Her Hawaiian Homecoming (Mills & Boon Superromance) (30 page)

He’d tried to convince Allie not to go to the luau, but she’d insisted. She’d drummed up quite a strong feeling for supporting local causes, and there was no dissuading her from this one. She’d been distant recently, preoccupied. Dallas thought it had to do with her visit to the cemetery, but he hadn’t wanted to pry. She didn’t seem to want to talk about it, but something was bothering her, he knew that much.

Allie gazed at the billboard worriedly, even as Dallas pulled her close and laid a delicate kiss on her bare shoulder.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look?” he murmured in her ear. He leaned in to smell her, a wonderful mix of coconut and some tropical flower. She smiled at him weakly. Something was definitely bothering her. “Everything okay?” he asked her.

“Fine,” she murmured, and he didn’t believe her. She wasn’t being honest with him. Something was bothering her. Had she found out that Jennifer was a judge for the coffee festival somehow?

He hadn’t told Allie about her texts or the news that she would be a coffee judge. His plan was simple: get her out of there before the big announcement. He wasn’t sure he could shield her from the news forever, but he didn’t want her to find out at the luau.

Before he could ask more questions, Allie had flipped the handle of the truck door and jumped out. Whatever was bothering her, she didn’t want to talk about it. They walked together to the dramatic Punalu’u Black Sand Beach, one of the many one-of-a-kind beaches on the Big Island. Crushed dark lava rock lay out as far as the eye could see, just as pristine and beautiful as any white sand beach, maybe more so because of the rareness of it. Hawaii had the most black sand beaches of anywhere in the world. His flip-flops sank into the black sand, which felt rougher and a little bit bulkier than on other beaches on the island. The dark sand sparkled in the fading sunlight as crystal-blue water came in waves to the shore. Tables were already set up, as were tiki torches, and a local band played surf guitar music. An impressive crowd assembled, as Kai had clearly gotten the word out. The air filled with sounds of socializing and laughter, and the delicious scent of roasted pig hit Allie’s nose. A torch marked where the pig had been buried: deep in the hot sand to cook all day. The Hawaiian beach was better than any smoker barbecue pit.

Dallas carried the bag holding Grandma Misu’s famous mango salad. He took Allie by the hand and felt immensely proud to have her on his arm. This was the kind of girl a man married, he thought. She bit her lower lip, as if worried.

“Allie?” Dallas saw where she was looking and realized why she was worried: Jennifer stood there mingling with a camera crew, looking buffed and polished. She wore a tightly fitted red dress and wedge sandals, her hair up in an elaborate twist. Dallas put his hand on the small of Allie’s back and felt her stiffen. Jennifer’s presence seemed to be bothering her even more than him. He wondered why. Maybe she did know she was the judge.

They made their way to the food table. Dallas put down Misu’s teak bowl. It was filled to the brim with mangos and onion and tomato, sitting in a special homemade lime-juice dressing. The fresh ingredients, so plentiful on the island, made the recipe so good.

Teri was there in an instant, removing the saran wrap, and then heaping a big helping on her plate. “This is my all-time favorite,” she said and took a big bite. “Mmm,” she murmured, closing her eyes to enjoy the salad. “You got this
just
right, Allie. Tastes exactly like Misu’s!”

It wasn’t long before others had dug in, and Allie beamed at the praise. Dallas could feel Jennifer’s eyes on them as they got their own plates of food. Dallas kept a protective hand on Allie, sending a message to Jennifer:
I’m with someone else now.

As they worked through the line, he glanced up once and saw Jennifer frowning. She could frown all night for all he cared.

Big drums were played, and two high school football players, dressed in traditional Hawaiian warrior garb, went to the spot of the buried pig. Jennifer excused herself from the camera crew and wandered closer to them. Dallas had no intention of talking to her, here or ever.

“It’s time for the pig!” Dallas said, and directed Allie away from Jennifer to watch the muscled guys unearth the luau’s main course. Dallas had been to a few luaus before, but it never ceased to amaze him. He marveled at how the men removed the pig, first using shovels to remove the sand, then taking off the hot cooking rocks and the banana leaves. Steam wafted up, hitting his nose.

