18. Kai

EIGHTEEN

Most things in life come as a surprise.

~ Lykke Li

Iturn to see Bodhi and my sister standing behind me with huge smiles on their faces. They look simultaneously travel-weary and blissfully content.

I jump up.

"Kala! Bodhi! You're home? I didn't expect you until sometime after midnight."

I pull my sister into a hug before I consider that I'm still soaked from my surf session. Shaka's jumping right alongside me, whimpering and wagging his tail as if to say, Thank goodness you're back, your brother did a horrible job being my babysitter.

Traitor of a dog.

"Surprise!" Kalaine shouts as I lift her off her feet. "We got an earlier flight, so we made it back to LA before sunrise this morning."

"Man, it's good to see you," I confess.

I lean in toward Bodhi and clap him on the back.

Shaka runs between me, Bodhi, and Kalaine, and then he finally settles in a sitting position near my feet. Kalaine bends to rub his head and babbles all sorts of sweet words at the dog like he's her long lost child. He leans into her hand, but stays next to me for some unknown reason.

"You got them all wet," Mila says from her spot on the blanket, then she stands and walks over to Kalaine.

"Welcome home—or back. Back to Marbella," Mila says, warmly.

"It's home. One of my two homes."

Kala stretches her arms out to Mila. The two of them embrace in what I'd almost call a sisterly hug.

Kalaine works part-time at Mila's Place when she's on the island, just to pick up the slack and to keep herself busy. I guess they've developed a friendship.

Kalaine pulls away, a beaming smile on her face. "And don't worry about Kai dripping on us. We're used to it. Surfers never mind a little residual ocean water." She reaches out and gently squeezes Mila's shoulder. "And you. I'm so happy to hear about you and Kai."

Mila's blush fills her cheeks and she looks up at me as if she needs me to bail her out.

I always will. Anytime Mila needs me, I'll do whatever it takes to relieve some of the weight she carries. That's how we got into this fake dating mess, after all. I couldn't sit back and watch Mila struggle when I knew I could do something to alleviate her stress and anxiety.

Was I crazy? Am I crazy to keep pretending now, even when it means deceiving my sister and my best friend?

I already know my answer.

But right now, I'm at a loss for words.

"Sorry!" Kala says, stepping back into Bodhi, who easily slips his arm around her. "I don't mean to make it weird. I know this thing between you two is new. I just figured with your stance on not dating, if you and my brother are giving this a shot it's not exactly casual."

"Right. Yeah. Well, he's amazing," Mila says, smiling up at me as if she means it.

I think I might be blushing now. Thankfully the tan of my skin will hide it a bit if I am.

Bodhi grins over at me. "Way to go, man. Mila's going to be so good for you."

If we were actually dating, I'd have to plan some serious revenge on my best friend and my sister. They're acting like Mila and I are engaged, not just starting to see one another. Maybe it's the jet lag. Or it could be their pre-marital bliss which seems to know no bounds these days. They're so in love they've lost their minds. That must be it.

Bodhi looks over at Mila, and what he says next makes me want to sink into the sand until I'm no longer visible. I want to morph into a sand crab … one of those creatures who can live under the surface of the beach … I'd creep into my grainy refuge where I wouldn't have to witness my best friend humiliating me.

Is it too much to ask?

Bodhi reaches over and pats me on the side of my upper arm in a typical bro-move. Then he looks at Mila.

"I always knew Kai had a thing for you. I mean, he tried to hide it. But it was obvious the way he'd jump at any hour of the day or night to help you."

"I help lots of people," I defend.

But no one seems to hear me.

Bodhi keeps going, like there's a well-oiled tube straight from his brain and his mouth. "You're definitely out of Kai's league."

Mila giggles. Maybe she's amused? Embarrassed? Nervous?

" … so thanks for slumming it and giving my best friend a chance." Bodhi chuckles in my direction.

"Ex-best friend," I mutter.

All three of them laugh good-naturedly as if I'm joking.

Bodhi wraps up his speech of mortification with, "I'm ninety-nine percent sure Kai will make sure you never regret saying yes to him. I'm assuming he asked you, and not the other way around."

"He did." Mila smiles shyly.

When she glances up at me, our eyes lock and I remember the exact moment I announced, I'm her boyfriend.

