Somewhere on Maui (an Accidental Matchmaker Novel) (17 page)

Adam rubbed his hand across his face in the waiting room of the hospital. The kids were using his phone to watch a video, and his sisters sat close, one on either side of him. Mama was in surgery again, and they wouldn’t know anything until someone came to let them know what was going on. She’d been unconscious but breathing when he’d rushed out of his bedroom, calling 911.

His hands itched to take the phone from the kids and text Zoe back. He’d left it at such a weird place, her asking when they could get together. She probably thought he didn’t want to take that next step when it just seemed like every possible barrier got in the way of it.

Finally he reached over for the phone. “I just need to make a couple of work calls,” he said. “Watch on your aunty’s phone.” Charl offered hers, and the kids got back to watching their program as he headed out the pneumatic doors of the emergency waiting area. He still hadn’t told anyone he’d lost the build. The payoff money safe in his bank account hadn’t really helped his sense of displacement and shame.

He texted Zoe:
Mama had another heart attack. We are in emergency waiting room, if you want to bring Sylvester down to entertain the crowd again
.

Almost immediately she replied:
I’m so sorry! Is she going to be okay?

We don
’t know yet. Waiting on word
.

Well, I
’d come, but I’m going somewhere.

No, I was just kidding. Just didn
’t want you to think I was blowing you off.
Going somewhere, he thought. Maybe she was going out with someone. An unpleasant feeling, a mix of frustration and helplessness, bloomed in his chest at the thought.

Keep me posted.

I don’t know when I can meet you
.

You don
’t have to explain. Blessings to you and your family.

Thanks.

He stared down at the phone as he sat on the stone parapet outside the ER.
Blessings.
A long way from the saucy photo she’d sent. Did he sense a withdrawal? Well, he was in no position to do anything about it, and the frustration, the overwhel
m
of all he had to deal with, felt smothering. He did some Dr. Suzuki breaths, his head in his hands.

Charlotte came outside, put her hand on his shoulder as she sat beside him on the low rock wall. “I wonder if you should call the kids’ grandparents in Lahaina? This is a lot of sitting around for them.”

“Great idea, Charl. Don’t know why I didn’t think of it.” He got his phone out and in a few minutes had arranged a meeting point in Ma`alaea, before the winding cliff highway they called the Pali, to hand off the kids at the Carl’s Jr. on the corner
there.

He stood up. “Let’s see if
there’s any news before I take the kids to meet their grandparents.”

They went back inside together,
and Adam went up to the information desk. “I have to leave for a little while, and I’m wondering if there are any updates or progress reports on Kalia Rodrigues.”

“
Just a moment. Let me check with the surgery unit. Someone will pick up if they’re available.”

Charlotte and Adam leaned on each other
against the counter. He’d never been so grateful for his family, glancing over his shoulder to see his sister Mele reading to his children while Ben and Pat talked and entertained Kaden. It made him think of Zoe, an only child, without her father, far from her mother and friends. She’d fitted in so well with them…

The nurse
glanced back up, shaking her head. “No one’s answering, which means they’re still working on her.”

“
Okay.” Adam turned away.

“
I’ll call you, Adam, the minute we know anything,” Charl said, patting his arm.

Adam
nodded, giving her a quick, grateful squeeze. He raised his voice. “Okay, kids. Who wants a burger and fries?”

Zoe brushed her hair and
then wound it into a loose French twist, anchoring the heavy mass with a mother-of-pearl comb her mother had brought her from a service project she’d done in French Polynesia. She added pearl drop earrings and zipped herself into a narrow teal-colored dress that brought out the green of her eyes.

Through
all her preparations, her mind kept straying back to Adam and his family, sitting in the ER again, and she actually wished she could join them.

Zoe was definitely planning to keep her underwear on in spite of Michelle’s advice, but she wore her best set for confidence-boosting: a lavender lace demi bra and high-cut panties. She was a little dressed up for the casual-classy crepe restaurant, but she wanted to show Brad a different side from the outdoorsy persona she exhibited at the beach. She wrestled her mind away from thinking about Adam, stuck in the emergency room waiting on news about his mother.

Zoe brushed Sylvester until he gleamed like old platinum. She put him on his leash and walked down the alley into town, passersby petting and complimenting the handsome little dog. The breeze had backed off, and Paia smelled of pizza, plumeria blossom, and suntan oil. The windows of the shops gleamed with inviting merchandise, palms waving overhead.

