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When he started walking her back towards the bedroom, she laughed and pulled away.

“
Oh, no, you don’t. My idea of a day filled with adventure is not spending it in that bedroom.”
 

He chuckled. “Are you sure?”

She nodded, but he thought he saw her swallow hard.

W
endy held onto the handles in the Jeep as it bounced up the bumpiest
lane she’d ever seen.
 

“
Where did you say we were going?” She glanced over at Cole, who looked like he was enjoying the back roads a little too much.
 

“
I didn’t.” He kept his eyes glued to the pathway.
 

“
Any hints?”
 

He chuckled and shook his head.

They had driven to the other side of the island, and she had enjoyed seeing more of the land and shore as he drove along. He’d told her to wear her swimsuit, shorts, and a T-shirt, but had also told her to put on sturdy shoes. She’d gone with her running shoes, since she hadn’t brought hiking boots.

The Jeep finally came to a stop in a small parking area where there were a few other off-road vehicles parked.

“
Well?” He turned to her. “Are you ready?” She nodded as he grabbed a backpack from the back seat of the Jeep.
 

She followed him towards a small path, and then they walked through some tall trees in silence for a while. “How did you find this place?” she asked, a little winded as she jogged to keep up with him. When he turned around, he frowned and held out a water bottle.

“
Sorry, I didn’t know I was going too fast.”
 

“
You weren’t.” She thought about taking up jogging when they got back home.
 

He smiled. “Maka brought me here the first time I visited. Not many tourists know about this place. It’s kind of a locals-only thing.” She took a drink of water.

“
It’s lovely.” She handed the bottle back to him.
 

“
Wait until we get where we are going.” He took a swig of the water and then started walking again, this time much more slowly.
 

It took almost forty minutes before they came to a clearing. When Cole stopped, she thought he was taking another break, for her sake. Since the first stop, he’d taken one every ten minutes. When she moved next to him, her breath hitched.

A two-story waterfall sat directly in front of them, and there was a small pool of crystal clear water below it. The area was surrounded by trees, giving it a completely secluded feeling. She could see a few other people bathing in the water below and instantly wanted to jump in.

“
It’s beautiful.” She reached over and took his hand as he smiled down at her.
 

“
Come on, let’s go cool off.” He tugged her hand as she laughed.
 

They spent a few hours enjoying the cool water and then sat near the edge of the water and ate the sandwiches he’d made for them. When they started to hike back down, she felt completely rejuvenated.

“
Stop one is out of the way,” he said when they made it back to the Jeep.
 

“
One?” She smiled as he nodded.
 

“
Next stop, coming up.”
 

They drove into town and he pulled into a small gas station where there were over a dozen mopeds parked.

“
I’ll be right back.” He smiled and quickly disappeared. When he came back out, he was jiggling a set of keys. “Do you want to drive or shall I?”
 

“
Drive what?” She frowned a little. When he
nodded towards the mopeds, she laughed as she jumped out of the Jeep. “I will.” She grabbed the keys from him.
 

“
I thought you would.” He smiled. “Come on, we have this one.” He walked over to a green one and patted the seat.
 

“
Where to?” she asked, sitting down and holding on as he jumped on behind her.
 

“
You’re driving.” He laughed.
 

She reached behind her and tied her hair up, then leaned down to turn the bike on. “I’ve never driven one of these before.” She frowned.

“
Gas, breaks, gears.” He showed her each step by covering her hand with his. “It’s easy.” She nodded and slowly made her way out of the parking lot.
 

Less than an hour later, she was a pro at it. “The second I get home, I’m buying one of these,” she said over the sound of the engine. She’d driven them through town and was enjoying the beachfront roads.

“
Someday I might get you on my hog,” he said, causing her to stiffen a little at the thought of something bigger.
 

“
I doubt it.” She chuckled.
 

“
Pull in here.” He pointed to a small shop area on the side of the beach way.
 

When she stood up, she felt her legs shake a little from the excitement. “That was fun.” She smiled and watched him make sure the kickstand was down.

“
Wait until I get a chance to drive.” He laughed as they walked towards the shop. “I love this place.” He took her hand and walked her over to the counter. “They have these cute little shells.” He nodded towards a glass case.
 

The “cute little shells” happened to be made from silver and gold and were sprinkled with diamond dust. She was totally shocked when he bought her a beautiful silver necklace with small black mussel shells made into a heart shape.

She touched it lightly as she got on the back of the bike. When he took off out of the driveway, her arms went around him quickly, and she held on tightly as he zipped down the open road. She had to admit, she really did enjoy the speed and the wind.

They weren’t going too fast—the bike topped out at forty-five miles per hour—but since she doubted she’d gotten the thing over twenty, it was a nice change to have the cool breeze hit her face.

They rode in silence for a while, and then he pulled into a small parking area near the edge of the beach. There was another small shack, and when she got off the bike, the sweet smells of cooking meat hit her, making her stomach growl loudly.

Cole chuckled. “My thoughts exactly.”

The place looked like nothing more than a small trailer parked on the side of the road with a few picnic benches out front. But when Cole walked her around back, she realized how wrong she was. On the sand, nestled between the small hut and the water, was a larger dining area in the sand. There was a small stage where hula dancers swayed to a beat. More picnic tables spread out on the beach, and they were almost completely filled with people.

