Aloha Fantasy. Devon Vaughn Archer

Ashlyn had inferred that she was available. But what did that mean in this day and age? Available for the next month? Or for whoever was smart enough to hook her like a beautiful fish?

       “So you’ve lived in this oasis all your life?” Danica asked him. “I know Ashlyn has.”

       “Since I was three,” Boyd answered thoughtfully, glancing at her sideways. “My mom died a year earlier. Dad was stationed here in the army. He remarried a divorcée and they had a baby girl. I think you know her.”

       “Yes, I do.” Danica smiled. “You and Ashlyn were both army brats, then?”

       “Yeah, guess you could say that.” Boyd cracked a grin. “And you’re from Chicago?” He tried to remember what few facts Ashlyn had given him.

       “Originally from Lansing, Michigan,” Danica said. “I grew up as an only child, and my parents were never quite able to say no to me. But I moved to Chicago after graduating from Michigan State.”

       “Oh, okay.” Boyd had visited the Midwest a couple of times and had no issue with it. He didn’t recall running into anyone as stunning as her, however. Probably because that was damned near impossible to imagine. “Looks like we’re here.” He pulled into the parking lot, eager to get inside and see what else he could learn about Ashlyn’s friend and what she had in mind during her visit to the island.

       A couple of minutes later they were sitting at a window table. Danica tried to study the menu, but was too busy checking out Ashlyn’s brother. Can I help it if the guy is eye candy and happens to reside in paradise?

       She forced her eyes back to the menu. “Any recommendations?”

       “Try the imu chicken special,” Boyd said.

       At this point, Danica could go for anything. “Will do.”

       Boyd went with the Cajun shrimp. He had been aware that she was admiring the view. He took that as a compliment and was guilty of doing the same ever since he’d laid eyes on the lady. Still, he couldn’t quite wrap his head around the fact that she was here, given the circumstances.

       “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way,” he began, “but have you ever done anything else this…extreme, for lack of a better word?”

       Danica cocked a brow. “You’re talking about my coming to Hawaii?”

       “Yeah, this swapping houses thing.”

       “The answer is no,” she admitted. “I’ve never swapped houses with anyone before.” Was he criticizing her and Ashlyn? Or just her? “Why do you ask?”

      How do I say it without sounding like an ass? “Well, to be quite honest, when Ashlyn first told me what you two were up to, I thought she was high on something. Never mind that she doesn’t do drugs. I couldn’t imagine she would just decide on the spur of the moment to trade lives with you—or anyone.” He decided to make his feelings seem more general than personal.

       So he did have a chip on his shoulder, Danica realized. She’d sensed something was slightly off, in spite of his overall friendliness and hospitality, but had been hoping it was just her being oversensitive.

       “Maybe you don’t know your sister as well as you think,” she suggested tartly. “The Ashlyn I know has always had an adventurous streak in her a mile long. This is just one example.”

       Boyd acknowledged that when Ashlyn made up her mind to do something, she usually stuck with it and no one—certainly not him—could talk her out of it. So what was Danica’s excuse?

       “What about you?” he asked her.

       “What about me?”

       “Aside from taking Ashlyn up on her challenge and the opportunity to come to Hawaii, what is it you hoped to achieve with this month-long vacation?”

       She gave a humorless chuckle. “I didn’t come here with any game plan,” she said candidly. “Other than to simply let things happen as they may.”

       “So no wild parties planned or anything like that?” Boyd made his voice sound lighthearted, but he was definitely not kidding around. Not that she seemed like someone who would invite a bunch of people over to make a mess of things and otherwise wreak havoc on the house and reduce its value in the process. But he needed to hear her say it, just to be sure, given that he had a direct financial stake in this, as well.

       “I don’t give or attend wild parties,” Danica clarified. She wasn’t sure if he was merely testing her or serious about the question. Either way she felt insulted that he would ask, knowing practically nothing about her. Maybe that was the point. But Ashlyn certainly knew better. Or did he not respect his sister’s judgment? “As for my agreeing to come to Hawaii, it seemed like a good opportunity to get away from a hectic and not always fulfilling life in Chicago for a few weeks, so I took it. Is that so wrong? Or am I misreading you here?”

       No, she was reading him correctly. And now he felt a bit silly about it. As though he had accused her of coming here with the intention of destroying everything they had built up. Maybe it was time he gave his little sister a bit more credit.

       “I didn’t want you to misconstrue my words,” he said convincingly. “It was not my call to tell you or Ashlyn what or what not to do. I was only trying to make sense of it, as it’s not something I could ever imagine doing.”

       “Then that’s your loss,” she said bluntly. “Why not put yourself out there sometimes and do something wild and unscripted? Life is too short to second guess every step of the way.”

       Boyd chuckled, wondering what she thought of him now. Probably very little. As it was, he’d been guilty at times in his life of doing some wild and crazy things. Perhaps it was because of that he’d been more deliberate in his moves in recent years. “You drive a hard argument.”

       “Just telling it like it is.” Danica gazed across the table. She wondered whether this was simply his way of being difficult for the sake of it or if her stay at the house he co-owned was going to cause problems. “For the record, I’m not here to make your life miserable. Or to try and take over the house. I just want to enjoy the sights, sounds, scents and flavor of Hilo while Ashlyn does the same in Chicago. And then I’ll be on my way as though I was never here in the first place.”

       “Don’t leave on my part,” he said apologetically. “As I said, I was only trying to understand where you were coming from. Now I think I do. I hope you get everything you hoped for in making the long journey to the Big Island.”

       For some reason, in spite of his earlier conviction, Boyd found that he wasn’t looking forward to the day when she went back to the mainland. At least not till he got to learn firsthand what other qualities she possessed besides beauty, brains and spunk. Maybe she would let him see just what these were, if he hadn’t already blown it.

      * * *

       By the time food was served, the tension in the air had lessened. Or so it seemed to Danica. She knew she’d been overly sensitive and it was all much ado about nothing. Surely Boyd couldn’t resent his sister’s friend being in town for some much needed rest and relaxation.

       “So you’re a photographer,” Boyd said, wanting to get back to a normal conversation.

       “Yes,” Danica proudly replied. “I’ve been at it for almost a decade and have the scars to prove it.”

       “Sounds like you’ve paid your dues.” He forked shrimp and watched with interest as she ate. The sexy way Danica moved her lips turned him on.

       “Yeah, I sure have.” She dabbed a napkin to her mouth. “But it’s all been worth it. I have a great client list and there’s no shortage of things to photograph.”

       “That’s true, especially in Hawaii.” In his mind Boyd could see Danica at work snapping pictures just as she had when he first laid eyes on her. Watching her nice body twist and turn while searching for the perfect photograph was worth being