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  In a flash, Jim’s brows descended into a thoughtful V. Unpleasant thoughts. “You may have a point.”

  That was not what she’d expected him to say.

  “Put your eyes back in your head.” His smile was surprisingly reassuring. “I know you were teasing, but you’re right. If we announce to your family in a few weeks that you made a mistake and we called it quits, like a shark on a blood scent, Graham will keep circling.”

  So much for reassuring. His words did nothing but add to her misgivings about this entire pretense she’d let herself get talked into. And once again she had to ask herself why? Studying the man beside her, she had a few good guesses. He was the stuff every girl’s dreams were made of. Charming, handsome, funny, thoughtful, an honest to God saved-people’s-lives hero. And this sailor kissed like he invented kissing. The one lip lock they’d shared on the patio in Honolulu was forever etched in her memory. Just thinking about it set her nerve endings tingling.

  “Would it help if I stayed more than a few days? Do you think that would hurry everyone’s plans along? If your parents and Graham return to Boston soon—”

  “Graham maybe, but Mother’s next stop is Capri.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Mom’s here to talk me into traveling with her to Capri. She does it all the time. Decides on a vacation spot and when I don’t agree right away to travel with her, she shows up to try and convince me personally. Usually she’s on her way within the week.”

  “Does she ever convince you to go along?”

  Lexie shook her head. It had been a very long time since she’d played debutante daughter. Graduating after five years of college with both her bachelors and MBA in accounting, she’d taken a position in the family business. No one dared complain when the boss’ daughter took extended vacations with the boss’ wife. By her third year, her vacations had grown shorter and her work week longer. She’d been on a fast track to CFO when Graham pulled the rug out from under her perfectly planned life.

  Her mother still didn’t understand why Lexie had run all the way to Hawaii over a simple misunderstanding or how she could ignore the Ivy League education she’d fought so hard for to work at the dive shop. But what her mother didn’t understand was the dive shop—and the job so obviously beneath her—had saved her. Living in Paradise, working underwater every day, and now teaching eager young kids about the oceans and the ecosystems had made Lexie the happiest she’d ever been. “Why can’t she see that?”

  “Excuse me?” Jim tore his gaze away from the road to look at Lexie.

  “Sorry. Just thinking out loud.”

  “About?”

  “The immortality of the crab?”

  Stopping at the red light, Jim turned to fully face her. “I’m pretty sure you’re not thinking about crabs, immortal or otherwise. What am I missing?”

  “How do I make my mother understand that I don’t want to fill my days with bridge dates at the country club and my nights with fundraisers for the worthy cause du jour? And I especially don’t want to marry a man who thinks of me as a business merger.”

  “So we’re back to should you tell your mother the truth or keep up the charade?”

  If Lexie thought telling her mother that Graham was a cheating sex maniac would solve the bigger problem she would. But in her heart she knew her mother would only find another eligible bachelor with the proper pedigree to set her up with. Whether she liked it or not, she was in too deep now to walk away. And if she had to pretend to be happily married she couldn’t think of anyone nicer to pretend with. All she had to do was make sure she didn’t start to believe Jim’s stellar performance. “The charade wins.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Mommy’s coming!”

  Only one foot inside the door of the Big Island Dive shop, Lexie searched for the object of the exuberant outburst. There was no mistaking the voice of Adam Deluca. The ten year old boy had arrived in Kona a few weeks ago with his sister and household manager after the death of his father in a plane crash that had nearly claimed the life of his mother as well.

  Dripping wet, Adam ran up to Lexie.

  “Stop right there young man.” Towel in hand, Magnolia Maplewood, the Deluca children’s main guardian, shouted from across the shop. “You’re going to get her all wet.”

  Skidding to a halt only inches in front of her, Adam beamed. “The doctors are letting Mommy out of the hospital. She’s coming to Kona to finish her recovery.”

  Considering there was a short while when no one was sure the woman would survive the crash that had killed her husband, that Annette Deluca was well enough to be released from the Los Angeles hospital and tolerate a flight to Hawaii was astounding. “Wow, that’s great.”

