Love by Design

by Chris Keniston

  “You shouldn’t be empty-handed.” Billy shoved a beer at him.

  “Thanks.” John tipped the rim of the bottle in Billy’s direction.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Maggie so…flummoxed.”

  Chuckling, John nodded in agreement. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen her so rattled that she’s forgotten herself.”

  “She is always rather put together, isn’t she?”

  John nodded again. Maggie was the epitome of put together, and he couldn’t be more pleased to see her so at ease and so happy.

  “You got any plans to do more diving with all that equipment you bought?”

  “Actually I was thinking it might be nice to catch a ride on the boat tomorrow, if you’ve got the space.” Once again he cast a casual glance around the room; he’d expected to see Ava here. Had hoped to see her.

  “What about your sisters?” Billy asked.

  The question had John dragging his attention away from scanning the guests to considering Billy’s question. He honestly had no idea if his sisters dived. Did they? They’d taken classes alongside him that first time, but he couldn’t remember them ever trying it again. Not in any hurry to go home and visit with his father, he’d not seen family much during his tour in the navy, and then, once he’d moved to California, there was building the business to occupy his time. Visits with his East Coast siblings had been short and few. “I don’t know.”

  “You just let me know, and we’ll make room for everyone.”

  “Will do.” He supposed he should find where the girls had gone off to. In his quest to locate Ava, he’d lost track of all his sisters.

  “Hey, big boy.” An extremely pregnant woman waddled up beside Billy, her hand softly rubbing circles along the side of her tummy. “It’s time.”

  “Okay. Right. Time.” Billy’s eyes circled round; he looked left, then right. With every passing second the whites of his eyes widened on the periphery of very dark and nervous eyes. “I should get the car.”

  “No.” His wife grabbed his arm to stop him from bolting toward the door. “Your mother says it’s time to make the call.”

  “Call?” Billy seemed so lost. Not what John would have expected from the man he’d been getting to know the last two days.

  “You know, about the fireworks.”

  “Oh.” The weight of the world seemed to roll off Billy’s shoulders. “Right. The fireworks. I’ll take care of it.”

  “Fireworks?” John asked.

  “For your sister’s birthday. Can’t celebrate a milestone without some fireworks.”

  “I don’t know that Maggie’s ever had fireworks just for her.” At least not the kind lit with a match. About to ask more about the evening’s plans, John stilled over the small prickle at the back of his neck. She was near. He was sure.

  Off to his left, the doors had opened and in came Ava. With a man. And not a bad-looking one either. Both their faces were lit up like kids in a toy factory, and John found himself wishing he were the one to put that smile on her face. And where had that come from?

  “…don’t you think?” Angela’s soft voice penetrated his thoughts. Only he had no idea what he was supposed to think.

  Tracking Ava and her friend—or was it her boyfriend?—he’d lost the thread of the conversation. “I’m sorry. What was that?”

  “I’m sure she’ll love it. Don’t you think?”

  “Who wouldn’t?” Hopefully they were still talking about Maggie and the fireworks. And if they’d moved on, for all he knew, he might have just agreed that running naked down Main Street was a good thing.

  Billy clinked his beer against John’s. “A buddy of mine from high school has been in the fireworks business for a few years. He’s always happy to get a gig off-season.”

  “I look forward to the show.”

  “There won’t be a show if someone doesn’t tell Ted it’s time.” Angela smiled up at her husband, and John wished, just once, he could be on the other end of a smile meant only for him. No strings—or price tags—attached.

  Billy nodded at his wife and hurriedly made his way out the patio door.

  “Some days I wonder what I’m going to do with that man.” Angela’s gaze remained fixed on her husband, following his path across the yard toward the beach.

  John held back a chuckle. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

  “Yeah.” Angela nodded, laughing, and tapped her tummy. “I’m sure we will at that.”

  “Is this your first?”

  “It is.”

  “I thought as much, when Billy broke out in a sweat, when he thought you were in labor.”

  “That man can face a ticking bomb and remain completely composed but mention a little baby, and he practically falls apart.”

  “Any idea if you’re having a girl or a boy?”

  “A girl and she’s going to have my husband totally wrapped around her little finger.”

  “Don’t all little girls?” He smiled.

  “I suppose they…do.” She missed a beat and stuck her hand out to rest on his arm. “I don’t suppose you’re here looking for a wife?”

  “I beg your pardon?” Until now he’d thought Angela to be quite pleasant. And normal. Now he wasn’t so sure.

  “My mother-in-law is heading this way, and she’s got Sara Alani in tow and a determined look in her eye.”

  It took him a few seconds to home in where Angela was staring. Billy’s mother was, indeed, working her way in their direction, pausing occasionally to respond to a guest’s comment, never letting go of an attractive redhead.

  “What makes you think she’s coming here?”

  Angela tilted her head at him, as though carefully weighing her words. “Call it the voice of experience. Besides, quite frankly, you’re the only single male here she hasn’t already tried to match up with Sara.”

