embossed Mau Loa stationary.
“Welcome to the Mau Loa. We hope your stay is a magical one. Aloha.”
“Aloha,” she replied to the empty room, putting the card back on the table.
Looking at her watch, she realized it was a good time for dinner. She was fresh off a few weeks on the night shift at the hospital. Combining that with a long flight and time change, she was exhausted. But she had to eat. If she hurried, she might be able to watch the sunset. Paige rushed to her bedroom and opened her luggage. She traded her jeans and sneakers for a sundress and a pair of bejeweled sandals. That was all she needed.
She grabbed her purse and her room key and set out to enjoy her first night on Oahu while she could keep her eyes open.
Pulling the door closed, she turned toward the elevator and slammed into a solid wall of muscle. As she stumbled back, a man’s hand sought out her elbow to steady her. The man was several inches over six feet, making Paige seem petite at five-foot-ten. He wasn’t just tall; he was large, with broad shoulders and biceps the size of her calves beneath his tailored suit. He had on a pair of classic black Ray-Ban sunglasses and a black earpiece that curved behind his ear and blended with the dark brown waves of his collar-length hair.
What she could see of the man’s face was unbelievably handsome, and—she quickly noted—completely out of her league. But that didn’t keep her body from clenching in response to such a potent specimen of man nearby. Her surprised intake of breath drew in his scent, a heady mix of musk and male that sent an unexpected shiver of need down her spine even as she recovered from their collision.
“I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed as she gathered herself. “I was in such a hurry I didn’t see you there.” The fact that she’d missed such a mountain of a man right in front of her was a testament to how scattered her thoughts were lately.
The man smiled, flashing bright white teeth against the warm tan of his Polynesian skin. The slight hint of a dimple in his cheek made her knees soften. “That’s okay. I didn’t see you, either.”
Paige noticed the man didn’t look directly at her as he spoke. Glancing down, she spotted the large chocolate brown Labrador retriever on his other side. In a service dog harness.
Good job, Paige. She’d just plowed into a handsome, incredibly sexy blind man.
* * *
“Ohmigosh,” the woman said with increased angst in her voice. Apparently, she had gotten his joke but hadn’t found it funny. Few people found blind jokes amusing, but he’d developed a dark sense of humor over the last ten years where his disability was concerned.
“Are you okay?” she continued.
Mano had to laugh. He might be blind, but he was hardly fragile. The woman could’ve plowed into him at a full run and he would’ve hardly felt it. “I’m fine. Are you all right?”
“Yes. Just embarrassed.”
Mano could almost envision the blush that rose to the young woman’s cheeks. He didn’t imagine that many of the women he met on a day-to-day basis blushed much. This one seemed different from the usual guests of the Aolani Suite, though—nervous and easily flustered. The kind of money it took to afford that room usually came with a certain hardness that he didn’t detect from her.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” he soothed. “Feel free to run into me whenever you like. I’m Mano Bishop, the owner of the hotel. I was just on my way to welcome the newest guest of the Aolani Suite. That means you must be Miss Edwards.” He switched Hōkū’s lead to his left hand and held out his right to her.
“Yes,” she said, taking the hand he offered and shaking it. “Paige, please.”
The touch of her small hand in his sent a bolt of awareness down his spine, forcing him to shift on his feet. The unexpected thrill made Mano take a more thorough notice of his new guest. She didn’t just sound unlike his usual penthouse guest, she felt different, too. Her skin wasn’t as soft as he expected a young woman’s to be. There was a roughness to it as though she worked with her hands. It made him wonder if she was an artist of some kind. She certainly wasn’t a pampered princess. “How did you find the suite, Paige? I hope it met your expectations.”
“It’s amazing. I mean, it’s more beautiful than I ever expected it to be. And the view is incredible. Of course you know what...er...oh dear.”
“Actually, I do,” he interjected quickly, saving her from her awkward statement. “I didn’t lose my sight until I was seventeen. I may not be able to see the view any longer, but I remember it well.”
The elevator chimed and the doors opened. He heard Paige’s sigh of relief and tried to hide his smile.
“Please—” he gestured “—go ahead.” He listened for the shuffling of her movement as she got on the elevator, then Hōkū pulled at his harness and led Mano into the elevator behind her. He ran his hands over the control panel, finding the lobby button marked with the braille symbol. Then he turned to face the door and reached for the railing to steady himself.
“What is your service dog’s name?” Paige asked as they descended.
“This is Hōkū,” he said. The brown lab had been at his side for seven years, and he’d become almost a part of Mano. “You may pet him if you like.”
“Are you sure? I know you’re not supposed to do that when they’re working.”
Smart. Most people didn’t know that. “Unfortunately, I am always working, so Hōkū is always working. Give him a pet, he’ll love you forever.”
“Hello, Hōkū,” Paige said in the high voice people reserved for babies and animals. “Are you a good boy?”
She was rewarded with Hōkū’s heavy, happy panting. She was probably scratching his ears. He was a sucker for a good ear scratching.
“What does Hōkū mean?”
Mano enjoyed the melodic quality of Paige’s voice, especially as she used some of his native Hawaiian language. It wasn’t too deep or too high, but he could hear the smile when she spoke. “It means ‘star’ in Hawaiian. Before navigation systems and maps, sailors used to guide their ships by the stars, and since I use him to guide me, I thought that was an appropriate choice.”
“That’s perfect.”
A cloud of her scent rose up as she stood. Paige had a unique fragrance, and yet it was somehow very familiar to him. Many women, especially those from the Aolani suite, nearly bathed in expensive perfumes or scented lotions. Most people wouldn’t even notice it, but Mano was overpowered by smells, good and bad. Paige’s scent was subtle but appealing, like a hint of baby powder and a touch of...hand sanitizer. That was a different combination.
The elevator chimed and the system announced that they were on the lobby level. He’d had the elevators updated several years back to include that feature for himself and any other visually impaired guests. The doors opened and he held out his hand for Paige to exit ahead of him. He expected her to rush out the door toward her destination. Most people were a little uncomfortable around him. She obviously was, but it didn’t repel her. Her scent lingered at his side as he exited.
“Are you eating dinner at the hotel tonight?”
