The Bride's Best Man

“Look, Dan, I’d trust you with my life, but Shelby doesn’t know you. She’s afraid you’re going to hurt her aunt.”

“Hurt Kay? I owe her too much. Not that I’d ever even consider such a thing anyway. You can tell Shelby that Kay is safe from me.”

“Then why are you flirting with her?”

Dan looked at him again, and Pete was glad they were no longer in the areas of Honolulu heavily traveled by tourists. “You’re being ridiculous!”

“Am I? I noticed it as much as Shelby did. I know you’re not a womanizer. So what’s going on?”

“I’m showing an old friend Hawaii. That’s all.”

Pete tried it one more time. “So you really don’t have a plan?”

“Of course not.”

They finished the drive in silence.

The women didn’t go to the beach until after lunch. To their surprise, the two men joined them almost at once. Dan had rented Pete and himself a room for the day so they could shower and change before they went to dinner. Driving back to their homes would take too much time.

Dan stretched out on a towel beside Kay as the other two ran into the surf together.

“How do you think your plan is working?” Kay whispered.

Dan almost choked. “My plan?”

“You know. To get to know Shelby.”

He felt relieved. “I wouldn’t say she’s exactly taken to me. Would you?”

“No, but I think she’s getting used to you.”

“How about you? Are you taking to me?” he asked with a big grin.

“Oh, you!” Kay returned, smiling. “You’d better be glad I know you’re teasing!”

Dan went along with her. “Right. By the way, I like your swimsuit. It looks good on you.”

“Thank you. We don’t do a lot of swimming in Cleveland. I’m a little white so I’m covered in sunblock.”

“I’ll be glad to rub some on anytime you want.”

“There you go again! What with our pretending, as you suggested, you’re going to have Shelby thinking the wrong thing if you don’t stop that.”

“Okay, I’ll behave.” To take his mind off her beautiful shapely legs and curved bottom, he changed the subject. “Pete told me all about your knowledge of furniture. He was quite impressed.”

“I should know it. After all, I’ve worked in the furniture business since I was eighteen.”

“I thought you started your shop after college.”

“I did, using the insurance money I had from Mom and Dad’s deaths. But while I was in school, I worked parttime in a furniture store. Plus, I studied furniture in college. At least, I focused on it in my interior design classes. Furniture and antiques. I did a lot of that on my own. There are books where you can look up most anything.”

“Do you sometimes get antiques?”

“Yes. People don’t know what they’ve got. Have you ever watched The Antiques Roadshow? They have one set in the U.S. and one in England. You can learn a lot from watching that show.”

Dan raised himself on one elbow. “Did you think seriously about opening a shop here?”

She avoided his gaze. “No, of course not!”

“Why?”

Kay abruptly sat up. “Why would I? I have a perfectly good shop in Cleveland.”

“Because Shelby might decide to stay in Hawaii. She wouldn’t be the first person to arrive in paradise and decide not to leave.”

“Like you.”

It seemed like forever ago when he’d come to Oahu. Only, he’d come with every intention of staying. He’d needed to get away from Cleveland and everyone there, and Hawaii was the farthest he could go. Still, he’d fallen in love with the islands immediately.

He could tell he’d upset Kay with his questions. Before he could find a way to calm her down, she jumped to her feet.

“I think I’ll cool off in the water for a few minutes.” She ran down the beach to where the waves rolled into the shore. The surf was strong today, and Dan immediately rose and followed her. He wasn’t sure she’d be able to stand up if she went in too far at high tide.

She’d slowed down after she’d entered the water, feeling her way in. Shelby immediately came to her side, reaching her before Dan did.

“Aunt Kay, I’m glad you decided to come in! Isn’t it great?”

Since a wave rolled over her at that moment, Kay didn’t have a chance to answer. She would have gone under except for strong hands on her waist.

“I think you’re in over your head, Kay,” Dan whispered in her ear.

“Yes, I think I am.” As soon as he let her go, she began moving back toward shore.

“Wait, Kay!” Dan called out, turning to follow her.

“What did you say to my aunt?” Shelby demanded.

“I told her I thought she was in over her head. She’s shorter than all of us. I was afraid the waves would be too strong for her.”

“I’ll go see,” Shelby said, apparently finding his words unremarkable.