  He turned back in the woman’s direction. The redhead, Sara, from what he could make out, was of average build with a cute figure and, at first glance, didn’t appear to be the sort who would need help finding a mate. But, instead of making eye contact to further explore the woman’s assets as she moved in his direction, he found himself scanning the immediate area in search of Ava. Damn. He was in big trouble.

  Chapter Twelve

  “You’re shitting me?”

  “Nope. Old man Smythe came within inches of dumping the champagne on his head.” Ava let out a small chuckle. “Mary, the office receptionist, said good old Stanley turned purple, as the delivery guys dropped all one hundred bags of coffee on his desk.”

  “What an asshole.” Kenny brushed his knuckles lightly across her chin. “You’re better off without them.”

  “A week ago I might not have agreed with you.”

  “Something good happen this week?”

  “Really good. I was invited—”

  “Get your hands off my sister.” His gaze boring into Kenny, Billy stomped in their direction.

  If not for the lilt Ava detected in her brother’s voice, she might have jumped out of her skin. She’d heard how things had gone down, when Billy found out his friend Doug had slept with their sister Emily. Not that Ava had ever slept with Kenny. As a matter of fact, that momentary gesture of comfort was probably the only time he’d ever touched her, other than those twirling hugs she’d finally gotten used to. But, just the same, the middle of Magnolia’s birthday party would not be a good place for Billy to rip off Kenny’s head for no good reason.

  Immediately Kenny’s hands went up in the air, palms out. “Hey, man, my hands are nowhere near your sister.”

  “Yeah, but you were thinking about it.” Billy both accused and grinned at the same time.

  A hint of pink tinged the tip of Kenny’s ears, and, for the first time in all the visits this man had made to Kona throughout the years, she wondered if he really had been thinking of making a move on her.

  Before she could say a word, Billy slapped his friend on the back, a little harder than she
thought necessary, and, for just a few seconds, by the way Kenny shifted his weight, she wondered if they weren’t going to wind up wrestling on the floor. Men.

  “Okay, boys.” An ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure. “Play nice.”

  “We are,” they both echoed.

  “That’s debatable. You both have that look on your face.”

  “What look?” the two repeated, each looking less innocent than the other.

  “The same one you had before you broke Mom’s table arm wrestling, and the time our neighbors’ daughter came home for spring break with her beautiful and blonde best friend, and—”

  Billy raised his hands, palm out, looking around to see who might have been listening. “Point made.”

  Ava knew full well, now that her brother was married, how he hated anyone telling stories of his bachelor escapades. And from what she’d heard, there had been quite a few. Especially if any of his navy buddies had joined him at home on leave. Most likely that was one of the many reasons she’d never paid any attention to his navy friends. Regardless of the honor code about sisters, she’d thought too much of herself to be a notch on some semper fi bedpost.

  “Now that we’ve settled that”—Ava shoved a corn chip into the guacamole—”sun’s pretty much set. When are the fireworks?” Hefting up a nice chunk, she took a bite.

  “I was on my way.” Billy slapped Kenny on the back again, just as hard as he had before, and hurried past them and down the hillside.

  Kenny’s gaze followed his friend until he was nearly out of sight, and then, with a look more serious than she’d ever remembered seeing, he seemed to study every inch of her face. “Sometimes I wonder if…” His gaze ran across her face once more and leveled with hers.

  Swallowing hard, she prompted, “If what?”

  He shook his head, took a step back and plastered on a bright smile.

  The one she’d been accustomed to seeing and felt sure hid a whirlpool of emotions he and all her brother’s buddies no doubt hid from the world.

  “If that brother of yours will ever think of you as grown-up.”

  “Not a chance.”

  Together they roared with laughter, and Ava relaxed, once again in familiar territory. For a few seconds she actually thought Kenny was going to hit on her, and the idea had her heart racing for all the wrong reasons. She’d still been in high school the first time Billy had brought Kenny and Brooklyn home on leave. She and her friends had been smitten by the two charming SEALs, but they’d never treated her like anything but another baby sister. Something she was surprised to discover she didn’t want to change. And wasn’t that a damn shame?

  * * *

  “So lovely to see you again.” Maile Everrett sported a broad smile that shouted Welcome to Hawaii. Put up your feet, relax, have a mai tai, be happy. “I see you met my daughter-in-law.”

  “We’ve been having a nice visit,” Angela said.

  Despite Angela’s warning about her approaching mother-in-law, Angela’s affectionate tone of voice told John that Billy’s wife was actually quite fond of the matchmaker. He wondered if maybe the older woman had somehow had a hand in finding her son a wife.

  “Have you had a chance to meet another friend of the family?” Maile waved casually to the woman beside her. “This is Sara Alani.”

  The plastic smile on the redhead beside Maile, with a hint of panic in her eyes, told John that this wasn’t the first time the pretty woman found herself being dragged and introduced to a man. No doubt he could add to Maile’s welcome: Relax, be happy, have a wife. If not for Sara’s obvious discomfort, he would have laughed at the thought.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” he offered.

  “Will you be staying long?” Sara shifted her weight slightly and glanced over his shoulder before resuming eye contact.

