Chapter 3
Aleck stood apart from the patrons waiting to be seated at Duke’s and realized he was fidgeting.
He never fidgeted. But anticipation over spending time with Kenna, even if it was only thirty minutes, had him shifting back and forth on his feet like he was a ten-year-old kid in the principal’s office.
He had no idea what it was about her that had him so off-kilter. All he knew was that he was excited to get to know her better.
When Aleck saw Kenna headed toward him, he couldn’t help but smile. She was laughing as she stopped by the hostess stand to speak to the woman working there. Then she was headed toward him.
“Hey,” she said as she approached.
“Hi,” he returned.
They stared at each other silently before she asked, “You want to take a walk or something?”
Aleck shook his head. “No. You’ve been on your feet all night. I’d prefer to find a place to sit where you can actually relax for a while.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment.
“But if you’re set on a walk, that’s okay too,” Aleck added awkwardly.
Kenna shook her head. “No, sitting sounds heavenly. I just wasn’t sure you’d want to do something so…lame.”
“Kenna, you’ve been working your ass off tonight. I’d be a dick if I insisted on adding to your fatigue.” He looked around the bright lights of the shopping area and inwardly groaned at the lack of privacy and the fact that all the benches were occupied.
But Kenna came to his rescue. “We could sit outside by the beach…if you wanted,” she suggested.
“Yes,” Aleck said immediately. The sun had set not too long ago and the temperature was absolutely perfect.
“We have to go back through the restaurant,” Kenna said. “I mean, we don’t have to, but it’ll be the fastest way to get to the beach.”
“Lead on,” Aleck said, gesturing toward Duke’s with his arm.
He followed close behind her, selfishly hoping like hell no one would need her as they walked past the tables toward the beach. Luckily, no one stopped her and soon they were walking on the sand, headed for a lounge chair.
“Is this okay?” Kenna asked.
“It’s perfect,” Aleck assured her, and it was. The hustle and bustle of Duke’s was behind them and the sound of the calm ocean lapping at the beach was relaxing. He waited until she sat on the chair, then took a seat next to her.
“I know I already apologized, but I kind of feel I need to again—” Kenna started.
But Aleck cut her off. “No, you don’t.”
She looked over at him. “You don’t even know what I was going to apologize for,” she protested.
“It doesn’t matter. You have nothing to be sorry about.
If you thought you might apologize for jumping into the water this morning, I’m definitely not sorry you did that.
The training we were doing was boring. Yes, it was important, but being safety monitor isn’t my favorite thing in the world, so you did me a favor.
And why would I be upset about a beautiful woman jumping on top of me? ”
“I didn’t jump on you,” she protested with a small smile. He saw her glance down at her hands in her lap. It was endearing. Aleck had been observing her all night, and it was obvious she was outgoing and an extrovert, so seeing her shy whenever she was around him was kind of cute.
“And if you were thinking about apologizing for asking me to come tonight when you had to work, don’t. I’ve actually enjoyed watching you interact with others, and it’s been fun to see Elodie and Lexie let down their hair and truly relax.”
“You really like them, don’t you?” she asked, then scrunched her nose adorably. “I mean, of course you do, because they’re your friends, but sometimes guys don’t like their friends’ girlfriends and merely tolerate them.”
“I know what you mean. And if you mean ‘like’ in the sense that they’re my best friends’ women and they amuse me? Yes. They’re good people who have been through hell, and came out stronger on the other side.”
Kenna tilted her head at that. “But they’re okay?” she asked.
Aleck liked the genuine concern he heard in her voice.
“Yeah. I’m sure they’ll tell you all about their experiences if you ask.
They aren’t shy about it, and honestly, they’re some of the strongest women I’ve met.
In a nutshell, Elodie was a chef for a mobster who took exception to the fact she wouldn’t poison a guest for him.
She ended up cooking on a cargo ship, which was hijacked by pirates in the Middle East. She came to Hawaii but the mob guy wasn’t willing to let her go, so he tried to kill her. ”
Kenna’s eyes were huge in her face. “Holy shit!”
“Yup. But she’s okay now, and the mob guy is out of the picture, and she and Mustang got married and they’re madly in love.”
“It’s obvious,” Kenna said, nodding. “I’m glad she’s okay.”
“Me too.”
“And Lexie?” Kenna asked.
“She was working in Africa and got kidnapped, along with a coworker. We rescued her, but unfortunately the man she was with didn’t survive the rescue.
