She narrowed her eyes. “I thought that it was up to me.”
“It is. Calling that is and if we will be more than friends. Doesn’t mean I can’t try to persuade you.”
She tried to look mad but failed. He realized he wasn’t sure she could ever really look mad to him. She would always look like a delicate fairy.
She finally gave up and shook her head. “Fine, but I expect you to check in and let me know about your sleeping habits.”
“Anything for you,” he said, realizing that every word was true. He wanted to give her the whole world, and he barely knew her. He wouldn’t think about the Santini Curse or what else it meant for the two of them. Instead, he gave her another quick kiss, then forced himself to step away.
“Call me,” he said.
“Only if you’re lucky,” she said, laughing.
He turned around and smiled at her. “I’d be the luckiest man in Hawaii if you called me.”
She didn’t say anything, but even at a distance, he could see her eyes warm. And deciding to quit while he was ahead, he turned and walked back to his motorcycle. He slipped on his helmet and gave her a wave before he set off on his way home. He just hoped he could be true to his word and give her time.
Chapter Eight
Nando made it into work about thirty minutes early. He had been like that even as a kid. According to his mother, he showed up two weeks early because he was ready to get started on life. So, he took his time walking from his car into the building. It had rained earlier that morning. The rain had awakened him about five and he realized he had slept through the night. It was sweet to wake up with the smell of rain in the cottage.
He hadn’t been paying attention to the man approaching the front door of the building at the same time as he was until they reached the door together. He was a major general—two stars—and was dressed in his service dress. He noticed the name Sinclair on his name plate.
Nando saluted the general, then opened the door and waited for him to go in.
“Thanks, Captain.”
They both removed their covers as they made their way down the hallway.
“I thought there would be more people here by now,” he said to Nando.
“In about fifteen minutes the halls will be buzzing.”
They both stopped at his office.
“I take it you work for Mike?” General Sinclair asked.
He nodded. “Yes, sir. I saw Colonel Ferguson’s car out in the parking lot.”
Sinclair glanced down at Nando’s name plate. “Ah, a Santini. I take it from that family?”
He fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes, sir.”
“Papa, Tony, Dave or Adam’s kid?”
“Tony.”
“I know all your uncles, but I knew your father pretty well. Knew him right around the time he met your mother. You know, if I had played my cards right, I might have been able to steal your mother away from your father.”
What did one say to that? Sorry you didn’t bag my mom? Nando tried his best to shrug it off, but something about this guy was off. He reminded Nando of a fellow classmate at Annapolis who rubbed him the wrong way. He hadn’t been wrong in that case. Johnson had ended up being expelled for cheating their senior year.
“Please say hi to Marcella and your father for me. Good people.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sam, you’re early,” Ferguson said from the doorway.
“Always,” he said.
“Santini, don’t let any calls through unless they are important.”
“Yes, sir.”
The door shut, and he sat down at his desk. After turning on his computer, he went to start the coffee. Of course, it had already been brewed. Ferguson was a workaholic and usually beat everyone to the office. Thankfully, he made decent coffee. He had just settled back at his desk when his phone rang. His sister.
“Runt, what are you doing?”
“I’m at work.”
“Oh.” He could tell from the pause that she was looking at the clock. “It’s early.”
“Yeah. We had some rain that woke me.”
“Cool.”
“Aren’t you at work today?”
“Nope. I took some time off.”
He heard something in her voice. “Something wrong?”
He knew that Elena and her twin Dante were close, but out of all of his siblings, she seemed to share secrets with him. Maybe because being the only girl made her feel like an outsider at times. They both understood being a little different than the rest of them.
“Nothing. I’m wallowing. JT had to go to DC for a meeting thing and I am stuck here.”
“And?”
“Nothing. I just...everyone’s having babies.”
“Oh, so Anthony finally called everyone?”
“Yeah. I mean, I want to have babies, but I’m not ready.”
“Then who cares? You do what you want.”
He knew it was a hard choice for Elena. She was a fighter pilot and it would cause issues with her career. They could work around them, but as a woman, she had to make choices men didn’t.
“That’s not what is bothering you,” he said.
“No. I have a chance at another job. Nothing official yet.”
“And you’re telling me and not your husband?”
“Because we might have to relocate.”
“Once again, I say…and?”
“Not sure JT is in the mood for that.”
“Uh, JT knew what he signed up for.”
JT had been Anthony’s best friend before he fell for Elena. They had both been in the Marines, then continued on to NCIS together. He was also a military brat, so his brother-in-law knew how the military could rule your life.
“He married the military. He knows.” She didn’t say anything, so he asked, “What’s the job?”
“It’s actually school.”
“School?”
“Down at Corpus Christi.”
“As in you teaching?”
She sighed. “Yeah. I don’t know what that would do for his career.”
“And you two can talk it out.”
“I guess.”
“If you’re teaching, will you be able to have a baby? Won’t it be easier?”
