Chapter Five
Tristan
It was strange seeing Molly in the flesh after six years of absence. I could recognize the young girl that she had once been, but I could also see the woman she was now.
She had that tousled, fresh-off-the-plane look, but it did nothing to detract from her appearance. She had the kind of old-world beauty that couldn’t be hidden. Her blonde hair had been tied into an untidy topknot, from which loose strands trailed around her face and down her neck. Her blue eyes were lighter than I remembered, and it put me in mind of the ocean just after sunrise.
I calculated in my head and realized that she was around twenty-four now. It didn’t matter, I told myself firmly. She was still Jason’s sister.
“It’s been a long time,” Molly said.
I smiled and leaned in for a hug. I thought she returned the hug stiffly, but that might have just been my imagination. When I pulled back, I tried not to get sidetracked by the intensity of her blue eyes.
“It has been a long time,” I nodded. “Too long.”
Alani cleared her throat, and I realized she was still in the room. “I’ll just wait outside,” she said, with a knowing smile. She shut the door behind her, leaving Molly and me alone together.
I gestured towards one of the chairs opposite my desk. “Come, sit down,” I said. “You must be exhausted after the flight.”
Molly followed me to the desk, and I noticed that she was preoccupied with the view as she sat down. “I am,” she replied. “I had been hoping to head straight to my room and get in a couple of hours of sleep first.”
“I’m sorry, I should have thought of that,” I said. “But I just…had to welcome you to Hawaii.”
Molly smiled, and I was struck again by how much she had changed. There was a new confidence about her that hadn’t existed before. There was more maturity in her features, which lent itself to her beauty. She really did look like a modern-day Grace Kelly.
“Have you had anything to drink?” I asked. “I can get some refreshments up here.”
“No need,” she said quickly. “Your staff already saw to it. I met Ben downstairs.”
“Ben,” I nodded. “I expected him to bring you up to meet me.”
“There was an emergency he needed to sort out,” I told him.
“Thank God for Ben,” I said. “I don’t know what I’d do without him.”
We fell quiet for a moment, and in that silence, Molly’s eyes met mine. She was looking at me with a curious expression, and I couldn’t help searching her face. It felt as though there was an unspoken conversation that needed to be had, sitting between us and distracting us both.
“Thank you for the plane ticket, Tristan,” Molly said at last, breaking the silence. “I haven’t traveled first class in quite some time.”
“You’re most welcome,” I replied. “How was the helicopter ride here?”
“Fabulous,” she said, and her eyes lit up. “It was amazing experiencing Hawaii from that vantage point. This island is breathtaking.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I nodded.
“Tristan…” She looked at me awkwardly.
“Yes?”
“Are you sure I can’t pay for this trip?” she asked. “I feel bad staying here for free.”
“Nonsense,” I said immediately. “I want to do this.”
“You wanted to do this for Jason,” she pointed out. “I’m not Jason.”
I was surprised to find that I was annoyed at the mention of Jason. He was just another reminder that Molly was off limits to me. Then again, I reasoned that I needed reminders to keep me in check, especially if Molly was going to be around for the next few weeks.
“You’re a lot prettier than he is,” I joked, brushing off my initial annoyance. “Which means you’re more deserving.”
She smirked at me. “This was very generous of you,” she said. “And, I want you to know how much I appreciate it. So does Jason.”
“Of course,” I nodded. “Don’t even mention it.”
She nodded. She seemed to be working through something in her head, and I wondered for a moment if she was remembering the last time we had spoken.
“How have you been, Molly?” I asked.
“I’ve been better, to be honest,” she replied. “I’m sure Jason has already told you that I was laid off.”
“I am sorry,” I said. “It’s always hard when companies choose to scale back.”
“It wasn’t a corporate decision; it was a legal one,”
“I heard,” I nodded sympathetically. “I don’t know if Jason mentioned to you the possibility of a position here.”
“He did mention it,” she replied. “And, I’m flattered and grateful but…”
“Too weird?” I offered.
She smiled. “I don’t know yet,” she clarified. “Maybe we can just…see how it goes.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I nodded. “Like I told Jason, there’s absolutely no pressure. If you decide you enjoy the atmosphere here, the job’s yours.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me, Molly,” I smiled. “I’m more than happy to make the offer, especially because I know how good you are at your job.”
She raised her eyebrows. “How do you know that?”
“Your parents,” I admitted. “And Jason.”
She smiled. “They might not be the most unbiased sources.”
“I trust them,” I said. “Speaking of your parents, how are they?”
“They’re both doing really well,” she replied. “Neither one shows any signs of slowing down.”
“It’s the work ethic all three of us learned from,” I said. “My father was the same way.”
Molly’s eyes turned soft for a moment. “I was sorry to hear about your father, Tristan,” she said. “I wish I could have been there for the funeral.”
