“Mom,” Tyler said, throwing a desperate look at Tawny. But what did he expect her to do? “You don’t need to plan anything. Tawny and I are more than capable. We don’t want anything big anyway, and it’ll probably be right here.” He indicated the beach in front of him, and Tawny almost swooned at the very idea of becoming his bride on this stretch of sand.
She could already see it: Tea lights in the palm trees. Music playing from the branches. The sound of the ocean in the background. A few rows of white chairs, and her, and Tyler, and everyone they cared about….
A blissful sigh escaped her lips, and Tyler’s gaze shot to her. His eyebrows lifted as if to say, What? but she just shook her head.
A fool’s fantasy, that was what she was imagining.
“We’ll need time to buy tickets,” she said, her voice slightly wounded.
“Mom, I can buy you a ticket any time you want.”
“I can too, Mom,” Wayne said, which earned him a glare from Shirley.
“Humph.” She folded her arms and watched her two grandsons play in the sand nearby. Tawny was just beginning to relax when Shirley said, “What about kids?”
Tawny choked, the sip of coffee she’d just taken making a reappearance.
“Mom,” Wayne chastised, clearly trying to help his brother.
“What?” Shirley looked around the table, and Rich seemed bent on watching the boys every move. He seemed oblivious to the conversation. “Is it wrong of me to want more grandchildren? You and Gina said you’re done, and we don’t even have any girls yet.” She looked between Tyler and Tawny. “You two want kids, don’t you?”
“Of course,” Tawny said. She suspected she’d say anything to appease Shirley at this point.
“No,” Tyler said.
Her gaze whipped to his, and it was blatantly obvious that they hadn’t talked about this before. And why would they? This wasn’t a real relationship. She didn’t need to know his thoughts on having children, just like he didn’t need to know who she’d been before she started doing everything backward.
“Oh, I see I’ve touched a nerve.” Shirley seemed quite satisfied with herself, and Tawny was hoping someone else would ask another question.
She wasn’t expecting it to be Tyler. “You want kids?”
“You don’t?” Tawny could throw his attitude right back at him. Of course she’d never told him that one of the reasons she felt so hopeless was because the longer it took her to find the right man for her, the faster her biological clock ticked.
“I’ve always wanted to be a mother,” she said quietly, almost reverently, like they were alone and she was confiding in him. She met Shirley’s eye. “But I can’t promise you girls. That, I believe, is up to him.” She hooked her thumb at Tyler, the very thought of sleeping with him making her flushed.
She stood, suddenly needing a break. “Who needs more coffee?”
Gina stood too and took Wayne’s cup though he said, “I’ve barely had any.”
“Well, this is cold,” she said before ushering Tawny into the house. With the door closed, a particle of relief seeped into her bones.
“Thank you,” Tawny said.
“Oh, I’m well-acquainted with Shirley.” She poured herself more coffee and dumped Wayne’s down the sink before facing Tawny. “Be straight with me. I’m not his brother or his parents. I like you. You have a good air about you. I just need you to answer one question.”
Tawny’s heart rippled like a flag in a stiff breeze. “What do you want to know?” She wanted to press her eyes closed and pray, but she maintained eye contact with Gina instead.
The woman had dark, wavy hair that fell halfway down her back. Her dark eyes didn’t leave Tawny as she began braiding, and she didn’t speak until her hair was knotted on top of her head.
“You’re not doing this for his money, are you?”
Tawny was supremely glad she hadn’t taken another drink of coffee. She’d have spit it out too. A laugh flowed from her easily, and she said, “No. I don’t care about his money.” As she said it, she realized how true it was. She’d never understood how he couldn't care about money, but she got it now.
Money couldn’t get her what she wanted. Sure, it made some things easier. But no amount of money on the earth could buy her the bravery she needed to have a hard conversation with Tyler.
His money couldn’t get him what he wanted either. He’d hinted at his past life, other women, the parties surrounding the poker tournaments. She didn’t understand all of it, and she didn’t want to.
