Early One Morning (Love in Oahu Book 1)

by Aubree Lane

  It was hard for Marissa to imagine she could be that far off base believing her husband wouldn’t have a problem with her giving Terence one teeny tiny little kiss. David loved her, and she loved him. He would understand that it wasn’t a big deal.

  But if that were true, then why did she sneak out this morning? Marissa knew the kiss meant nothing in the grand scope of their marriage, but did David? Would he truly understand? That nagging thought kept her awake all night. The possibility she was wrong and that she might hurt her husband haunted her.

  The short walk down to the marina gave her one last opportunity to rethink her decision. The closer she grew, the more anxious she became. It was only a kiss, but more and more she felt torn. On one side of the coin, there was guilt. On the other side, there was outrage. Why should she pass up the only opportunity she was ever going to have to kiss Terence Javier? She wasn’t cheating! She was simply fulfilling a high school dream that had nothing to do with David or their marriage.

  The orange glow of the sun had just begun its trek skyward as she approached the slip that moored Terence’s vessel. In the early morning glow, Marissa saw two shadowy figures on deck and froze.

  Every once in a while a glimmer of light would reflect off the water and shine across Terence’s bare chest, but he was not alone, and the other figure was unmistakably female. The possibility that he could be involved with someone hadn’t occurred to her. “I can be pretty stupid sometimes,” Marissa muttered under her breath. She counted herself lucky to have ferreted out that information before she foolishly barged aboard and tried to kiss her fantasy man.

  She ducked behind a lamppost to watch Terence one last time before she let go of her high school dream and returned to her husband and everyday life.

  Terence shook out a dark blue t-shirt, and his sculpted chest disappeared when he pulled it over his head. He stretched, and a pair of red checkered boxers inched slightly above the baggy jeans which rode low on his hips. Terence raked his fingers through his thick black hair and climbed into the cockpit.

  A sense of sadness washed over Marissa. It would have been quite nice to kiss that man and to feel his skin beneath her fingers, but she was content. Her breathing returned to normal, and her heart was once again beating comfortably within her chest. No matter how hard she tried to justify it, she knew that kissing Terence Javier would have been wrong.

  A moment later, the engines turned over and sputtered to life. While the boat idled, Terence stowed a few items. Then he slid up beside his girlfriend, whispered something in her ear, and the woman laughed.

  Marissa’s jaw dropped. She knew that laugh. That woman was not Terence’s girlfriend, it was Annie Harper!

  Terence jumped back into the cockpit, and the boat chugged slowly away from the dock.

  Horrified, Marissa ran down the harbor screaming Annie’s name. She crashed into a chain-link fence sectioning off a deteriorating part of the dock, and her pursuit was brought to an abrupt halt.

  Just before the boat was totally out of range, Annie looked over her shoulder, raised her hand, and waved.

  Marissa could not believe what just happened. She kicked herself for not noticing what was going on sooner. Annie’s auburn hair, slim body, and over the top mannerisms were as familiar to her as anyone’s could possibly be. She was disgusted with herself. If she hadn’t been so busy going gaga over Terence, she would have had time to stop them. Annie’s actions were inexcusable and in that one pivotal moment, Marissa knew their relationship would never be the same.

  With the boat a mere dot on the horizon, Marissa let out one piercing frustrated cry and pounded the air with her fists. Ignoring the stares of a few curious onlookers, Marissa turned and stormed back to the hotel.

  • • •

  She slammed the door. When David failed to move, she opened the door and slammed it again.

  While Marissa probably succeeded in waking up most of the other guests in the hotel, her husband still hadn’t moved. She picked up a square throw pillow off the sofa and threw it. She hit him square in the face and her husband finally bolted straight upright.

  • • •

  David blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the light. The angry look on Marissa’s face snapped into focus. “What’s wrong?”

  “I just went down to the boat, and you won’t believe who got there first.”

