them as much as he did?

  Easton didn’t know how much longer he could stand still, resisting, fighting the battle to stay friends and only friends.

  And then her shiny pink lips surprised him. Ever so slightly, they twitched at the corners. She clamped them together, but the edges of her eyes crinkled with humor. A half giggle, half snort escaped from her lips before she covered her mouth with her palm.

  “Something funny?” he asked. Maybe he had something on his face. Smudges from the tire? He wiped the back of his hand across his cheek to be sure.

  “Sorry,” she said. “It just occurred to me that anyone hearing us would think we’re both mental.”

  “I’m beginning to wonder if we are,” said Easton, making her snicker again.

  Finally, she held out her hand. “How about a truce? I promise to not accuse you of falsifying a fish’s mass again if you promise to not accuse me of playing the damsel in distress. Trust me when I say that’s the last part I’d ever play.”

  Easton believed her. He took her warm hand in his and squeezed it. “Friends again?”

  She nodded. “Friends.”

  For a moment, his fingers tightened around hers. He wanted to tell her that friendship wasn’t enough. He wanted to flirt with her, tease her, touch her, and kiss her. He wanted her to look at him with excitement and hope rather than possible regret.

  Bells clanged as the the door burst opened, and Ahe and one of his sidekicks barreled inside, wearing board shorts. Lani whipped her hand from Easton’s as though she’d been scalded and put them behind her back. Ahe’s grin wilted when he noticed she had company.

  At least he and Ahe seemed to have one thing in common, Easton thought dryly.

  “Howzit, Lani?” Ahe said, apparently deciding that ignoring Easton was the best approach.

  “Do you ever knock?” said Lani with an indulgent smile. She was obviously fond of her friend and didn’t seem to mind the intrusion. Easton, on the other hand, wished he could wave a wand and make Ahe disappear.

  “Hamoa’s break is epic. You coming?”

  “I thought you had to work today,” said Lani.

  “Nah. It’s pau Hāna time.”

  “Yeah,” added the friend whose name Easton couldn’t remember. “You like go surf or wot?”

  “You guys always think it’s pau Hāna time if the break’s good,” said Lani. “But I’m stuck here for a little while. I’ve got a few reservations to confirm and some information packets to send out.”

  “Have fun with that.” The sidekick slapped Ahe’s arm. “Ho, brah. Let’s go, yeah?”

  Ahe ignored his friend and strode down the hallway instead, calling, “Ho, Auntie Cora!” Apparently he also knew the secret to getting Lani to ditch responsibility.

  Lani was quick to lunge forward and grab his arm. “You know Puna will shoo me out of here, but then she’d be left with all the work, and you wouldn’t want to do that to her, would you?”

  His expression became almost petulant, to the point that Easton wouldn’t be surprised if he stomped his foot. “You’re killing me, Lani,” he said.

  “Give me two hours, and I’ll meet you there.”

  “The break is epic now.”

  “Then what are you waiting for?” Lani nodded toward the door. “Two hours, and I’ll catch up. Promise. Now outta here so I can get something done.”

  The friend disappeared first, and Ahe slowly backed toward the door, shooting Easton a distrustful look before pointing a finger at Lani. “Don’t forget.”

  The bell jingled, and Ah
e was gone, leaving Easton still standing in the middle of the room holding a grubby tire tube. The ocean was sounding pretty good right about now.

  “The second his surfboard hits the water, he’ll be the one to forget about me,” said Lani with a smile.

  Easton seriously doubted it, but he wasn’t about to start another argument. He was more interested in discussing something else. “So… you’re going surfing.”

  She walked back to her desk and sat down, then hit a few keys on the keyboard and stared at the monitor. “I am.”

  Normally, he didn’t have to grovel for invites, but Lani wasn’t exactly forthcoming with them. “You surf?” he asked.

  “I grew up in California. Of course I surf.”

  “And you have your own board?”

  “I do now. Ahe found me a great deal on a really nice one.” Still no invite. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she typed who knows what. Probably Take the hint and go away, Easton. I’m not going to invite you surfing.

  He meandered forward and sat on the corner of the desk, tossing the tube in the air and catching it. “You know, I’ve always wanted to give surfing a try.”

  “Have you?”

  He tossed the tire again. “To say I’ve surfed in Hawaii would be truly… epic,” he said, lifting an eyebrow expectantly. “It’s too bad I don’t have a board. Or a capable friend who could teach me.”

  She flicked a glance at him before returning her attention to the computer. “Ahe teaches lessons and has a few boards he loans out. You could ask him.”

  Easton nearly snorted. He’d spend the day alone in a boat with a fishing pole before he’d ask Ahe for anything—especially lessons. He tucked the tire by his side and leaned low over the desk, dropping his voice. “Or you could teach me in, I don’t know… say two hours?”

  “I don’t think so.” Her focus remained on the computer and whatever words she continued to type.

  So much for that angle. Easton pushed himself upright and spun the tire again. “Why not?”

  Her fingers stilled, and she finally looked at him squarely in the eye. “You already know how to surf, don’t you.” It was a statement, not a question.