Mai Tai Marriage Read online

  By the time Reverend Fake Minister pronounced them husband and wife and told him to kiss the bride, Jim was convinced he’d passed out hours ago and this was all some crazy ass dream.

  Unlike the heated kiss that had prompted this nonsensical ceremony, their first kiss as not-really-man-and-wife was a mere peck on the lips suited to simple friends. And after today, if he could say anything about his relationship with Lexie, they were definitely not just simple friends and they may very well have landed in OZ after all.

  Chapter Three

  Paperwork was not Jim’s friend. He hated it. Avoided it. But even though he had weeks of leave left, the last thing he needed was time on his hands. So only a few days after what should have been his wedding day, he sat in his office and rifled through another stack of reports.

  On top of his desk, his cell phone sounded. Recognizing the San Francisco area code, he took the call before Bridget’s voice reminded him that her mother lived in the City by the Bay.

  “Hi, Jimmy.”

  The part of his heart that was angry as hell almost disconnected the call, but the other half that still dreamed of a loving wife who understood him and the navy life responded, “Hello, Bridget.”

  “I didn’t think you’d talk to me.” He heard the hesitation in her voice.

  “Then why did you call?”

  “I’d hoped…” She paused again, no doubt waiting for him to speak, but he had nothing to say. “I’ve been doing some thinking.”

  What now? She’d already stabbed him in the back. Did she want to twist the blade?

  “My mother seems to think I was a little hasty.”

  “Your mother?”

  “And my father, and my friends, and well…me. I was scared. I let my doubts overrule my heart.” She blew out a hard ragged sigh. “I’m sorry.”

  So was he. “I know.” That was the best he could give her.

  “Can you… Can you forgive me?”

  Memories of Bridget scurried to the front of his mind. How at his hospital bedside after almost losing his life from the IED, she’d been the only person to see past the scars from all his battles to the man inside. Even after three years, whenever his own mother saw him without a shirt, she couldn’t stop herself from staring at the patchwork of remaining scars and tearing up. But not Bridget. She’d stood by him through the ups and downs of treatment and later surgery for the old burn scars. And after his visit with the parents of the young Marine killed in that same explosion, Bridget had been the one to quietly hold him.

  Beyond all reason or logic, the corner of his heart still beating forced air from his lungs to his mouth. “Yes.”

  “Enough to try again? A second chance?”

  “I—”

  “Or maybe start over?”

  “Bridget—”

  “Remember the night I got my new orders?”

  He did. She’d invited him to dinner at her place. Cooked his favorite dish, lasagna. And greeted him at the door wearing nothing but an apron. They’d had cold lasagna for breakfast. A smile tickled the sides of his mouth. “I remember.”

  “We’re good together.”

  That they were.

  “Everyone makes a mistake once in a while, Jimmy.”

  Lord knows he’d made enough in his life. Most recently telling the scared corporal he could stay behind in the safe Humvee right before it blew sky high. “When you come home, we’ll do it right this time.”

  And this time he wouldn’t give her reason to doubt him.

  * * *

  Growing up, Lexie had always wondered why time flew when you were having fun. Well, apparently, dread did not work the same way. Not that Lexie didn’t love her mother. She did. Really she did. Lexie just didn’t always agree with her.

  For instance, about taking two weeks off from work in the middle of the busy summer season to accompany her mom on a last minute jaunt to Capri. That would be the island in Italy. Not the hotel in Florida.

  And yes, to her mother, a sixteen hour flight from Hawaii to Italy would be a mere jaunt. If there was one thing the Hales of Boston did well, it was jaunt across the continent. The European continent. Not that her mother hadn’t dragged her from one end of the United States to the other. Including its southern most point in both Key West and the Big Island. Which is how when Lexie ran away from home, she found herself working in a scuba shop in Kona. Of everywhere she’d ever been, and she’d been everywhere, Kona felt like home.

  “Are you planning on actually unpacking that box or are you going to admire it a while longer?” Nick Harper, part owner of the Big Island Dive shop, leaned over the glass counter examining the contents of the cardboard box at Lexie’s feet.

  “Thinking about it.” She smiled.

  “Think less. Unpack more. I’ve got some open water grads going down for their first manta ray watch tonight and I know there’s going to be lots of shopping for that stuff when they get back.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.” Lexie saluted and looked down at the rolled up posters of underwater sea life. Her favorite was the scuba diver holding a flashlight to the underbelly of a manta sailing over his head. Such beautiful animals.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Nick stepped around the display case.

  “Fine. Why do you ask?”

  “Because you have that same look on your face my wife does just before she stuffs a handful of saltines in her mouth.”

  Nick and Kara recently announced she was pregnant, and the woman did have a tendency to turn a bit green about the gills just before gnawing away at crackers or making a bee-line for the bathroom. “I’m not pregnant if that’s what you’re thinking. My mother’s coming to visit tonight.”

  “Oh.” Any more words were unnecessary. Nick’s eyes grew round with understanding, and the step back he’d taken showed he understood all too well.

  “She’s coming in on the seven o’clock flight from LA.”

