20. A New Day

TWENTY

A NEW DAY

Nalani

W hen we walk up the steps of the brownstone, I am shocked to see that the four deadbolts Paul installed are gone, replaced by a much more secure touchpad lock.

“Wow, that’s new. I don’t even have the combination.”

He holds out his phone. On the screen is a text that reads the new code.

“How do you know my door combination and I don’t?”

“Because I overheard Claire and Paul talking about her wanting to fix up a place on the second or third floor, and I may have messaged Dash and Deacon that if they were around, they might wanna check on Claire and the baby because we were gonna be gone for a bit.”

“And what does that have to do with the lock?” I cross my arms and look up at him, amused.

“I may also have told them that if a woman and a child were going to be living in this place, it ought to have a decent lock.”

“So what—they just decided to hire a locksmith?”

“They didn’t have to hire locksmith; we had to change the locks at our place once”—he runs his hands through his hair—“maybe twice when keys went missing and unexpected guests were at our place when we came home.”

“Are you freaking kidding me?”

“I am not kidding you. Love Dash, he’s the reason I started playing hockey in the first place, but he doesn’t worry about shit like making sure your keys are not accessible when people you really don’t know are around. The first time we hired it to be done, took three days to get someone there. The next time, it was over the holidays, and it would have been a week; we were going out of town the next night for a game. We bought one that we could change the code if there was an issue, which there hasn’t been since. There are YouTube videos on how to do damn-near everything.”

“Do you think that offended Paul?” I ask, concerned.

“I think that if he’s gonna let a girl redesign an apartment who’s never used tools, there might not be much that offends him. Guessing the house to him means just as much as the birds.”

“He just doesn’t have anyone, and I want him to be happy. He’s a good guy.”

Punching in the code, he glances at me. “Question for you: when I get around to asking you to move in with me, you gonna be able to leave this place?”

I open and close my mouth, causing a bit of concern to show on his face. “I really hadn’t thought about it. But if it comes up, I would hope you would be open to me staying here when you’re out of town.”

Now he’s the one trying to figure out how to respond. “Then I guess I just figured you’d want to be on the road with me, which is presumptuous. I get that—school, a life.”

I clear my throat as we step inside. “And a part-time job with the Brooklyn Bears as a legal assistant.”

He laughs. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, I guess I forgot to tell you that. I mean, health insurance is going to be nice. I’m sure they’ll take me off theirs soon enough to save a buck, you know.”

“Are you sure you wanna take on a job with school?”

“I will always work,” I state with a slight scowl, thinking about all my mother has done or, in this instance, not done. “And I miss school. I spent three years doing undergrad online. It just doesn’t feel the same.”

“You missed out on so much,” he states as he pulls me into a hug. “I didn’t get that. We’ll figure it out.”

“Promise?”

“On my life.”

Koa walks with me to check in on Paul, who does not shut his door. I find him in his recliner, in front of a ball game, sleeping.

When we round the corner, we see one of the hens strutting around. After we let her out and lock the door behind her, we head up the stairs.

Stepping into the apartment, I’m a little shocked to see Dash and Deacon sitting on the new sectional I ordered.

“New furniture?” Koa asks.

“I ordered it before I moved here. It arrived today.”

“Not just a new couch,” Dash says as he stands up and stretches. “They have a new lock, too. Claire installed it.”

The bedroom door opens, and she walks out wearing sweatpants, a T-shirt, and a cardigan. “I believe I had some help.”

“Is Savannah already asleep?” I ask, removing my coat and hat, trying not to look disappointed because I had the best night maybe ever, and I don’t want Koa to feel as if I am, but I am a tiny bit.

“She was exhausted.” She smiles at me. “Did you have a good night?”

I pull out my phone. “The best night.” I hand the phone to show her the pictures we took at the top of the trail.

“What a gorgeous view? Is it far from here?”

I glance up at Koa because I really don’t know how long it took to get there since I passed out on the way, and I really don’t remember how long it took to get back. I was in a post-orgasmic stupor and wasn’t paying any attention to anything but him.

“It’s about an hour and twenty.”

“Where?” Dash asks, looking over Claire’s shoulder.

“Hudson River State Park. There are tons of trails there, but that one’s my favorite.” He looks down at me. “The view was incredible today.”

“Your autumn voyage?” Dash asks, and Koa winks at me.

“Lease is up at the end of the month.” Deacon stands and stretches just like Dash did. “Callahan, Neiberg, and Koz all asked about moving into Puck Pad. Dash and I were thinking we may look for a place.”

