Heat Wave by Karina Halle Read Free Book Online Page B

You're seeing what you want to see.
    And that's a problem too.
    “Sometimes you can swim,” he says, his face to the east. He's got an incredible profile, the wind swooping the dark hair off his brow. “In the summer. And even then I wouldn't if I were you.” He looks to me, his expression stern. “And when I say that, I mean, don't you dare unless someone is with you, preferably me or Charlie or even Kate.”
    “I doubt that would be a problem,” I tell him, looking back to the rough seas. You'd have to be crazy to go in there now, especially as the waves are breaking twice, once at the shore and once at a shallow reef further back.
    “I don't mean now,” he says gruffly. “I mean ever. Even when this water looks crystal clear, calm as anything, don't go in alone. I can't tell you the number of times people have drowned in Kauai's waters. Every year, at nearly every beach.”
    Now this surprises me. “Have people drowned here, at Moonwater?”
    His grim expression tells me all I need to know. “Yes,” he says. “And those days haunt you for the rest of your life. We take the ocean seriously here. It can be your friend, but also your biggest foe. It demands your respect and if you don’t give it, there are rips, and waves and sharks that would love to put you in your place.”
    Okay then. He sounds like that damn video that was playing at baggage claim. Suddenly the ocean doesn't look so appealing anymore. And to think that Charlie wanted to teach me to surf. No thank you.
    We continue along the beach as it curves around the beachfront buildings. Despite the dangers, it really is beautiful, especially as it opens up to the dramatic cliffs to the west. It looks positively tropical, like the quintessential South Pacific scene, and I half expect Polynesians in a dug-out canoe to wash up on the shore. There are even fucking coconuts littering the sand.
    “And there's the restaurant,” he says, gesturing to it. From the front entrance, I knew it was oceanfront but from here you can see it's literally right on the beach, to the point where it looks like the waves could crash against the windows if the storm was big enough. “Unfortunately the kitchen itself doesn't have ocean views.”
    “Probably better that way,” I tell him. “Less distracting.”
    He gives me a look that borders on impressed. “I've forgotten what it's like to get workers from the mainland. Try and keep the ethic up.”
    Again, I'm not sure how to feel about the compliment.
    I ignore it as we step inside the restaurant, my new job.
    With my new boss by my side.
    I can only pray things get a little bit easier.
     
    .
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    “The restaurant is actually called Ohana Lounge,” Logan explains as he opens the heavy doors and we step inside. “ Ohana means family in Hawaiian, by the way. But most locals call it the last stop.”
    The area inside is actually a lot more spacious than it looked from the outside. Skylights adorn the ceiling, and the entire back wall of the restaurant has the amazing ocean views I had noted earlier. Even though the lights are all off, the place looks bright.
    There's an empty hostess stand at the podium with a sign that says please seat yourself . To the left of us are the washrooms, just off the small waiting area. To the right it looks like the door to the kitchen.
    I follow Logan further inside, the decorating similar to my new room, perhaps with more of a Mediterranean or middle-eastern feel. There's a bar to the left of us, small and rounded, with five bamboo barstools along it, and to the right is the kitchen, open slightly to the restaurant.
    Charlie is already in there, smiling at me through the open section before he quickly turns away and busies himself once Logan catches his eye.
    I turn back to the room and take quick stock of my new workplace, my eyes immediately taking in everything that needs to be improved. I can't help it.
    “How many of these tables are used on a given