Love on the Rebound (Hawaii Billionaire Romance)

by Jennifer Youngblood

  Maurie grunted. “You don’t need to doubt yourself because you were bamboozled by Cooper … or Mitchell … whatever the heck his name was. I think I’m as level-headed as the next person, and he fooled me. He was a con artist. He fooled everyone.”

  Everly wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks. If only it were that simple. First Mitchell and then Roland. And she was still dealing with the fallout from the latter.

  “Look, I can’t even begin to imagine what you must be going through. You loved Cooper. He was the father of your child.”

  “It’s just hard to wrap my mind around the fact that Mitchell was alive all those years.”

  “I understand. But the sting will ease with time … it always does. And in the meantime, you have your whole life ahead of you and—” Maurie stopped midsentence and pointed. “Look.”

  Everly turned. She didn’t see what Maurie was referring to at first, but when she craned her neck and looked at an angle, she could see past the kitchen to the double sliding-glass doors that opened to the backyard. Liam was pitching a ball to Jordan. Christian was standing directly behind Jordan, his hand resting on Jordan’s shoulder as he instructed him on how to catch it.

  Maurie continued. “Someone very wise once said, ‘Don’t let the past hold the future hostage.’ Every once in a while, amidst the doubt and pain, life gives us those little nuggets of gold. But we have to have enough sense to reach out and grab them.”

  This time, Everly allowed the tears to flow freely down her cheeks as she turned back around.

  Maurie smiled. “I believe you’ve found your happy ending. Don’t let it get away this time.”

  CHAPTER 12

  Everly slipped the straps of the sundress over her shoulders. It was cherry red with large, white, hibiscus flowers. She liked how the vibrant color set off her tan. She wondered if Christian would like it. Next, she applied her eye makeup and blush. A shimmery lip-gloss added the final touch. She fluffed her curls and allowed them to fall loose on her shoulders. Most of the time, she lived in yoga or spandex pants due to her profession. Since she’d been on Oahu, she’d been wearing shorts and t-shirts, except for the one day when she wore jeans to Diamond Head. It felt good to get dressed up.

  After the initial visit with Maurie and Liam, Everly and Christian went to dinner with them the following evening, while Mele babysat Jordan. Liam kept them laughing with his witty jokes, and Everly found his British accent charming. Maurie, on the other hand, was full of practical advice and wisdom. Spending time with them, seeing the life they’d built together, gave Everly a glimpse of hope for her and Christian. She was tired of living her life in the shadows, fearing Roland’s every move. A new year was upon her and it was time to make a change.

  Her phone buzzed. She reached to answer it. “Mama, how are you?”

  “Great, darling. Charlotte and I spent the day shopping and then we stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things. We’re making our traditional New Year’s Day meal tomorrow.”

  Everly made a face. “I’m sorry I’ll miss that.”

  “I know you’re on vacation, honey. But it might be wise to try and find some collard greens and eat at least one bite tomorrow.”

  Her mama was a stickler for tradition and felt like it wasn’t possible to ring in the New Year without having a ham hock, black-eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread. Legend had it that if you ate these items you would be blessed with good fortune during the upcoming year. Peas symbolized coins and the greens folding money.

  Everly laughed. She could only imagine the look on Christian’s face if she told him she had to hunt down a can of collard greens to make sure she had good fortune the upcoming year. “Yeah, I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Well, it certainly can’t hurt. You don’t want to jinx yourself,” her mama countered, a hint of reproof in her voice, suggesting she didn’t appreciate Everly laughing about it. “So, how are you and Jordan doing? Are you enjoying the beach?”

  “Yes, we are.” She’d not told her mama about Christian initially, because she didn’t think the relationship was going anywhere. But, the past couple of days with him had been glorious. They’d not talked about the future or what would happen when she went home. Rather, they had gone to the beach—played in the waves, taken long walks, and built sandcastles with Jordan and Sadie. Everly couldn’t remember ever being this happy. It was time to come to terms with what was happening here. She had strong feelings for Christian and couldn’t imagine him not being part of her life. There. She admitted it. Now it was time to break the news to her mama. She drew in a deep breath, trying to bolster the courage to say the words aloud. Her mama hadn’t cared much for Mitchell, and she detested Roland. She would understandably be leery about Christian, especially since he was a superstar. “Mama, I met someone.”

