on both arms. One arm has a full sleeve while the other seems to stop just above his elbow. I can’t pull my eyes from him.
“Let us help,” Stacy says as her elbow meets my arm. This effectively breaks the spell I’m under.
Focusing on the task at hand, she and I set up the plates, potato salad, and baked beans. Stacy opens a bag of chips and I finish pouring us each a glass of iced tea just as Michael sets a platter in the middle of the table filled with steaks that appear to be grilled to perfection. My mouth waters just looking at them.
“Dinner is served.” He winks and begins piling his plate with the feast he has prepared.
“Did you make all of this yourself?” Stacy asks.
He laughs. “No. I’m not really much of a cook unless it can be grilled. I actually called a place in town and had them put together the rest,” he admits.
“So you cheated?” I have no idea why I asked that question.
He doesn’t reply, but his eyes, the color of the very ocean we are sitting in front of, sparkle with mischief.
“So what brings you to Hawaii?” Stacy asks.
He chews the bite of steak he just took and even that is hot. “Just needed to get away. My career is very demanding, so it’s nice to step back from it. What about the two of you?”
“We actually just graduated from college. This trip was a present from our parents. We’ve been roommates since freshman year, so they thought it was a good idea to send us off to this beautiful place to celebrate,” Stacy spills.
He nods. “That’s a great gift. You must have great parents.”
“Yeah, we’re really fortunate,” I chime in. Can’t let him know he affects me.
We finish our dinner and both Stacy and I insist on helping him clean up. Afterwards, Michael suggests we walk down to the beach. He grabs us each a bottle of beer and we head for the water. Michael and Stacy stop just before the waves, but I continue on, letting the warm water flow over my feet. This place is breathtaking, and I’m sure it will be a memory I will cherish forever.
“Mind if I join you?” His voice causes me to jump.
He reaches out and rests his hand on my bare shoulder. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
I offer him a shy smile. “I was lost in thought.” I turn back to the expanse of the ocean before us. “I want to commit this view to memory.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” he says.
Turning to face him, I mean to ask him where Stacy is, but the look in his eyes stops me. He’s not looking at the sunset; he’s looking right at me. I swallow the lump in my throat. Those eyes, I’ve never seen eyes that shade of blue before. This view is just as breathtaking as the one I was just admiring. I remind myself that I’m Paige to him. Live a little, that’s what I promised Stacy I would do.
Forcing my eyes from his, not wanting to seem like a crazy girl, I look over my shoulder and discover Stacy isn’t there. “Where’s—”
He answers me before I’m finished. “She said she wasn’t feeling well. Something about too much sun. She said she was going to go lie down and that you should stay and enjoy the view without her.”
It’s with those words that I realize she’s pushing me toward him, to take a chance on a fling with this sexy stranger. I’m also positive the view she’s talking about is six foot two and standing right in front of me; it has nothing to do with Mother Nature.
Michael reaches out and takes my hand. He laces his fingers through mine and leads me back to the dry sand. “Let’s sit.”
I settle beside him on the sand, and he doesn’t release my hand. “Tell me more about your family,” he asks.
Okay, this is not what I was expecting. Is this how a fling works? Do you . . . talk first? “Well, my parents have been married for twenty-five years. They met in college and married right after graduation. I have a younger brother who is starting Ohio State University in the fall. Not sure what else there is to tell.”
“I just like the sound of your voice. I don’t care what you say, just . . . talk.”
There is sincerity in his voice, mix that with my already nervous