Chapter 15

Maura loved the nighttime in Hawaii. She had access to decent beaches in Miami, although she preferred Kailua Beach to them, but the nighttime was truly beautiful. Zeke and she thought it best to take Rory down into the heart of Waikiki for the night. She liked to walk along the beach as the sun was setting and the tiki torches were being lit. And she loved the fragrant, balmy air. She smiled as Rory turned onto H-1.

"So, you haven't thought of moving here now that your brother's moved over here," Rory asked.

She shrugged. "I don't think so. It's fun, I love the island, but I'm afraid that I would go stir crazy. I need change every now and then. If I can't see fall foliage, at least I can fly to it relatively easily, I would be unhappy."

"Where are we going?" Zeke asked from the backseat.

"I thought we could hit Ala Moana tonight. I'm in the mood for a pork ball."

"I should have known. We haven't been on the ground for 24 hours but you feel the need to grab one of those clusters of cholesterol."

She smiled. "You know that it's my addiction."

"What's a pork ball?" Rory asked.

"They are heaven on earth," Maura said.

"They're filled with fat," Zeke said.

"He pretends to hate them but then he always eats them," Maura said.

Rory laughed. "Yeah. He likes to pretend he's all Mr. Health, but when you get him near something greasy…all bets are off."

"Well, these are not really greasy. It is sort of a savory sweet dough with a pork filling. One of them is enough to fill me up for dinner. I have no self-control when I get them. It's probably a good thing I don't know how to cook them."

"Face it, you don't know how to cook anything," Zeke said teasingly.

She frowned at him. "I can cook macaroni and cheese."

"You can't count using the blue box as cooking."

She stuck out her tongue and he laughed. He was often too serious so she treasured when she could make him laugh. "You can't either. I don't know why a woman is expected to be a great cook and men get awards when they boil water."

"Nope, you know my skill is in cleaning up the mess others leave behind. But, Rory here can."

She glanced at Rory who seemed to be concentrating on the traffic with renewed interest. "You can cook?"

He shrugged as if embarrassed that Zeke had told her about it. "I like to dabble in the kitchen."

"Dabble as in I know how to throw a steak on the grill or--"

"As in, Rory here can make a soufflé you would kill for," Zeke said, pride infusing his tone. It was hard not to smile at the way Zeke talked about Rory as if he were some kind of wonder. But even as she did, she felt a little twinge of jealousy. These men were going to go back to the way things were before they came to Hawaii. When she got home, it would be just her.

"What's wrong?" Zeke asked.

She glanced at him and gave him a smile even though it felt forced. "Nothing. I think the jet lag is getting to me. Plus, I'm hungry."

He looked like he didn't believe her, but he let it go. Zeke was always good at giving her space.

"There's Ala Moana," she said and gave Rory instructions on where to park. When he parked, she slipped out of the jeep and felt something stir the fine hairs on the back of her neck. Maura looked around but didn't see anyone looking at her. She walked a little further, listening to the guys talk about nothing of importance and she felt it again. This time, she stopped and looked around the parking garage. It was well lit and busy with tourists and locals on a Saturday night.

The guys walked a few steps before they stopped too. They were both frowning.

"What's wrong?" Rory asked.

She shook her head. "I think I'm just tired."

She fought the urge to look behind her as they walked into the shopping center's food court. The place was filled with a wealth of locals and tourists. It was large, housing at least 20 places to eat. She didn't pay attention to anything else. Maura made a beeline for her favorite Asian eatery. She heard Zeke chuckle behind her.

"What if we don't want to eat that, Maura?" he called out.

"You can feed yourself, Zeke," she said, but didn't turn around.

He didn't follow but Rory did.

He grabbed her by the arm. "Slow down, love. You sure do eat up the ground with those long legs."

"What's the use of walking slowly when you know what you want?"

He shook his head and his lips twitched. "To enjoy the journey?"

She rolled her eyes as she stepped into line to wait to give her order.

"So, you don't eat all the healthy stuff?"

"I watch what I eat but I have been blessed with good genes. Zee's father had all kinds of issues."

"But he didn't die because of that. He died in a bomb, right?"

Rory looked surprised that she knew. She tried not to take offense to it, and she really shouldn't. Rory and Zeke had known each other for so long. She was pretty sure that Zeke rarely got involved with women the way he had with her. Their relationship was different for him…for her. They always seemed to have that connection, the ability to call each other in the middle of the night just to talk.

"What is going on in your head?" he asked.

She shook herself out of the funk. "What do you mean?"

"Zeke said that you have a computer in there," he said smiling at her. She usually hated when people talked about her intelligence that way. But when Zeke did, it didn't bother her. And, apparently, it included Rory now.

"When I get tired, I can't keep my thoughts organized. I'm trying to do that right now."

"Ah," he said, but she knew he knew she was lying.

This was their first night in Hawaii and she didn't want to ruin it with sad thoughts or regrets. Living in the moment…that's what she told Jillian she would do. And dammit for once in her life, she would.

"Ready for the best thing on this island next to pineapple and malassadas?" she asked.

Rory studied her for a second then grinned. "Bring it on."