Everyone lined up for their own piece. Dallas and Allie took seats on the beach. They ate and talked and watched the band play. As the sun set, and everyone finished their food, the entertainment began. Dozens of hula dancers from elementary age all the way up through college took turns presenting traditional Hawaiian dances. Dallas applauded each act but kept his eye on the camera crew and Jennifer, who had taken a seat across the performance circle from them, and kept looking in their direction. Dallas couldn’t help but think she was plotting a plan of attack.

The last act of the evening was one of Kai’s cousins performing an elaborate fire dance, much to the oohs and aahs of the audience. On the moonlit beach, the show was an amazing whirl of floating fire. When he finished, the audience burst into extended applause.

Then the mayor took the stage. A middle-aged Japanese woman, she held the microphone and thanked everyone for coming.

“Maybe we should go,” Dallas suggested, not wanting to hear what came next. He’d been planning all along to make an early exit, but Allie had gotten talking to one person and then another. She was too damn nice, saying hello to everyone and chatting up a storm at their table. On a different day, it would have been nice to see her fitting in so well with the locals, but right now all he wanted to do was get her out of there. But she was too intent on hearing the mayor’s speech, a snag he hadn’t counted on.

“One minute,” Allie said, leaning forward and listening, eager to hear what the district’s mayor had to say.

“I hope to see everyone at the Kona Coffee Festival, starting tomorrow, and I’d like to introduce our celebrity judge this evening—” The mayor took a deep breath. Dallas grabbed Allie’s hand. “Jennifer Thomas.”

Allie froze beside him, watching Jennifer stand up and wave to the crowd. The camera crew danced around her, jiggling to get her from the best possible angle.

“Oh, no,” Allie breathed. “Dallas...” She glanced at him, face pale with worry as she tightened her grip on his hand.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said. “She’s just one of three judges. We’ll still have a shot. We could still win.” He thought if he said it often enough, maybe he’d even start to believe it.

“You aren’t surprised. You knew.” Allie paused and glared at him, a riot of emotion playing out on her face. “You
knew.
” She sounded hurt, accusing even. Why was she angry at him? “How did you know?” she spat. “Did Jennifer tell you?”

Dallas frowned, confused. “Why would Jennifer tell me?”

“She texts you, doesn’t she?”

Dallas’s mind whirled. Jennifer hadn’t texted him...except that last one. The one where she’d asked to have him back. Oh, Lord. Allie had seen it. She’d seen it, and she hadn’t said anything. All this time, she’d been stewing about it and he hadn’t known.

“Allie,” Dallas said, but Allie had already moved away from him, gotten up and started walking across the beach. “Allie, wait.”

She kept on walking. He had to jog to keep up with her and managed to catch her on the grass near the parking lot. “Allie! Hang on.” He took her by the arm, and she whirled on him.

“Why don’t you go back to Jennifer? Isn’t that what you want?”

“There
is
no me and Jennifer. I
thought
there was a you and me...”

“Dallas. I saw how you were looking at her all night.”

“Sure I was. She’s a snake, and I don’t trust her. I thought she might try to make a scene. I was just trying to be ready for it.” Dallas frowned. “Allie, we have to talk.” Allie stalked to the pickup truck, and he let her in. He went around to the driver’s-side door, thinking that at least in the truck she couldn’t go anywhere until they’d finished this conversation. If she could, she would’ve bolted right there, run away from him, but he was her ride home.

He slid into the truck and fired up the engine. Allie sat next to him with her arms tightly crossed across her chest, her face stubbornly looking away from his out the passenger window. He made his way back to the Kona Coffee Estate, trying to think of how to go about convincing Allie he was telling the truth.

They rode home in silence. He turned into the Kona Coffee Estate, the headlights illuminating the porch of Misu’s old house.

Right at that moment, his phone, sitting in the cup holder of his truck pinged an incoming message. The high-pitched sound irked Allie, obviously, and she glared at his phone.

“Who’s texting you?” Allie demanded. “Is it Jennifer?”

Dallas put the truck in Park and turned off the engine. He’d never seen Allie like this before: insane with jealousy, completely irrational, hurt and upset. He knew she’d lost control, and all he wanted was to calm her down so he could reason with her, help her see it was all in her head.

