Beach Happens (Hawaii Heat, #2)

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  “This doesn’t have to be a hostile merger,” he said, trying to make a joke.

  “But by its very nature it is. I am being strong armed into a loveless marriage for profit. I’m sick of fighting. I’ll do it, but it’s going to be on my terms.”

  “I’m still your friend,” he said.

  “You never were my friend.” Michaela looked out into the sea. She had thought there were no more tears. Her friends were back at the Palekaiko Beach Resort. Joely, Amelia, Kai, Hani, and Makoa. And she would never see them again.

  Wiping the tears from her eyes, she realized she had one more condition. “I want you to dump Tetsuo Hojo as a client.” Marcus could fire Gerald on his own time. She wasn’t his employee to be ordered around.

  “He pays me a lot of money,” Gerald hedged.

  “It’s a deal breaker for me. How bad do you want the merger?”

  Gerald stared her down for a full minute. Whatever he saw in her eyes, he didn’t try and negotiate or bargain. “Fair enough. I think he’d rather have you on retainer than me anyway. You're all he could talk about this week. Are you going to take the bar here?”

  “No,” she said. “There’s nothing for me in Maui.” She deliberately turned her back on the waves.

  “Well, I for one, am glad to have the old Michaela back. This will all blow over and things will get back to normal as soon as our vacation is done.” He went to kiss her on the temple, but she flinched away from him.

  “I’m leaving on a four o’clock flight. You can drive me to the airport.”

  “Honey, we have this room for a whole week.”

  “I’m going home,” she said. “Fly your girlfriend out.”

  He shrugged. “If you insist. I’m going to go take a shower.”

  When he was gone, Michaela unclenched her fist and opened the abused ring box. The pretty, sparkly diamond winked up at her. She slid the cursed thing on her finger. They were stuck with each other now.

  As she was getting up from the table, Gerald’s email beeped. Looking over her shoulder, Michaela confirmed he was in the shower. She sat in his chair. It was an email from Marcus. She deleted it unread. Marcus didn’t get to be a shit heel in email. She wanted him to scream at Gerald over the phone or in person like he did to her.

  It wasn’t fair that Tetsuo was going to keep putting the screws to her friends, though. No matter how she and Marcus ended, they didn’t deserve to be collateral damage. She logged onto her email and sent Amelia a message to open up the documents she was about to send to her from Gerald’s email account.

  Then Michaela found every single piece of correspondence she could find pertaining to Tetsuo Hojo and emailed it to Amelia. It was a huge ethics violation. But technically, Gerald was still the Kincaides' lawyer. Amelia was a Kincaide. She knew that Gerald had been charged with finding everything he could on how to stop Tetsuo in his tracks. Michaela liked to think she was forcing Gerald to do his due diligence.

  Then she deleted the emails from his sent folder. She heard the shower go off, and she knew she didn’t have much more time. She hoped she had given the Kincaides' next lawyer some ammunition.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Michaela refused to even get the dress on until Gerald’s sister, Corrine, sent her a picture of Gerald at the church, in his tuxedo. Only then, did she allow her other bridesmaids to help her get dressed and into the limousine.

  Her father had been able to book the same church and the same reception hall almost a month and a half to the day of the last fiasco. Of course, Michaela had wanted to have the justice of the peace perform the civil ceremony and be done with it, but her father wouldn’t hear of it.

  Michaela was done arguing. He bought the dress. She’d wear the dress. He’d booked the venues. She’d show up. As long as Gerald did.

  She had a terrible feeling of déjà vu when she stood in vestibule and peeked out, but there was Gerald. He was laughing with his best man by the altar. Her terrible feeling just grew worse. She had invited her friends from the Palekaiko Resort, hoping that they would come. But they hadn’t. It had been a long shot. Air fare was expensive and the resort probably couldn’t afford to have all of them take time off at the same time, even if she did dangle a trip to Mavericks. It wasn't as if Gerald and she were going on a honeymoon. After the reception, they were going back to their respective condos.