I slip my arm around her waist without a second thought. This isn't about me.

A thousand thoughts ping through my mind, some of them involve creative ways to pay Bodhi back for roasting me and putting us on the spot. But with Mila's soft body pulled against my side, and my arm looped protectively around her waist, one main thought floats to the surface and stays there:

Is Bodhi right? Did I always have a thing for Mila?

If I did, I never knew it. I've definitely always thought the world of her. I've admired her resilience, the way she mothers Noah with a balance of grace and healthy limits. I respect the effort she puts into managing the inn. She's a skilled businesswoman. Anyone would attest to how beautiful she is. Of course, I noticed. I might have even considered more than friendship with her early on, but that was years ago, before she made it clear where she stood with men—all men, and that, by default includes me.

I look around at Bodhi, Kalaine and Mila. All three sets of eyes are trained on me.

"Well, this hasn't been awkward at all," I joke. "Glad you two came back early to shine a spotlight on our new status."

Mila's soft smile turns into a carefree laugh. Maybe it's a nervous laugh, but it comes out sweet like a song and it warms something inside me in the process.

Bodhi smiles like he didn't just lay my heart out in front of my sister and my … whatever Mila is.

"Hey, payback's a bear," he says, casually. "You didn't exactly make it easy for me and Mavs to make our way back to one another. I'm doing you the solid you never did for me."

"Kala's my baby sister," I say, meaning it with my whole heart. "I think there's a rule somewhere that I'm supposed to make it hard on you."

Kalaine glances at Mila and leans in close. "Tell him I'm not a baby, will you? Maybe he'll listen to you."

Shaka licks my hand, like he knows I'm being humiliated. It's a move of solidarity, and even though the dog is a menace, I scratch his head to thank him.

"Look at you!" Kala says, with unmerited happiness. "You and Shaka. I knew you'd come around."

"I did not come around."

Shaka leans in and presses his whole sandy body against my leg as if to say, You came around, admit it.

I didn't. And I won't.

"Oh, I see how it's going to be now," Kalaine says. "Next thing I know, he'll be in your bed at night."

Mila lowers her voice as if she's confiding in Kalaine. "I think that might already be happening."

Kalaine's eyes go wide. "You and … Shaka?"

"Bro? Seriously?" Bodhi asks.

"The dog jumped in my bed. I didn't invite him. I had to sleep. He whined when I tried to kick him out."

"Oh my gosh! You let Shaka sleep with you!" Kalaine squeals.

I'm pretty sure the guys on the waves can hear my sister.

"Thanks a lot, Hot Dog," I say to Mila, squeezing her side without a second thought.

She jumps like she's ticklish and giggles while retreating from my hand, which only brings her closer into the rest of me.

Bodhi and Kala watch us with twin expressions of delight. They're grinning like they're seeing me come out of the water after winning a heat in a surfing competition. And I'm too overwhelmed to feel guilty for misleading them. They've pushed this to the next level by practically giving their blessing on our nuptials when I only told them we're dating.

Mila doesn't shrug me off. As a matter of fact, she leans into me. I like the feel of her in my arms more than I should. Our farce has an end date, even if we haven't formally set one. The purpose is to keep Brad at bay, not for me to get my heart all tangled up. Mila's still a woman dead set against dating—for valid reasons. That hasn't changed, even if my feelings have.

Man. Was Bodhi right? Talk about an inconvenience.

"You did not just call me Hot Dog." Mila nudges me playfully.

Bodhi wags his eyebrows. "I'm pretty sure there's a story behind that nickname … one you don't have to share."

My sister looks between me and Mila. "You two are adorable together."

When I glance down at Mila, our eyes connect. One hundred things seem to pass between us, and I can barely decipher a few of them.

Bodhi saves me from having to respond to my sister. "Hey! You never answered me. Is that Noah out there with Ben?"

Mila looks away from me to answer Bodhi. "Yes. He just had a lesson with Kai."

She beams up at me. "But he wanted to surf with Ben too."

Then, she returns her focus to the ocean, stepping away from me to track Noah like the devoted mother she is. My eyes remain on Mila as if she's a brand new puzzle I need to study and solve.

"If my wetsuit weren't packed in our bags and I hadn't just traveled for eighteen hours, I'd be joining them right now," Bodhi says.