She sighed again, but this time it sounded as if releasing a secret helped. “Yes.”
It was odd hearing his sister talk about being a mother. She had always been one of the guys in the family and, as Dante would say, a whole lot meaner.
“Mama Elena. That will be great.”
“Don’t tell any of our siblings. They will use it to deflect when they want Mom to concentrate on me.”
Out of all the kids, Elena was the one who never got badgered about having children. Most people would think that it was odd since she was the only female in their immediate family. Their mother knew how much her career meant to her. And no matter how far the military had come with women, they still had a long way to go. For a pilot, it was hard to decide just when to take a step back to take time to have a baby. Men didn’t have to worry about the same thing—or how it would impact their careers.
“I guess you gotta get to work. Oh, hey, I heard you have a thing for the pretty massage therapist.”
Anthony. He was going to kick his oldest brother’s ass.
“I don’t have a thing for her.”
He did. He had a lot of things, one in particular that had given him more issues than he cared to admit. He had to get his mind off of her so he didn’t embarrass himself during their sessions.
“Ohhhh you do.”
“Elena.”
The door to the office opened just as he said his sister’s name.
“It’s almost time for work to start so you can go get bent.”
“Love you too, Nando.”
She hung up and he found his supervisor and General Sinclair staring at him. “Sorry, sir. Older sisters can be a pain.”
Colonel Ferguson smiled. “Your sister probably
more than others.” He looked at the general. “She’s a fighter pilot.”
Sinclair chuckled, his green eyes dancing. For a second, Nando had a moment of Déjà vu. “Of course. A female Santini would be a tough competitor. One thing I always admired about the Santinis is that they always put their family at the top of their lists.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll catch up with you later, Mike.”
“Sure, Sam.”
When he left the room, Nando looked at Ferguson.
“Old friend from way back when. Kind of a sad story. Just lost his wife six months ago—cancer.”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, he got the assignment here and took it, instead of getting out, because he’s got family here.”
“Family does make it better.”
“Well, sometimes,” Ferguson said. “Mothers-in-law are not always fun.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“Smart man. I’ve got that meeting over at Camp Smith, so I’ll be out most of the day.”
“Yes, sir.”
As he started going through his emails, he thought back to the weekend he’d had. A Santini home, two Santinis on the way, and a Sunday shopping trip that had been fun. And so damned hot. He hadn’t been able to sleep just thinking about that kiss. Hell, he had spent this morning’s shower imagining just how her mouth would feel against his flesh.
He felt himself getting hard again and he closed his eyes. He needed to make sure that he got his mind out of the gutter and back on work. It would be more than a little embarrassing if people showed up and he was sporting a boner. He hadn’t had an issue with controlling himself since high school, but there was something about Sunshine that made him want to misbehave.
* * *
Sunshine drew in a deep breath, bringing with it the scent of her Kona coffee. She hadn’t opened her eyes, but she was glad she’d set her coffeemaker up to brew at seven that morning. She didn’t always need it, but she’d had a feeling, and she had been right.
Listen to your gut, Sunshine. You always know the right way to walk.
She sighed. “I wish you were here, Mom.”
It had been twelve years since her mother had gone into a nursing facility and less than ten since she had lost her. It was hard for some people to understand. She thought that was why Alana and she had clicked. They had both been without the support of an immediate family member for a big part of their lives. At least Alana had all her cousins and she had her Auntie Mary and her family. Not to mention all her neighbors.
Knowing she needed to get up, she rose from bed. After a quick trip to the bathroom, she headed to the kitchen. She had a feeling she would need a lot of coffee today.
After doctoring it just the way she loved, she went out to her front lanai. It was one of her favorite early morning activities—sitting out there and watching the neighborhood kids go to school. They were so cute, usually dressed in uniforms, as most of the schools on the island were forced to wear them. The younger kids always looked so happy. Then, the high school kids, who looked like it was the worst thing to do in their life.
As she settled into her chair, she sipped at her coffee and thought about the man who had kept her up all night. If she had thought the first kiss had tempted her, the second one had her contemplating throwing out every good reason she had for not dating Nando. It was three days later, and she was still dealing with the aftermath.
He was military. She didn’t want to be left like her mother had been. He was a client; although, she had dated clients and former clients before. It wasn’t something she did anymore, because she had learned her lessons, but...he made her want to be bad.
That was another big issue with Nando. She was pretty sure she could really fall for him. Like, the big fall. She didn’t think her mother ever got over her father. They hadn’t been married, and he had only spent the one month he had been TDY on Oahu. Her mother had been older than him by a few years, and both of them were well passed thirty. After two miscarriages during her marriage in her twenties, her mother was pretty sure she would never have babies. Then, one month, she met a sexy Marine who charmed her into bed and stole her heart. At the end of the month, he went back to the family he forgot to tell her mother about, and her mother gave birth to her—although, she wouldn’t know for a few weeks after he left that she was pregnant.