  He frowned and tried to wrap his head around the problem. Just as the words, “What are you talking about?” came out of his mouth, he realized exactly what Marissa was saying. She had gone to kiss Terence Javier. He closed his eyes and sank back into the pillow. “Never mind, I got it.”

  “Lose that hang dog look,” Marissa shot back. “Nothing happened. Annie sailed off with Terence before I arrived.”

  Once again he needed a moment. Wasn’t Annie back home taking care of the kids? He shook his head. “Our Annie?”

  Marissa threw her hands up and frowned. “Our Annie?” she asked with disdain. “When did you two become so chummy?”

  David was now wide awake. “Holy crap, where are the kids?”

  Marissa glared at him even harder. “I didn’t see them.”

  “I told you we should have left them with my mother. What’s Annie’s number? We have to find out where she dumped them.” He reached for the clunky hotel phone on the bedside table and saw the red message light flashing. “That better be from her,” he barked as he punched the message up on speakerphone.

  With the sound of sea birds cawing in the background, Annie’s trembling voice rang out. “Hi guys. Sandy and Jack are with David’s mom. She didn’t want me watching them in the first place and was extremely happy to take over. She thinks I’m a flake, and I guess I just proved her right.

  “I know you must be pretty mad at me, Marissa, but you have everything with David and I couldn’t let you screw that up. I know this is crazy. Can you believe I blew off Alan and the Danger Zone concert for this? I’ll call you soon. Bye.”

  Relieved, David swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked at his thoroughly dejected wife. He walked over and took her into his arms. Brushing a strand of blonde hair from her face, he noticed the care she had taken with her makeup. David owed Annie for this one. And had his arch nemesis actually said Marissa had everything with him?

  For his wife’s sake, he tried to muster up a little compassion and squelch the elation he felt that her plan had been foiled. “So, your best friend just betrayed you.”

  Marissa leaned into him. “Looks that way,” she agreed. “Annie didn’t even say she was sorry.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. Didn’t you hear? We have everything.”

  David tenderly cupped her face in his hands. “I heard. Did you? Tell the truth, if Annie hadn’t intervened, would you have actually kissed that guy?”

  Marissa looked up at him. Her eyes brimmed with tears. She opened her mouth but couldn’t speak. Then she closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder.

  David sympathetically kissed the top of her brow, but his eyes beamed with delight. He didn’t think Marissa would ever admit it, and she would probably blame Annie for the rest of her life, but he knew the truth. For all her bravado, his lovely wonderful wife had chosen him over some lame high school crush.

  Chapter 2

  Annie sat at the bow of a twin-engine roller coaster, being bounced off every single wave in the Pacific Ocean. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach grew worse with each thought of Marissa.

  Hoping for a smoother ride, she held onto the railing and made her way aft. She was suffocating in the life preserver Terence insisted that she wear. As soon as she safely navigated a wobbly trip back to the rear of the boat and seated herself upon a well-worn vinyl cushion, she loosened the thing’s constricting straps.

  Fumes radiated up from the engine and assaulted her olfactory. Bile rose in her throat, but she successfully choked back the nausea that threatened to overtake her.

  Terence glance
d back from the driver’s seat, and his shaggy dark hair whipped about his gleaming coal black eyes. He smiled and gestured to the chair next to him. “Best seat in the house,” he yelled over the wind and the roar of the engines.

  The mature Terence was better looking than the teen. The past thirteen years had carved his boyish features into one fine looking man. Marissa was right about his voice. It was like chocolate on silk, two of Annie’s favorite things.

  Minus the smell permeating around her, all Annie wanted to do was sit back and enjoy the view. Thanks to the information she dug up on the Internet, she booked the red-eye out of LAX and, against all odds, found Terence asleep on board his boat. After doing a little internal happy dance, she hunkered down to get them the heck out of Dodge before Marissa showed up and thwarted her devious plan.