“It’s gonna be like the United Nations over there. We’ve already got a Russian and a German; imagine adding a Swede, a Canadian, and a Czek.” Dash chuckles.

I see Koa shaking his head, but he stops when I look up at him.

“Am I missing something?”

“Nope,” Deacon and Dash say at the same time.

Dash continues, “We were, uh … just heading out. But confirm this for me?” He motions between us.

“It’s all as it should be,” Koa states as he pulls me against his side. “A new day.”

After Dash and Deacon leave, Claire says goodnight.

“You sure you don’t wanna watch TV with us?” Koa asks. “It’s your home, and there’s plenty of room.”

Her reply is a yawn that takes her by surprise. “Savannah will likely be up much earlier than I will want to be if I don’t turn in. You two have a good night, and congratulations.” She looks at me. “You look so happy.”

“I am.” I walk over, give her a hug, and whisper, “Wake me up if you want me to tag in with Savannah.”

She squeezes me back and laughs softly before she walks away.

On the couch, in the corner, one leg sprawled out across the back, Koa pats the spot between his legs. “You feel like talking some more, or are we calling it a night?”

“Actually, yeah.” I rub the back of my neck. “Do you want a drink or something to eat?”

“Unless you wanna lay there and let me eat you for the rest of the night, I’m thinking I need to order in.”

“Game day tomorrow.” I smile, because giving myself a pat on the back would be a bit much, as I walk toward the kitchen, open the little fridge, and pull out a pan. “I made broccoli, chicken breasts, and rice.”

“Made that for me?”

“I made that for you.” I nod and quickly add, “I also made a pan for Paul and another pan for us—Claire needs to eat more than she does; her body feeds Savannah—but yes, I was hoping we’d end up here after the date.”

He stands up off the couch and walks over.

“I remember this being almost all you ate during college. And in the freezer, I made steak instead of chicken for tomorrow, for you.”

He takes it from me and sets it on the counter. I squeal when he then picks me up and hugs me tight. “Love you.”

“Love you.” I squeeze him tighter.

“Thank you for the food, for …” He pauses briefly, and his voice is deeper, thicker, raw, and more emotional when he adds, “For fighting that dark to take care of your heart when it should have been me dragging you out of it.”

I bury my face in his neck as I feel his emotions, the realness in his words, and squeeze him tighter.

“For coming back to me. For loving me.”

Tears burn my eyes again, but the good kind now as I lean back and take his face in my hands. “Thank you for showing me that I am worthy of that love.”

His voice is a quiet roar when he says, “Fuuuuuck,” before he buries his face in my neck. “Fuck.”

We both hold each other so tight, our souls entwined. They’re wrapping each other’s pains and promises together, their energy, their essence, their pasts, their present, and their futures, learning and healing from each other. I can feel it, and I know he can, too.

I need him to know … everything.

“Koa,” I say, my voice wavering just a bit. “There are still things I need to tell you.”

“Now?” he asks quietly.

“I don’t want anything between us left unsaid, not one thing.”

He sits me on the counter then moves back, but only slightly. I take his face in my hands and make quick work, pushing the strands of his thick, silky waves away from the damp places left behind on his beautiful face.

He pushes his face into my hand before taking one and brushing it across his lips. “Talk to me.” He leans back a bit more, giving me the space to do that as he pulls an elastic band from his wrist, and wonder … No. But maybe? I think as he gathers his hair, knots it, and secures it on top of his head.

A smirk tugs at the corner of his lips. “Ask the question.”

So, I do. “Is that one of …” I point to myself.

He pushes up his sleeve, revealing at least five or six. “Every one of them. Never took them off.”

I hold my hand over my heart. “You kept me with you.”

He nods. “Lied to myself for a few years, said it was part of my hockey game day ritual. Told myself that nothing could beat me if a shattered heart didn’t.”

I try to hide the joy it brings me, and he sees it. Of course he does.

“You’ve been with me everywhere.”

“So sad but also”—I grin—“so happy.”

“I’m gonna make sure to keep you that way.”

“I’ve never been anything, but when I’m with you …” I sigh. “So, the more.”

He holds up a hand and motions, as if to say bring it .

“Mele left me more than a trust fund that Mother was pillaging from until I figured out how to stop it.”

“My woman isn’t just sex in cabin socks and a wool hat; she’s smart, too.” He winks, and my core tightens at the same time. He senses it and does the same motion with his hand.

“The properties are mine. Seventy percent, actually.”