“It was…a difficult day,” I nodded. “But it didn’t come as a shock, and that helped. A part of me was relieved, you know. At least he wasn’t suffering anymore. The chemo was very hard on him.”
“I imagine it was hard for you, as well.”
I cleared my throat and changed the subject abruptly, unwilling to appear vulnerable in front of Molly. “It was a while ago now. Anyway… Have you had a chance to explore the resort?”
She seemed to understand my reluctance to talk about my father. “Not yet,” she replied. “I’m going to start exploring tomorrow. Once I’ve caught up on some sleep.”
“You’ll need to have dinner once you’ve rested a bit,” I pointed out. “I can hold a table for you at one of our four restaurants?”
“Alani already offered,” Molly answered. “But I think I’m just going to order in room service tonight.”
“No problem,” I nodded. “The food here is amazing. We’ve got the best chefs from around the world.”
“You always did strive for excellence.”
“Anything less is unacceptable,” I nodded.
“I’m proud of you,” Molly said unexpectedly. “You achieved everything you set out to achieve—in record time no less.”
“I didn’t start from scratch,” I pointed out. “My father built up the empire halfway; I just took over from there.”
“And took it to greater heights,” she said. “Starting a resort in Hawaii was always a dream of yours, wasn’t it?”
“I… Yeah,” I nodded. “How did you know that?”
“You mentioned it to me once,” she said. “The last time we saw each other…at the family Christmas party six years ago.”
The Christmas party… I kept my expression calm, even as the memory came rushing back to me. I could almost smell the scent of holly and mistletoe.
“We kissed that night,” she said unexpectedly. “Do you remember?”
I sat there for a moment, blinking at her like an idiot. I had not expected her to bring up the kiss like that. There was no inflection in her tone, but her expression was studying, and I felt suddenly self-conscious. I remembered the day after the Christmas party. I had been staying at her parent’s house in the guest room, next to Jason’s.
When I had gone down for breakfast, Molly had been there, looking like sunshine. She had turned to me with expectation, and I had watched the joy fade from her face at my indifferent and uninterested attitude. I made a point of announcing to the whole table that I drank too much last night and couldn’t remember a thing that had happened.
A couple of hours later, I packed my bags, said goodbye to Jason’s family and drove off, while Molly stood on the porch steps next to her brother and parents, looking hurt and disappointed.
No matter how hard I’d tried over the years, I’d never been able to get that last image of her out of my head. It haunted me to this day. Perhaps that was the reason I wanted to give her this trip; it was my way of apologizing. It was my way of making up for what could never be.
I forced myself to meet Molly’s eyes, knowing that I had to be convincing. “What kiss?” I asked with my eyebrows raised.
“You kissed me in the library of my parents’ house,” Molly said. “The Christmas party was raging in the other room, but you pulled me away so that we could be alone.”
I wrinkled my brow, as though I were struggling to remember the moment. Then I laughed. “Are you positive this happened?”
Molly didn’t laugh; she didn’t even crack a smile. “A hundred percent.”
“Well, then… I must have been really drunk that night,” I said casually. “Because I can’t remember a thing.”
Her eyes were cold, and I could sense the same hurt that had engulfed her six years ago. While a selfish part of me was happy she still cared, another part of me knew I needed to hurt her a little now in order to spare her more hurt somewhere down the road. My lifestyle wasn’t suited for long-term relationships. I wasn’t suited for long-term relationships. And, Molly was not some random girl in a club.
She was my best friend’s sister. If I got involved with her only to neglect her later in the relationship, it would effectively end my friendship with Jason, and I just couldn’t take that risk. Denying the memory seemed like the easiest way to spare Molly from unnecessary entanglements—and to spare myself from unnecessary temptation.
“You weren’t drinking that much,” she said.
I shrugged. “I’ve kissed a lot of different women in my life, Molly,” I said, hating myself for appearing so flippant and uncaring. “I don’t remember half their names. Sometimes even their faces blur together.”
I saw her cringe a little, and I didn’t blame her. “In any case, you’re Jason’s sister,” I continued. “If we did actually kiss… I think it’s better that kiss stay in the past where it belongs.”
She looked intense for a moment and then in the next breath, she seemed to relax. “You’re right,” she nodded. “It was obviously a meaningless kiss, anyway.”
I pushed back my disappointment and nodded. “Right…”
“I’m sorry for bringing it up,” she said.
“No, not at all.”
“I should get to my room; I’m exhausted.”
“Of course,” I nodded, standing up to walk her to the door. “I’ll be a little busy the next few days, but if you need anything at all, please feel free to ask my staff.”
“Thank you, Tristan.”
Alani turned towards both of us when I opened the door, ready to escort Molly to her suite. Molly turned to me for a brief second. Her light blue eyes looked a little conflicted, but then she gave me a small smile and turned away from me.
I watched her leave with Alani, remembering the perfect kiss we had shared and all the little pearls of hope that had come with it. That hope was gone now; all I had left was the memory.