“Neither can I,” Manny Kanualu agreed. “After all, it’s not like we greet every haole who arrives in the islands personally.”
He beamed with obvious satisfaction as he tipped his hat toward Lani. “ Mele Kalikimaka , Lani. It’s good to see you. Donovan told me you’d probably be coming along. My wife’s going to write a proper thank you note, but please tell your parents how much we enjoyed this year’s luau bash. The snow was inspired. Our grandkids had a super time.”
* * *
“You had the police in on this from the beginning,” Lani accused Donovan as they lay in his bed, arms wrapped around each other, while the sun rose outside the window.
Donovan brushed a strand of fiery hair away from her face. “Not exactly from the beginning, but once I figured out what was going down, I thought the least I could do was share the information. I know I hate it when some other jurisdiction is messing around in my precinct without informing me ahead of time. It’s also a good way to get shot.
“Besides, once those FBI guys started following us, I didn’t have any choice but to fill them in before they got the wrong idea and decided we were working with Britton.”
“That was nice the way you told everyone that Ford had every intention of turning the money over to the government.”
Donovan shrugged as he ran his hand down her side. “Maybe he really did have that in mind all along, hoping to negotiate a finder’s fee. You didn’t see him arguing, did you?”
His mouth created a sizzling path along the slope of Lani’s breasts, and her voice grew husky with desire as she tried to concentrate on their conversation. “Would you have argued if you’d been in his shoes?”
“Hell, no.” The damp heat of his mouth moved with tantalizing slowness down her body, leaving trails of exquisite lightning.
“You lied to me, Donovan.”
“And you lied to me.” Sighing heavily, he reluctantly stopped his seductive kisses and lifted himself up on his forearms. “Dammit, Lani, do you have any idea how much danger you could have been in?”
She smiled up at him, framing his scowling face with her palms. “Don’t be silly. I was with you.”
“I think it’s a toss-up,” he said finally.
She pressed her lips against his. “What?”
“Which one of us is going to drive the other crazier.”
Lani could feel his smile against her mouth. “You’re probably right,” she agreed cheerfully. “But think how much fun we’ll have in the meantime.”
With a groan that was part agreement, part anticipation, Donovan lowered his body onto hers, locking her securely under him with his thigh. That was the last either of them had to say for a very long time.
24
This was, Lani considered happily, as she awoke in Nate’s house the next morning, a delicious way to live. She leaned over and pressed a quick kiss against Donovan’s tanned cheek before getting up. Sliding out from under the sheet, taking care not to wake him, she left the house on her customary morning walk along the beach. The sharp tang of the salt air cleared her head, and the comforting swish of the warm tropical water against her ankles soothed the anxiety created by thoughts of Donovan’s inevitable return to Oregon.
Fully restored to her usual good humor after what could have been a horrific night, she practically skipped up the steps and entered the house. Her smile faded when she discovered Donovan on his phone. His dark frown left her no doubt that the call was business, not pleasure.
It’s the commissioner , he scrawled on a notepad beside the phone.
Lani’s heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t time, she thought. They still had another week until New Year’s. But the frown lines that she remembered from his arrival on the island gave her the distinct feeling that this call was going to take Donovan away from her.
“I’ve got work to do. I’ll see you later,” she said.
Donovan caught her by the wrist. “Wait a minute,” he said before turning his attention back to his caller. “Jack, give me just a minute, okay? Something’s come up.”
He covered the phone with his free hand. “I thought, now that we’ve gotten Britton back safe and sound, that we were going to Fern Grotto Restaurant for brunch this morning.”
“We were,” she agreed. “But that was before the commissioner called.”
“He doesn’t have anything to do with us.”
Doesn’t he? Lani was tempted to ask. But that would be breaking the rules she had insisted on from the beginning. No ties. No commitment. Just two people—a man and a woman—enjoying each other for as long as their time together lasted. That was all this interlude with Donovan could be. It was all she could allow it to be.
“All right. He’s forgotten.” She touched her fingers to her lips, then his. “I’ll see you later.” Lani felt as if the forced smile was about to freeze on her face.