“It’s no one,” Dallas said.

“Your phone. I heard it!” Dallas saw how jealousy grabbed hold of her, illogical and insistent. He knew she couldn’t help herself now as the accusations flew out. “Is it Jennifer? I know it is. I know what she’s been texting you. I saw the texts.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Dallas spread his hands, glaring at her, feeling helpless and frustrated. He wondered why she hadn’t just asked him about them. He would’ve told her then what he planned to tell her now: Jennifer meant nothing to him.

“Why didn’t
you
?” Allie countered. “It made me think you were hiding something.”

“I
was
hiding something. That I have a crazy ex who is
out of her mind
.” Dallas sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Allie, I was trying to protect you. I didn’t want to upset you. You should know better than anyone that I don’t want to be with her.
She’s
the one who’s hounding me, not the other way around.”

“But why would she? Why would she think she even has a chance?”

Dallas shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“You’re encouraging her. Somehow, some way.” Dallas could almost see the suspicion thrumming in Allie’s brain. He hated it. He could see her reacting to him as if he was Jason, and he was nothing like that asshole. He didn’t like sharing the same space in her head with him. “You’re hiding something from me.”

“Allie, I’m not.”

He saw all the insecurities of her old relationship plain on her face. He knew it was hard for her to deprogram the assumption a man was lying to her. This was a knee-jerk reaction to Jason, Dallas knew, and yet he couldn’t stop himself from getting angry. He didn’t like being accused of things he didn’t do. The entire island had done that for the past year with impunity, but he didn’t want Allie to fall into the camp. If she couldn’t trust him, if she couldn’t have faith in him, then he was wasting his time.

He fished his phone out of the cup holder and showed her the face of it. The text had been from Kai. She looked as if she felt silly then, the flare of jealousy fading a bit, the stranglehold of emotion letting go a little.

“You don’t love Jennifer?” she asked.

“No, I don’t.” Dallas ground his teeth. “It’s over. I’m never going back to her.” He sighed and again ran his hand through his thick blond hair. “But if you can’t trust me, then we won’t work.”

Allie stared at him a long time, the shine of the porch light casting a long shadow across her face.

“You’re asking a lot of me,” she said. “More than a lot.”

“I know what I’m asking. It’s hard for me to do, too, Allie.” Dallas stared at her, his blue eyes never leaving hers. She hesitated, unsure.

“I don’t know. I just...”

“It’s not something you think about. You just know or you don’t.” Dallas waited, but Allie just couldn’t seem to give him what he needed.

“What about tomorrow? What about the competition? We can’t win now.” Allie deftly changed the subject, clearly not wanting to answer him. Her voice sounded high-pitched and scratchy; he could hear the panic in it.

“I know it means a lot to you. With Jennifer on the panel, I don’t know if we can.” Dallas already knew what he could do about it. “I could talk to her, I guess.”

“No,” Allie snapped.

“Maybe I could help her see reason.” It had never happened before, but there was always a first time, he thought. He hated the idea of ever asking Jennifer for anything, but for Allie, he would.

“So you can get back with her. Is that why you want to talk?” The anger and jealousy bubbled over in Allie’s voice.

Dallas glared at Allie. The woman was making no sense whatsoever. He’d only just told her he wasn’t going back to Jennifer. And he was a man of his word. If she didn’t know that about him by now, maybe she’d never know it.

Dallas gripped the steering wheel of the parked truck, trying to keep his temper in check. “I know the contest meant a lot to you, and I just want to make sure we had a fair shake, that’s all.”

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “That’s right. It means a lot to me. You know why?” Her voice vibrated with anger. “We have to win, because that’s the only way Kaimana will sign the papers, Dallas. She told me.”

Allie might as well have punched Dallas straight in the face. The blow would’ve been less sudden and painful than her words tumbling into his ears.

“You still want to sell?” He couldn’t believe after everything they’d been through, everything they shared, she still had it in her mind to run. He wanted to marry her, but if she was thinking about running, then clearly she didn’t feel the same way about him. She was prepared to just throw away the connection they had as if it didn’t matter, as if it was something that happened every day.

“I want to keep my options open.” Allie glared out the front of the parked truck’s windshield, not meeting his eyes.