  Silence.

  “He’s really great.” The words spilled out as she blabbed on about how he helped her and Jordan during the tsunami. “Actually—” she forced a light laugh “—we’ve been staying with him at his estate.”

  “What? You’re staying with a man you hardly know?”

  She cringed at the shocked tone in her mama’s voice. “I know, it sounds crazy. And it caught me off guard too. But when you meet him, you’ll understand.”

  Her mama began firing questions at her. “But what will you do when the vacation’s over? Will he move to South Carolina? Will you move there? What about Jordan? Is he good with him?”

  Everly pulled her fingers through her hair. “He’s great with Jordan. And I don’t know the rest.” She didn’t dare bring up the fact that Christian had offered to buy her a fitness center to run … here on Oahu. She didn’t want her mama to blow a gasket. She’d take things one step at a time. Maybe she could go back to South Carolina for a few weeks and then bring her mama here to meet Christian. Ease her into the idea.

  “Does Roland know?”

  The question caused a knot to form in Everly’s stomach. “Um … I—I’m not really sure how much he knows at this point.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He sent a guy here to follow me.”

  The only sound over the phone was the sudden intake of Florence’s breath. Finally, she spoke. “This is getting scary, Everly. It’s time to go to the police.”

  If only that were an option. “Roland has the Charleston police in his pocket. Going to them will only incite him, making things worse than they already are.”

  “You don’t know that for sure.”

  “Yes, I’m afraid I do.”

  “What’s Roland going to do when he finds out about this new guy?”

  The trepidation in her mama’s voice caused goose bumps to rise over her flesh. “I don’t know. But Christian’s different.”

  “Different … how so?”

  She thought about how easily Christian had put Briggs in his place. And how he had the means to combat Roland legally. Although, she didn’t want to put Christian in the middle of a battle between Roland and her. Not the smartest way to start a new relationship. Still, it might come to that. Everly’s instinct told her she would be safe with Christian. But she didn’t want to voice that out loud to her mama, for fear of sounding hokey.

  “Promise me you’ll take things slow with this new guy … Christian. You’re just now coming to terms with Mitchell’s betrayal. You need to be smart. For Jordan’s sake.”

  “I am being careful.” Irritation prickled over Everly, even though she understood where her mama was coming from. She’d told her about Mitchell the day she found out. The interesting thing was her mama wasn’t the slightest bit surprised. If anything, she felt vindicated because she’d never really liked Mitchell, but couldn’t put her finger on why.

  “So, is Christian from Hawaii?”

  “Yes, he’s half Tongan and half white.”

  “What’s a Tongan?”

  Everly laughed. Her mama had only stepped foot out of South Carolina twice in her entire life, and her world view
was the size of a pea. Not that Everly faulted her for that. She was salt-of-the-earth and had been Everly’s saving grace for the past few years. “Tonga is a country in the South Pacific.”

  “Oh.”

  “What does he look like?”

  This is where it got tricky, but there was no way around it. She had to tell her mama who he really was. “He’s Christian Ross.” She braced herself for the backlash that was sure to follow.

  “Okay. But that doesn’t tell me anything about him or what he looks like.”

  “Mama, he’s the Christian Ross.” She could tell her mama was clueless. “The actor? That plays the action hero Jase Scott.”

  “Never heard of him,” her mama said tartly.

  Everly couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She assumed everyone had heard of Christian Ross. Then again, if it wasn’t Bill O’Reilly, Fox News, or The Price is Right, her mama didn’t watch it. “He’s a famous actor.”

  “So, you’re telling me you’re staying at the home of a famous actor?”