  She spun a tale about how her long awaited dream vacation turned sour and how she needed to find some solace out on the ocean. Terence was leery, but the money she offered helped seal the deal. They almost made a clean getaway. If Marissa arrived any earlier…

  Annie didn’t want to think about that. The guilt she felt about running roughshod over her best friend ranked higher than anything she had ever done before.

  She pushed the stunned look on Marissa’s face out of her mind. No matter how self-serving her phone message sounded, it was still the truth. David made Marissa happy. From the first moment they met, Marissa knew she found the one. In that unwavering certainty, she ran off and married the guy shortly after she returned to campus for her second year of college. It would have been a mistake for Marissa to kiss Terence, and Annie hoped Marissa would eventually understand and forgive her.

  Terence glanced at her again. This time he flashed a smile, which almost made her forget her inner turmoil. A few moments later, he pulled into a sheltered cove and killed the engines. Annie sent a silent thank you up toward the heavens and prayed her stomach would have a chance to settle down.

  Terence reached into an ice chest and grabbed a couple of pint-sized cartons of orange juice. “I thought you might need a break,” he said, holding one out for her. “You don’t look so good.”

  That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Annie never considered herself a raving beauty, but she thought she held her own pretty well. She knew she must be looking pretty green to earn that evaluation. With a frown and a sarcastic little huff, she accepted the juice.

  Looking comfortably in command, he sat down and spun his chair around to face her. He propped one foot up on the railing and asked, “So what’s your story?”

  “I guess I tend to get a little sea sick,” she replied, stating the obvious. Annie was appalled, from the tone of her voice she might as well have said, duh. Not knowing where this sudden animosity towards Terence was coming from, she opened the juice and took a swig. As soon as the acidic liquid hit her stomach, she knew it was all over. She jumped up, hung her head over the rail, and let loose.

  With her stomach entirely void of its contents, she wiped her mouth on her bare forearm and wondered how long she could remain hanging over the side before Terence thought she was weird.

  From this odd angle, she was reminded that Terence named his boat Erika Rose. Just then a dreadful thought hit her. After Terence accepted her job offer, he borrowed her cell phone and went below deck to make a private call. Was that call to a loving spouse? He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, but that didn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t married.

  A warm hand touched her shoulder and Terence handed her a damp towel. “Don’t worry,” he said pulling her off the rail and back into the boat. “Most tourists feed the fish at least once during my excursions. Your friend, Marissa Crandall, was no exception.”

  Crap, she was busted. Should she pretend not to know what he was talking about or fess up and face the music? She quickly decided to lie like the dog that she was. Her voice shook when she asked innocently, “Who?”

  Terence chuckled. “The lady on the dock, the one running after us, screaming your name.” He took the towel from her shaking hand and dabbed the corners of her mouth. “The nervous blonde I took diving out on the Mahi Wreck a couple of days ago.” He cocked a questioning brow in her direction. “Ring any bells?”

  Way too many, the chimes were practically clanging away in her head. Annie’s legs turned to jelly, but Terence’s firm grip on her shoulder helped steady her wobbly stance. The animosity melted away, and all Annie could think about was how close he was, and how much closer she wanted him to be. The churning in her stomach took on a new meaning, and her brain turned to mush. Coming up with a convincing lie was next to impossible, so she decided to steer him in an alternate direction. “Maybe she was running after you, not me?”

  Annie backed away from the heat of his body hoping to accomplish two things, first, to make it easier for her to think, and second, to stop breathing her stinky barf breath in his face. She picked the juice carton up off the cushion and brought it to her lips.

  • • •

  Fearing a repeat performance, Terence snatched the carton out of her hand. “Hey, go easy with that.”

  His cute little passenger with legs that went on forever had dodged his question. He was certain he heard Marissa Crandall calling out Annie’s name and was ready to return to the dock. Annie hadn’t responded to Marissa’s calls, but he could tell by the tense rise of her shoulders and how she held her head that she’d been making a conscious effort not to look behind her. She almost pulled it off, but at the last moment she turned and gave herself away.