  Squinting at the groom's side of the church, she caught sight of Brittany. That was some balls, there. I guess that's what Gerald was doing when this horrible day was over. She had a few pints of Ben and Jerry's in the fridge waiting for her. It wasn't malasadas, but it would do the trick.

  Michaela had hoped Amelia would have dragged Samuel to the wedding. Well, if she was being honest, she had hoped that Amelia would have told Marcus about the wedding. But if she did, he didn't call or attempt to contact her. She had wanted a chance to explain everything and just talk, but apparently that ship had sailed.

  She hoped the information she sent to them helped. Michaela didn’t like Tetsuo’s machinations and was glad to throw a wrench into them.

  “I’m sorry. This is a private party,” she heard her father tell someone who walked in. By the tone of his voice, it wasn’t anyone who had been invited.

  “I’m here to give the bride a gift.” Michaela’s fingers went white knuckled on the door. Surely, she didn’t hear that voice correctly. Turning around, she thought Dude had come to the wedding after all. But it was Marcus, dressed in board shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. He wore sunglasses and a beer bottle dangled from one hand. Under his arm was a large, rectangle package.

  “You can put that with the rest of the presents, and they’ll be transported to the reception.”

  “Can you give us a few moments, Dad?” she asked.

  “The wedding is going to start in fifteen minutes.” He pulled back his sleeve and checked his watch.

  “That’s all I’ll need,” Marcus said.

  Her father audibly sniffed as he passed Marcus, never suspecting that one of People Magazine’s most eligible billionaires was standing two feet away.

  “You look beautiful,” Marcus said.

  “I know.” Michaela took the beer bottle out of his hand and drained the rest of it. “My stylist took four hours on my hair and make-up.” She belched behind her hand. “I’m a freaking goddess. What do you want, Kincaide?”

  “Open it,” he said.

  “Is it ticking?” She shook the box, experimentally.

  He flashed a sexy grin that Michaela told herself she was immune to. It was wrapped with a wide, white silk bow. If she thought she could get away with it, she would stuff it in her purse. That way, if she needed courage today, she could reach in and stroke it and remember that a part of Maui was with her.

  Carefully, she set it aside and placed her purse down on top of it. Michaela was pretty sure she could scoop the ribbon in without him seeing her do it. She opened the box and pushed away the tissue paper. It was a wet suit.

  Pulling it out, she noticed it had a pocket for a CO2 bottle. It was an inflatable wet suit, so if you got hammered by the waves you had a chance of getting help floating back to the surface. “I’ve wanted one of these forever,” she said. “They’ve always been backordered.”

  “Why don’t you try it on and we can hit Hermosa Beach? I hear the waves are choice today.”

  She blinked at him. “I’m getting married today.”

  “Wouldn’t you rather go surfing?”

  Yes. Yes, she would. But that was beside the point. “I don’t think you can handle the waves here, Hawaii boy. That water is fucking cold.”

  “That’s what the wet suit is for.”

  “Do you have another beer?”

  “I’ve got everything you want on my boat. It’s docked in Marina del Rey.”

  She swallowed hard and looked away. “I get it. You think this would be a great way to get revenge on Gerald and Tetsuo. I’ll save you the trouble. They couldn’t care less.”

&nbs
p; Marcus nodded, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the coat closet, shutting the door behind him. Unfortunately, half her train was on the other side of the door.

  “What on earth?” Michaela had just enough time to say that before his mouth was on her and he was kissing her with that same Maui magic that made her fall in love with him.

  She knew she was in love with the stupid jerk when she couldn’t stop thinking about him over the past month. It was a bad idea to continue this kiss, but it felt too good to stop. The scruff on his cheeks were silky soft and she quivered against him as she remembered how it felt between her legs.

  Marcus fumbled at the buttons on the back of her dress. “How many of these damned things are there?”

  “Over a hundred,” she said and brought his head down to hers again.

  He gave up on the buttons as their tongues tangled. He tried to lift her skirts to get his hand under them, but there were too many layers.

