Every Road to You

by Phyllis Bourne

  They continued down the breezy corridor, following the signs directing them to the rental-car counters.

  “So why did you let her think we were honeymooners?” Tia asked.

  He shrugged. “What was I supposed to say? The way you were all over me like a horny octopus.”

  Tia gave him the side-eye. “Yeah, you’re just sooo hot,” she said in a dry monotone.

  Ethan threw his head back in a guffaw. Unable to maintain her deadpan expression, Tia joined in. She felt as light and airy as the sound of their laughter riding the gentle breeze.

  Twenty minutes later, they zoomed down the expressway flanked by palm trees and buildings on one side and a view of the sun shimmering against the ocean on the other. Tia sat behind the wheel of a red Mustang convertible that had caught her eye on the rental-car lot. She changed lanes at the direction of the GPS navigating the route to the hotel Ethan had booked.

  “Now, back to my surprise,” she said, unable to get the delicious thrill of it out of her head.

  Ethan groaned. “I thought we’d already exhausted the topic.”

  “Nope. Now, how about I try to guess, and you tell me if I’m hot or cold?” she suggested.

  Ethan leaned toward her, lifted his Ray-Ban sunglasses and peered at the odometer. “Don’t you think you ought to slow down?” he asked over the wind whipping around them. “We don’t want another run-in with the law.”

  “Posted speed limits don’t apply to Mustangs, so just relax, Miss Daisy, and enjoy the ride.”

  She caught his smile out of the corner of her eye as he eased back into the passenger seat.

  “So does it come in a big box?”

  “Cold,” Ethan said.

  “Little box?”

  “Cold.”

  As Tia exited the highway, the white sands of Waikiki Beach peeked at them between rows of resort hotels. Spotting their hotel, she turned into the long, circular driveway leading to the lobby, where the valet welcomed them.

  “Any kind of box or bag?” Tia asked after they checked in and were riding the elevator up to their suite. Having little in the way of luggage, they’d waved off the bellman.

  “Ice-cold,” Ethan said. “You’re never going to guess, so you might as well just wait.”

  “For how long?”

  “Until I’m ready to spring it on you and not a second before.”

  Ethan ran the key card through the lock and pushed open the door to their one-bedroom suite. Tia gasped at the sight of the panoramic view, all thoughts and talk of surprises forgotten.

  She crossed the front room, opened the sliding glass door and walked out onto the balcony.

  “It’s breathtaking,” Tia said, taking in the picture-postcard sites of Diamond Head, the beach and the blue waters of the Pacific.

  She heard Ethan’s footsteps behind her and then felt his strong arms around her waist. Sighing, she relaxed into his embrace, which was so much more to her than being held. His hug was warm, solid and protective, and in his arms Tia felt something she’d never felt before—cherished.

  “Thank you for bringing me,” she said. “This is the perfect place to spend the rest of our vacation.”

  Ethan tightened his embrace. “I should be the one thanking you. From the very start, you’ve made this entire trip feel like a holiday.”

  Nuzzling her neck, he graced it with a series of kisses and a thrill went through her. “I promised you some spoiling, and I meant it.” He spun her around until they were facing each other. “What do you want to do first? Hit the beach? Shop? Snorkel? Play tourist?”

  “All of the above, all at the same time,” Tia said. “What about you?”

  “Anything that lets me see that gorgeous bod of yours in a bikini as quickly as possible.”

  “Well, shopping it is. We both need clothes anyway.”

  Ethan frowned. “I’m a guy. All I need is a pack of new underwear.”

  Tia rolled her eyes playfully. “Then I’m just going to have to dress you with the tackiest Hawaiian-print shirt on the island.”

  “You let me pick out your bikini, and I’ll gladly wear any shirt you choose.”

  “Deal.” Tia rose to tiptoe and kissed him to seal the agreement.

  It was unfathomable how a man who always looked so put together didn’t like to shop, Tia thought. Ethan had taken all of ten minutes to walk into the first men’s shop they’d come across at the Royal Hawaiian Center, select a few outfits, toss them on the counter, pay and leave.