  Magnolia caught up with her charge and wrapped him in a large shark towel. “Everyone’s a bit excited. We hadn’t expected the doctors to release Annette so…” Her voice sputtered when she looked over and spotted Jim. “So soon. Hi Jim.”

  That killer smile overtook his face. “Nice to see you.”

  It shouldn’t have surprised Lexie that Jim’s better than good looks were impressive enough to temporarily rob a woman of her words. And yet she had to make a conscious effort not to step back and slip her arm through his and claim her territory. Jim was not her territory. He was not her anything. He was just a conveniently well-timed mistake that would repel Graham Montgomery and her mother’s efforts to join the two families in marriage.

  After spending the better part of a week guarding Magnolia Maplewood and the Deluca children from a few shady hoodlums, Jim had every reason to offer the lady a friendly smile. They were friends. All of them. Nothing more. Not even her.

  So why could Lexie feel her claws sprouting? She smiled down at Adam. “That’s wonderful news.”

  “The doctors agreed to her release on the condition she travel with a registered nurse. Annette made a relentless argument that she would improve much more quickly with her family. I don’t know that she convinced her doctor so much as wore him down,” Magnolia said through a grin.

  “The important thing is she’s being released.” Jim stuck his hand out and tussled Adam’s wet hair. “You finishing up?”

  Adam shook his head. “I saw Lexie’s car pull in from the pool. My class starts soon. Billy said I could play in the pool so long as Maggie was with me, but I wanted to come share the good news. I didn’t know you were back.”

  “Just for a short visit.”

  “How was the wedding?” Magnolia asked, her normal reserved demeanor back in place.

  Lexie swallowed hard, quickly deciding how far to carry the pretense. What were the odds of Magnolia running into her parents. Or the kids. Or…

  “Everyone had a wonderful time,” Jim answered. “Lots of stories to tell.”

  “Like getting thrown in jail.” Billy stepped up from the direction of the offices and winked at Lexie, then faced Adam and Magnolia. “It’s time for your first class. Shall we?”

  Adam didn’t say a word. He flashed a toothy grin on his way at top speed to the glass doors leading to the pool.

  “Such a change. I don’t know that any of us will ever be able to thank you for what you did Billy.” Not expecting a response, Magnolia followed Adam out the back.

  Neither Lexie nor Jim said anything. But she knew Jim felt the same way she did. Relieved that Adam Deluca had come along when he did. The boy’s growing guilt at enjoying the water his dad had loved so much mirrored Billy’s situation enough that together the two were making great strides at leaving the old hurts behind without forgetting the people who meant so much to them.

  “Kara called ahead.” Billy waved an arm toward the back. “Why don’t you wait for her in the office.”

  “Thanks, man.” Jim took hold of Lexie’s hand and started down the hall.

  There was no one around for show. No reason to play out their roles. And yet, he’d reached for her hand as if he truly were a newlywed husband eager to maintain however small a physical conne
ction to his bride. And damned if her schoolgirl heart didn’t seem to know better. The sudden surge of adrenaline had her heart tapping a happy beat against her ribcage.

  Despite the comforting warmth traveling from his hand to hers, this was not a fairytale scenario. He was not her knight in shining armor. Even if he was willing to do battle with Graham Winston Montgomery for her benefit. This was a means to an end and she had better get a grip on her imagination. And her heart.

  * * *

  What was the popular expression? Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans? He could never remember who was the first to say it, but damn if he wasn’t right. Never in a million years would Jim expect to find himself holding hands with another woman so soon after what should have been his wedding to Bridget. And liking it.

  No one had been watching them. There had been no reason for him to take her hand, but he had. Without thinking. The gesture had come as naturally as taking his next breath. And that scared the hell out of him. He’d made a promise to Bridget. They had a history worth saving. She was a good woman. A woman who understood what it meant to live the navy life. A woman who saw past what he was to who he was.