Her mother never regretted any of it. Sunshine knew she didn’t. Never in her life did her mother ever complain about being a single mother. Even during the worst of her dementia, her mother had never blamed Sunshine for being born. There were angry rants about leaving her in the nursing facility, not that Sunshine had anything to do with that. That had been the state.
She sighed. That is what kissing a Marine got her. She would start thinking about her mother and father, and then she would get angry all over again. As if on cue, her phone rang. She looked down at it and clicked ignore. The man didn’t understand. She didn’t hate him, but she didn’t want him in her life either. She was twenty-six and had turned out pretty damned terrific, if she did say so herself.
She chuckled. One thing that could be said about Sheila Foster. She knew how to raise a confident child.
So, to honor her mother, she would sit there and watch as her sleepy little street came alive and enjoy it. As she listened to the birds chirping, her phone buzzed. She looked down and saw a message.
Nando: Good morning, Sunshine.
She smiled.
Sunshine: Good morning, Marine dude.
Nando: I hope I didn’t wake you.
Sunshine: Nope. How did you sleep?
Nando: Are you asking me as my massage therapist or as a friend?
Sunshine: Both.
Nando: When I slept it was good, especially the dreams.
Sunshine: What kind of dreams?
Nando: The kind that involve cold showers to get over them.
Even though he wasn’t there, she felt herself blush.
Nando: What are you doing for dinner tonight?
Sunshine: Busy.
There was a long pause.
Sunshine: How about you come over Saturday night? I’ll cook for you. It will probably be vegetarian though.
Nando: No prob. What time?
Sunshine: Last client is done at five. How about six?
Nando: It’s a date.
Her stomach quivered. Not in fear but in excitement. This time it was a date, one with a time and a schedule and all that stuff. She was being an idiot probably, but she couldn’t deny the pull. He made her laugh and that was a good thing. Plus, he was hot. So hot. Really, really hot.
Even just thinking about him had her nipples hardening and her body heating. Damn. What had she just gotten herself into? She couldn’t control her attraction, even though she hadn’t seen him in days. One thing was for sure, she would have to be careful no matter what happened, because he knew, there was a good chance the man would not only seduce her, but also steal her heart.
* * *
By the time she made it to the shop, she felt more in control. Not that she ever felt out of control--except when Nando was kissing her. She rolled her eyes as she unlocked the door. She had just slipped her keys into the lock when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. She turned around and found Richard, the client she had issues with last year. She still had a restraining order against him, but he was across the street. Probably far enough to satisfy the order. She said nothing, didn’t acknowledge him, hoping he would just leave. She had learned that engaging with Richard just set him off. After unlocking the door, she slipped inside and locked the door behind her. She didn’t open for another thirty minutes, and there was no reason to give Richard an opportunity.
Sunshine liked getting to work a little early and being there by herself. It was quiet, so quiet that she could think. Every now and then she would hear someone next door at the candle shop, but not this early. She went back to her office and picked out her favorite music and put it
on. She liked all kinds of music, and she had favorites in all genres. For work, she loved the Native American chants set to drums and flutes. It spoke to her soul. Probably had to do with her being one quarter Sioux. Or was that one eighth? Her mother was always fuzzy on those kinds of figures.
There was a loud knock at the door that had her jumping out of her skin. When she glanced over and found Auntie Mary there, she sighed. She hurried to the door and unlocked it.
“Don’t you have your keys?”
She shook her head. “Mike dropped me off. We’re going to go straight from work to Xan’s soccer match. You’re coming tonight, right? Xan’s been chattering on about you since you told her you would last week.”
She nodded. Xan was Mary’s oldest granddaughter and she was a soccer freak. Sunshine locked the door and looked out. Richard was gone.
“What’s wrong?”
“Richard was across the street again.”
“What? Did you call the police?” Mary demanded.
“No. He wasn’t within the margin of error.”
She sighed. “Maybe Mike can beat him up.”
Sunshine laughed. “No, because Richard would press charges.”
“He would, the jerk.”
“One step over those fifty yards and I will call the cops. I was thinking about it, but since he’s gone, no worries.”
“But I do. Worry that is. He is not normal.”
He wasn’t, and she knew it. At first, Richard had seemed like a perfect client. Always on time—early sometimes. He paid in cash and never cancelled. Then, he had started to show up at the store. She dropped him as a client. He found out where she lived and started dropping by. Thankfully, she lived in a busy neighborhood; with much of the neighborhood staying unchanged in the last five years or so. When he keyed her car and took a knife to her tires, there had been more than one witness. It had been enough to get a protection order.
“I’ll call that Officer Andrews about him. He didn’t come within the yardage, but I’ll let him know he’s been hanging out.
“Good girl. Your mother raised a smart one.”
“You both did.”
She smiled and walked to the back. Thankfully, Mike, Mary’s oldest son, had fixed her dryer so they were able to wash and dry linens. She followed Mary back since she still needed to get a room ready for her first client.
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