Rolling in the Deep: Hawaiian Heroes, Book 2 by Cathryn Cade Read Free Book Online Page A

her salad so hard a piece of lettuce flew off the plate. “Not happening. I grew up by the ocean. One a lot more dangerous than yours.”
    His wide mouth twitched, his cheeks creasing in derision. “You think our seas aren’t dangerous, you’re hūpō , foolish. Haole tourists die here every year because they don’t take care in our waters.”
    She knew he was right, but she was too angry to care. Big, patronizing male. Hawaiian native or not, he was behaving as if she were a child.
    “At least they don’t freeze to death if they go overboard,” she retorted. “Only takes about forty-five minutes in the winter seas off of Oregon.”
    He shook his head. “No, our nice, warm currents will just carry you off to the open ocean, where the only thing they’ll find is what the man ō , the sharks, have left. Maybe a piece of your bikini.”
    He flicked his gaze down over her as if imagining her in a bikini, and Claire’s body responded as if he had touched her, a shiver running over her skin, her nipples peaking under her top. Squirming as irritation and arousal warred inside her, she dropped her fork and took a cooling drink of ice water.
    Looking away from him, she saw that the others were all gazing at her and Daniel. An embarrassed flush heating her cheeks, Claire raised her water glass to her lips again, wishing she could hide behind it. Oh, great. They’d been squabbling in front of her friends and his family.
    Melia grinned at her. “Daniel is an artist too,” she said. “Some of his best pieces are on display at Nawea Bay.”
    Claire tried to imagine those huge hands holding a paintbrush, and failed. She frowned at him. “Do you paint, like David?”
    He shrugged again, a glimmer of humor twitching up the corners of his mouth. “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.”
    His taunt immediately raised her hackles again. “You do fantastic things with recycled coat hangers,” she guessed. “Or old flip-flops and peanut-butter jars. Wait, I know—you stack huge chunks of lava in representational shapes.” She grinned, picturing him hefting boulders into a pile, scowling at them the way he was at her, as if he couldn’t figure out why they wouldn’t conform to his will.
    Bella and Melia giggled. Tina Ho’omalu’s brows drew together. Oops, Claire recognized that look on her face as well as that of her son: We are not amused.
    Fortunately, the waiter arrived with their entrees. Julienned vegetables topped lightly sauced fish fillets, rice pilaf and vegetables, the plates augmented with tropical blooms. It was almost too pretty to eat.
    Claire’s fish was delicious, delicately seasoned, perfectly cooked. Daniel’s ahi turned out to be a slab of tuna, seared on the outside, raw in the middle. She shuddered to herself as he took a bite and chewed with relish. Probably chewed his steak raw too, like one of his man ō .
    Talk turned to the wedding. First on their agenda the next morning would be trying on the bridesmaid dresses. Claire and Bella had been measured for them and had viewed pictures on the bridal shop’s website, but last-minute adjustments might be needed.
    “The weather forecast is perfect for your wedding day,” Claire said. “‘Sunny, with light afternoon breezes’.”
    David chuckled. “That’s pretty much how it is every afternoon here in Kona. Although we get the occasional afternoon rain, or vog, which is worse.”
    “Vog?” Bella asked. “Is that Hawaiian fog?”
    He nodded. “Volcano particulate combined with moisture in the air. Looks like smog, smells worse.”
    “Is the volcano exuding any lava?” Grace asked, patently trying to join back in the conversation.
    Homu shook his head, smiling. “Madame Pele is fairly quiet now. Her Kilauea never sleeps, but it does not roar.”
    “You mean you can see live lava flowing on Kilauea?” Claire asked excitedly. She would find a way to see it, right after the wedding.
    He looked amused. “You may view it on the national park