One Kiss In... Hawaii. Jill Monroe

thumb.

      She tensed, but in a good way. This was David touching her, his face so close that she could see the light flecks of amber in his brown eyes. Funny, she’d always thought they were much darker, more serious.

      She straightened, tried to ignore the disturbing sensations his thumb caused. “In fact, Mr. Pearson, you really don’t know anything about me, do you?”

      His gaze touched her mouth, lingered, and then leisurely moved up to her eyes. “Don’t I?”

      He wrapped his fingers around her hand and tugged her closer. “My intentions must be fairly obvious now,” he said in a low voice. Then he put his mouth on hers, his lips soft and supple.

      David knew how to kiss; he was even better than she’d imagined. When he retreated, lingering long enough to touch his lips to hers one last time, she nearly whimpered in protest.

      “I’ve wanted to do that for three years…”

Dear Reader,

      Second Time Lucky is the first book in my Spring Break series. What a fun series this has been for me to write. The stories take place in Hawaii, where I was born, raised. I spent my childhood years on the windward side of Oahu—Kailua to be exact—and then moved to Maui shortly after I graduated from the University of Hawaii.

      A few years later, I married a mainlander who transferred often with his job, and I moved away from the islands. Although I return often to visit family, I don’t get around Oahu much anymore. So when I sat down to write Mia and David’s story, I found myself revisiting places I hadn’t been in years. I had to imagine myself as a tourist, just like my hero and heroine, seeing the island’s natural beauty as if it were the first time. Writing these stories has been like a blast from the past, my own little Spring Break. And I hope these books inspire you to think about experiencing a little Hawaiian magic yourself.

      Happy reading!

      Debbi Rawlins

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Debbi Rawlins lives in central Utah, out in the country, surrounded by woods and deer and wild turkeys. It’s quite a change for a city girl, who didn’t even know where the state of Utah was until four years ago. Of course, unfamiliarity has never stopped her. Between her junior and senior years of college she spontaneously left her home in Hawaii and bummed around Europe for five weeks by herself. And much to her parents’ delight, returned home with only a quarter in her wallet.

      This is for all the working moms who need a spring break more than anyone.

       Women with dogs and cats totally count.

Prologue

      SHE WASN’T THERE. Disappointed, Mia Butterfield shaded her eyes against the bright sun and scanned the crowded park, her gaze quickly skipping over the noontime joggers and past the rows of nannies, whose concentration was split between children and gossip. With it being unseasonably warm for January, she’d felt certain Annabelle would be here walking her dog, or rather being walked by the oversize part St. Bernard and part Rottweiler she’d affectionately named Mr. Muffin.

      Barely five feet tall and close to eighty, Mia’s new friend should have had a nice little Yorkie or toy poodle as a companion, but no, not Annabelle. She preferred the big moose of a mutt that she’d found at the local shelter. Mia had only met Annabelle Albright six weeks ago when Mr. Muffin had spied a rabbit and pulled away from the older woman. Mia had been walking back from the courthouse to her office when she encountered the runaway dog. He’d literally run into her, costing her a pair of forty-dollar pantyhose and the three-inch heel of her new Jimmy Choos.

      The upside was that Mia had made a new friend that day. A much-needed friend. Her two best buds lived thousands of miles away, but the truth was, Annabelle served a need neither of Mia’s college friends could. The woman had an unbiased ear. She listened, her gaze clear, her smile knowing, her rare questions about clarity, not judgment. Sometimes the silence frustrated Mia. Here she was twenty-eight and all she wanted was someone to tell her what to do. She hated that streak of vulnerability.

      From the time she was a kid she’d always been a take-charge person, fully in control, absolutely clear on what she wanted. Her younger brother and sister had come to her for advice, as had her friends. When she’d graduated from law school with honors, no one had been surprised. Not even when she’d been recruited by one of the most prestigious law firms in Manhattan. She hadn’t bothered explaining to her family what an incredible opportunity that was for a young lawyer.

      In retrospect, it was a good thing she hadn’t made a big deal of it because then for sure they wouldn’t understand why she wanted to quit. All of it. Just walk away. Start fresh. No, they wouldn’t get it. She barely did herself.

      The mere thought of what she wanted to do twisted her stomach into knots. She stared down at the white paper bag in her hand and sighed. She didn’t care about the apples and yogurt she’d bought at the corner bodega. The main reason she’d taken a lunch break was in the hope of seeing Annabelle.

      “Mia!”

      At the sound of the familiar voice, she turned around to see Annabelle being dragged toward her by the big dog. Prepared for an onslaught of large paws and sloppy kisses, Mia knew better than to crouch.

      “Hey, Mr. Muffin.” She held out a firm hand for him to sniff. His attention immediately switched to the paper bag. “Seriously, I don’t think you’d be that interested.”

      “If it’s food, he’s interested,” Annabelle said with a throaty laugh, her remarkably unlined face artfully made up. “Come on, Mr. Muffin, don’t be a mooch.” She tugged on the leash to get his attention, and with her other hand reached into the pocket of a smartly tailored burgundy jacket that had once been elegantly in style. “Here you go, you big lug.” She produced a plastic bag of treats and made him sit before passing him a MilkBone.

      “I was hoping I’d see you here today.” Mia straightened, anxious to take advantage of the dog’s temporary distraction.

      “It’s marvelous weather. Can you believe it’s January?”

      “I know. I can’t afford the break but I couldn’t help myself.”

      Annabelle waved a gloved hand. “You work too hard as it is.” She saw that the dog had finished and quickly gave him another MilkBone. “He shouldn’t have so many treats,” she said absently, looking over her shoulder. “Where is that young man?”

      “Young man?”

      “Oh, there he is. Good.” Annabelle signaled to a blond teenage boy on a skateboard near the fork in the sidewalk.

      He zoomed toward them, skillfully avoiding a strolling couple before pulling to a stop in front of Annabelle. “Hey, Mrs. Albright. I’m not late, am I?”

      “Right on time.” She handed him the leash. “A half an hour should tire him out.” She crouched to nuzzle the dog’s bulky neck, her fluid movement that of a much younger woman, a tribute to her early Broadway days. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Muffin? You be a good boy, you hear?”

      With hopeful eyes, the dog watched her pass the treats to the teenager, and then happily trotted off alongside the boy. Annabelle continued to watch the pair disappear while Mia found a bench partially shaded by a bare but huge old elm.

      “Who’s the boy?” Mia asked, as she brushed off the bench seat.

      “Kevin, my neighbor’s son.” Annabelle joined her. “But you’ll walk Mr. Muffin while I’m away on my trip?”

      “What