Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

The look on Remi’s face when she’d opened the Leonard’s Bakery box that morning and seen what he’d brought back for them had been priceless. Kevlar had gone a little overboard, getting both the regular malasadas and some filled versions. But he’d also picked up some Pao Doce wraps—Hawaiian sweet bread stuffed with Portuguese sausage—and some pineapple turnovers.

It had been a long time since such a simple gesture on his part had brought someone so much pleasure. He hated to keep comparing Remi to Bertie, but his ex would’ve rolled her eyes, told him how many calories the sweet treats contained, and refused to eat any of them. Remi’s pleasure, and genuine surprise that someone would do something so simple for her, had Kevlar wanting to find more ways to make her feel good.

Their visit to the Dole Plantation had been fun. Since she’d been there earlier that week, they didn’t bother checking out the different kinds of growing pineapples on display, instead heading straight to the maze. Kevlar let her lead, and she’d gotten them so turned around they were well and truly lost. He’d never had a better time. Or laughed so much.

It was a revelation. He had good times with his friends, but as a SEAL, and as team leader, he felt a lot of pressure to always be on his toes. But Remi oozed happiness and a willingness to live life to its fullest. When he’d said as much to her, she’d rolled her eyes and adamantly disagreed, saying she was a socially awkward misfit who spent the majority of her time alone in her condo with only Pecky the taco to keep her company.

It was hard to reconcile in his head. She had no problem chatting up and laughing with the people they met while they were playing tourists. She didn’t seem shy to him, seemed to revel in her interactions with others.

Not only that, but Remi was one of the kindest humans he’d ever met. She didn’t seem to get irritated with the tourists who bumped into her in the crowded Dole Plantation gift shop, she smiled at everyone, and she’d even insisted on buying him a cheesy pineapple keychain as a memento.

All in all, Kevlar found himself being drawn to her more and more as the day went on. He hadn’t found anything about her that turned him off. Granted, he’d just met her, but still, this didn’t feel like a rebound kind of thing. He’d just broken off a long-term relationship, hadn’t been looking to get into another one so soon, but being with Remi felt…right. He wasn’t ready to marry her, of course he wasn’t, but he knew he hadn’t felt for Bertie in the year he’d been with her, even in the beginning, the things he felt for Remi after a single day.

As promised, they’d arrived at the house Baker shared with his wife, Jodelle, just past noon. It was a small house in a friendly neighborhood near the North Shore. They were sitting on plastic chairs on the back deck, and Remi was deep in conversation with Jodelle about the boy she’d adopted and how he was doing in college down in Honolulu.

Baker said in a low voice, only for Kevlar’s ears, “I like her.”

Kevlar smiled, pleased with the compliment. He didn’t really know Baker, other than through the intel he supplied to their commander for some of their missions, but based on what the SEAL gossip network had to say, he wasn’t a man who went out of his way to get into people’s personal business.

“Me too,” he told him.

Kevlar heard Remi snort-laugh, and it made him smile even wider. She might think she was a dork, but to him, she was simply adorable.

“I talked to Tex,” Baker said in a much more serious tone.

Turning, Kevlar gave him all his attention. When he didn’t continue, he asked, “And?”

“And from what we can tell, neither Bertie nor Miles were involved.”

“Miles?” Kevlar asked.

Baker’s lips twitched. “Douchecanoe.”

Kevlar felt stupid. He didn’t even know Remi’s ex’s name. In his head, he’d been calling him Douchecanoe, like she did. “Right. Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure. Miles is an opportunistic asshole. I’m guessing he had his eye on Remi’s money the entire time. She makes decent money on her cartoons, but more importantly…did you know that she brings in seven figures a year from the interest on her trust fund?”

He hadn’t known that. But honestly, it didn’t matter to him. Kevlar shook his head.

“You know who her parents are though?”

“Yes.”

“Right. So you know when they pass, she’ll inherit even more millions.”

Kevlar nodded. He didn’t care about her money. He cared that she wouldn’t have to worry about anything in the future, that she’d always have a roof over her head and wouldn’t have to struggle, but as far as he was concerned, how much money she or her parents had wasn’t any of his business. He wasn’t interested in her because of her bank account, he liked her because of her personality. And he knew he’d only discovered the tip of the iceberg. He was excited to delve deeper and find out more.

“Her ex was trying to convince her to get a life insurance policy,” Baker told him. “After some deep digging, I found an electronic copy of a completed policy he’d had drawn up with an agent, but it’s not signed. I’m making an assumption here, but I’m guessing he brought it up to her and she refused to sign it.”

Kevlar pressed his lips together. “Asshole,” he muttered.

“Yeah. But Bertie wasn’t much better,” Baker went on.

