Jun hated when her sister brought up her shortcomings, especially now, since she had so many and Kiki had so few.
Jun still couldn’t believe Kiki used to listen to punk rock, wear black lipstick and stay out all night. Now she was the spitting image of their mother, down to the way she wore her hair in a short bob. One of these days, if Kiki pushed her too far, Jun might just point that out. “Come on. That’s not fair.”
“Po needs a father. He wouldn’t be biting if he had a father.”
“You don’t know that.” Jun exhaled a long, frustrated sigh. Her sister meant well, she knew that, but she just didn’t understand. She wasn’t a single mom, and she probably would never be one. It was easy for her to backseat-drive when she had a loving husband with a good job who spoiled her at every turn. Kiki didn’t know what it felt like to be on her own, worrying about paying her bills or frantically finding last-minute child care. How could Jun realistically date when she had no one to watch Po? And even if she did, somehow she thought it was selfish to take time away from her boy chasing after a man who probably would only disappoint them later.
“Jun, I’m sorry. I just... I just hate to see you unhappy.” Kiki paused, wiping her hands on a tea towel. “Kai Brady is rich, he’s handsome and he sounds like he’s into you.”
“No.” Jun shook her head furiously, thinking of yesterday when she had rung his bell and he didn’t even remember her. Not to mention, she couldn’t compete with the leggy blondes he seemed to prefer. “That’s not why he wants to hire me.”
“It’s not?”
“I think it’s for Po.” Jun had it all figured out. Kai seemed to like Po for some reason, like maybe he was one of those rich celebrities who every now and again decided to adopt a stray.
“Great! He’s dad material, then.”
Jun felt panic in her throat. A party-happy millionaire was not good dad material.
“No. You don’t get it. I don’t think he’s got it in him to commit to Po...or anything. Surfing is his life, extreme surfing at that, and even that’s something he puts aside to party. Besides, if I take this job, I’ll have to quit my others, and what if he fires me after one month? Then what?”
“Then you and Po come live with us. We just finished the guest room.”
“Kiki...”
“I mean it. Opportunities like this don’t come along any old time, Jun. You’ve got to take them when you can.”
Jun sighed as she washed the tomatoes beneath the tap. “Even if I take the job, I’m not sure I can train him. He doesn’t want to be trained.”
“Is that what the hesitation is about? You know what Mom always said about training people.” Kiki began slicing the tomatoes Jun had placed on her cutting board.
Jun smiled at the memory of their no-nonsense, sugar-coat-nothing mother. “‘In a contest of wills, the laziest one loses.’”
“See? All you have to do is work harder than he does, which doesn’t sound like it would be too difficult. Why don’t you channel Mom and see if you can’t whip that surfer into shape?”
Jun imagined what her mother might do to Kai if she’d been assigned the job of getting him in shape for a surf competition. She’d crush him in one week flat.
“You did it before when you worked at CrossFit two years ago. Didn’t they have a name for you there?” Kiki asked.
“The Terminator,” Jun said, and laughed a little. She had been a tough trainer then. It had been one of her first classes, and she’d maybe overcompensated for nerves by being extra tough on everyone. But the nickname had stuck until she’d transferred over to Island Fit and discovered Tai Chi, yoga and a more Zen approach to fitness.
“See? You’ve already got this in the bag. Plus, I know you have a thing for surfers. What was his name? John?”
“James.” Jun thought about the year in high school she’d spent following around James McAlister, the towheaded surfer whom she’d had a crush on. Nothing had ever happened. James never even knew she existed, really, but she had learned how to surf. Still, she wasn’t anywhere near Kai’s caliber.
“I don’t have a thing for surfers.” Jun saw Kai’s inviting dark eyes once more in her mind’s eye. Or did she?
“Okay, then, well, you owe Kai a debt. You know how Mom felt about debt.”
The woman had paid cash for everything and had never owned a single credit card. If a neighbor brought her a basket of fruit, she’d somehow turn it into a full meal, which she’d return the following day. Jun knew herself well enough to know that her staunch independence came directly from her mother. She knew she couldn’t turn Kai down. She owed him.
So why did working for him fill her with dread? Why did repaying a debt feel as though somehow she would just be asking for more? Because she had a sinking feeling that Kai was so far into self-destruct mode that she might not be able to help him. What if she tried and failed?
“It’s not how I wanted to repay the debt,” Jun said. “Besides, how is it being repaid if he’s paying me to do it?”
“You want to take the job for free, that’s your business, but he’s asking you for help. You know you can’t turn him down.”
Jun knew her sister spoke the truth. Yet, as she thought about his devilishly charming smile and the way his dark eyes suggested he knew just how much he got under her skin, she really wished she could.
“He told me to think about it for two days.”
“So?”
“So I’m going to take two days to think about it.”
KAI SAT OUTSIDE Island Fit in his open-top Jeep, the warm tropical sun beaming down on his wavy dark hair. His golden-brown skin didn’t need more of a tan, but it was a crime to put the fabric top up and shut out the beautiful Hawaiian weather.
It had been two days and change since the Tai Chi lesson on the beach, when he’d offered Jun a job. He’d not heard a word from her. He had to admit, he’d expected a call that same day. The fact that she hadn’t jumped on the opportunity made him wonder if he was losing his charm. Women rarely told him no. Hell, he hadn’t even found a woman who’d told him maybe in a very long time. He’d been the recipient of so many enthusiastic yeses, so many women who threw themselves at him, that he’d forgotten what it was like to actually chase someone.
Personally or professionally.
Not many people on the Big Island had the kind of money he did, and those who didn’t succumb to his smile usually rolled over when he opened up his checkbook.
Jun, clearly, was different. But why? He wanted to find out.
It had been a while since he’d cared enough about a woman to get out of bed before noon. Here it was, eight in the morning, and he was sitting outside the