  Nick didn’t move, didn’t speak. He just waited. For someone who had once been the biggest playboy on the island, he really did settle well into the role of husband and supportive friend.

  “I wouldn’t go to Capri.”

  With a nod, Nick let her know he got it. He knew her mother was a rather spoiled, affluent woman, who, though extremely well mannered, had a limited perspective of normal people’s reality. Working women simply didn’t take off for Capri, or Madrid, or Hong Kong when the urge for a good gazpacho or handmade suit struck.

  “She’s staying with me.”

  Surprisingly, Nick’s eyes grew wider. “I thought she liked staying at the Four Seasons. Wasn’t it established that your place is…what was it she called it?”

  “Charming. Lovely. Had I ever considered painting the guest room Chinese Ivory.”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “That was it. What does she have against blue?”

  “It’s not blue, it’s ocean breeze, and it’s very…common.”

  “Right. Well. If you need a break you know where Kara and I live. You’re welcome any time, and at the risk of torture, we won’t reveal where you’re hiding out.”

  A deep rumble moved through her chest and burst out in a spew of laughter. “If mom is still here next week, don’t think I won’t be taking you up on that.”

  “We’ll be waiting.” Giving the glass counter a tap with his Aggie ring, Nick winked, and walked away.

  Yep. The day was dragging by. In a few hours her mother would be stepping off the flight from LA. Maybe Lexie could pack a small bag and run away again. Of course she’d leave her mother an appropriate note.

  Sorry, Mom. Change of plans. Have run off to… Where? Honolulu. To play footsies with my pretend husband.

  Now wouldn’t that be fun. A few times since the wedding last week she’d thought to ask Billy for his friend’s phone number. Just to check up on how Jim was surviving his broken heart. The friendly thing to do. No ulterior motives. And of course, dogs don’t pee on fire hydrants.

  So she’d passed on the idea. Leaving the fanta
sy wedding tucked away as a pleasant memory to be dragged out every decade or so. Her left hand fiddled with the beaded band on her right ring finger.

  When the moment to exchange rings had arrived in the pretend ceremony, one of the guests volunteered her pink pearl trinket. The poor woman running the whole show was near apoplexy. Pearls representing tears and bad luck for a marriage and all that hoopla. Which of course made no sense because there was no love or marriage to have bad luck, but the woman seemed to finally calm down when the guest argued they weren’t real pearls so it didn’t count. Once again, it wasn’t a real marriage, so that shouldn’t have counted either, but who was she to bring something unwarranted like logic to the debate.

  Now she wore the ring because it was pretty. Thousands of tourists picked them up at open air markets or from beachfront vendors. Sentimentality had nothing to do with it. And eventually she’d believe that, too.

  * * *

  “Commander.” A seaman stood ramrod straight in front of Jim’s desk. “Lt. Carl Levitz insists he needs to speak with you. He doesn’t have an appointment, but he says it’s urgent.”

  Jim always felt sorry for the kid whenever some unscheduled visitor of higher rank showed up. By the nature of being an enlisted man, and a lowly seaman at that, just about everyone who dropped by outranked the poor guy.

  “That’s fine, Yates. Send the lieutenant in.”

  The junior officer entered the small room and snapped to attention.

  “At ease, Lieutenant. Have a seat.”

  “I’m glad I was able to catch you in, sir.” While composed, a quality shared by most military men, the lieutenant’s apprehension was evident.

  Jim just wished he could remember why this man looked so familiar. “How may I help you?”

  “Well, Commander, it’s about the wedding.”

  Wedding? Oh the wedding. Now he remembered. Lt. Levitz was the man whose wife had dragged him into the role of officiate for the phony ceremony. “Quite a show wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, well, that seems to be the problem.”

  “Problem?”

  “My wife is from Kauai. She can trace her roots back to Queen Kamakahelei and takes great pride in her heritage.”

  “As well she should.” Jim eased away from his desk and considered what exactly this man was trying so hard not to say.

  “I know for everyone, myself included, the entire event was a wedding version of a murder mystery dinner.”

  Jim nodded.

  “But there appears to be a small technical issue.” Lt. Levitz cleared his throat and seemed to be searching for something to do with his hands.

  “Technical?”

  “A traditional Hawaiian ceremony under the correct circumstances is perfectly legal.”

  The hairs on the back of Jim’s neck stood at attention and his gut rumbled a familiar sensation, all too much like a mission about to go terribly wrong.

  “The bride and groom would need a license and of course a recognized officiate.”

  The churning in his gut eased—slightly. “Lieutenant. You seem to be taking the longer road to cover a short distance. Cut to the chase.”

  Drawing in a deep breath of air, the lieutenant straightened in his seat. “There was a slight misunderstanding with the hotel’s Event Coordinator. Apparently no one informed her the wedding was all for show. She changed your fiancée’s name on the license to Ms. Hale’s and submitted it to vital records at the Department of Health. Because of my designation, I received confirmation of receipt of corrected paperwork from the state in today’s mail.”

  “Your designation?” For the first time since the man had taken a seat across from him, Jim looked at the insignia on the lieutenant’s collar and his gut did a flip. Oh, mother of holy matrimony. “You’re a chaplain.”