  “Yep.”

  “And you really like him?”

  “Yes,” she said softly. “I like him a lot.”

  “Oh, boy. This is not going to end well with Roland. I have a bad feeling about this.”

  Her eyes narrowed as she gripped the phone tighter. “I can’t keep letting Roland control my life, Mama. It’s time I stood up to him. Once and for all.”

  “Yes, you’re right. I just worry about Jordan.”

  “The best thing I can do for Jordan is to give him a stable environment, with a man who truly cares about him.” Even as she spoke the words, an image of Christian and Jordan flashed through her mind. She saw them in Maurie’s backyard, playing catch.

  “Don’t you think things are moving too fast? You’ve only just met Christian.”

  Everly’s neck and shoulders suddenly felt tight. “I’m not going to rush off and marry him. We’re only dating.”

  “Have you thought about the repercussions of dating someone famous?”

  She sighed. “Not really.”

  “Well, you should think about it. I’ve seen the way reporters hound actors. You’ll never have a minute’s peace.”

  Sometimes her mama reminded her of Chicken Little, always waiting for the sky to fall. “I guess I’ll just have to take it one step at a time.”

  “But—”

  Now, Everly was tired of discussing it. Her mama’s doubts were raising too many doubts of her own. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll call you tomorrow. Love you.”

  “Okay. But I’m concerned.”

  “I know. But it’ll be okay. I promise. Gotta go,” she said hurriedly. “Love you. Bye.”

  “Bye,” her mom said as Everly ended the call with a heavy sigh. The last thing she wanted to do was worry her mama, but she was glad her relationship with Christian was out in the open. And once her mama met him, she would love him just as much as Everly did. She stopped. Had she really just thought the word love? It was way too soon for that. But her feelings for Christian ran much stronger than mere like. She was crazy about him. Okay, that was better. She would go with crazy about him … for now.

  CHAPTER 13

  Originally, Christian had planned on taking Everly and Jordan to the Polynesian Cultural Center to see the night show Ha: Breath of Life so they could see the fire-knife dancers. But, as luck would have it, Jordan began complaining of a tummy ache around 4:00 in the afternoon. At first, Everly thought he might’ve eaten too much candy. But when he vomited, she realized it was an illness—most likely a virus. Mele went to the store to get chicken noodle soup, crackers, Gatorade, and popsicles. Jordan was starting to feel better, but not well enough to go out in public. Mele had offered to stay with Jordan, so Christian could take Everly to the night show. But Christian could tell she wanted to be with her family on New Year’s Eve. Christian didn’t blame her. Mele was so good to him that he didn’t want to abuse her kindness. Besides, Jordan was looking forward to seeing the fire-knife dancers, and Christian didn’t want him to miss out. So, he decided to do the next best thing—bring the party to them. Thankfully, Mele helped him pull everything together, before she left for the evening.

  Christian hoped Everly would like it. In a way, it was better the way it turned out because Christian would now be able to share a bit of his growing up years with Everly. He’d made a point of not pressing her about the future, but as her departure date from the island drew closer, he was getting concerned. Life was rich and full with Everly, and he didn’t want to go back to the way things were before. He could only hope and pray that she cared as much about him as he did her.

  That day on the beach, when he first met Everly, he was having a particularly hard time dealing with Heather’s death. So, he decided to take Sadie to the beach in order to clear his head. And then he saw Everly. From the first moment he laid eyes on her, he was so acutely aware of her presence that she was all he could think about. And then when he ran out of sun block, he felt like it was a sign he should talk to her. When she gave him a good tongue-lashing in that cute Southern accent, he was smitten. She’d pulled him into a pool of intoxication, and he’d not come up for air since. Maybe he was more like his dad than he realized. He was beginning to think love at first sight was very real.