But she knew something about him now she hadn’t before. His huge amount of money couldn’t buy him what he wanted on the mainland. So he’d come to Hawaii, to Getaway Bay, and found his own brand of happiness.
And it was a golden retriever, a one-bedroom beach house, and the ability to surf his morning hours away.
His happiness didn’t include a woman—it hadn’t for six long years—and Tawny was deluding herself if she thought he needed her at all.
Chapter Fifteen
Tyler stared past his father’s shoulder while his mother talked and talked and talked. So she didn’t like Tawny, and Tyler couldn’t fathom why.
He finally said, “Mom, stop.”
“You said you wouldn’t do this,” Wayne added, and the two brothers exchanged a glance.
“Do what?” His mom looked back and forth between the three men at the table, but his dad was so engrossed with the sand castle the little boys were building. Wayne rolled his eyes, and Tyler heaved a sigh.
“You’ve said four words to her,” Tyler said. “You haven’t even tried to like her.”
“She’s just not for you.” She lifted her chin—and her nose—in the air. “Did you know she was a life coach?”
Tyler had not known that little tidbit, but it hardly mattered. “Mom, she teaches beach yoga at the ritziest hotel in the bay.”
“Yoga.” She scoffed. “That’s not a job.”
“That’s funny. I’ve seen her go to work and get paid. Seems like a job.” And it was more than he’d done in years, maybe ever. Playing poker—was that a job? How was it any better than what Tawny did?
“She’s beneath you.”
He shook his head, unwilling to continue this argument. “She’s my fiancée. I expect you to be nice to her.”
“I am nothing but nice.” His mom’s voice was wounded, but Tyler didn’t buy her act. She wasn’t nearly as good as Tawny, though they were both putting on quite the show.
He stared past his nephews to the water, the siren’s call of it loud in his ears, his soul. He wished he hadn’t had to skip his morning surf that day, and while he’d been anticipating his family’s arrival, he sort of wished they were gone already.
“Well, should we get over to the hotel?” His dad finally turned and joined the conversation. “With the time difference, it’s about eight o’clock in New York.”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” Tyler practically leapt to his feet. His dad picked up his coffee cup as well as his mother’s.
“We can clean up later,” Tyler told him.
“I can take in my own coffee cup.” His dad gave him a quick smile that had some sympathy stitched into it. Wayne picked up a few errant napkins and the chocolate cake plates. Tyler took the cake, noting that his mother brought in herself, the little boys, and a single fork. He decided it was something, and he couldn’t be mad for the next ten days.
Inside the kitchen, Gina laughed at something, and Tyler relaxed a little. Tawny was likeable; his mother had simply already decided not to like her.
“We’re heading to the hotel,” Wayne said, causing Gina to turn.
“Good idea. I’m beat.”
“Fisher’s got you guys in a great penthouse,” Tyler said. “Has those thick blackout curtains and everything.” He contemplated whether he needed to go over to the hotel with them. Make an appearance. Introduce Fisher and Owen. Probably.
Purses got gathered, and sand brushed from little boys’ ar
ms, and everyone trooped outside to load into the minivan. Tawny hung back, leaning in the doorway, and Tyler helped his nephews in and made sure everyone had everything.
“So tomorrow, we’re headed to the pineapple plantations,” he said. “Is that still on?”
“Yes,” came several voices.
“What time is the tour?” his mom asked.
“Nine,” Tyler said. “But my friend owns it. We can do whatever.” Tawny wouldn’t like the change in schedule, but at the moment, it was the least of his concerns.
“Nine should be fine.” She peered at him. “Do you know all the richest men on the island?”
“And the richest women too, Mom.” He rolled his eyes and tapped on the roof of the minivan. “I’ll meet you over there.” He backed up and let them roll out first. They’d need to park in the garage, not with the valet, and get all their bags. Though Fisher had people to do that, Tyler knew his dad wouldn’t want to tip them. Which was ridiculous. They had plenty of money. And if they didn’t, Wayne certainly did.
