“Lovely.” She’d meant that to sound sarcastic, but it came out closer to reverent. So what if she thought the native language was pretty? And so what if it had been such a long time since anyone had called her anything other than Nessie or Counselor? She certainly didn’t need to hear endearments from the likes of Jackson Maris.
Vanessa climbed in the cab and pulled the door closed, doing her level best to ignore the deep laughter floating through the open window as they pulled away from the curb.
Drawing in a deep, calming breath, she met the cabbie’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Take me to the Mau Loa, please. But first let’s hit a drive-through. I’m in no hurry, and I’m starving.”
…
I am such an asshole.
Jackson shoved his hands in his pockets and watched the strangest, most striking woman he’d ever met leave him in a cloud of exhaust fumes. Though he could think of several reasons to look forward to spending time with her this week—full lips, emerald eyes, silky red curls, and a body to make a man sit up and beg, to name a few—it wasn’t her appearance that had him revved up.
It was her firecracker personality.
He was used to women with laidback attitudes. Easy to charm, easy to please. Vanessa MacGregor was obviously neither of those. And while he had no intention of giving up, she’d come very close to making him tap out. That intrigued the hell out of him.
But that was no excuse for the B.S. he’d just fed her about needing to check in as their friends.
Walking back to his car, he ran over their conversation in his mind. He hadn’t expected his first meeting with his sister’s best friend to go down that way. He did feel like a jerk for being so late. It was a testament to the lax way of life he’d adopted over the last decade that he hadn’t considered it would be something he couldn’t make up for with a little charm and an offer of lunch.
It might have been forgivable—eventually—if he hadn’t dropped the little marriage-ruse bomb on top of it.
When Reid called him to explain the situation and ask for his help, Jackson had planned on picking her up, getting her settled into the Mau Loa (the part about him being able to get her past their tight security policies had been true, at least), and then returning to his regularly scheduled program until the wedding at the end of the week. Reid had mentioned how eccentric the planner was, but the plan had never been for her to pose as Lucie. Jackson had kind of made that part up in the heat of the moment.
He’d been blindsided by her crazy Jekyll and Hyde allure. And then she’d rebuffed and dismissed him like a puppy who’d dropped a ball at her feet when she wasn’t in the mood to play catch. He was beyond fascinated. He wanted to open her up and see what made her tick. Hence his sudden and inexplicable need to spend as much time as possible with her over the next week. Jax was fairly certain most of his blood had drained from his head to a more southerly area when he’d spouted that bullshit.
Realizing he now had the pleasure of breaking the news of his deception to Vanessa and almost certainly earning himself a kick to the nuts, he got into his Jeep, made his way out of the airport, and reluctantly headed for the resort.
He’d only lived in Oahu for about twelve years, but it felt like a lifetime. His twenty-three years living in Sun Valley, Nevada, was little more than a collection of faded childhood memories. Whether due to the passing of time or his conscious effort to forget a huge chunk of those years, he wasn’t sure. Either way, despite missing his sister like crazy, he was happiest on the island. Growing up, he’d always felt like a cog in the wrong wheel.
It wasn’t because he hadn’t been blessed with a great life. His parents had been wonderful people who’d loved him and his sister with everything they were and made sure they wanted for nothing. He’d had a great childhood.
It was the start of his adulthood when everything had gone to hell—starting with the accident that killed his parents shortly after his graduation.
Then it stayed that way for more than five years. But as soon as he’d been able to get away, he’d packed up and left for Hawaii. It was as far as he could go without leaving the good ole U.S. of A. His destination choice had been more for genealogical reasons than geographical, but the literal distance sometimes helped with the mental distance he’d needed.
Once he settled on Oahu in his modest beachfront cottage with the ocean in front and the mountains in back, he’d joined Team Titan, the best MMA training camp on the island. With his career off on the right foot and some changes in the way he viewed life, he felt free and happy for the first time since before the accident.