“It doesn’t quite work that way,” Kai helps me.
“You’re telling me if my dad kissed you, you wouldn’t be happy forever?” Aya continues.
“I mean—” Kai is stumped on this one, and my dad look toward Aya isn’t working like it should.
“Go to bed,” I tell her.
“Story first,” she argues. “Then you two can kiss.”
Kai covers her face, which is turning red beneath her hand. “Aya Rossdale. Get your butt to bed.”
She rolls her eyes at me, like she’s gotten great at doing, and stomps up the stairs. “I’m so sorry,” I tell Kai.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that with your ex, or at least that’s who I’m assuming she was. I wouldn’t think you’d be paying off someone else stay away. I hope.”
“Oh my God, yes, that was Isla,” I whisper. “I’m sorry. I wish you didn’t have to see that. I wish I didn’t have to see that.”
“I wish I weren’t even more attracted to you at this particular moment,” Kai says under her breath. “The way you handled that was incredible. Your ability to stay calm in heated situations is sexy, Denver.” His composed demeanor is like a fetish to me.
“Kai,” I mutter. “Knock it off.”
She fans herself. “I can’t help it.”
“Damn you. I need a minute to cool down before I get worked up again, and for a completely different reason.”
“I’ll go read Aya that bedtime story, and you go take a cold shower. How about that?”
“Who are you?” I ask her. The woman with daggers in her eyes who would let no one think they had an effect on her has completely transformed into this ravenous woman on the prowl for more of what she’s only had a taste of.
“A woman with a desperate thirst,” she says as she walks past me, scratching her fingernails against my stomach on the way. Why do women keep trying to torture me? What am I doing so wrong? God.
24
KAI
I’ve obviously known about the wedding for the last six months now, but um, the venue was a “secret” until last week. At least, Lea thought it was a secret, but if the location is a secret, it wasn’t hard to guess what she was hiding. My sister—my flesh and blood—is getting married at Man Buns. How, just how in the universe is this real? And why would Noa request his waiters be groomsmen in their “Man Bun” uniforms? What man wants this for his wedding day?
The pictures are going to look ridiculous. “Is this not the best wedding you’ve ever seen?” Lea asks me with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen her have.
Be nice, Kai. Be nice. “How could it not be? My baby sister is getting married here.”
“You’re walking back down the aisle with Denver after the ceremony. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge. Maybe that’ll spark an idea for you two,” she sings.
If it sparks any idea for us, it will not take place here, and he will be wearing more than underwear, I hope.
I wasn’t aware Noa even had this many waiters working here. Nothing like being saluted by a bunch of dicks as you walk down the aisle.
“You look beautiful, Lea.” This isn’t perfect, and it’s making me crazy.
It’s not my day. I have to keep my mouth shut.
“Look,” Lea says, turning around to face me. As perfect as any woman could look on her wedding day, she fits the mark and beyond. Lea places her hands on my shoulders and releases a satisfied sigh. “Would I have preferred the bed-and-breakfast on the cliff? Yes, but then I realized how many memories were associated with it, and I didn’t want sadness associated with today. I want to be happy. I want to smile and laugh. I want silly memories attached to each and every moment of today. I want to think back and laugh, not cry, at the thought of missing sentimental traditions.”
All I can do is smile because she’s right. She’s completely right. Though I may have chosen to dress half of the wedding party more appropriately, I will always remember this day and laugh. “I can support that,” I tell her.
“Good, now walk me down the aisle,” she tells me. With one last Lea smile, she pulls her veil over her face and reaches her hand out for mine. “Let’s get me married.”
The moment Lea takes my hand, a rush of emotions pours through me, and my throat swells. Tears threaten to erupt, but I stop them because I’ve learned to make them halt on my internal command. I take a deep breath, I squeeze her hand, and selfishly wish I didn’t have to let her go. For almost eleven years now, I’ve been taking care of her, and now it feels like my job is done.
We walk in silence out of the locker room and through the swinging door, facing the crowd. Noa had the restaurant rearranged to make space for rows of chairs, which are filled with hotel staff and a spattering of very distant relatives from our side and a few of Noa’s. Thank God, Noa is dressed.
We walk slowly down the aisle, and I cup my other hand over our already clasped hands. I can’t let go. How do dads do this? I feel like I’m giving Lea away to someone after I fought so hard to keep her.
The aisle ends faster than I wish, and Noa is standing in front of us, waiting to take Lea’s hand from my death grip. I release her but throw my arms around her neck and squeeze to match the tightness in my chest. “I love you so much, Lea. It hurts. It hurts to let you go.”
“I’m just getting married,” she chokes out. “I’m not leaving you. You’re my sister. Forever. Unless you continue to strangle me right now.”
Lea’s long-stemmed flower is placed in my clenched fist as hands curve around my waist, pulling me off of Lea. “Sweetie, come on,” Denver whispers in my ear. “Everyone is watching. It’s okay.”
Denver’s words soothe me as they usually do. He has a calming effect on me like no one else has ever had. I move to my designated spot, forced to face the line of men in their tight black shorts and protruding stuffed pecker pops. Except for Denver, of course. He doesn’t need to stuff. I try to blur my vision to avoid most of the sight, so I can listen to the exchanging of their vows.