Kevlar sighed. “I know. She’d been on me to change my own policy with the Navy. Wanted her name as beneficiary. Told me that I owed her for sticking with me through so many deployments and if something happened, I should want her to be taken care of.”

Baker gave him a look. “She’s a greedy bitch.”

Kevlar chuckled, but the sound was flat. “Yeah.”

“But I’m not sure she’s smart enough to pull off what happened yesterday.”

“Not sure it takes smarts. Just enough money in the right person’s hands,” Kevlar said dryly.

“That’s true. I’m sometimes amazed at the things stupid people can accomplish when they have enough motivation.”

“So she could’ve done it,” Kevlar said. It was a question and a statement at the same time.

“It’s possible, but until Tex and I find any concrete evidence, we think not.”

Kevlar nodded. Then asked the question that instantly popped into his brain when Baker said he and Tex hadn’t found anything to implicate either Bertie or Douchecanoe. “Then who?”

“That’s what I was going to ask you. Piss anyone off lately?”

“Plenty,” Kevlar told him honestly.

“Anyone who would want to get rid of you?”

He shrugged. “Would leaving me eight miles offshore, with my scuba gear, really be getting rid of me?”

“No.”

The confidence in Baker’s answer felt good. “Exactly.”

“So that leaves us with someone wanting to kill Remi,” Baker said.

The thought made Kevlar’s stomach tighten. “Like who?”

“Don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you.”

He hated to say it, but Kevlar admitted, “I don’t know her well enough to know the answer to that question.”

“You should get on that,” Baker said.

“Workin’ on it,” he reassured him.

“So are we,” Baker said.

Feeling better knowing that both Tex and Baker would continue to dig into this, Kevlar nodded.

“You takin’ her home with you?” Baker asked.

Kevlar grinned. “Well, lucky for me, she already lives in San Diego.”

“Lucky indeed,” Baker agreed. “But that’s not what I asked.”

Kevlar looked at Baker with a brow raised.

“She reminds me of my Jodelle,” Baker continued in a low voice that couldn’t be overheard. Not that the two women seemed interested in the least in listening to their conversation. They were laughing and chatting as if they’d known each other all their lives. “My woman has a well of love inside her so deep, it engulfs anyone who’s lucky enough to get through her shields and uncover it. You, your team, any unfortunate soul she thinks is in need. Once she opens her heart, that’s it. It’s a done deal. I have a feeling Remi’s the same way. Be careful, Kevlar. Don’t go there if you aren’t willing to go all the way.”

His first words made Kevlar feel good, but by the end of his speech, he was a little pissed. “I don’t fuck around with women,” he told Baker a little aggressively. “When I was younger, I was fine with superficial relationships. But I want more now. I want what Wolf and his teammates have. I want a woman I can come home to, who makes me feel as if I’ve left all my worries behind the second I walk through the door. Someone who can make the things I’ve seen and done fade away with a simple smile.”

“And you think Remi is that woman?” Baker questioned.

“I don’t know.” Kevlar wouldn’t lie to the man. “But after being around her for just a day, I feel closer to her than I ever felt to Bertie, who I’d been with for just over a year. She makes me laugh. Makes me think. Makes me want to be a better, kinder person. Want to bend over backward to make her happy. One thing I do know is that this isn’t a rebound thing. It feels like a helluva lot more.”

“Sounds like a good start to me,” Baker said.

“Anyone hungry?” Jodelle asked, interrupting their conversation. “I’m not terribly hungry, as Baker and I had a late breakfast, but I can go in and make some sandwiches or something if anyone wants anything.”

Baker smiled at his wife, and Kevlar felt a pang of jealousy shoot through him. The ex-SEAL was an extremely gruff man. His life had made him that way. But with his wife, it was obvious he was entirely different.

“I’m not eating if you aren’t eating,” Baker told Jodelle.

She laughed and looked at Remi. “One time, I made breakfast sandwiches for the high school surfers. I had one left, and I offered it to Baker. He refused to eat if I wasn’t also eating. So to this day, when we’re together, he refuses to put anything past his lips if I’m not also eating. It’s annoying and sweet at the same time.”

Baker simply shrugged. “Not happening, woman.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I promised Remi I’d find her a taco truck,” Kevlar said.

“That sounds awesome!” Jodelle exclaimed. “Most of the food trucks up here serve shrimp, but the Surf N Salsa truck has fish tacos to die for, and of course, their salsa is some of the best I’ve ever had. They also have burritos and a carne asada plate that’s really good. Oh! I think the Pupukea Grill truck also has quesadillas, but the lines there are always usually pretty long. Wait! I almost forgot about Papi’s Tacos! They have amazing street tacos. But, Kevlar, please don’t leave the North Shore without going by Matsumoto Shave Ice. It’s the best shave ice you’ll get on the island, hands down.”