He had a heart attack. She came to Hawaii to work, but the twin of her coworker wasn’t happy that she survived and his brother didn’t, and tried to take out his frustration and anger on her. ”
“Wow, you weren’t kidding about them having gone through hell!”
“Nope. But anyway, seeing them happy and relaxed is always nice. Lexie’s thing wasn’t too long ago, so seeing her so carefree is refreshing. So you have nothing to apologize for,” Aleck said. “Besides, I was pleasantly surprised by the food here.”
“What, you thought it would suck?” Kenna teased.
“No. But Waikiki isn’t my go-to spot to hang out or for food.”
“I know, but I think the area has gotten a bad rap for whatever reason. There are some amazing places to eat down here. And the business owners are super nice too.”
“I guess I need to get out of my comfort zone a little more,” Aleck said.
“I’d be happy to show you my favorites,” Kenna told him.
“Yes,” Aleck answered immediately.
They smiled at each other.
“So…what brought you to Hawaii?” Aleck asked, wanting to know everything about the woman at his side. He was aware that the clock was ticking and he didn’t have nearly the time he would’ve liked to get to know her better.
“I came here in college with some friends and fell in love with everything about it. The weather, the sunsets, the people, the culture. After I graduated, I got a job in Pittsburgh that I hated. The winters sucked, and I spent most of my days in a cubicle. I made an impulsive decision to quit and move out here. I arrived with three suitcases and huge expectations.” She shrugged.
“My life hasn’t turned out how I thought it would.
You know, making big bucks at some huge corporation, changing the world in the process… but I’m happy.”
“That’s good,” Aleck told her. “You been working at Duke’s long?”
“I tried to find an accounting job, which was what my major was, and even though I was offered one or two, something kept me from accepting. I couldn’t imagine living here and being stuck in another cubicle, staring at numbers all day.
It was one thing to do that in Pennsylvania, where it’s grossly hot in the summer and freezing and gray in the winters, but to do it here in Hawaii, where the weather is literally perfect all the time, just seemed wrong.
“So, while I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I took a waitressing job. It was awful, and the pay sucked…but I realized I loved meeting all sorts of different people every day. That job led to another, and after a while, I met someone who put in a good word for me here. It’s been a few years now, and I can’t imagine working anywhere else. ”
The enthusiasm and honest enjoyment of her job was clear in her tone.
She wasn’t blowing smoke up his ass. She honestly seemed to love what she did.
It was somewhat of a revelation for Aleck.
He just assumed she was waitressing temporarily while she looked for a “real” job.
But it was obvious this was a real job for her.
“What about you?” Kenna asked.
“What about me?” he asked.
“You’re a SEAL. How’d that happen? Were you one of those kids who always dreamed about joining the Navy and becoming a superhero? Or were you forced to join up because you were a troublemaker?”
Aleck chuckled. “Neither, actually. I was an okay student, didn’t get into trouble, and was voted class clown,” he told her.
“After high school, I was kind of lost. Didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.
Wasn’t really ready for college. I went down to the recruiting office in San Francisco and talked to all the recruiters.
The Navy offered me the most money and benefits. So I joined up.”
Kenna smiled. “You totally played them off each other, didn’t you?”
“Yup,” Aleck said without remorse. “I got through boot camp and sat through a recruiting session about the SEALs. I thought it sounded like a challenge, so I signed up.”
“And here you are,” Kenna said.
“Well, it wasn’t quite that easy,” Aleck said with a snort.
“I know. I’m not an expert, but I know about BUD/S.”
“Yeah, Hell Week and BUD/S sucked, but there’s so much more to becoming a SEAL than just that.”
“I figured. So…you’re from San Francisco?” she asked.
“Yup. My parents still have a home there too. They travel a lot, but that’s home base.” He wasn’t about to get into the fact that they were multi-millionaires right now. Or that he had quite the healthy trust fund. He wanted Kenna to like him for who he was, not for how much money he had.
Silence fell between them for a long moment. But it wasn’t awkward. Not really.
“How old are you?” Kenna asked.
“Twenty-nine,” Aleck said without hesitation. “You? Or…am I not supposed to ask that?”
“I’m thirty. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t like twenty-one or forty. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with either, but after Carly’s recent terrible experience with an older man, I’m not sure I want to go there. And twenty-one just seems super young to me.”