I catch the looks on their faces, finding pure bliss and happiness, and everything else seems to fade into the background. All I’ve ever wanted is for Lea to be happy. I put myself aside, gave myself that job, and knew if I could accomplish that everything would be okay.
The words, blessings, vows, and exchange of rings seems to happen within a blink of my eye, and before I know it, they’re already exchanging their first kiss as man and wife. Everyone is cheering, and a single tear involuntarily falls from the corner of my eye. She belongs to someone else now. I’m done.
Lea takes back the long-stemmed bird of paradise flower from me as she places a kiss on my cheek, whispering “Thank you,” before shouting, “I did it!”
Music blares from the speakers above and the song “My Humps” from Black Eyed Peas plays.
What the hell?
I cover my face, confused by my weirdo sister and my new weirdo brother-in-law. Dear God. There’s two of them. How? Denver grabs my hand that’s still over my face and loops it through his arm. He kisses my knuckles and holds my hand against his bare chest. “You did a great job,” he says beneath his breath.
“‘My Humps?’ Seriously?”
“She wants everyone to laugh. That’s what we need to do for her today.” When my eyes focus on the aisle in front of us, I notice everyone dancing in their seats, some even inappropriately. It does, in fact, make me laugh. “Kai, come over here with me for a minute. You need to breathe.” When we reach the end of the aisle, we break away from the crowd and leave the restaurant.
The fresh air feels good to inhale.
We walk over to Denver’s truck. He opens the door and slides into the driver’s seat.
“What are you doing?” I ask him.
“Putting clothes on,” he replies with laughter. “Noa will pay for that in some way. Just not sure how yet.”
Denver slips on a pair of black board shorts and a breezy, baby blue, button-down shirt. After six months, my heart still palpitates when I take
a minute to look at his flawless, natural beauty. I’m not sure how he ended up mine per-say, but I haven’t complained once. He’s my other half, the butt of my jokes, the period to my sentences, and the sun that was missing from my sky.
“I think they’re doing pictures soon,” I tell Denver.
“Noa told me they were taking an hour to themselves. I’m not sure Lea knew. He’s having the bar open inside, though. I figured we could go grab Aya for the reception. He told me the waiters will be dressed for that part.”
“Thank God,” I tell him. “That sounds like a good plan.”
“Come here for a second, though. Did you see what was across the street? I hadn’t looked before last week, but I saw a weird reflection, and I needed to see what it was.”
“Isn’t it just water?” I ask him.
“No, it’s not.”
“Oh.” I guess I hadn’t looked past the grassy area. Denver takes my hand, and we scurry across the street to the other side. I’ve spent the last six months trying to show Denver every inch of Maui, but he’s determined to find places I don’t know about. He hasn’t managed to yet, but I’m not giving up hope in him.
We get to the other side and walk up to the cliff’s edge—a drop-off I didn’t know was here. I actually had no idea how high up we were.
“Look down there,” Denver points.
There’s a sandbar in between a mess of rocks, and there’s writing in the sand.
“Kai—” Denver says softly.
I’m still looking at the words.
The question mark.
The etched heart.
“I didn’t think I’d ever find someone who shared my interests, beliefs, desires, and sense of humor. I didn’t think I’d find you. I was ready to spend my life as a single parent, knowing it was my one job on earth ... kind of like you. We both love others more than we love ourselves, and I think that’s what made me realize we are meant for each other.”
I finally turn my head to face Denver, who’s on his knee, holding a small suede box open with a gorgeous diamond ring lying on top of a white hibiscus flower.
“Do you remember that day you were in Oahu, passing by a stand on the boardwalk, and a man in uniform asked you if you had an interest in joining the Marine Corps?”
“How did you know …” I ask, startled to be reminded of that day, and the fact that he somehow knows. “I do. I ... I said—”
“If I wanted to go dig holes in the sand, I’d go to the beach,” Denver repeats the rude response I offered the poor recruiter on a really crappy day I was having.
“How do you know that?”
“It was me. I took down your name and your fake phone number but kept it in my wallet to remind me of the day I heard the funniest damn response to the same question I had asked people four hundred times a day.”
Denver pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket. It’s torn and on notebook paper. It says:
Kai Lana / 222-222-8008.
Maybe another time …
Thanks for the chat.
“I gave you my boob number.” That was what I did when men asked for my number, no matter what the reason was.
“You did, and I think I spent the next few hours laughing after you left. I didn’t recognize you at first, but the day Noa introduced you, I couldn’t get your name out of my head. I couldn’t figure out why until the middle of that night when I woke up out of a dead sleep to go find that piece of paper I kept stuffed in my wallet for a good laugh when I needed it.”
“That was you?” I ask, forgetting all the rest.
“I think we were meant to be together. I’ve been thinking that since the night I found that paper.”
“I was supposed to visit a friend for a weekend in Oahu, and she never showed at the port, so I spent the day wandering around the island. I had no other reason to be there,” I tell him.