When she arrived at the creperie, the hostess showed her back into the open-air courtyard without comment on Sylvester; she breathed a sigh of relief. Brad was already seated at one of the round tables with a good view of the street, and he stood up as they approached. He wore a white cotton short-sleeved shirt, open an extra button to show a triangle of tanned chest, and a pair of jeans washed to silky-pale. “Zoe. You look beautiful.”

He grasped her shoulders lightly in greeting and kissed her cheek. He smelled of lemongrass soap and a hint of spicy aftershave.

“Thanks. You too.” She felt her cheeks heat up a little. “I mean, you look nice.”

“I was glad to hear from you,” Brad said after the hostess had taken their drink orders and left them with their menus. He took the cobalt-blue bottle of chilled water and poured her a glass, then poured one for himself.

“I was glad you could get away on such short notice. Important businessman like you.” She shook a finger at him. “You underplayed yourself to me.”

“I figured you’d check me out, Lois Lane the investigative reporter.” He picked up his water glass. “To getting to know the real us.”

“I’ll drink to that.” They clinked and sipped. “I got my
LHJ
piece written. At least the first draft.”

“Good. What did you conclude?”

The hostess came back carrying a tray of drinks, so Zoe waited until she’d gone and then stirred her mai tai. “I concluded that online dating is a modern connectivity tool and better than nothing.”

“Better
than nothing?” Brad laughed. He sipped his rum and coke. “Spoken like someone who isn’t yet converted to the addiction.”

“Addiction?”

“Yeah. Constantly checking the site, your e-mail. Thinking you’re falling in love from just a few heady encounters, then moving on when further investigation into the hypothesis yields null results. But never discouraged, because there’s more infatuation where that came from.”

This time Zoe laughed, feeling a quiver of worry. Was that what was happening between her and Adam? “I might have to find a way to work that in. Can I quote you?”

“Only if I remain nameless and elevated to ‘most eligible bachelor’ status.”

“No problem
there.” Zoe made a toasting gesture with her drink. “I believe I described you as a handsome, self-deprecating dot-com millionaire.”

“That’ll do.” Brad took a composed sip of his drink, but Zoe spotted the telltale redness at the tops of his ears. He was pleased by her description.

The delicious crepe dinner proceeded. The conversation was stimulating, a witty exchange that had a dancing quality to it, and by the time she’d fed him the last bit of a Nutella dessert crepe, Zoe felt much more at ease. Sunset had washed out of the sky, and stars had winked into place when Brad insisted on paying the check.

“
Can I walk you home, mademoiselle?” he asked. “I think an escort might be in order now that it’s late.”

“
I’d love that,” Zoe said. “Sylvester’s not the best guard dog.”

“I’d enjoy
seeing where you live, so close to town.”

“
Sure.” Zoe felt her heart thumping as she stood and took his proffered arm, giving a little tug on Sylvester’s leash. “I’d appreciate the company.”

She kept her arm around his
as they strolled down the sidewalk, enjoying the warm solidity of him beside her. It was pleasant, but not the spine-tingling awareness she’d had with Adam. She really needed to stop comparing.

Yellow
streetlights provided ample illumination, as did the lit store windows. They stopped periodically to peer inside and comment on the merchandise until finally, a block off the main street, Zoe turned into the hidden residential alley that led to her little cottage.

“
It’s kind of dark back here,” she said, surprised to hear that her voice was a little breathless. Was this going to be the night she ‘got back on the horse,’ as Michelle put it? She led them down the driveway, past the lighted windows of the landlady’s house into the pool of shadow cast by the mango tree. “This is me.”

She
’d left a light on inside, and it shone through the window over the sink, onto the tiny stoop and the gleam of her Beetle in the driveway.

Brad didn
’t say anything, simply sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her in to him with his usual confidence. Her hands moved around his waist, touching the soft, worn fabric of his jeans, circling around to slide up the muscles of his back even as he explored hers, his hands wandering up and down over her curves, his face hidden.