  “Fuck,” he said in annoyance, breaking off the kiss. He turned her around and went back to the buttons.

  By the time Michaela’s head stopped spinning, he was making headway. “Stop,” she said. “Do you know how long it took them to get me into this contraption?”

  “You can’t surf in this. But more importantly,” he leaned in and nipped her earlobe. “You can’t fuck in it.”

  He had enough of the buttons done so he could pull her arms out of the sleeves and push the dress down to her waist. Ravaging her neck, he caressed her breasts over the corset she wore.

  “You can leave this on,” he groaned and went back to unbuttoning.

  “You can’t fuck me silly in fifteen minutes and then have me walk down the aisle.”

  “It’s more like ten minutes now. And you’re not getting married today.”

  “I’m not?” she asked in a small voice.

  He turned her around again and got the dress buttons open so he could push the dress around her waist. “Tell me you want to marry Gerald and I’ll button you back up and leave.”

  Michaela clutched his arms. “Don’t you fucking dare.”

  He turned her back around to continue the buttons. “I’m sorry. I’m a hot headed idiot. I should have calmed down and gone out to coffee with you. I should have realized Tetsuo was playing games.”

  “He was playing games with all of us,” she said softly.

  “My problem is I fell for you fast and hard and all I could think was that it was one-sided.”

  Michaela shook her head. “No, it wasn’t.”

  “I’ve been a raging asshole these past few weeks. And it’s because I knew I fucked up and I didn’t think I could fix it with a phone call. This was the only way I thought I could.” He turned her back around. She was beginning to get dizzy. This time, he was able to push the dress to her ankles.

  Marcus helped her step out of it.

  “Holy shit,” he muttered.

  She was wearing white stockings and a matching garter belt. The corset pushed her breasts up and rested just below her panties. Of course, the ensemble was ruined by the fact she was wearing white Chuck Taylors instead of heels.

  “I love you,” he said. “We only had a week together and some of that was crazy times. But I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I don’t know if this will last or if the feelings will get stronger. All I know is I can’t let you marry Gerald Stone and I can’t let another minute go by when I’m not inside you.”

  Michaela launched herself at him, wrapping her legs around him. Marcus staggered, nearly tripped over her gown, but found his balance and pressed her against the wall. He pulled a condom out of his pocket as he kissed her into a frenzy. Pulling his board shorts down, he put it on. Marcus tickled his finger against her clit and she moaned.

  “You’re so wet and ready for me,” he whispered.

  “Always,” she whispered back.

  He plunged inside her, taking her hard and fast against the closet wall. Never once did he stop kissing her. The wall creaked and shook. His cock stretched her, filled her with every satisfying stroke. She bucked and writhed, wanting more needing everything he could give her. When she came screaming, it was only his mouth on hers that stopped anyone from coming to investigate. He was right behind her, coming with a satisfied grunt.

  “Holy shit,” he said again, resting his forehead against hers.

  “I love you,” she whispered against his mouth. “I know it’s too soon and too crazy, but you’re right. We need to give this a chance.”

  “Come away with me. Sail on my yacht until you’re sick of me. I want to wake up next to you and make love all day long.”

  “What about your hotels?” she asked.

  “Samuel can fill in when we don’t have wireless. Take a leave of absence from work. Or quit outright. Unless,” he looked up at her. “You really want to be partner. Then we’ll figure out another way. I can run my business from California as easy or easier than I could from Maui. We got cheated. I want two weeks with you. Two months, if you let me. Two years, if we want. Whatever it takes, until its forever. What do you say?”

  “Let’s go grab some waves.”

  Her parents gaped at them as they came out of the church hand in hand.

  “What is going on here?” her father thundered.

  “I’m Marcus Kincaide,” he said. “I love your daughter.”

  “Marcus Kincaide, the hotelier?” her mother asked.

  “Yes, Ma’am. There’s not going to be a wedding today.”

  “Now, see here...” her father started to say, but Michaela interrupted him.