  It didn’t bother him that Everly had a few personal things to work out in her life. He, of all people, knew the harsh blows that life dealt. It was hard to see Everly hurting over Mitchell’s betrayal, but that was easier to come to terms with than Roland because it was now behind them. Roland was another story. Everly was scared of the man. Christian could hear it in her voice … see it in her eyes. And it infuriated him so much he hired a private detective to check into Roland. It certainly couldn’t hurt to know what he was up against. Of course, he hadn’t mentioned that to Everly. There was no use upsetting her. She had enough to deal with as it was.

  Christian did a double-take when Everly emerged from the house and glided across the patio to the thatched-roof pool house where he was standing. Her hair bounced softly on her shoulders, and she was the picture of grace. She caught his eye and smiled, sending his heart into a tailspin. When she stepped up to him, he encircled her waist and leaned in, kissing the delicate part of her neck. Her clean hair smelled of fruity shampoo. His gaze flickered over her, lingering on her bright eyes, which seemed to hold the mysteries of the universe within their golden rims. It was crazy how a delicate little thing like her had the power to consume him.

  She motioned at the table, which was laden with kalua pig, salmon, rice, baked sweet potatoes, mango slices, and pineapple. A glass vase of red ginger flowers in water adorned the center. “Wow! This looks amazing.”

  The soft glow from the tiki torches flickered against her face, adding a touch of mystery to her features, and he had the feeling his entire life was culminating into this moment.

  A smile tugged at his lips. “Since we couldn’t go to the PCC tonight, I thought I’d bring the party to us anyway.”

  She gave him an appraising look. “Now that’s putting Mother Teresa’s poem to good use.” When she went to sit down, he moved into action, pulling back a chair. “Allow me.”

  “Thanks,” she said, her eyes caressing his.

  He swallowed, feeling a bit like a sixteen-year-old on his first date. Christian sat across from Everly. “Where’s Jordan?”

  “I told him he could watch TV. He’s feeling much better.” She laughed. “At this point, he’s milking the sickness for all it’s worth, eating as many popsicles as he possibly can.”

  Christian grinned. “You can’t blame a guy for that.” Even though he was super fond of Jordan, he was immensely pleased that they would be able to share a meal together, just the two of them. He reached for her hand and looked into her eyes. “Thank you.”

  She cocked her head. “For what?”

  “For being a part of my life.”

  Her eyes misted as she smiled. “It goes both ways.”

  After
they’d eaten, Christian scooted back his chair. “Okay, it’s time to go and get Jordan.” When Everly gave him a questioning look, he flashed a mysterious smile. “The night’s just beginning. There’s something I want to show you.”

  She stood. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

  By the time she returned with Jordan, Christian had lit the ends of the wooden baton and was twirling it around in a circle at a rapid-fire pace.

  Jordan’s eyes lit up as he jumped into the air and squealed. “Mommy! Look! Christian’s twirling fire.”

  Even though it had been years, the baton flowed through Christian’s hands effortlessly, finding its place as the light from the fire blazed around him. Finally, when he was finished, he tucked it under one knee and raised both hands in the air.

  Everly and Jordan sprang to their feet, furiously clapping.

  Christian removed the baton and bowed.

  “That was awesome,” Everly beamed. “I didn’t realize you could do that.”

  “I paid my way through college, working at the Polynesian Cultural Center, before I went to L.A. I was one of the fire-knife dancers.”

  Everly pointed. “I don’t see any knives,” she teased.

  He winced. “Yeah, it’s been a few years since I’ve twirled, so I thought I’d better not tempt fate.”

  She stepped up to him and held out her hand. “Do you mind if I give it a whirl?”

  He quirked a grin. “I dunno. That might not be such a good idea. You don’t want to light your hair on fire.”

  She placed a hand on her hip, arching an eyebrow. “Give me the dang baton.”

  Reluctantly, he handed it over and was shocked when she started twirling it. Even though the baton was too long for her, she maintained good control. He held his breath when she tossed it in the air. And then, when she actually caught it, he knew he’d met his match.

  She winked and handed it back to him, a pleased expression on her beautiful face. “Back in South Carolina, where I come from, the women twirl fire.”