  He held up his shopping bag. “Done. Now, let’s see about getting you properly outfitted.”

  Ethan took her by the elbow and ushered her into a boutique specializing in swimwear. Once inside, the man who loathed shopping did a complete turnaround. Tia watched in amazement as he began meticulously culling the racks of scandalously skimpy bikinis.

  A curvy redheaded salesclerk spotted them from across the store. Tia watched her eyes light up as they landed on Ethan. The clerk checked her firehouse-red lipstick in a nearby mirror before making a beeline in their direction.

  The bitchy part of Tia wanted to say the clerk was decent-looking in an overly obvious kind of way, but the truth was, the woman was downright gorgeous. She wore a jade bandage dress, which, combined with her vibrant red hair and caramel-kissed skin, made her look like a mermaid against the backdrop of swimsuits.

  Tia didn’t have to look down at her basic outfit of khaki shorts and a white T-shirt, a speed purchase from an airport sportswear shop during their layover in Portland, to know she looked shabby in comparison.

  “Don’t look now, but I think you have an admirer headed your way,” she told Ethan, fighting a twinge of jealousy.

  He held a barely there bikini up to her before returning it to the rack. “If you mean the redhead,” he said matter-of-factly, “she’s ogling one of us all right, but it’s not me.”

  Puzzled, Tia stared at him. Before she could grasp his meaning, the clerk was standing with them.

  “Can I help you pick out something?” The woman looked past Ethan directly at Tia.

  “We’re just looking at suits,” she replied.

  The clerk glanced from Tia’s empty ring finger to Ethan. “Husband?” she inquired.

  “We’re not married,” Ethan chimed in. “Just friends.”

  The redhead pulled a suit from the racks and held it out to her. It was hard to imagine a bikini more daring than the ones Ethan was combing through, but this was little more than a few strings strategically held together by gold rings.

  “How about trying on this one?” The clerk slid her tongue slowly over her bright red lips as she gave Tia another once-over. “With those legs, I’ll bet you’d look smoking-hot in it.”

  Tia gulped as realization dawned. The woman was coming on to her. “It’s way too risqué for my tastes,” she said aloud.

  “That’s a pity, because I’d love to see you model it,” the redhead said.

  Ethan nodded at the suit in approval. “Me, too.”

  Tia pulled a black one-piece swim dress. “I’ll take this.”

  The clerk frowned. “That’s something my grandmother would wear.”

  Ethan harrumphed and inclined his head toward Tia. “Thanks to her, my grandmother probably doesn’t even bother with a swimsuit anymore.”

  Not long afterward, they exited the store with the swim dress, two bikinis and a cell-phone number the clerk had discreetly stuck in an outer pocket of Tia’s purse along with the words Call me.

  Ethan carried their purchases in one hand and grasped hers with the other as they strolled down the wide corridor, milling around with shoppers and tourists. The melodic strains of a live band playing traditional island music filled the air.

  Tia looked down at their entwined fingers. “Oh, so you�
��re claiming me now.”

  “What?” he asked. However, the hint of a smirk on his handsome face told her he knew exactly what she meant.

  “You totally gave her the impression we weren’t, you know, together.”

  “Wasn’t it you who pointed out after I let the clerk at the lei cart assume we were honeymooners that we were just friends?”

  “Yeah, but...we’re more than friends...” She paused. “You’re twisting my words around.”

  “To ensure I get it right from now on, what word would you use to describe us?” Ethan asked.

  Tia glanced at their joined hands again. A swell of emotion settled in her chest, and she said the first word to pop into her head.

  “Happy.”

  * * *

  Tia had been so excited about the idea of a surprise, Ethan knew she’d be delighted when she discovered what he had in store for her tonight.

  She’d attempted to get it out of him during yesterday’s shopping excursion and walk along the beach, trying again today when they’d played tourist and visited a string of cultural and historic sites, including the Pearl Harbor Memorial.