  He fixed his eyes on her, and tried to get a feel for the situation. Her guilty gaze shifted up and away from his scrutiny and reaffirmed his suspicions. Damn, he shouldn’t have opened the hatch this morning. His daughter was going back to the mainland soon and they hadn’t spent nearly enough time together this summer. If it weren’t for the outrageous amount of money involved, he would be at his sister’s having breakfast with Erika this very moment. And if he didn’t get some satisfactory answers soon, he intended on being there for dinner.

  Annie Harper seemed familiar to him, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He was certain they had never met. Still, the feeling kept creeping in. He figured he must have seen her around the marina, but she didn’t look like the outdoors type. Even the palest tourist had some sort of color after a day or two on the island, frequently of the bright red and painful variety. Annie’s skin had not seen the sun in quite some time, which let the air out of her story about having a disappointing vacation.

  He took a closer look. His passenger wasn’t just pale, she was ashen, and it was his fault. He had been angry with himself for putting the almighty dollar before spending time with his family, and hadn’t taken the smoothest route for either his passenger or his boat. He made a mental note to avoid taking his foul mood out on his livelihood.

  While Annie’s face was void of color, her eyes weren’t. They were a vibrant blue with a touch of green near the iris. He felt drawn to her, and the past year of living a celibate life begged to end. Attempting to short circuit his wandering thoughts, he dropped his gaze downward, only to land on her long lean legs.

  Terence had to get rid of her quick. He saw how she looked at him. The last thing he needed was to get involved with some tourist looking for a wild time, especially one he couldn’t trust. He was only human, and if they spent the next week alone in the close confines of the Erika Rose, there was a good chance something would happen. He drained the last of his orange juice and made a decision.

  “Let’s just call this whole thing off. I’ll return your money, and you can go back to your hotel where you’ll be far more comfortable.”

  Annie grabbed his arm. “I didn’t say I wanted to go back.”

  He was surprised by her strength and had to pluck her pinching fingers off his bicep. “Look, I need to be with my daughter. I miss her, and we only have a few more weeks before she has to go home. I made a mistake taking this job, so I’m rectifying it.”

  Annie plopped dow
n on the cushion and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, that sounds pretty final.” She crossed one leg over the other and bounced an impatient foot. “Is your daughter Erika Rose?”

  Terence sat down and smiled. She changed tactics on him. He expected her to act like the typical tourist and insist on getting her way. Instead, she took the personal approach by asking about his daughter, all while drawing attention to her superior legs. It wasn’t going to work, but he wondered what other surprises she had in store for him.

  Annie smiled and showed off a perfect set of teeth. “I don’t want to come between you and your daughter, but I have a problem. I don’t have a place to stay, and I can’t risk running into Marissa right now.”

  He smirked at the confession, but didn’t have time to gloat. Terence felt a change in the air, and over Annie’s shoulder he saw dark clouds forming on the horizon. This conversation was going to have to wait. He grabbed Annie’s life preserver and cinched up the loosened straps.

  She jerked away. “What are you doing?”

  He pulled her back and nodded in the direction of the storm. “We have a little weather headed our way. If you think you’re not feeling well now, just wait.”

  She looked at the approaching squall, then at the calm little cove where they sat. “Shouldn’t we stay put? It looks safe right here.”

  Terence shook his head as he scanned the deck making sure everything was secure. “It’s too shallow. Don’t worry. When a storm comes up fast, they usually blow through the same way. We have two options,” he explained, “we can try to outrun it and head for safe port, or go directly into the storm and ride it out in deeper water.” He looked into her wild frightened eyes and smiled. “Your choice.”

  Her jaw dropped, but she didn’t hesitate with her answer. “Out run the damn thing.”

  Terence laughed and climbed into the cockpit. “Sit there,” he said, pointing to the seat next to his. “Park it and don’t move.”