Out of the corner of her eye
, she noticed Sylvester hop up onto the top step, sitting down and observing them as she decided to move in closer. His mouth came down to touch hers, a kiss that felt good, starting a warm kindling in her belly. She explored the silky cave of his mouth, tasting chocolate. She felt one hand slide down over the contours of her bottom, tracing her panty line through the fabric of her dress even as the other slid up to cup her breast, his thumb circling the nipple. It felt intrusive, but she made herself stay with it.

He broke the kiss, raising his head to
gaze down at her. In the darkness, she couldn’t see anything but a tiny rime of light from the window glancing off the side of his face.

“Can I come in?” A
harshness in his whisper betrayed his need. 

“N
ot tonight.”

The words popped out of
their own volition. She’d thought she was ready—but she wasn’t. He went back to kissing her. She felt her own withdrawal even as she responded in kind. Finally he set her back, his hands stroking up and down her arms. “Key?”

“
Oh yeah.” She dug in her purse for the key, handed it to him. He walked up the steps, nudging Sylvester with his foot, and unlocked the door. Turned the knob, gave it a little push. Light spilled through the open doorway.

“
Another time,” he said, and she saw the banked fire in his sea-colored eyes.

“It was lovely. Thank you.” Zoe kissed him again, a firm smack
, as she went inside. “Watch your step.”

He just
lifted a hand in farewell and walked briskly down the driveway, disappearing into the night. She withdrew into the cottage, locking the door and unclipping Sylvester’s leash.

“That was interesting,” she told the little dog. “I thought I’d invite him in, but I didn’t. I wonder what Dr. Suzuki will make of that.”

She changed out of her dress and turned on her computer, d
isappointed to see Adam hadn’t e-mailed her and chastising herself for being selfish when he was at the hospital with his mother. She took her phone out of her purse and listened to a voice mail from Dr. Suzuki’s receptionist, asking to reschedule her therapy appointment to a later time the next day. She made a note in her appointment book and checked again to see if Adam had texted her.

He hadn
’t.

Tossing
herself back on the Murphy bed in her pajamas, she considered the situation. She could be making love with Brad right this minute, but all she wanted to know was how Adam’s mother was doing. Good thing she had therapy tomorrow. She really needed help sorting all this out. In the meantime she texted Adam:

Hope your mother is okay. Any news?

Adam’s phone vibrated in his pocket, rousing him from the semi-drowsing state he’d fallen into in the chair-turned-lounger in the waiting room. He’d been fielding phone calls and texts all afternoon and into the night from friends and concerned family members and finally had something to tell them.

He took the phone out, saw it was Zoe, asking for news on his mother. He squinted at the time—
nine p.m. He texted back.
Hi, thanks for asking. She’s stable in intensive care. The first bypass had complications, so they redid the operation. We’re hopeful.

That
’s good news. Do you have all the help you need?

I
’m still at the hospital.
He scrubbed his hands across the stubble that had come in on his face and continued to work his phone.
I haven’t been home since this morning, but it’s okay. Lots of family members pitching in.

You should get some rest too.

He was tempted to say something flippant or flirty, decided not to.
Did you have a nice date?
was what his fingers typed out, seemingly of their own volition. He held his breath, waiting for her response.

Finally:
It was okay. Take care
, came from Zoe. There was a note of finality in her reply.

I didn
’t mean to sound weird
, he texted back.
I just wish there wasn’t all this stress going on
. There was no further comment from Zoe, and somehow he knew she’d turned off her phone. He sat up and called Charlotte.

“Can you come relieve me of hospital duty? I really need to get home and get some sleep. I’m getting punchy.”

“I’ll send Ben,” her sleepy voice said. “And we’re going to put Mama in the convalescent hospital as a step-down before she comes home, Adam. You can’t handle all this yourself.”

“Thanks, Charl. If everyone agrees…”

“Everyone agrees. Even Mama will agree. She needs more rest, more care than any of us can give her right now.”

“Okay.” He had to admit he felt relief at that plan. It was hard not to feel guilty, that he’d done something wrong with her care. Perhaps
there had been too much activity at his house, though the doctors had assured him that the operation failing had nothing to do with that.

Adam waited until Ben arrived and
then went home, falling into his bed with his clothes still on. His last thought was that he was glad the kids were at their Lahaina grandparents. Thank God he had Coach Suzuki tomorrow. He really needed help sorting it all out.

