Aloha With Love Read online

  Other Books by Lindy Miller

  The Magic Ingredient (A Bar Harbor Holiday Novel, Book 1)

  Forthcoming From Rosewind Books

  Sleigh Bells on Bread Loaf Mountain

  Mistletoe Magic (A Bar Harbor Holiday Novel, Book 2)

  Regifting Christmas

  Aloha With Love

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2021 Lindy Miller and Terence Brody

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the publisher, except where permitted by law.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Cover design by Qamber Designs and Media

  www.QamberDesignsandMedia.com

  ISBN: 978-1-64548-038-9

  Published by Rosewind Romance

  An imprint of Vesuvian Books

  www.RosewindRomance.com

  To my dad

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Acknowledgements

  About The Authors

  Chapter One

  Jenna Burke squared the edge of the architectural model stationed on the conference room table, smoothed her long dark hair behind her ears, and stepped back to examine her work. With dedicated two-story parking garages, a fully stocked fitness center, and a 24-hour coffee bistro, the concept she had designed for Terrace Pines Condominiums was a world unto itself. The luxury residential complex even had its own flagpole out front, the brilliant red and white of the California state flag frozen in a welcoming wave as if beckoning investors—exactly what Jenna hoped today’s pitch would bring.

  “Perfect.”

  Almost perfect. Jenna added another patch of shrubbery into a sparse spot of the perimeter foliage. Reevaluating, she replaced the shrubbery with a kou tree, then nodded at her own decision. The dense, leafy canopy and flashy orange blooms of the indigenous Hawaiian tree would offer shade in southern California’s balmy summer, and a splash of year-round color. Both would benefit Terrace Pines’s landscaping more than just another boring, basic green shrub.

  “Just because you’re an architect doesn’t mean you can’t have a little gardener in you, too,” Jenna informed the scale model, recounting a cherished morsel of wisdom from her favorite aunt. Of course, Aunt May was the kind of woman who could sprout a fern in the desert, while Jenna could barely keep the windowsill succulents in her apartment from wilting. Still, the lesson had stuck. Luckily, kou trees were relatively hardy trees, so long as they got a good dose of full sun—something they’d be sure to get in the Golden State.

  “Especially when a little bit of a green thumb goes a long way,” she finished as she adjusted the kou tree into place.

  Jenna made a quick adjustment in her budget, ballparking the impact to the landscaping bid from the last-minute change. By her math, replacing the shrub with the kou tree had an upward effect on the bottom line, but a minimal one and well worth the expense. The colorful tree not only made the bordering foliage more practical and more attractive—both to investors and to the complex’s eventual residents—but it also offered a long-term advantage in line with Jenna’s commitment to sustainable architecture. Aesthetics aside, the slight increase in upfront investment would be well worth the savings over time. Luxury building design was in, but so was green living.

  The two didn’t have to be mutually exclusive, she thought as she snapped her notebook closed. Not even in Los Angeles.

  Jenna cleared her throat and spoke aloud to the empty room, testing out the explanation she’d give to justify the minor uptick in her budget. “Kou trees require less trimming than many similarly sized plants and are excellent for roomy landscapes, all without the sprawl of roots that could endanger other plant life or, worse, seep into the surrounding stone edging.”

  Pause for effect.

  “Eventually, such problems would require replacement or repair, both of which would be costly and inconvenient. Not only does a little bit of extra upfront investment ward off those eventual costs, but it actually saves money down the road—and brings a little flora of the tropics to Terrace Pines. No other condominium complex in the greater Los Angeles area has a kou tree.”

  This last was true. It had been too long since Jenna had been back to her island hometown. If there’d been a piece of the island anywhere in the vicinity, she’d have noticed.

  Stifling a squeal, Jenna allowed herself a little happy dance. Now all she had to do was sell her idea to Orville Barrington and she’d been one step closer to achieving her biggest dream: breaking ground on one of her own architectural designs. Jenna had yet to meet Barrington, but she knew the type—high profile broker who coordinated deals between wealthy real estate investors, eager commercial realtors, and architectural firms with ambitious junior designers like herself, all anxious to make their mark on the industry. He’d be looking for something new, something fresh. Something with curb appeal. Curb appeal was what got high profile investors excited enough to open up their checkbooks.

  Luckily, Jenna’s concept for Terrace Pines had curb appeal in spades, and the details weren’t just in her eye for exterior foliage. Anchored at the edge of Los Angeles’s prime waterfront, the luxury condominium complex was the kind of easy upscale living in demand by everyone from active retirees to eager, affluent millennials with young families—or deep pockets. More important, the whole thing just screamed sustainable living. Three balcony-edged stories topped with a solar-paneled roof and moored to the coast with large green spaces. A small park with a jogging path encircling the property grounds. Even a water feature in the lobby to bring the fresh outdoors inside, adding to the model’s natural mystique without compromising its sleek modern interior.