  “No, you listen. Gerald Stone is a bad match for me. He’s one step from being disbarred because of his questionable ethic practices. You wouldn’t want that staining the reputation of your company, would you?”

  Her father frowned, “Of course not, but...”

  Michaela cut him off again. “Marcus is a successful businessman. He’s honest and hardworking and I love him too.”

  “When did this happen?” her mother wailed.

  “It happened fast. Almost too fast to be real. So we’re going to take a few months off to make sure,” Michaela said.

  “But the church, the reception...” her father looked lost.

  Michaela twisted off her engagement ring. “This is worth ten grand. I don’t want it. But listen to me. Not as a daughter, but as an attorney. Merging with Stone Mechanics is the right thing to do financially for the future of your company. Do it. Just leave me out of it, okay?”

  “But it’s my legacy. I want my grandchildren to have it one day.”

  “Then leave them your shares in it. I’ve got to go.” She stood up on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Take care of him,” she said to her mom and kissed her too.

  “Michaela, you have a church full of guests,” her father thundered.

  “Darling, please don’t shout. I have a headache. Can you fix me a nice martini? There’s a good boy.” Her mother patted his arm. “Be happy dear.” She waved at them.

  And for the second time, Michaela ran out of the church in her underwear. Except this time, she had a wetsuit in one hand and a handsome surfer dude in the other.

  Epilogue

  One year later

  “Well, they say third time’s the charm,” her father grumbled. They stood on the beach, both of them barefoot. He wore the loudest Hawaiian shirt she had ever seen and khaki shorts that showed off his knobby knees.

  Michaela wore a haku lei of white flowers on her head instead of a veil and her white sundress was light and airy. Her mother and Zarafina toasted them with Mai Tais as they walked down the beach in a makeshift aisle. Paper bags filled with battery powered tea lights ran the length of it. The aisle ended at the stone palm trees where Dude hung his hammock, Marcus stood with his best man, Holt. They were dressed in more sedate Hawaiian shirts and slacks. Marcus was so handsome. Her surfer business man. Together they found the compromise that made them both happy. Her face hurt from grinning.

&n
bsp; Her maid of honor, Joely was also at the front in a green halter dress. Dude was officiating, having taken the necessary online course to be declared a minister. He wore a simple black shirt with a gold palm tree on the back and matching pants. Of course, he was also barefoot. He had a wicked gleam in his eyes, that she didn't quite trust.

  Amelia was still running around, making sure everything was perfect. Michaela wasn’t sure what she was worried about, Tetsuo had his hands full with the amount of paperwork crap she had been filing in the local courts. He wouldn’t be bothering them for a long time, if ever.

  Michaela could smell the roasted pig as the catering staff of the Palekaiko Beach Resort set the tables in the tiki bar. Her wedding cake was a sticky confection of malasadas held together with honey and spun sugar. She wanted to skip to the cake cutting ceremony.

  “This is the wedding I’ve always dreamed of,” she said.

  “It better be,” her father grumbled. “This is the last time I’m walking you down the aisle.”

  “We’ve got a life here now,” she said. “I’ve opened up my own law firm and Marcus is running all of his projects from here. I think you can safely assume your father of the bride responsibilities are over.”

  Her father handed her off to Marcus and went to stand next to her mother.

  "Yo! Listen up," Dude started.

  "You're not going to do it like this. You promised." Marcus glanced over at their mother but she just shrugged and kept taking pictures.

  "I'm so sorry," Marcus muttered to her.

  "We knew what we were getting into," Michaela said.

  "Today we gonna join dis bruddah and the wahine with the teeny bikini..."

  "I'm going to going to shove your snorkel fins so far up your ass, you're going to have the stick out your tongue to paddle," Marcus said between his teeth.

  "Catherine, what's going on?" her father asked.

  "Hush, Harold. This is the way they do things on the island." She flipped the shaka at Samuel. "Preach it, Dude."

  "Is it early to start drinking?" Michaela asked Marcus out of the corner of her mouth.