“Got a preference, Remi?” Kevlar asked.

“Um…all of them?” she said with a small laugh.

“Done.”

Remi raised a brow. “I was kidding.”

“I wasn’t,” Kevlar told her. “You have any other plans today?”

“You mean other than rolling back to the hotel?”

Everyone laughed.

“And make sure you stop by to see the turtles at Laniakea Beach. There’s no guarantee they’ll be there, but they love to come up onto the shore and hang out in the sun. The locals take turns guarding them from asshole tourists who might feel the urge to sit on them to take pictures or other nonsense.”

“Turtles? On the beach?” Remi turned to Kevlar. “Can we go? Please?”

“Of course,” Kevlar said without hesitation. He felt Baker’s gaze on him, but didn’t want to turn away from the excitement and happiness he saw in Remi’s eyes. She was practically vibrating.

“This is the best day ever!” she gushed.

It struck Kevlar once again that this woman was different than anyone he’d ever been with before. She hadn’t once dwelled on the fact that someone had purposely arranged for them to be left in the middle of the ocean. He had no doubt she was still worried about who and why, but she wasn’t letting that get in the way of her enjoying their last day on the island. And she didn’t want to spend her time shopping, or dining in a Michelin-star restaurant. She was excited about tacos and turtles.

It was intoxicating, and Kevlar couldn’t help but want to soak in the happiness that seemed to seep from her every pore.

He wanted to always cultivate this part of Remi. Not hide any shit in life from her, but work hard to give her good experiences to make up for any bad. To see her smile at the thought of turtle-watching, or eating tacos, or getting lost in a maze. She brought out a side of him he didn’t know he had. A nurturing side.

His friends would laugh at that. He wasn’t a nurturing man. He demanded the absolute best from his teammates, pushed them hard. He didn’t go out of his way to compliment or coddle, but each and every one of the men on his team knew without a doubt that he’d do what had to be done in order to bring them back home safe and sound.

But with Remi, he wanted to be…softer. Wanted to be someone who made her smile. Who was her rock when shit hit the fan, as it had yesterday. She hadn’t hesitated to look to him when things got hard. He loved being that person for her, but he wanted to do the same when things were good too.

As they prepared to leave Baker and Jodelle’s house, Kevlar watched as Remi hugged their hosts hard. She might claim she was a total introvert, but it was obvious to him that she actually enjoyed being around others. Her goodness was infectious, and he felt not one iota of jealousy when she hugged the taciturn Baker. That was just who Remi was. Friendly, compassionate. He had a feeling she could befriend the most gruff and belligerent grump out there. And probably earn his lifelong devotion in the process.

Hell, hadn’t she already done that with him?

Kevlar put his hand on the small of her back as he led her to his rental car.

“I really liked meeting your friends,” she told him as he held open her door.

“They aren’t my friends,” he felt obliged to say.

Remi frowned as she stood by the open door. “What? Yes they are.”

“Sweetheart, I’ve only talked to Baker over the phone and via email before yesterday. I met him for the first time on that boat, when you did.”

“What? That can’t be true.”

“It is.”

“Oh…well, they’re your friends now. And I thought they were lovely.”

Kevlar could only smile at that. “In, Remi. It’s warm out here, and I want to get the AC started so you don’t overheat. Think about which food truck you want to go to first.” When she sat, Kevlar shut the door and walked around the back of the car to the driver’s side.

He looked at the small house and saw Baker still standing in the doorway. He gave him a chin lift and got one in return.

Smiling a little, and feeling deep down that Remi was right, he and the elusive Baker were probably now friends, Kevlar got into the car and started the engine, and the air conditioning.

If someone had asked him weeks ago what he thought he’d get out of his vacation to Hawaii, never in a million years would Kevlar have said a friendship with the Baker Rawlins, a more-than-he-bargained-for scuba trip, and finding the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

The latter part was ridiculous and so far-fetched, most people would scoff at the likelihood that he knew with such certainty that Remi Stephenson was meant to be his. But he knew how he felt. He just had to figure out how not to screw things up between them. Figure out who might have wanted her dead and mitigate the threat.

Then live happily ever after.

It wouldn’t be easy, but then again, Kevlar was more than ready for the challenge. This might be the most important mission he’d ever undertaken in his life, and there was no way he would fail. The repercussions of doing so were far too high.

He looked over at Remi in the seat next to him. Her eyes were sparkling, her head was on a swivel so she wouldn’t miss anything. She was happy to be here. Happy to be with him.

No, failing wasn’t an option, not if it meant losing the bright, shining light sitting beside him.