  “I’ve got your curb appeal right here, Mr. Barrington.” Jenna beamed. Satisfied with her final tweaks and finishing touches, she flipped open her laptop and prepared to boot up her presentation for a final run-through. She glanced at the clock over the conference table. Almost showtime.

  “Hello, Terrace Pines.”

  A brusque female voice cut into the room as Jenna made yet another tiny adjustment to her model while her presentation loaded, this time sacrificing a palm for a hibiscus. Her boss, Patti Murray, cup of coffee clutched dependably in her well-manicured grip, leaned against the threshold of the conference room doorway, drinking in her morning brew and Jenna’s model in equal measure. Patti was a woman of juxtapositions. Her short, blond, slicked-back hair clearly portrayed her no-nonsense attitude, while her easy smile softened her enough to look approachable, sometimes even friendly. She was one
part sweet and two-parts shrewd—precisely what Jenna had hoped for in a mentor when she’d started at Avery Architects.

  Jenna took a deep breath, held it for two extra-long beats, and exhaled. “What do you think?”

  Patti gave the model an appraising look. She raised a crimson-painted fingernail to her chin, a tactic Jenna had learned signaled deep thought even when one had already arrived at a decision, and narrowed her eyes into a fine line of black mascara.

  “It doesn’t matter what I think. What matters is what Barrington thinks when he gets here.” She winked at Jenna. Then, her mouth twisted into a conspiratorial smirk and her voice dropped to a whisper. “But, for the record, I love it. It’s innovative, thoughtful, and attractive. Very Jenna Burke. Well done.”

  “Thank you.” Even though Patti wasn’t the one signing her name on the dotted line, her approval meant almost as much to Jenna as her potential investors’ would. Turning her attention back to her presentation, Jenna clicked the slideshow file on her laptop. Her cursor flickered, then turned into spinning pinwheel of death. The screen froze.

  Jenna groaned. Of course. Of course her machine would choose now to act up. Why wouldn’t it?

  Ahonui, she thought. Patience.

  Patti’s voice resumed its usual brisk business tenor. “How are you feeling this morning, Jenna? Are you ready for this?”

  “I’m ready.” Wait, was she? The words had slipped out of Jenna’s mouth before she’d had time to rethink and rearrange them, sort of like her model’s landscaping.

  Patti nodded and sipped at her coffee. Her lack of response made it easier for Jenna to breathe. If her boss had suspected she wasn’t ready to pitch Terrace Pines to Orville Barrington, she would have said so—without hesitation. Instead, Patti pointed at the photograph on Jenna’s desktop wallpaper.

  “Good. Besides, as long as you have Aunt May looking over your shoulder to make sure the presentation goes perfectly, we have nothing to worry about.”

  Jenna’s focus shifted from the spinning pinwheel to the photo background on her laptop screen. Taken the summer before, she sat cross-legged on the beautiful red sands of a Maui beach, her arms wrapped tight around the shoulders of an older woman wearing white lilies in her silver hair and a bright red muumuu. Jenna was smiling brightly, but Aunt May smiled even brighter—brighter, even, than the blazing sunset crimson of her dress or the blushing blooms of the lei hung about her neck. “We celebrated her seventy-fifth birthday Saturday, but I swear she has the heart of a seventeen-year-old.”

  Patti blinked. “Please tell me you didn’t fly home to Hawaii this weekend?”

  “I wish. Had to make do with singing happy birthday over video chat.” Jenna dipped her head in the direction of her laptop. “Thank goodness for technology, right? I spent the rest of the weekend getting ready for today.”

  Her boss clicked her teeth and gave Jenna a thumbs up with the hand not clutching the to-go cup from Jazzy Java. “Good girl. I’m glad you have your priorities straight.” Patti took another sip of coffee, then ran her tongue along the sharp edges of her upper teeth, signaling dangerous words ahead. “And what about Darren? Did he have time in his schedule to join you on the birthday video chat?”

  Jenna flinched at the mention of her boyfriend, and her insides did a somersault. “We’re both so busy with work,” she tried, but the explanation felt flat, even to her. She fingered a leafy foliage on her model. Watched the pinwheel spin. Flicked away an invisible piece of dust from her blouse. Letting herself get lost in worries about her flailing relationship would do nothing to help her already-jittery nerves. She could already feel her pulse in her neck as it was. “I hardly see him anymore.”

  Patti’s left eyebrow arched, but she blinked, deftly easing her expression into a diplomatic neutral. “Well, if Barrington’s people accept your proposal, you won’t have time to see anyone in the next year. So, keep your fingers crossed.”

  Jenna crossed her fingers and waved them at Patti. “Family, boyfriends, having any kind of social life?” she asked. “Overrated.”

  Patti’s tone was deadpan. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  “I was joking.” Jenna knew the put-together workaholic lived alone with her cat, an overweight ginger furball named Meka. She hadn’t had a date the entire time Jenna had worked at Avery Architects—nearly five years.

  “Really? L-O-L.” Patti clicked her tongue. “Did I say that right? Or is it ‘loll’? Because I’ve never actually laughed out loud.”