  * * *

  Having hung the last of the pre-framed posters and placed the remainder in the decorative barrel, Lexie looked to the clock. Almost four p.m. A couple more hours and the divers would be arriving at the dock. She loved leading a night dive with manta rays. No matter how many times she did, it never got old. Never lost its sense of wonder.

  Something her mother could not understand. To her mother, the perfect beach vacation could be had in a lounge chair, under an umbrella, overlooking the water with food and drink only a waiter away. Occasionally, she’d be found on the deck of a boat. A large boat. Again under an umbrella or canopy with a waiter nearby. But never did one find Lillian Hale in the water.

  When Lexie was a small child, her mother found her interest in the water amusing. Everyone should know how to swim in an emergency. But playing in the water was to eventually be put away with other childish amusements. And heaven help her, scuba diving was not at all ladylike.

  And that, to Lexie’s way of thinking, was just too bad. Instead of waiting around to share in the excitement with the first time night divers, she’d be leaving for the airport. Honolulu was looking more and more appealing with every tick of the clock.

  The bell above the door clanged the arrival of a new customer at the same moment an all too familiar voice called out, “Alexandra.”

  Within moments her mother had her swallowed in a tight hug. For a few long seconds Lexie remembered why she loved her mother more than she remembered all the things that irritated her. “You’re early.”

  “Yes, dear. I tried to send you a quick text to let you know plans had changed. Seats became available on the early flight at the last moment. Too early your time to phone you.”

  Easing out of the embrace, Lexie smiled up at her mother. “Well, the important thing is you’re here, but how did you get from the airport? Take a cab?”

  Her mom brushed at the wrinkles on her linen shift. Not a good sign. “We rented a car.”

  “We? Did Daddy come with you?” Now that would be a wonderful bright spot. Her father always worked too hard and never took vacations with Lexie and her mom any more. But some of the best memories of her life were when her dad broke away and joined them. Much to her mother’s chagrin, Alexander Hale always encouraged his daughter to laugh and play with little concern for what was and wasn’t ladylike.

  “No, dear.” Her mother’s smile didn’t seem right. There was a slight twitch to one corner. Lexie only spotted that little tell when her mother had spent hours at some function or other smiling at rich fools who she’d hope to soon separate from their money for some worthy cause.

  That forced smile never applied to her father. Though her mother and father didn’t always see eye to eye on everything, they did love each other. She’d never seen anything but respect and admiration in their eyes when speaking of each other. The discomfort was from something else. But what?

  “Your father has several pressing engagements that make traveling impossible.” Her mother’s assured demeanor and sincere smile were in place once again.

  Lexie looked across the shop and snapped her mouth shut before she swallowed her tongue. Standing by the door in perfectly pressed khakis, an Armani polo shirt, and Gucci loafers, stood her worst nightmare. Graham Winston Montgomery.

  Chapter Four

  “Graham.” Lexie hoped that hadn’t come out sounding the curse she thought it to be.

  “Alexandra.” Her given name rolled off his tongue with a sickening sweetness that made her want to barf. How had she ever thought that sexy?

  “Graham and I ran into each other a few days ago at Senator Armstrong’s latest fundraiser. When I learned Graham also had plans to travel to Hawaii, I thought what a lovely coincidence.”

  Coincidence my foot. What the hell was her mother thinking? “Did you bring your wife?”

  At least this time Graham had the decency to blush. A little. “No. Courtney and I are divorced.”

  “The divorce was final just a few weeks ago.” Lillian Hale turned to the man gazing at Lexie with his best effort at puppy dog eyes. “Isn’t that correct, Graham?”

  “Yes, Lillian.”

  Make that lying puppy dog eye
s. Okay, time to put on that good breeding her mama always fussed so much about. Even if she’d rather spit in his face. “I must admit this is a surprise. I’m so pleased Mother had company on her flight. How long will you be visiting the Big Island?”

  “I don’t know yet.” The tension in his shoulders eased. “I’m taking it one day at a time.”

  That was probably the same thing he told the bimbo, now ex-wife, he was banging while engaged to Lexie. Though for all Lexie knew, being married to the blonde bimbo might not have slowed Graham’s dating any either. “Yes, that is a sound philosophy. Isn’t it?”

  Either not recognizing the unpleasant tension or simply choosing to ignore it, Lillian Hale linked elbows with her daughter and turned around. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I am completely exhausted. It’s way past my bedtime in Boston. I could use a little nap. Shall we call it a day?”

  “Of course,” Graham replied before Lexie could respond.

  That was another thing that she’d forgotten always ticked her off. Answering for herself had rarely been necessary while engaged to Graham. He was quite good at speaking for both of them.

  “I know my way to the hotel.”

  And wasn’t that a wonderful relief. For a few frantic seconds it had suddenly occurred to Lexie that her mother might have expected Lexie to put Graham up at the apartment. Even if it was ‘charming and in need of China Ivory paint’. At least her mother hadn’t offered him the sofa bed.

  “I’ll let Billy know I’m leaving early.” Wishing she could run past her boss’ office, out the back, and keep going, Lexie stopped at the office door. “Excuse me.”