He glanced back to Tawny, who now sat on the top step with Lazy Bones at her side. The dog practically cuddled into her, the traitor.
“I’m going to go over there with them,” he said. “Do you want to come?”
“No, you go. I’ll clean up here.”
He wanted to tell her she didn’t need to do that. That she wasn’t his maid. That he’d like her to come so they could talk. But at the same time, he needed some time to himself, to figure out what to say to her, how to fix what he’d said, how to get his mother’s words out of his head.
She’s beneath you.
Tyler pushed the words from his mind. He’d never once thought of himself as superior to Tawny. And honestly, he’d thought a lot about doing more than kissing with her, but if his mother knew that was what came to mind when she said beneath….
He pushed those thoughts from his head too. The island suddenly seemed so small, and he arrived at Sweet Breeze in only minutes. He loitered near the lobby until his loud Queens family arrived. They did make him smile, especially the nephews and Wayne.
“This way.” He took them past the front desk and down the hall toward Owen’s office. Tyler had texted ahead, and Owen had said to bring them back. He knocked on the door a couple of times before entering.
Both Owen and Fisher rose from their seats, nothing but pure hospitality smiles on their faces. Introductions were made, and keys set up, WiFi passwords given out, and the code to the private elevator only Fisher used provided.
With his family taken care of, Tyler left the hotel. But he didn’t collect his car from the valet, not yet. He stood on the pool deck on the twenty-seventh floor, looking out over the bay. It was a spectacular sight, with jungles and palms, water and waves, sky and sand.
For a moment, he felt the echoes of his old life. The one where he filled his day with everything and nothing, showed up to his Nine-0 meetings if he felt like it, and went to dinner every night.
Tawny had turned everything upside down, and Tyler hadn’t realized how lonely and pathetic his life had been before her.
So why didn’t he want to go talk to her alone, now, when he could? He’d never minded spending his time with her or sharing his space. He’d looked forward to seeing her every day, loved holding her hand, enjoyed kissing her, and…didn’t want to stop doing any of those things.
He turned from the view and headed back to his car. Sterling fetched the car and asked, “Where’s Tawny today?”
“Oh, my parents came in.”
Sterling tilted his head slightly, and Tyler realized his answer made no sense when he said, “She didn’t want to meet them?”
“No. I mean, yes. She met them. She’s at my place.” Tyler gave Sterling a smile, but the man didn’t return it.
He held out Tyler’s keys and added, “I’ve known her for a while,” he said. “She seems happy with you.”
Tyler paused, unsure of what to do with this conversation. He didn’t normally have personal talks with Fisher’s valet, though he’d known Sterling since the day Sweet Breeze opened.
He studied Sterling and his years in the poker seat showed him a lot more than he wanted to know. And his time at the table had also taught him how to mask everything behind a straight face or a smile.
So he grinned at Sterling and took the keys. “Thank you, Sterling. I’m pretty happy with her too.”
He went back to his house on the beach, expecting to find Tawny lying in his hammock. But she wasn’t there. His kitchen was spotless, all the dishes either washed or in the dishwasher, which was running.
The picnic table in the back had been cleared, and the hammock swung only in the slight breeze not because the woman he wanted to see was there.
He couldn’t figure out how he went from hot to cold and back so fast. He wanted to see her, he didn’t want to see her.
But he knew he didn’t like coming back to his house and being alone. Even Lazy Bones wasn’t there to greet him, and he whistled to call the dog.
His phone chimed at that moment, almost an answer to his call.
Chocolate cake in the fridge. And Bones wanted to come with me, so I let him. Hope that’s okay.
No mention of seeing him later, or when she’d bring Bones back. She’d simply taken care of everything and disappeared.
And Tyler hated that almost as much as being called her friend.
So what are you going to do about it? he asked himself. Unfortunately no answer came immediately to mind.