  Ironically, he was the one anxious as he waited for her to emerge from the bathroom so they could get their evening under way. The word she’d used to describe their relationship tumbled around in his head.

  Happy.

  Ethan had dated plenty of women, but when he thought of those relationships, bland words like pleasant and nice came to mind. They’d offered pretty faces, sex and agreeable companionship, but none had sparked the deep-down emotion in him Tia had excavated in just a few days.

  It was like spending years dreaming in black-and-white, then suddenly awaking in a theater surrounded by a giant IMAX screen and thunderous surround sound.

  Tia had brought eye-popping color to his world, and he never wanted to go back.

  Happy. It was what the woman on the other side of the door made him, and what he wanted to make her for as long as she allowed him in her life.

  “Almost ready,” Tia called out.

  Ethan patted the two tickets in the front pocket of the eyesore of a Hawaiian shirt she’d bought for him as a joke yesterday. The tickets had been dropped off at the hotel front desk for him, and he’d picked them up this morning.

  Now he could hardly wait to see the expression on her pretty face.

  Tia walked out of the bathroom, and Ethan did a double take. He’d told her to dress casually, and she wore a hot-pink T-shirt dress, which would have looked plain on any other woman. However, as she did with life, she brought a little something extra to it with glittering chandelier earrings and strappy, high-heeled sandals that showcased her endless legs.

  “You look amazing,” he said.

  The smile he’d grown to adore spread over her peach-glossed lips. “And you look entirely too good for a man wearing a black shirt covered in neon palm trees and hula dancers. I’m not sure, but I think the clerk said it glows in the dark.”

  “A deal’s a deal,” Ethan said. “You wore the bikini I picked out for you to the beach yesterday.”

  Tia raised a brow. “And the barely there one the clerk at the swimsuit store chose in the bedroom last night.”

  Ethan’s cock stiffened at the memory of tugging the strands of the practically nonexistent garment between his teeth before it collapsed in a puddle of string at Tia’s feet.

  He pulled her into his arms and inhaled the soft scent of jasmine. “What can I say, your admirer has excellent taste in both bikinis and women,” he said between trailing kisses down her throat.

  “You keep kissing me like that, and the only place we’ll be headed is back to bed.”

  Exhaling, Ethan slowly released her. “As much as I love the idea, we can’t,” he said. “It’s time for the surprise I promised you.”

  Tia squealed and clasped her hands. “Really?”

  She bubbled over with contagious excitement, and Ethan loved every moment of it. He knew if he wasn’t careful he could very well end up loving her. Maybe I already do.

  Ethan blinked, rocked by the errant thought. It was way too soon. The road trip and now being with her on this beautiful island was playing tricks on his mind, he reasoned.

  “So tell me!” Tia’s voice prodded him back into the moment.

  Ethan looped her arm through his and walked them to the door. “I’d rather show you.”

  The sun had set, but darkness had yet to fall as Ethan drove the Mustang with the top down the short distance. As they got closer to the island’s arena, traffic slowed to a standstill. He’d been warned the venue would be packed tonight and had allowed time for crowds and parking.

  “What’s going on?” Tia looked at the sea of taillights in front of them and the horde of people walking in the same direction for the one-night event.

  Ethan remained mute.

  “Oh, my God, Wangs!” Tia’s gleeful shriek filled the air as the arena’s marquee came into view. She broke into the car version of a happy dance as Ethan turned into the parking lot, the heels of her strappy sandals tapping against the floorboards. “I don’t believe it. Wangs!” she screamed again, and Ethan winced.

  Oblivious to the eardrum she’d nearly shattered, Tia threw her arms around his neck and rained kisses on his face as he parked the car. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

  Ethan patted the slender arm around his neck. “You’d better save some of your excitement or you’ll be all screamed out by the time the concert starts.”

  In reality, her elation made him feel incredible, and he was glad he could do something to put a huge smile on her beautiful face. He wanted to make this a night she’d never forget.