  To Bridget he wasn’t the Navy officer. Nor the fruit salad of medals pinned to his dress whites. Not a hero. Certainly not a saint. Not even a scarred man. Just a man.

  Just a man. And isn’t that how Lexie saw him? Always in civilian clothes, he’d never given her the chance to be impressed by the uniform or the medals. There’s been no heroic pedestal for him to fall off of. Hell, he’d already screwed up by accidentally marrying her and she hadn’t for a moment held it against him. She’d taken it, and him, in stride.

  “Sorry I took so long.” Kara walked into the room and hurriedly took a seat behind her husband’s desk. “Junior here has started dancing on my bladder. I swear I already know every clean restroom in Kona.”

  “Probably a few scuzzy ones as well.” Lexie’s hand fell to her own stomach.

  “Not even going there. Okay, down to business.” Her hands steepled in front of her, Kara slid into her legal persona, leaving the harried mother-to-be at the door. “As promised, I’ve looked into Hawaii regulations on marriage and annulment.”

  Focusing on the business at hand, both he and Lexie remained still, listening.

  “I’ve checked with more than one source and won’t bore you with the details. Bottom line is, in Hawaii you have no grounds for an annulment. You have to file for divorce.”

  While Jim had not doubted Lexie’s concerns that Kara’s news would not be good, he hadn’t prepared himself for this. A delay, perhaps. A mountain of paperwork or an obstacle course of hoops, likely. But not-at-all hadn’t fallen anywhere on his radar.

  “But if we get a divorce, Jim will have to put that on a new request for a marriage license. He won’t be able to hide our marriage from Bridget?”

  Kara nodded and Jim realized how cowardly it sounded that he would hide something as important as a marriage, even an accidental one, from the woman he had expected to marry and had now committed to giving another chance. Why had he? “How long will a divorce take?”

  “That depends. Fortunately, Lexie has lived here for years so she fulfills the resident requirements even though having only recently been stationed in Honolulu, you don’t. If neither party contests the action, there are no children, no division of assets, it could take only a few weeks.”

  “Could?” he and Lexie echoed, before glancing at each other as if confirming they’d both had the same thought at the same time.

  “Marriage and divorce in Hawaii is a little different than in most states.” The way Kara scrunched one side of her face as she pinched two fingers together in mid air did nothing to reassure Jim any of this was going to be as easy as he had originally expected. “Even with an uncontested divorce, you’d be at the mercy of the family court judge.”

  Lexie perched more closely to the edge or her seat. “Which means?”

  “It could take several months,” Kara offered in a hurried breath.

  “Months,” Jim mumbled softly. Somehow he didn’t think any of this was what Bridget had in mind when she’d asked for a second chance. Crap.

  * * *

  Stunned, Lexie sat listening to Kara explain about the forms to file with the courthouse and other miscellaneous information about no issue from the marriage nor marital assets and a litany of other things she cared nothing about. Instead of weeks, she’d be married to Jim for months. Months.

  “If you think about this as only a technicality,” Kara explained. “You can still go about your separate lives as planned. It just may be longer than you’d expected before either of you can remarry.”

  Did she really say either of you? Did Kara know something she didn’t? Last she’d looked there were no men hiding under her bed. Just one on the floor. And he didn’t count. She was already married to him.

  Jim’s warm voice carried through her misdirected thoughts. “…and expect to be surprised.” The seriousness in his eyes contradicted his smile.

  Kara chuckled softly and Lexie wondered if she was the only one not in on the joke. “My husband has said that more than once. Sounds like you guys were surprised a lot.”

  “Comes with the territory.”

  Oh, yes. How could she forget? Plan for the best, expect the worst and prepare to be surprised. Or was it the other way around? Did it matter? The last two days held enough surprises for a lifetime. She’d lived through the humiliating worst long ago. She was more than ready for the best.

  A quick rap sounded at the office door and Jonathan popped his head in. “Excuse me. Uh…” His gaze shifted from Lexie to Jim to Kara and back. “I didn’t realize you had company. Come talk to me before you leave, please.”