The reminder of how long they have traveled seems to cue a yawn from Kalaine.

"Where are your bags anyway?" I ask, my eyes still on Mila as she stares out into the water.

"At the house," Bodhi says. "We dropped them, and then Mavs talked me into coming to the shack to see you right away. I can't say no to her. You know how it is."

I take Mila in, the way her ponytail rests on her back, the waves of her hair barely tamed. The slope of her shoulders. The apples of her cheeks, pink in the warmth of the sun. I glance back at Bodhi.

"Yeah. I know."

And, the crazy thing is, I do know.

"Look! Noah caught a good one!" Bodhi shouts.

All four of us watch as Noah rides a long right into shore. Ben follows behind on the next wave in.

They drag their boards up onto the sand.

While they're still a decent distance from us, I lower my voice and tell Kala and Bodhi, "We're keeping things quiet for now—from Noah."

Bodhi nods earnestly. "Sure. Sure, man. We get it. Mum's the word."

Then he actually makes that motion, zipping his lip with his pinched fingers.

I shake my head. "Not you too!"

Kalaine and Bodhi slept the whole day and into the night. I heard them rustling around at two in the morning, getting food in the kitchen and talking in low murmurs to one another. But they settled back into their rooms after a while, and they're both still dead to the world right now. Their internal clocks must be so wonky. It's the downside of world travel. A week in Hawaii put them three hours behind us, but then Portugal is eleven hours later than Hawaii. Their days and nights are temporarily flipped.

Speaking of flipped, Shaka is sitting at my heels while I wash my breakfast dishes. He tried jumping into my bed last night, and it took more than a bit of coaxing to remind him he sleeps with Kalaine. Needless to say, she was tickled with the whole my dog loves you so much situation. Emphasis on her dog. When I woke, he whimpered to come out of her room, so like the spineless man I apparently am, I let him out, and he's been trailing after me ever since.

I look down at Shaka, "What? What do you want?"

Great. Now I'm talking to a dog.

He looks back at me like he's got those hearts in his eyes like the ones on that emoji Kala uses when she texts me. It's like he's the dog version of a lovesick teen. And I'm the target of his misguided affection.

"Really, man? You've got my sister. She loves you. Go give her your puppy dog heart eyes."

He sticks his tongue out to the side of his mouth for good measure, just to add to the potential cuteness factor—if you were into those kinds of things and thought they were cute, which I am not, and don't. Then, when the whole tongue thing doesn't work on me, he drops to the ground and tilts his head. He's so pathetic, he's the canine reminder of me when I crushed on this girl, Tootie, in ninth grade. Tootie Lynn had just moved to Hawaii from Dallas, Texas. She had long wavy blond hair and had been a cheerleader in her old high school. Tootie's accent alone made me want to drop to the floor with my tongue out and my head tilted.

Call it camaraderie or call it being worn down by some form of mutt-driven waterboarding, but this dog has me bending down and petting his head, and then he rolls just the slightest like the true con artist he is, so he has my hand on his belly rubbing in slow circles and scratching his ribs while he lays there like he owns the place.

And, of course, this is the moment when my sister decides to wake from her Rip van Winkle slumber and amble into the kitchen.

"Oh. My. Gossshhhh." She stretches and says in her scratchy morning voice. "That is the sweeeetest. Kai. I need my phone."

"Take a photo of this and die."

She just laughs as I stand up quickly before she can actually grab her cell. Shaka has the decency to roll over and trot to Kalaine instead of laying belly-up as a testament to my foolishness. So, I don't hate the dog as much as I did. I still don't love him, let's be absolutely clear.

Kala moves through the kitchen, grabbing down a mug and walking toward the coffee pot.

"You are a saint. You already made coffee."

"Not only that," I add. "I get bonus brother points for grinding the beans you brought back."

"Kona coffee! I'm so excited." Kalaine literally bounces on her toes as she pours her cup three-quarters full and then opens the fridge to grab the milk to top it off.

"I slept like the dead."

"You doing okay?"

"Yeah. I'm great." Kalaine holds her mug with both hands and leans into my side. "It's good to be back."

"It's good to have you back. I thought you might want to stay in Oahu this time."