  Jenna bit back a laugh. Somehow, this wasn’t hard to believe. Patti Murray certainly had a sense of humor, but her wit was the kind which had a tendency to sting rather than induce laughter. “Never?”

  Patti shrugged and cast a final look at the Terrace Pines model before turning and exiting the conference room. She called back to Jenna over her shoulder, “Never. Good luck.”

  Chapter Two

  Jenna was still fretting over ways to ramp up her model’s curb appeal and trying to avoid being ensnared by her relationship woes half an hour later when the latter slid into the conference room. Darren Taylor’s designer cologne announced his arrival two breaths before Jenna actually saw him. His voice, as smooth as his silk tie, followed shortly thereafter. Both tickled unpleasantly along Jenna’s skin, sparking nervous energy into the air.

  “Hey, stranger.”

  “Darren, hi.” Jenna forced herself to sound pleasant as her boyfriend bent to give her a quick, perfunctory peck on the cheek. “You’re early. The Barrington pitch doesn’t start until one.”

  Of course, if you weren’t the realtor on this project, I might never see you at all anymore.

  Jenna leaned in for a kiss more substantial than the one Darren had deposited on her face, but he brushed past her, his attention already refocused onto Terrace Pines.

  “Wow, this is efficient,” he said, his expert realtor gaze surveying the solar panels. Darren’s lips moved as he counted the number of exterior windows in relation to the sharp angles of the condominium’s exterior and well-placed parking structure. “Not an inch of wasted space. I love it. Barrington should be thrilled.”

  Jenna sighed. At least they had one thing in common, even if it was only a construction model. Appreciating the same piece of real estate wasn’t actually building their relationship, but Jenna supposed at least it was building something—right? “You think so?”

  “Your concept will certainly bring Terrace Pines into the twenty-first century,” Darren said, still eyeing the model. “Beachfront modern. I’m so glad I recommended you for this project.”

  He recommended her? Jenna bit her lip but let the comment slide. Working with Darren was a plus, not a determining factor, even if he had the tendency to think otherwise. “I was able to fit in ten more units than Barrington’s client asked for, most of them three-bedroom apartments. The master bedrooms all have an en suite, and two small bedrooms with a jack-and-jill.”

  “Perfect. The bedrooms can be used as his and hers offices.”

  “I was going to say children’s rooms—” Jenna cleared the catch from her voice, covering it with a cough. “But I guess offices work too.”

  If Darren had noticed her change in tone, it didn’t show. He was still gazing at the model, palms on his knees as he crouched to peer at the greenery Jenna had spent the better part of the morning rearranging. “Sure, for anybody who might be interested in that.”

  “Like us, right?” The question shot out before Jenna could stop it.

  For the first time since he’d entered the conference room, Darren turned his full attention to her. The effort looked almost painful, and the look in his eyes didn’t exactly engender confidence. Mostly, he looked bored.

  Jenna forced herself not to break eye contact. Instead, she blinked back doubt, doing her best imitation of Patti Murray brand confidence, and tried not to let herself get lost in the sharp curves of Darren’s jaw or the deep saltwater green of his eyes as she tried to tweeze intent from his features. When had
he started growing a goatee? Jenna had no idea. She was even less sure she liked it. It did accentuate the dimple in his chin, the one she used to touch before she kissed him. Not that they’d been anywhere near that level of affection in a long time. When was the last time he’d even hugged her?

  “Well, yeah. Maybe someday,” he managed eventually. “When we’re married. Someday.”

  Someday. Jenna recognized the tone Darren reserved for his uppity clients, and the playful smiles he thought came across as disarming. The combination smarted twice as much directed at her, curling her lips in the process. Now wasn’t the time to dig into the brambles of their relationship, not with Barrington arriving any minute, but considering they’d cancelled every dinner plan for the past three weeks, Jenna had to take the opportunity when she could.

  Besides, if Darren wanted to treat her like an uppity client, well, she could be uppity. “Right. You keep saying that. Funny I can’t seem to find someday on the calendar.”

  Darren was practiced in the art of shifting conversations away from hazardous topics. “First, let’s get the Barrington deal locked, and then we can plan our life together. Landing this deal would go a long way for both of us.”

  “You realize you’re putting our life together in the hands of a billionaire developer saying yes to a PowerPoint and a cheap cardboard model?”

  “No, I’m putting our life together in your very capable hands.” The dimple in Darren’s chin expanded as his mouth curved into a smile. He took a step closer, so Jenna had to look up to meet his eyes. “That’s why you need to crush this pitch. I went out on a limb to convince Barrington to allow Avery Architects—to allow you—to have a bid on this, so don’t let me down. This could be a huge beginning for us.”

  Thanks, Jenna’s inner voice snapped. Again, her opportunity was on his merit rather than her own. The thought made her stomach turn. “No pressure,” she scoffed.

  The dimple in Darren’s chin winked under his goatee. “I’m just saying, this would be great for us.”