“What happened?” she asked. “Did you get my messages? Did Kade tell you what he did? He is such a bastard, Kathleen!”
Okay, it might take more than grease. Kade might have to send Alisha and Lewis a couple of first-class tickets to Hawaii, too.
“I’m so sorry about that,” I said. “Is Lewis okay?”
Alisha spent the next several minutes telling me how he was doing, and it seemed he was healing nicely—and from the sound of it, he was also enjoying the resulting attention Alisha was lavishing on him maybe a little too much.
“But don’t think for a second that I’ve forgiven Kade,” she said. “And why didn’t you ever tell me he could be so . . . so . . .”
“Scary?” I provided.
“Among other things,” Alisha said. “The way he just stood there and pulled the trigger so easily. It scared the shit out of me, Kathleen.”
“I’m really sorry,” I said. “He’s not like that. I mean, he is, but he’s not. Not really. I’m just . . . I’m sorry.”
Alisha gave a huge sigh. “It’s okay. Lewis is okay. And thank goodness you’re okay. You are, right? He didn’t hurt you or anything?”
“Of course not,” I said. “I’m doing good. I’m in Hawaii. And . . . I’m married.”
That took a moment to sink in and then my ear was splitting. “You’re married?” Alisha shrieked.
I grinned. “Yeah. Last night. Kade and I got married. I guess I’m on my honeymoon now.”
“Oh my God, Kathleen, that’s wonderful!” Alisha squealed, her earlier animosity toward Kade apparently forgotten. “I’m so happy for you! And in Hawaii? How romantic! Tell me everything!”
So I told her pretty much everything, the Reader’s Digest Condensed version, right up through the purple flowers and sunset wedding.
“I heard about the senator,” Alisha said when I was through. “It’s been all over the news. That’s the guy who threatened you if you didn’t break up with Blane, right?”
“Yeah, that was him,” I confirmed.
“Blane’s been on the news, too,” she said hesitantly.
“Is he okay?” I asked, suddenly worried.
“He seems fine. He’s been doing the press thing about his uncle. I think the funeral is tomorrow, maybe?”
My eyes slipped closed and I rubbed my forehead. I ached to talk to him, know how he was doing, and I wished there was a way I could still be someone who provided comfort to him, though I knew that wasn’t possible right now.
“You know there’s talk of the Massachusetts governor appointing Blane to the empty seat, right?” Alisha asked.
My eyes flew open. “What? No, I didn’t.”
“Yeah. There’s been a lot of coverage about Blane, including that thing where they arrested him for Kandi’s murder when someone else really killed her—and lots of people like him. I guess there’s just under two years left of that senator’s term, so they’re saying since Blane was his great-nephew and only heir, the governor might appoint him. You know, kind of like a Kennedy.”
“Wow,” I breathed. Blane, a United States senator. That would be something.
“I know, right?” Alisha said.
We went on to talk about other things and I told her a little bit about Hawaii, but my mind was stuck on what she’d said about Blane. I wondered if he’d want a position like that, then chastised myself. Why wouldn’t he? He’d been running for governor. Why wouldn’t he jump at the chance to be a senator?
After a while and several promises from me to call again soon, we hung up. I was sitting on the couch, watching the waves crash along the shore, when Kade came out of the bedroom. He was drying his hair with a towel, another wrapped around his waist.
“Who was that?” he asked.
“Alisha,” I replied. “You’re in such deep shit with her.”
Kade raised an eyebrow at me, and I could tell he really didn’t care. I sighed. Looked like it’d be up to me to make things right with her and Lewis.
“So what do you want to do today?” he asked. “We can swim in the pool, sit on the beach, go sightseeing . . .”
I pushed him down on his back against the couch and gave a sharp tug on the towel around his waist. It fell aside.
“Or we could stay here for a while,” he added hoarsely as I took him in my mouth. Then he stopped talking altogether.
We spent three weeks in Hawaii, touring Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island. Sometimes we stayed in a hotel, sometimes on the yacht. The days were perfect and blended together into one long memory of blissful happiness. My morning sickness had at last passed and I felt great. Kade taught me to snorkel, which was really cool, until I came face-to-face with a fish as large as I was.
I screamed through my snorkel, immediately getting a noseful of water, and Kade had to help me back onto the yacht, giving me a hard time the entire way.
“He was big enough to eat me for dinner!” I complained as Kade took off my flippers.
“He was not,” he chided me, sliding his sunglasses back on and running his fingers through his wet hair. “He was just coming closer to get a good look at you.” Kade smirked at me, the sun making his hair shine like a raven’s wing. Leaning toward me, he said, “Though I’d be happy to eat you for dinner.”
I smacked him lightly on the chest. “You’re insatiable,” I complained, but I was smiling. My bump seemed to be getting larger by the day, and I would’ve been self-conscious about it, except that every morning Kade would lay me on my back and scoot down my body to kiss my abdomen and croon, “Good morning, baby.” The first time he’d done it, I’d laughed.
“What the heck are you doing?” I’d asked.
“He gets to hear your voice all the time,” Kade had explained. “I want him to know my voice, too.”
It’d been such a sweet sentiment, I couldn’t stop the big, stupid grin on my face. “How do you know it’s a he?” I’d asked.
Kade had looked up at me as though I’d asked him what color the sky was. “Because I know.”
Of course he did. I’d rolled my eyes and left it at that.
That night, Kade took me to dinner at a beautiful restaurant right on the beach. The meal was five courses, and Kade had poured more Perrier in my glass as he told me about the time he’d gotten snagged at customs when he’d been entering Russia. I was completely enthralled with his story as I listened to him talk about how he’d ended up spending three months in a Russian prison, which was how he’d learned the language.
“How did you get out?” I asked.
“Luck and circumstance,” Kade said evasively. “The guy I was there for was actually another prisoner, so once it was done, I managed to get out. Rusty was helping me on that job.” He laughed. “Man, he hated being there. Said the food sucked and that the only decent thing the Russians made was vodka.”
My eyes were wide. “Yeah, but . . . a Russian prison? For three months? Wasn’t it . . . dangerous?” Which was probably a stupid question. Kade’s entire life had been dangerous.
He shrugged, finishing off the wine in his glass. “A couple new scars for mementos. Not a big deal. People learned quick enough to leave me alone if they valued staying ambulatory.”
A shiver went through me and Kade frowned, reaching for my hand.
“Should I not have told you?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, it’s not that.” I wanted to hear what Kade would tell me about his past, though I knew a lot of it was sanitized—and there were some things he’d never tell me. My face heated and I looked away from him, embarrassed. “It’s just that sometimes, when you talk like that, it’s . . .” I couldn’t say it, so I just shook my head.