That's Amore! - Janelle Denison [3]
After the luau and show ended, Nick headed out to a nightclub with a woman he'd been carrying on a conversation with during dinner. Jason opted to stay behind and wait for Leila to exit the small building where the entertainers had disappeared into after the show.
A half an hour later she came out by herself and headed down the walkway leading to the hotel's employee parking lot. Her steps slowed when she caught sight of him leaning against the thick trunk of a palm tree, and she approached him with a smile that held equal doses of surprise and pleasure.
She'd changed from her Hula costume into a pale blue T-shirt that molded to her small breasts, faded, hip-hugging jeans, and casual flip-flops. Her long lustrous hair gleamed from the Tiki torches lining the walkway, as did her dark brown eyes.
"Hi," he said, feeling like a schoolboy with his first crush, which was something he hadn't experienced since, well, high school.
"Hi, yourself," she said in a sassy tone, which he found extremely beguiling. "Did you enjoy the show?"
"Very much." Especially the sensual way she'd danced for him, and with him. "I had a great time."
A few more of the entertainers exited the building, along with two burly-looking Hawaiian guys. The duo stopped and stared at where Leila was talking to him.
"Hey, kaikaina, everything okay?" one of them called out, his deep, gruff voice shattering the quiet night.
"I'm fine, Paulo." She waved away their concern and cringed in embarrassment at Jason. "Sorry about that."
"Kaikaina?" Jason attempted to repeat the foreign word, curious to know what it meant. And hoping like hell he wasn't poaching on someone else's girlfriend.
"Little sister," she explained. "Those two are my older brothers, Paulo and Mani."
"Ahhh." He snuck another quick look over her shoulder, recognizing the two men as part of the Luau's musical entertainment. One played the drums, and the other a ukulele. Neither one had worn such ominous expressions up on stage.
The brothers were still standing guard in the distance, arms crossed over their muscular chests as they scrutinized him in a way that was nothing like the island hospitality he'd experienced thus far. "Uh, they're big guys."
She laughed in amusement. "They like to act tough, but they're just being protective. I'm the baby of the family and they take their job of watching over me very seriously." She shot them an annoyed glance, then grumbled beneath her breath, "Too seriously sometimes."
Jason couldn't blame them. If he had a sister, or any siblings at all, he'd probably feel the same way. But at the moment, her brothers were putting a major crimp in his plans to get to know Leila better.
He inclined his head toward the path that led down toward the beach. "Do you think we could go somewhere a little more private and talk?"
She hesitated a second, then he caught a daring, rebellious spark in her gaze that told him that she wanted to be alone with him, too, her bodyguards be damned. "Sure. I'd like that."
She led him to a gazebo just on the edge of the property, right before the sandy beach began. The area was lit by more torches, and her brothers didn't follow along, much to his relief. They were alone, except for the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the breeze rustling through the coconut tree fronds overhead. He found the whole ambiance peaceful, relaxing, and so different from his hectic, fast-paced life back in California.
"Have you always lived here on Maui?" he asked as he leaned a hip on the wooden railing framing the gazebo.
"Yes. I was born and raised here. As were my parents and grandparents." The pride in her voice was unmistakable.
"Ever been to California?" he asked.
"The Mainland?" She shook her head, causing all that glorious, silky hair to shimmer over her shoulders and down her back. "No, I've only traveled to the other surrounding Hawaiian islands. Is California where you live?"
He slipped his hands into the front pockets of his khaki's, and grinned. "Yep. Born