They found an empty table near the edge of the water and watched the show for a while before someone delivered a large plate of food. No one had taken their order, or asked them what they wanted; they had just delivered the food. It was delicious.

“
They cook like this once a month.” He smiled over at her.
 

“
It’s wonderful.” She took another bite of the meat. “I would have never thought that this was a restaurant.”
 

He chuckled. “It’s not.”

She frowned over at him. “What do you mean?”

“
It’s owned by a family.” He nodded towards the stage. “Mother, daughters.” Then he nodded towards the man who’d delivered the food. “Brothers and father over there cooking. They never charge anyone.”
 

She looked over to where an older man stood, carving the meat from a large pig.

“
How do they make a living?” She glanced around and frowned.
 

He smiled. “Tips mostly, but this is their way of saying thank you to the islanders and tourists for providing for their family.”

They watched the show the family put on, and clapped when it was all over. When they walked away, she saw Cole drop cash into their donation bucket. She wished she’d brought her purse so she could give them some money as well.

“
We’d better get the bike back. It’s getting late.” He walked her back to the parking lot and helped her on. He smiled over his shoulder at her as they left the parking area. “Hang on to me.”
 

The entire trip back to the Jeep, those words played over and over in her mind, and she decided she didn’t want to ever let him go. Not after today.

***

The next day Cole took her surfing. It was fun to watch her try new things. It took her a while, but she finally mastered it with his help. He was happily surprised when she started to easily get up on the board next to him.

Then he decided to try something new and walked up to get Maka’s long board from the garage.

“
This should be fun.” He smiled as they paddled the big board out.

“
Have you ever done this before?” she asked.

He chuckled. “No, but I’ve seen it done.” He smiled over at her and turned the board around, setting up for a ride. “Just follow my lead.” He started paddling when he saw the opportunity. She followed along. When he stood, she stood up in front of him. His hands went to her hips for just a moment and then they fell.

When she surfaced, she was laughing. “You knocked me off balance.” She splashed water in his face. “Let’s try that again.”

He nodded and they paddled out once more. This time, instead of touching her hips right away, he stood behind her as they both gained their balance.

When he felt that they were balanced, he took her hips in his hands and spun her around. He shocked her by reaching down and taking her legs and arms and pulling her up over his head smoothly. She easily went with him and laughed as she threw one leg up in the air.

She was laughing and having a great time until he lost his balance and tossed her into the wave, falling after her.

“
Let’s do that again. This time, I’ll sit on your shoulders,” she said after she swam back to him.

He laughed and shook his head. “It’s worth trying.”

They paddled out and waited until the right wave came. This time when she got up on his shoulders, she surprised him by glancing down at him and saying, “Help me stand up.”

He reached up and took her hands while keeping balanced. She placed her feet carefully on his shoulders and stood up as she held onto his hands.

Then he tugged on her hands and she sat back down. When he felt the wave dying, he flipped her over his shoulders and tucked her next to him as they hit the water.

His lips covered hers when they surfaced. “I haven’t had this much fun in years.” She smiled at him. “What else can we do?” He laughed.

“
It depends on how flexible you are and how willing you are to let me toss you around.”

She smiled. “I trust you.”

They spent over two hours playing in the surf. They got to the point where he could hold her with one hand as she posed above him.

He had to admit, they were a pretty good team.

When they carried the board back up to the beach, Maka was sitting there with his daughter.

“
You two should enter the tandem competitions next year,” Nani said.

Cole looked to Maka, who nodded. “With some work, you could place.”

He laughed. “I’m game if Wendy will go along with it.”

She sat in the sand and laughed. Then she surprised him by smiling and saying, “Sounds fun.”

W
endy hated to say goodbye to Hawaii. She even felt sad saying goodbye to Maka and his family. But the moment the plane took off, she had to admit that the vacation had worn her out.
 

Not only had surfing yesterday made her sore, she had a few bruises on her body to go along with the aches. Cole sat beside her in first class, fast asleep. Her mind didn’t shut down until halfway through the flight.

Then she was blinking as Cole shook her awake. “We’re landing.” He smiled. “Two more flights to go and we’re home.”

Just the sound of it made her heart ache. Her entire life she’d felt like she was missing something in life by not traveling. Now, however, she knew that the best part of a trip was returning home.

“
I bet you can’t wait to get back to work,” he joked as they boarded their second flight.
 

“
Right.” She rolled her eyes and took her seat. “What about you? What are your plans?” She held her breath for his answer.
 

“
I’m not sure. I have a few things lined up.” He frowned. “Tracking down my brother might just be one of them.”
 

“
Have you heard from Roman?”
 

He shook his head. “Not since the last call.”

“
I’m sure he’s okay.” She took his hand.
 

He chuckled. “You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen him when he left.”

“
Why?” She frowned, instantly getting worried.
 

He shook his head and sighed. “There was something off about him.”

“
Like?”
 

He looked at her. “He hadn’t cut his hair for weeks, he was growing a beard, and…” He cringed. “He looked like me.”

She chuckled. “Is that so bad?”

He shook his head and glanced down at himself. He was wearing old blue surf shorts, a T-shirt that he’d probably had since high school, and flip-flops that had seen better days. “Not for me, but Roman…”

She thought about how his brother had always looked put together. Even when he spent a day at the beach, he looked like he could have just stepped off a magazine cover.

“
Okay, now you’re freaking me out.”