  “Actually, I think we’re all done here.” Kara pushed to her feet, facing Lexie. “I’d like to get started on this paperwork. Will we see each other later?”

  “Maybe. Depends on my parents’ plans.”

  “Right. We’ll talk.” Kara shifted her bag onto her shoulder and with a quick wave to Jim and Jonathan was out the door.

  “What did you need Jonathan?”

  The dive leader glanced at Jim again before facing her. “I’ve had something come up and was wondering if you could take my place tonight on the manta dive? But I didn’t realize your folks were here. I guess I could—”

  “No. That would be fine. Good even. I’ll be glad to take the group.” At least this would be a few less hours under her parents’ watchful eyes. “No problem. Enjoy your hot date.”

  “I didn’t say I had a date.”

  Lexie cocked her head to one side, dropped a hand to her hip, and her how-dumb-do-I-look expression gave way to a smile when the guy blushed seven shades of red, mumbled thanks and backed out of the room. He really was too easy to tease.

  “Manta dive?”

  “It’s a night dive. Over at Manta Heaven. Some nights they put on quite the show. You ever been on one?”

  “Most of the time when the Navy sends me on a dive it has little to do with fish watching.”

  A shuddering vision of Jim and his dive team tinkering with an unexploded mine took center stage in her mind. Blinking quickly, she closed the curtain on the wayward thoughts and pulled up a smile. “Then you have to tag along. I’m sure Billy will give you the friends and family rate.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Bakers dozen of cinnamon rolls from Buns in the Sun.”

  “Sounds like I’m getting off cheap.”

  His eyes sparkled with interest and anticipation kicked at her confused heart. “Then you’ll come?

  “What about your folks?”

  “They’re still on the wrong time zone. By sunset Dad will be dreaming of the stock market and Mom will have visions of the Blue Grotto dancing in her head.”

  “Looks like I’ll be swimming with the mantas tonight.”

  And why did that have to make her feel warm and tingly all over?
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  Chapter Twelve

  “Oh, God no.” Lexie’s eyes squeezed tightly shut.

  Jim spotted the extravagant rental car in the drive at the same moment Lexie had. Their plan had been to return to her place for a short visit, eat a light snack, and make their excuses for running out on the family. Entertaining Graham the sleazebag had not been on the list.

  Lexie brought the heel of her palms to her forehead. “Just tell me who in heaven did I piss off?”

  Something wasn’t adding up. What was the asshole doing here? Lexie was formally, if not technically, off the market. Just about any newly married woman is still thrilled with their choice of a husband during the honeymoon phase of marriage, making the odds of her being open to the advances of an ex beau less than nil. So what did this character expect to gain by hanging around his ex-fiancée and her new husband?

  Unless somehow the creep had gotten wind of the truth. But every instinct Jim had, told him there was more to this than Graham simply realizing he’d missed out on a good thing when he lost Lexie. Way more. Jim parked the car on the street to avoid blocking Graham’s car and giving him a reason to linger. Sliding the key out of the ignition, he unbuckled his seat belt and shifted to face his sort-of-bride. “Do you know anything else about Graham you haven’t told me?”

  Lexie sucked in her lower lip for two beats longer than she should have for such a simple question before shaking her head.

  “You have no idea why a newly divorced man wants to hang out with his married ex and her parents?”

  Her head turned from side to side again.

  “All right. We might as well face the music.” He circled the car to open her door, his mind toying with the possibilities. None of which explained Graham’s sudden rekindled interest in Lexie. Though as her foot slid out from the car followed by the other, even a man half blind with cataracts would be able to see what a knockout Lexie was. Long shapely legs, rounded hips, slim waist, and a cleavage to rival Hollywood’s most famous bombshells made for the stuff of every man’s fantasies. And yet Graham had tossed her over for another woman. The man was either completely blind or off-the-charts stupid. Or both. Jim’s vote was on both.