Heat Wave (42 page)

But we’ll see. The woman is ambitious. If she runs with it one day, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few Ohana Lounges open up across the islands.

Speaking of, where the bloody hell is she?

“Now you must be nervous,” Kit says, nudging me in the side.

“Nah, mate,” I tell him. “Just want to get this over with. You know I don’t like being the center of attention.”

“Never too late to run for the hills.”

I cock my brow at him. “One day, Kit. One day you’ll know.”

“You knew it twice,” he says with a smirk. “I think I balance you out.”

I ignore that. When I told Veronica once that Kit was a bit of a Croc Dundee character, I wasn’t stretching the truth. He does have this overt machoism about him, the kind who will hike into the jungle to wrestle snakes and crocodiles. I know the tour he leads is borderline illegal because of the shit he puts his customers through but he’s charming and all that bullshit, so he gets away with it. He may be scared of the ladies but I’m telling you, no lady wants to cuddle up to a bloke who spends his days looking for reptiles.

“Here they are,” Johnny says, the bridesmaids turn the corner and head toward us, flowers in their hands. Because we had an uneven number of girls and guys, and no parents on either side, we decided that the girls should just all arrive together, like a “squad,” as Kate described it.

Kate and Nikki, dressed in strapless Hawaiian dresses that match the guy’s shirts, take their place on the other side of me. I give them a wink.

And then a hush comes over the crowd, a nervous tittering.

The ukuleles and guitars from the band start to play, strumming the Hawaiian version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

I can’t bloody believe it. What a funny, lovely, bitch life can be, that this is happening at all.

And then Veronica appears, rounding the corner of the restaurant, coming across the grass with her friend Claire on her arm.

She’s beyond beautiful.

She’s the sunrise, the moonrise, all four points of my compass.

She’s every gorgeous moment in my life all rolled into one.

And she’s mine.

“Hi Freckles,” I say to her softly, trying to keep my emotions in check. The tears keep wanting to creep up there but I’ll be damned if I cry in front of my brother.

“Hi old man,” she teases. She grins, her cheeks glowing with the sun and blush, her actual freckles making her look fresh as a morning wave. Her caramel-colored hair is pinned back with plumeria, her white dress long and gauzy, like she’s a Grecian goddess, on earth for just one day.

But I know she’s here for more than that.

She’s here for now and forever.

Betty clears her throat and starts the ceremony as I grab onto Veronica’s hands, holding her tight.

This is it.

This moment is the beginning.

Later that night, after the food and the cake (which Veronica baked herself—coconut, macadamias, and chocolate), while the guests are still dancing and the music is blaring and the drinks are flowing, I take Veronica’s hand and lead her to the beach where we had our first surf lesson.

We settle down in the sand, the bottle of champagne between us, watching as the moon rises up over Moonwater Inn. The ocean is bathed in silver, our bodies glimmer in the dark. We look like immortals. I feel immortal.

“Look,” Veronica whispers, bringing my attention back to the horizon.

A humpback whale is surfacing, its breath shooting high into the air like a feathery plume. We watch in awe as it dives, its back illuminated by the moonlight, gleaming.

Its massive fluke disappears into the waves and then it’s gone.

We wait with bated breath, expecting it to come back, for others to be with it.

But that’s it.

And it was enough.

THE END

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Read on for the acknowledgements (am I the only one who loves reading the acknowledgements section?)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

After so many books, it gets hard to think of something original to write in the acknowledgements and I usually just end up thanking the same people over and over again. But that’s okay because, hey, without them, my books wouldn’t be here. As much as I like to think that I am an island (like Kauai), I am not and it takes a village to make a book.

I’ll make this short and snappy…thank you to Kelly and Alex St-Laurent for all your advice with regards to being a chef. Alex is the best chef there is and I had to learn a bit about the whole thing before I made Veronica one. But if I messed up in anyway regarding the way kitchens are run, that’s completely on me.

Thank you to Laura Helseth for her proofing and edits, to Dani for her promotion, for Hang Le for the stunning cover. Thanks to Ali and Jay for keeping me from jumping off a cliff and being such a good sounding board. Thank you to my readers for being so understanding, caring and supportive, even when I’m saying crazy shit, and especially my ARC readers who were left hanging with this one.

To my parents and my husband…sorry. Here’s the thing. I was supposed to finish this book before we went to our annual trip to Kauai. This trip was going to be a real special one too because this time I got to take my parents and let them experience the Kauai we’ve fallen in love with. Nothing like being in paradise with your
ohana.

Well, it turns out I was writing Heat Wave well into our vacation, so I haven’t been as “available” as I normally am. But hey, I’m still here, the book is done, and I’ve got a few days to relax. I have to say, it’s been funny actually being in Kauai while writing about it. I went to visit the hotel Moonwater Inn is based on (the Hanalei Colony, if you’re wondering – worth a stay! But don’t go swimming in the ocean, it will kill you!) and I could have sworn I saw Logan and Veronica, Johnny, Kate, Charlie…the thing about Heat Wave is that so many of the characters can be found on this island. Including Daniel, Betty and others.

Kauai is a special place to me and to many people and I hope I was able to convey that in this book. The aloha spirit is prevalent here and it truly is a place where you feel connected to man, to nature, to yourself. Even the mythology of Hawaii is fascinating to me and I see myself dabbling into that subject one day. If you ever have a chance to visit Kauai, please take it. Bring this book with you. And if you can’t visit, I hope this book provides the same kind of escape.

Last but not least, I’d like to thank the Anti-Heroes, for always having my back. You guys are the best.

Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo.