Before I Ever Met You

Daniel shakes his head. “Mai Tais are some of the cheapest drinks you can make. It’s mainly fruit juice and a splash of a few cheap rums.”


“We stopped,” Logan says, eyeing me sternly, as if I’m stepping on his toes. Which I probably am. “Because there was no way to directly measure if it had any influence on whether guests stayed here or not. And if you can’t measure it, then it’s not worth the money.”

“But what if you advertised it so that tourists in Hanalei came here for it? Or people on the way to Ke’e Beach or the Kalalau Trail? Or Tunnels? Put a sign on the side of the road, everyone welcome.”

“No one is stopping just for free watered-down drinks,” Logan says gruffly.

“Maybe not, but what if we offered free pupus as well?”

Like clockwork, Charlie snickers at “pupus.”

“And who would be making them? You?” Logan asks. “You’re willing to do extra work? Because you know I won’t be paying you for that.”

I purse my lips for a moment, narrowing my eyes at him. It feels like the whole room is watching us with bated breath. Lord knows how many of us do extra work on the side, from shuttle-bus driving to handling luggage to being a barista, without getting extra compensation. “I wouldn’t dream of you paying me extra. I’d do it for the sake of the hotel and everyone who wants to keep their job here. Plus the fact that I enjoy cooking. I actually like my job.”

“I’d be down for that,” Johnny speaks up. “It will bring in new people. They’ll take a look at the hotel, see the restaurant, the location. Our drop-dead gorgeous staff.” Everyone laughs as Johnny pretends to preen himself.

“We’ll see,” Logan says, looking back to the paper.

“Hey, she was right about the seating in here, aye,” Johnny goes on. God bless him. “The customers are happy and no one minds the wait for a table.”

Damn. If looks could kill. I half expect flames to shoot out of Logan’s head.

But he just clears his throat again and says, “The luau itself will attract people from all over the island. We’ll deal with that first and see how it goes.”

Johnny looks at me and shrugs to say that he tried. I could kiss my co-worker right now, just for that.

When the meeting is over and everyone starts scattering, Kate hurrying out the restaurant and back to reception, Logan walks over to Nikki and Daniel. “You guys ready?”

I know I should head back to my room and get a head start on my day off. Pick a book on my e-reader, bring it to the beach with some snacks and work on my tan, maybe Facetime Claire again since it’s been a week since I last talked to her.

But I don’t. I don’t know why and I can’t explain it, but I walk right over to them and I say, “What are you guys doing?”

“Nothing you’d be interested in,” Logan says gruffly, obviously still miffed I spoke up earlier.

“We’re hiking the Kalalua Trail,” Daniel speaks up, ignoring the glare from Logan. “It’s been dry the last few days so it’s easier. Less mud.”

“We’re only taking it to Hanakapiai Beach and turning back,” Nikki says with a bright smile. “You should come. You haven’t done it yet, have you?”

I hadn’t and it was one of the things Kate promised to take me on, except that our schedules keep having us miss each other.

“I’d love to,” I say quickly before Logan says anything else discouraging. He obviously doesn’t want me along and that makes me want to come even more. “Give me five minutes—do I need to bring anything?”

“Backpack, water, snacks, a hat, sunscreen,” Daniel lists off.

“And good shoes you don’t mind getting dirty. Sneakers or hiking boots if you have them,” Nikki adds.

I nod and flash Logan an overly sweet smile. “Be right back.”

I swear I can hear him grumble as I hurry back to my room.

Five minutes later I’ve changed into running shoes (which have already turned red from Kauai’s famous dirt), shorts and a tee shirt, have slathered on sunscreen, stuck on a baseball cap that says Java Kai, and crammed a few organic quinoa bars and some dried mango into my backpack along with bottles of water.

I stop by reception and tell Kate, “I’m doing the Kalalau Trail with Logan, Nikki, and Daniel. If we’re not back in, well, however long it takes to get to that beach and back, send help.”

“You’re going with Logan?” she asks, brows raised. “Girl, you crazy.”

I shrug, slipping my fingers underneath by backpack straps and biting back a smile. “You have no idea.”

The four of us are riding in Logan’s black Jeep, the first time I’ve been in his car. Like I expect, it smells like him, something like mint and coconut, and the seats are covered in sand. Daniel and Nikki are already in the back so I have no choice but to sit in the passenger seat. I don’t look over at him as we take a right onto the road, heading toward the Na Pali Coast, though I can occasionally feel his eyes on me. Sometimes I think he’s staring at my legs. Sometimes I think I’m losing the plot a little.

The start of the Kalalau Trail is located at Ke’e Beach and the Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park, which is only a ten-minute drive down the road to where the highway literally ends. You can almost drive all the way around the island, but the jagged and iconic Na Pali Coast prevents it. The only way you can keep going is to get out of your car and hike in, which is what we’re about to do. We’re not doing the crazy version though. Daniel tells me that this one should only take three hours round trip—any further and we would have to pack in a tent and bring a permit. Apparently that hike gets pretty gnarly, and for someone like me who is sensitive to heights, it’s not the best idea.

I’ve been to Ke’e Beach at the end of the road and gone snorkeling once with Charlie, so I’m not surprised to see the parking lot is absolutely packed. We have to park the Jeep on the side of the road a mile away and walk from there.

But in Kauai, even walking along the side of a road is a near magical experience. Yes, we’re passing countless cars and more tourists and locals prepared for the hike, but we’re also crossing fresh streams that spill across the road, thick, fragrant jungle peppering the sides with the occasional chicken scratching around in the bushes.

There’s even a wet cave underneath a sheer overhanging wall. The water in the cave doesn’t look too inviting—it’s dark and disappears into blackness the more it goes under the rock—but I have to stand back and stare up at the vines as they tangle down the guano-stained walls, the lush vegetation that creeps over the side. Beyond that, the soaring peaks of the mountains reach up into the clouds. It nearly gives me vertigo.

“You and Juliet swam in here, didn’t you?” Nikki asks Logan.

He nods. “Not much to see. Cold as hell.”