“Fuck, that’s …”

“That’s a lot, and not just the monetary value. The land belonged to my grandfather, her husband’s, great-great-great-grandparents. In fact, it’s been in the family since before the last queen, Lili’uokalani, was in power. It predates the US ‘colonization,’ which is a grossly understated description of what happened to our land.”

He smirks, and I roll my eyes.

“You love the mythology of our islands; I love the history.” Caught up in this, I continue off-topic. “Do you know there’s less than five thousand pure-blooded Hawaiians still alive?”

“I do,” he admits. “Do you know I’m one of them?”

I shake my head. “But I know I am.”

“We’re almost an extinct species.” He licks his lips and looks me over.

I shake the thought of what that can lead to … will lead to, and continue. “I don’t want to work with him. He’s … weak. He’s letting her destroy it, and I also don’t want to lose her land.”

He stands silently, no doubt trying to gauge where this is going.

So, I word vomit. “That seventy percent is attached to strings.”

“Strings.” He tastes the word for meaning.

“I have to be married or have an heir.” I shake my head. “But I also refuse to work with him, and he’s going to lose it. The state will end up owning it if someone doesn’t do something.”

“And that someone is you.”

“I mean”—I point to myself—“only child.”

“Your father has no siblings?”

“His brother wasn’t in the will; Mele didn’t like his playboy lifestyle, and he didn’t like that she cut him out. The other died when I was too young to remember her. Neither has children that I know of.”

He nods and looks down.

“Koa, I don’t want the resort.”

He peers up through his sexy, long, thick lashes, a bit of vulnerability showing in his eyes.

“I will walk away from it because this”—I motion between us—“is the life I want.” I wave my hand around the space. “This is what happiness is to me. Not that place. I just didn’t want to hide this until I decided what I would do. I have three months until I have to sign on or off.”

“Question.”

“I’ll answer them all,” I assure him.

“You on the pill still?”

Laughing, I shake my head. “Here I am, spilling secrets, pouring my heart out, and you’re wondering if I’m on the …?” When his brow arches, I stop. “I want you just as badly and?—”

“Hold up. We’ve got a lot going on here all at once, and all very important matters. We need to stay on task, one thing at a time. Would you like to”—he holds up one finger—“keep talking about this”—he holds up a second—“eat, or”—he holds up a third—“let me put a baby in you first?”

My whole body smiles from the inside out.

“Got it.” He pulls me off the counter. “Wrap them around.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” I laugh in a whisper.

“For what?”

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“Damn sure, and waiting’s not an option when the existence of our whole species is at stake.” His eyes dance in amusement as he walks us into the tiny room.

“Are you sure? Like, do you really want a baby with me?”

“Nah,” he says, laying me on the bed. “I want several.”

“We need to agree on some things.” I grip the hem of his shirt and pull it up.

“You’ve got until I get your hot little bod naked and sprawled out to gimme your list.”

“You play this game until you can’t. You’re meant to be on water, frozen or otherwise.”

“Got it.” He ducks so I can pull his shirt over his head. “Next.”

“I’m going to law school.”

“Damn right you are,” he says, pulling one boot off and dropping it to the floor with a thud . “Next.”

“I want to work part-time until I am done with school. I need to contribute.”

The next boot falls to the floor. “Understood, but if it gets too much when you’re growing the first of our brood, that is the first thing that goes.” He yanks off both socks at once. “Next.”

“I don’t know what to do about the properties, and I don’t want to rush into making that decision if it can be helped. We come first.”

“Understood, but you come first, and I’ll make sure of that.” He hooks his thumbs into my waistband, and they’re off and flying to the floor, along with my panties.

“Claire, Savannah, Sophie, Paul, and Noelle, they’re my family.” I sit up and unbutton his pants.

“Makes them mine, too … Fuuuccckkk,” he whisper-hisses when I pull his beautiful, pierced cock from his pants, wrap my lips around it, and suck the tip, hollowing my cheeks.

He fists my hair in that way that bites my scalp just enough to make me feel it, and I anticipate him thrusting into my mouth deep enough I almost gag, but that threat never comes to fruition, as Koa has far too much control. But when he pulls out of my mouth fully, I glance up.

He swipes under my lip where there’s no doubt a bit of drool lingering. He licks it from his thumb, still keeping my head in place with one hand. “Can’t get you pregnant if you’re swallowing our kids.”

I fall back, laughing. “Oh my God, I have missed you so much.”

“Not as much as I’ve missed you.”