  “That’s still to be determined.”

  Maile’s eyes grew large. “I thought you’d be with us at least a month?”

  Sara’s attention wandered off to the other side of the room again. Curiosity getting the better of him, John slanted a glance in the same direction. Across the massive living area, Ava and her friend stood by the patio doors, heads together, laughing.

  “The plan is for a month. That way we’ll have plenty of time to see the island,” Maggie answered for him. Her eyes lit with excitement, she ignored her brother’s cryptic response. “You’ve got to experience Kilauea. We could also run to the other islands.”

  He dragged his attention back to his sister. “We’ll see.”

  The gleam in Maggie’s eyes instantly faded. “You work too hard. Everyone needs a little time off.”

  “Our Maggie is right. Hard work is good for the purse, but laughter and family is good for the soul.” Maile turned to Sara. “Isn’t that right, dear?”

  Sara slung her arm around Maile’s shoulder and squeezed her in. “And almost-family too.”

  The older woman nearly jiggled with contentment and beamed up at the redhead before leaning away and readdressing John. “So what is it you do that you work so hard?”

  “Construction.”

  “Oh, how nice. Do you know anything about plumbing? Twice in the last six months the darn toilet upstairs has leaked into the living room. My son keeps telling me that he’s fixed it, but, bless my Billy, he’s a better fish than plumber.”

  John chuckled at that. He had a feeling any guy who could disarm bombs for a living, while underwater, was most likely more than capable of fixing a leaking toilet and probably knew more about it than he did. “I’d be happy to take a look, but I’m sure, if Billy thinks the problem is solved—”

  “Wonderful. You come by whenever you’re free.”

  “Would tomorrow work?”

  Maile lit up. “That would be wonderful. Now, if you young people will excuse me, I need to go check on my son and the little surprise we have planned.”

  The moment Maile was out of earshot Sara blew out a deep breath. “Sorry about that.”

  “About what?” John asked.

  “On behalf of all the single daughters on the Big Island, I apologize in advance for the parade of available women who are most likely to be thrust upon you during your stay.”

  John could no longer hold back a laugh. “How many mothers am I bound to run into?”

  “Well, there’s my mother. Even though Maile has already seen to it that we meet, I’m sure my mom will come up with another reason we need to be thrown together. Preferably in a confined space for a long duration.”

  “They’re not that bad.” Fingers at her mouth, Maggie failed to hide the slight grin.

  Sara’s brows rose. “Have you forgotten the golfers’ weekend?”

  Maggie chuckled in earnest. “No. Can’t say that I have.”

  “Golfers’ weekend?” John asked.

  “The dive shop had a group of men from New York fly in for a week’s vacation. They booked three days diving with us, and the other days were to be spent on the golf course. The first day Maile realized that one of the men was single.”

  “And how did she know that?”

  “You mean, besides the fact that he was the only one not wearing a ring?”

  “That wasn’t enough?”

  Sara shook her head. “No, Maile uses her coconut fritters like a truth serum. She just happened to be at the shop at the end of the dive to offer up fresh, warm fritters. And by the time the men were done scarfing down the snacks, she knew everything about them, including their mothers’ maiden names and a good guess at their net worth.”

  Still smiling, Maggie shrugged at her brother. “She is good.”

  “What I still can’t figure out,” Sara continued, “is how she managed to get you and Mr. Single Rich Executive alone on that boat for so long without the others finding you.”

  Maggie waved a hand. “The woman is a plotting master. I gave up trying to figure out how she managed to maneuver everyone so casually, and yet none of the other guys figured out that Byron was shanghaie
d.”

  “So, in other words, I can expect to be shanghaied?” John asked, holding back a chuckle, but wondering if perhaps the Everrett woman was more dangerous than eccentric.

  “Probably not. But, if you don’t take a fancy to any of the single daughters, they’ll find someone else to entice you.”

  “I suppose it won’t help to mention to her that I’m not looking?”

  “You could tell her you’re gay. That might get you off the hook.”

  John shook his head. “I think I’ll take my chances. Besides, if all the single women on the island are as beautiful as you and my sisters, how bad can it be?”

  Sara’s eyes widened slightly and then a hint of pink touched her cheeks.

  Surely she had to know she was a beautiful woman?

  “Thank you,” Sara said, her voice coming out softly. “I’d better make the rounds, before the mothers start planning our honeymoon.”

  Sara wandered off, leaving John smiling behind her. She was pretty and nice. And had no idea he had money. Maybe it wouldn’t kill him to invite her to lunch or for coffee.

  “Construction?” Maggie broke into his thoughts.

  “Yes.”

  “You made it sound like you frame houses or pour foundations.”

  “I know. But I didn’t lie.”

  “No. But you did leave out quite a bit.”

  That was the plan. For the duration of his stay in Kona, words like billionaire, jet-setter, and mogul would not be part of his vocabulary. “And I like it that way. Does anyone here know about the Maplewood family?”

  Maggie’s eyes drifted to her drink a moment, before she raised them to meet his. “No.”

  “There’s much to be said for being just one of the guys.”