"Nah. Makuahine was so over the top about reception details. I love her enthusiasm, and we needed to finalize things, but it would be a lot to deal with if I were there full time. Besides, this is where Bodhi and I want to be."

"Our mom has waited forever for one of us to get married."

"She has." Kala takes a long sip of her coffee and hums.

"Oh! Speaking of …" Kalaine looks at me. "Makuahine brought up Aima. At first it was here and there, but by day three, she was mentioning her a lot. She even had her over two days before we left for Portugal while we were deciding on the food for the reception. It's a good thing you called about Mila."

"Why?"

"I think our parents had told her parents to try again at my wedding. She had a boyfriend for about a year, but they broke up nearly a year ago. She's very, very single … and ready to … "

I groan—audibly and long. "Hold that thought. Don't even finish your sentence." I run my hand through my hair. "Wait. Aima's coming all the way to California?"

"She is. Of course. She might as well be our cousin. How could she not come? I want her to be here, Kai. I just don't want our parents pulling their usual tactics on you two."

"I thought she'd be at the Hawaiian reception, not the wedding here on Marbella." I sigh.

Our parents had been planning to play matchmaker along with Aima's parents. Of course, they had. Aima and I grew up like cousins. Our moms have been best friends since childhood. They basically betrothed us in the womb. They deny it, but it can't have been much later than that. They always joked about how sweet it will be when Aima and I finally fall for one another. It's been a set up my whole life. It wasn't a matter of if, but when, in their minds.

I like Aima. She's kind and decent. But I don't love her, not in the way a man loves a woman. We're talking zero sparks. She's literally my ohana—not by blood, but she might as well be a sister.

The expectation of our romance has been looming over me like a contract—one I evaded signing when I went pro and started surfing around the world. And then I moved to California. Visits home always hold the potential for an Aima ambush.

Kala smiles over her mug at me. "When you said you were dating someone? The way your face softened and your eyes got that dreamy tone to them? I don't think Makuahine would have given up her plan to fix you two up unless she saw how you morphed into a man fully devoted to a woman when you talked about Mila."

"Yeah," I say, skirting past my sister to put away the milk carton she left out. "Good thing I have Mila."

Kalaine wasn't the only one cataloging the look on my mother's face when I said I was dating someone—relief, joy, more relief, hope, and most of all, happiness for me. Ugh. I'm a horrible man. Then again, I'm not trying to go around fake dating people. I'd date seriously if the right woman would have me. And, from where I'm standing, there's only one right woman. And she won't have me—not for real.

I allow the cool air of the fridge to rush across my skin. Is there an especially torturous place in the afterlife for guys who stand in the kitchen like it's any other morning, flat-out lying to their sisters in the sweet hours of the early morning? I'm guessing, yes.

"You two are so adorable, Kai. I know Bodhi and I were extra about it. But seriously? You just fit. You're two of the most sincere souls on earth. Both of you have such integrity and you're both always looking out for others. You'll take good care of each other. I really see this working out long term. And you've always lost your cool around her, I should have known. I did have my suspicions. Mila's so smitten with you, too. It's the sweetest."

Mila is smitten? I doubt it. She's just play-acting. That's what we agreed to.

"What are you talking about? I haven't ever lost my cool."

"Um. Okay."

"What? I haven't."

"Does tripping over the step when coming into the inn ring any bells? Stuttering over your words at times? Starting to say something and then acting all befuddled like you did in junior high? Do I need to go on?"

"I don't …" Have I regularly lost my cool around Mila?

"Kai. It's fine. I'll drop it and let you keep your man card. I'm just saying I'm happy for you two. And obviously you have to ask Mila to come to the wedding with you. Makuahine will never back off her attempts to pair you with Aima unless you've got Mila basically attached to your hip. Our mom needs to see you dating someone else with her own eyes."

"I know. You're right."

But what will it mean to bring Mila to my sister and Bodhi's wedding?

And should I even ask that of her—to fake in front of so many people from Marbella?

Maybe we could stage a breakup before then—an amicable parting of ways.

And how would we manage that?

Is there any possible way to appear to end our romance and still maintain a friendship in front of all these gossipy islanders?

Besides, a breakup would leave Mila wide open for Brad to make a move. And the idea of him pursuing her disturbs me infinitely more now than it did the day I met him.

I'm so cooked.