“Me. I was your reason.”
“I think so,” I agree.
“Will you marry me, Kai? Will you take Aya into your life and form a family with me? I love you. I love you so damn much it hurts to be away from you when we aren’t together. I love you so much that my heart pounds when I see you kiss Aya on the cheek and hug her after she’s been crying. I love you so much for filling a role in her life so seamlessly. I love you for filling the empty space in my heart.
“Normally, I wouldn’t think of stealing anyone else’s thunder on their wedding day, nor do I intend for us to announce anything today if you were to say yes, but I know how much it hurts for you to give up your self-made purpose in life of caring for another person, ensuring their safety and happiness, and I want you to know that we need you for that same exact reason. You’re wanted by us so badly, and we want to be that for you too.”
The tears, that have remained dormant for more than ten years before today, slip down my cheeks one by one, as I’m mesmerized by Denver’s understanding of my life’s desires to ensure the happiness of others. I don’t need to consider this answer. There is no question in my mind that this is what’s right for me.
“I want to marry you, and I want Aya in my life more than I’ve wanted anything else before.”
Denver takes my hand and kisses my ring finger. Tonight, after the reception, I’ll put the ring on your finger. I know you want today to be about Lea.”
His sentiment makes me tear up again, and his understanding of every little thing that matters to me means everything. “I love you so much, Denver. So much.”
Denver removes the flower from the ring box before closing it back up and slipping it into his pocket. His smile is for me. He’s beaming, and I feel the same way inside. “Here,” he says, tucking the white flower gently behind my ear as he has done so many times before today. “You know what this white flower means until that ring is on your finger tonight. After I put that ring on your finger, I can finally let the world know you belong to me.”
“You’re a dream—a beautiful, wonderful, perfect dream, especially after all the dreamless nights I’ve lived through.”
Denver cups my face within his hands and kisses me hard, stealing my breath, leaving me weightless in the soft breeze of warm air. “If this is a dream, then I can’t wait to see what happens when I go to sleep tonight,” he mutters against my lips.
“Let’s go get our girl,” I tell him. “Does she know?”
“No, I wanted you to tell her,” Denver says. “Her only wish has been for you to be a part of her life, and I want to watch her wish come true.”
“Thank you,” I tell him.
“I did ask Lea, by the way. She doesn’t know I couldn’t wait past today, but she knows it’s coming.”
“You asked her?” I choke out.
“You think you’ve been taking care of her all these years, but for some reason, I don’t think you realize how much you’ve needed her too. She worries about you more than you think. I’ve had many talks with her, and God, that girl just wants you to be happy, Kai. She told me she would pay me to take you.”
“What?” My heart stops for a brief moment.
“I’m kidding. Well, she was kidding. She screamed so loud, I thought my ear drum burst. She’s all for us, without a doubt.”
“She’s wanted me to find someone since I was eighteen.”
“I’m glad you waited,” he tells me.
“I knew there was a reason. I just never realized I was meant to be with Wonder Buns.”
“Hey now. Easy. I’m only formally known as Wonder Buns to you.”
“Sorry, Sergeant Wonder Beach Buns.”
Epilogue Part one
DENVER
I don’t know why I’m shaking as we walk into the house to relieve Aya’s babysitter, but my excitement is overwhelming, knowing not only have I gotten my wish, but she’s about to get hers too.
“We’re back. Are you ready to get your dance on, kiddo?” I shout from the front door.
Aya runs down the stairs a mile a minute, followed by Mary, our neighbor and babysitter.
“She’s just a little excited,” Mary says, shaking her head with laughter.
“You look beautiful,” Kai tells Aya.
“So do you,” she says.
“I have something for you. I think it will go with your dress perfectly.” Hearing this surprises me because I didn’t know Kai had anything to give Aya today.
“You do?” Aya asks, jumping up and down.
“Come here.”
“I’ll see you kids later,” Mary says after I hand her a pre-written check.
“Thanks, Mary!” I say as she leaves.
My focus is drawn to the center of the room where I watch Kai slip down to her knees. She reaches around her neck and unclasps the necklace she’s wearing.
“This was my mom’s. These shells are curled into each other tightly to hold onto wishes. They can only take them in because they’re too tight to let them back out. So, when you make a wish, it stays put, resting against your heart until it comes true. The shells can hold as many wishes as you like, and they’ll be kept safe.”
“Really?” Aya says, enamored by Kai’s explanation.
“I want you to have this necklace, Aya.”
“But it’s your mom’s? I don’t want to take that from you,” Aya tells her.
Isla left Aya with nothing, yet somehow, she knows the importance of keepsakes. I don’t know how I managed to instill that type of understanding into such a fragile mind.
“What would you think if I told you your Dad and I are going to get married, and I’m going to become your stepmom?”
My throat swells with a knot I’m trying to keep down, but my heart is fucking hurting like hell right now while watching the look on Aya’s innocent face.
“You want to be my stepmom?” she asks through tears.
“I want to be everything I can be for you and more, Aya. I love you so much I can’t stand the thought of not being with you every day.” She stole my words, but I can hear how much she means them.
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