It’s here! Here’s another excerpt to whet your appetite. Mak’s dad takes a tumble and Jami goes to the hospital where she encounters his entire extended family, not all of whom are happy to see her. The whole subplot of Mak’s family wanting him to marry Shona came about because after I came home from the UAE I went out with a guy I had grown up with. That was his agenda. “We should get married.” “Our mothers would be so happy.” Romantic, huh? For the record neither of the aforementioned mothers said anything to me, but he literally took me to a jewelry store on our one and only date. He was married six months later. I am still sure I did not make a mistake turning him down. So you can see how I feel for Mak in this scene.

 

Excerpt:

“I don’t know what you did to get gramps on your side, but thanks.” Mak unlocked the passenger door of his car.

“Your father is all right?”

“He took a spill down the stairs of the church.” He held the door for her.

“After his AA meeting.” Jami turned before she climbed onto the seat.

He had his arm propped on the window. He hung his head, letting his hair swing across his eyes like it was all too much.

“Mak?” Jami brushed her fingers across his forehead, pushing his hair out of the way. Tired. So tired. “He’s okay.”

“I know.” His jaw flexed. “I’ll take you back to the spa. What were you doing with Kai?”

Jami climbed into the seat. His entire family was gathered at the hospital so getting away was probably a good idea. When he climbed behind the steering wheel she said, “He was teaching me to surf. Are you mad that I came?”

“Why would I be mad?”

“It looked like a family thing and I’m a haole.”

He glanced at her, one eyebrow raised. “Aunt Lola said something, didn’t she? She was pretty invested in me getting together with Shona. She’s good friends with Shona’s mom. They both want to solve a problem they have.”

“You and Shona?”

“Yeah. She’s got kids and no husband. I’ve got no wife and a father who needs attention. Kill two birds with one wedding.”

Jami stared out the windshield. A problem very much like her own. “Is that why you hired Shona to work for you?”

Mak sighed and shook his head. “Jesus, this is a small island. I hired Shona so she could get on her feet. I’m not marrying a woman just because my family thinks it’s a good idea.”

Jami stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, wh—” He glanced at her. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. It’s been a rough afternoon.”

Jami clasped her hands in her lap. “You came home to take care of your dad though.”

“Of course, I did. You have no idea what it was like. I got the call in the middle of the afternoon that my dad had been in a surfing accident and had to be flown to Honolulu to the hospital there. It took me a full day to get here.” He clutched the steering wheel. “I shouldn’t have left him alone.”

“You had a job.”

“I also have a father who I could have lost because I wasn’t here.”