Time away did nothing to dull the effect that Azalea Zimmer had on me. She was about fifty yards away from me. Even from this distance, she was stunning . . . more beautiful than I remembered.
I watched from afar, unable to hear the conversation between her, Emma, and the man they were talking to. When Azalea touched his forearm, alarm bells rang in my ears, and my hackles rose on the defense.
I had no right to feel this way. I was out of my depths.
Ignoring the foolish feeling deep inside, I approached and called out, “Now I see why they call this place Paradise.” I couldn’t think of anything better to say to ease my way into the conversation.
“Koa!” Emma exclaimed and rushed forward.
“Hey, Sis,” I said, wrapping her in a big bear hug. Emma’s head reached just below my chin. I was just shy of six foot four. She was tall and didn’t have an ounce of fat on her. Neither did our younger sister, Leah, who was an inch shorter than Emma. We were all athletes. I played football, Emma played volleyball, and Leah ran track and field.
I felt Azalea’s eyes on me, watching and studying me like I was some exotic creature spawned from the depths of the ocean floor. What would the equivalent of a piece of shit be in oceanic terminology? Because I knew that’s what she thought of me.
“Let me introduce you to Duke,” Emma said, tugging on my hand and dragging me back with her.
“Duke, this is my older, but not wiser, brother, Koa.”
I laughed and squeezed my sister’s waist. She squealed. I clasped hands with Duke. “Nice to meet you,” I said.
“Koa?” Duke repeated my name. “That’s a cool name.”
“His name means brave and fearless,” Emma explained. “My name, Kona, means lady. And our little sister is Mokihana. Her name is for the native flower of Kauai.”
“Very cool,” Duke said. He turned toward my ex. “You all have unique names.” My eye twitched at the smile she sent him. “My name’s pretty boring in comparison to all of yours.”
“I think it’s unique,” Azalea said. “I’ve never met anyone named Duke before.”
“Me either,” Emma said.
They were looking at him the way I would look at a piece of grade-A steak—hungry and ready to devour.
“I’ll take you guys on a quick tour,” Duke said to Azalea and me. “Emma’s already seen everything.”
“If I know my sister at all, she’s been in here every day, if not more than that to check on the status.”
Duke’s smile mirrored Emma’s. “I just like to check things off and document everything,” she said.
“You’re a bit of a control freak.” I wrapped my arm around my sister and squeezed.
“So am I,” Duke answered.
“See?” Emma said, defending herself.
“You’ll all need to wear hard hats. It’s a safety measure, nothing to be concerned about.” Donned in bright yellow hats that matched Duke’s, we followed him around. The space was impressive. I listened attentively to everything Duke told us. We must have spent a half hour exploring every inch of the place before we were right back where we started.
“So, what do you guys think?”
“It’s wonderful,” Azalea said as I answered, “Very cool.”
Her eyes snapped to mine, and I grinned. The corners of her mouth moved upward, but she didn’t allow herself to fully smile.
“Emma, why don’t you come with me, and I’ll go over the next steps with you.”
She looked at Azalea, then me. I gave her a we’ll be fine look. “Sure,” she said to Duke and followed him out.
The large open space suddenly seemed like a coat closet. And we were trapped inside.
“It’s good to see you, Azalea.” My words felt empty and hollow.
“You too,” she answered, shifting from foot to foot.
“So, how’s your family?” I asked, hoping the question was an easy conversation starter. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I realized how pathetic they were. I’d never even met her parents.
Azalea obviously picked up on it as well. She gave a soft snort but recovered quickly. “Everyone is good.” She shrugged. “Nothing exciting to report. How’s yours?”
“Um . . .”
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Okay, this is just weird.”
“Agreed.”
“I hate it.”
“Me too.”
“It’s stupid of us to make small talk, Koa.”
“You’re right.”
“We don’t have to do this.” Her words were a knife in my gut. They hurt and burned.
“Azalea,” I sighed.
Before I knew it, she was in my arms. Her arms were wrapped around me. “It’s good to see you. Let’s not let this be weird, okay?”
She was too close. Much too close. But I couldn’t resist embracing her back. “Okay,” I said.
When she pulled away, she was smiling. It was a cautious smile, but it was there all the same. “I’d like us to be able to have a conversation without it being awkward.”
“I’d like that too.”
“Good. Okay, good,” she said.
It wasn’t the raking over the coals I expected, but for some odd reason, I realized I much preferred that option over her initial cool aloofness.