Zoe walked up the cement walkway to Dr. Suzuki’s office, glad the psychologist’s office had changed her appointment time to later
than usual. She’d had a rough time falling asleep, ended up taking one of the sleeping pills she’d had to resort to during the worst of the depression. It had made her oversleep, and she still felt groggy. Her face was bare of makeup, and she’d used the mother-of-pearl comb from the night before to wind her hair up to get it out of her way.

Zoe stepped into the little waiting room. Dr. Suzuki’s door was closed, and she heard the murmur of voices from inside, so she sat down on the rattan settee and opened a
Ladies’ Home Journal
from the side table, leafing through it.

Her article should fit right in. It was neither too navel gazing nor too clinical. The piece had struck a personal but informative note, and the tone was right for the magazine—or at least, so her editor had said in an e-mail. She was almost done but for a few final edits.

The inner door opened. Zoe glanced up, her mouth dropping open as Adam came out. He recognized her, she saw by the widening of his eyes.

“Zoe?”

“Adam?”

“Oh dear,” Dr. Suzuki said from the doorway. “This is awkward.”

Zoe stood, patting her disorderly hair, smoothing her shorts and tank top nervously. “How’s your mom doing?”

“She’s okay.” He’d come to stand directly in front of her. His physical nearness felt thrilling, raising goose bumps on her arms. “Hey, Coach, can I speak to Zoe a moment?”

“Sure.”

Zoe hardly heard the click of the interior door as Dr. Suzuki went inside and closed it because she was so focused on Adam’s eyes. They were bronze today, with a ring of umber around the iris. Fatigue darkened the skin beneath them, and a shadow of beard rendered his face piratically handsome.

“So Suzuki’s your therapist too.” A grin split his face, and she felt her own smile echo it. “Small island.”

“That’s what they say.” Her tongue felt paralyzed, her heart fluttering like a moth. She was terrified that he would leave, but he continued to stand in front of her, solid and unmoving. Her nostrils flared, taking him in—he smelled like some sort of tropical fruit.

“Lychee,” he said.

“What?”

“I was peeling lychees this morning, prepping them for freezing and canning. That’s what you smell.”

Zoe felt a blush burn her face. “Oh.” She tried to think of some response but couldn’t come up with anything.

“Can I kiss you? I need to know.” His voice was low. He moved another step closer.

“Know what?” But she knew what.

He wanted to know if the chemistry was what they thought it was.

She wanted to know if she was going to burst into flames just looking at him, like she felt like she would.

He leaned forward, never breaking eye contact until the last second. She kept her eyes open as his lips touched hers, watched his lashes close, felt the shock of his mouth touching hers ripple down her spinal column and back up again. The sensation brought her arms, as if of their own volition, up to wrap around his neck and shoulders. His wavy hair felt soft and springy. She stroked the powerful column of his neck beneath her hands.

His arms had come around her at the same time, one wrapped around her
waist, pulling her tight against him, the other plucking the comb out of her hair and dropping it on the floor. His fingers stroked through the tumbled length of it again and again as he deepened the kiss.

Zoe was so overwhelmed that her knees sagged, and she’d have fallen if he wasn’t holding her up.

“Ahem.” A delicate throat clearing from Dr. Suzuki barely penetrated the cloud of sensation that had dropped over Zoe. “Five minutes, you two, or we’ll have to reschedule.”

Adam fisted his hands in her hair as hers began to wander over his wide shoulders, down the deep arch of his back to his
waist, pulling him even closer. His mouth tasted like the fruit he smelled of, intoxicating and exotic.

Flavors and sensations that tasting, just made her hungrier.

“Ahem!” Dr. Suzuki raised her voice what must have been a few minutes later, and this time Zoe broke away, leaning her forehead against Adam’s chest in mortification, feeling heat bathe her whole body in a potent cocktail of embarrassment and arousal.

“Okay.” Adam’s voice had a tremor in it. “Now we know.”

His hand was still tangled in her hair, but it felt like an unbearable loss as he let go, gently stroking his fingers through it to touch her waist, stepping away, releasing her.

“Now we know,” she whispered. The whole encounter seemed to have stolen her voice as well as her brain. He touched her nose with a finger, then turned and strode to the door. “See you soon, Zoe. Coach Suzuki.”

“Bye, Adam.” Dr. Suzuki smiled. “Come in, Zoe. Well, that was an interesting start to the session.”