An hour later, he couldn’t take the silence anymore. Funny how he’d used to bask in it all day, and now he couldn’t stand not hearing from Tawny.
So he dialed her, only to get her voicemail. Wayne claimed everyone was asleep except for his father, who was in the shower. So they didn’t want dinner that night. Wayne said if they did, they’d just order from room service.
So Tyler found himself walking down the beach in his gray slacks and light blue button-up instead of his regular board shorts and T-shirt, dogless, with a grumbling stomach. His mind wasn’t much better, and he found his feet taking him away from the eateries dotting the beach and toward Tawny’s.
Her bicycle leaned up against the porch, but other than that, the place looked quaint and beachy. Relaxing.
He knocked on the front door and waited, his hands buried in his pockets. A dog barked from somewhere inside the house, and the sound caused Tyler’s heart to leap.
A whine followed, and then claws and Tawny’s voice saying something. She opened the door looking a bit flustered. When she saw him, she released Lazy Bones’s collar and straightened. “Tyler.”
Bones jumped at him, and Tyler laughed as the dog licked his face and ear. “Hey, bud. What have you been doin’ over here, huh? Don’t tell me Tawny’s couch is better than ours.” He scrubbed the dog down, glad there was one living thing on the planet that was excited to see him.
“Oh, nothing over here is as nice as what you’ve got.” She leaned in the doorway and chuckled, but it didn’t sound entirely happy.
“I’ve seen your place. It is nice.” Why Tyler said that, he wasn’t sure. He felt completely out of his element here. All he could hear were his mom’s words.
She’s beneath you.
All he could feel was the pounding of his heart, telling him he liked Tawny so, so much. He thought maybe it was beating out that he loved her, but he needed to take baby steps.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I called,” he said.
“I know.”
Tyler didn’t know two words could be so sharp and cut so deep. He plowed forward anyway. “I was thinking you might want to go to that string concert?”
Her eyes blazed with fire as bright as the ocean was deep. She loved Hawaiian music, especially the ukuleles and steel guitars.
“Is this a no strings attached evening?”
“No,” Tyler said, pushing his dog aside and inching closer to Tawny. “This is a date.” He
swallowed, still so unsure of himself. “I mean, I’m dressed up, and you look nice.” She always did, but today especially since she’d gone all out to meet his parents. She hadn’t changed, and he had the strangest urge to kiss her until her lipstick came off.
“So is that the requirement for a date with you? You have to wear slacks?”
“It’s a start,” he said, wondering what he’d done wrong. Well, besides tell her he didn’t want to be her friend and then doing everything he could to not be alone with her so they could talk about it.
“Can the dog come?”
“I don’t think so.”
Tawny looked between him and Lazy Bones, and Tyler wasn’t sure what he’d do if she chose a golden retriever over him.
He squared his shoulders, feeling himself slipping behind that poker mask she’d said she hated, and waited.
Chapter Sixteen
Watching Tyler fade right before her eyes was freaky, and annoying. How easily he covered up everything he was thinking and feeling bothered her, and she couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
But the strings concert he’d mentioned was doing a holiday celebration, and Tawny had mentioned it to him as something she thought his family would enjoy. It was Christmasy and islandy, and everything a tourist should like.
“Fine,” she said, reaching for Lazy Bones’s collar. “You better get back in here, then, dog. We won’t have time to eat and get to the concert.”
“Oh, so we’re eating now too?”
“Of course.” She made a big show of checking her phone for the time before tilting it toward him. “It’s almost five o’clock.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m hungry.”
She laughed, her head tipping back and the ends of her hair tickling her bare shoulders. The sound silenced when his touch landed on her throat. Just one finger trailed a line from her chin to her collarbone, but it was easily the most sensual touch she’d ever experienced. When he let his hand fall back to his side, she was left cold and wanting.
Their eyes locked, and she couldn’t breathe. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he said, his voice somewhere stuck in his throat, making him sound husky.
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