  Tia’s jaw dropped again after the arena usher examined their tickets and led them through the throngs of boisterous fans to VIP floor seats in the first row.

  She looked at the still-dark stage and back at him. “How on earth did you pull this off?” she asked. “The Wangs tour sold out minutes after tickets went on sale. I know. I tried to get tickets to shows in Nashville, Atlanta, Memphis and Saint Louis with no luck.”

  Ethan shrugged. “A favor from a friend.”

  “This is all so wonderful.” She glanced around. “I wish I could thank your friend.”

  “You’ll get your chance,” Ethan said

  She didn’t hear him. His words were lost in the thumping beat as the curtains parted and a blinged-out Jeffery Ritchie, known to the audience as Wangs, stormed the stage in a dramatic burst of flames and began working his magic on a packed house of eight thousand strong.

  For the next hour and a half, Ethan endured a litany of songs with two-word lyrics accompanied by spectacular special effects and what even he had to admit were decent beats. Just when he thought he’d had enough of hearing Jeffrey’s repertoire of songs, including “Break Down,” “Hold Up,” “Hot Body” and, of course, “2-Piece,” he’d glance over at Tia.

  She’d been on her feet for nearly the entire concert, swinging her arms in the air and singing her heart out. As he watched her, there was nothing more important to him than her happiness.

  The concert was winding down, and Wangs launched into the title cut of his upcoming album.

  “Wang-It, Wang-It, Wang-It. W-W-Wang-It, Wang-It, Wang-It. W-W-Wang...”

  Ethan smiled to himself, his own two-word song forming in his head. “Last song, last song, last song,” he mumbled to the beat.

  Jeffrey turned the microphone in his hand toward the audience. “Y’all know the words,” he said, and it was all Ethan could do not to burst into laughter. Of course everyone knew the words, all two of them.

  “Sing it with me,” Jeffrey said.

  Tia nudged Ethan. “Come on,” she shouted over the crowd. “Pull the stick out of your rump and sing along.”

 
Ethan looked around at the crowd and then at the infectious grin on Tia’s face. Oh, what the hell, he thought as he threw his hands in the air and sang.

  When the song was over, a stagehand brought Jeffrey a glass of water and a stool to sit on. Ethan glanced over at Tia and then to the stage.

  “Usually, this is where I say my good-night, but I hope y’all will bear with me for one more number,” Jeffrey said, and the crowd erupted into raucous applause. “This is something different for me. I wrote this song a while back. It isn’t on my new album because I was waiting for the perfect time.”

  Again, the crowd applauded their support. “The perfect time is tonight,” he said. “A friend of mine is here with a woman he says means an awful lot to him.”

  Tia turned to Ethan. “How sweet,” she gushed. “What a lucky woman.”

  Jeffrey continued, “In the few days he’s known her, this woman has managed to turn his world upside down. Now he can’t imagine his life without her in it.”

  Ethan looked over at Tia, who was staring up at the stage still totally oblivious to the woman’s identity.

  “Tia Gray,” Wangs said as the spotlight on him shifted to the front row, “this is Ethan’s surprise.”

  Wangs left his two-word lyrics behind and launched into a smooth R & B ballad, shocking the audience into stunned silence. The sounds of his deep baritone filled the arena, and even Ethan was taken aback by his rich, velvet voice.

  Openmouthed, Tia turned away from the stage. Her gaze connected with Ethan’s and his heart nearly exploded with emotion.

  Tears brimmed in her beautiful brown eyes as her favorite artist serenaded them. He sang of being swept up in a whirlwind romance and finding love where you least expect it.

  Ethan swiped away the tear rolling down Tia’s cheek with his thumb. She smiled at him and in that very moment he knew. It wasn’t the trip or the island magic playing tricks on him. Tia Gray owned his mind and his heart.

  He enveloped her in his arms and breathed in the scent of her hair as she leaned back into his chest. An audience of thousands faded into the background as Jeffrey sang. The artist known for nonsensical two-word hits had somehow perfectly articulated Ethan’s feelings for the woman in his embrace through his music.