“Thank you so much, Caleb,” Mom says as we finish fixing the water sprinkler. I can’t really blame Mom. She didn’t know where the pipes for the system ran, but when she decided to put in a tetherball set for her grandchildren and nobody exactly checked, the result was a big mess. So it fell to me and Caleb, sweating our asses off in the sun once again, to replace the four-foot cracked section of PVC pipe.

“Aw, shucks, you’re welcome Miz Steele,” Caleb drawls, and I swear he’s putting just a little extra into his voice. It’s almost annoying.

“Did you enjoy your stay?” Mom asks before looking at me and then at Caleb. “You mind telling me what’s wrong with my boy here?”

“Nothing that I know of,” Caleb says innocently. I gotta give him credit, he isn’t ratting me out, respecting that I don’t really want to talk about it.

Mom crosses her arms, and I know the look on her face. I want to tell Caleb to watch out, but she’s too quick. “Caleb, don’t you sass me, young man. You know exactly what's going on, and I’m going to find out one way or another!”

“Ma, I told you a million times nothing is wrong,” I say. “Stop embarrassing me.” I’m trying to make my voice strong and commanding, but even to my ears, it lacks any conviction. The fact is, I’ve never been in love before. I’ve never felt my heart break before, and it fucking hurts.

“Mmmhmm,” Mom says. “You know I can smell bullshit from a mile away. But I’m going to go inside. If you boys can finish that up, I’d appreciate it.”

Mom goes inside, and I look over at Caleb. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem,” Caleb says. “You doing okay still?”

I pick up my shovel and plunge it into the wheelbarrow of dirt that we’ve dug out of the hole. “Hell, no,” I admit, carefully dropping it into the ditch we’ve dug around the new pipe. “With nothing much to do for Oliver right now except scout deals over the Internet a few hours a day, I’ve had too much time on my hands to think. I keep coming back to the idea of taking a road trip to see Hannah. Calling just won’t do.”

Caleb digs in too, his shovel scooping up dirt and dropping it down evenly. “You know . . . if you really wanted to, I might be willing to call shotgun.”

I stop, leaning on my shovel. “Why?”

Caleb thinks, then goes for another scoop of dirt. “You ever wonder why I flirt with women, Cassie included, but never more than that?”

“The thought has crossed my mind,” I admit. “But I never really had an answer on why that was. “Are you not attracted to Cassie? Fuck, are you coming out to me, man? I love ya, but not like that. I’m team pussy forever.”

Caleb chuckles but shakes his head. “She’s a nice girl, but . . . I’ve been in love once. This was a few years ago. Her name was Wendy Reinhardt. I’m a little more guarded these days.”

“Wendy . . . don’t know the name,” I admit. “Must have been when I was being a party hog in college.”

“About that time, yeah,” Caleb admits. “I fell for Wendy pretty hard. I did all sorts of stupid shit to keep her attention, but I got burned. I don’t really want to discuss all the details because it fucked me up pretty bad for a while, but just . . . I know what it’s like to love and to lose.”

“You’re not telling me you haven’t been with a girl since then, are you?”

Caleb chuckles, shaking his head. “Fuck no. I still talk the talk because I’m a creature of habit, but I’m a little more cautious beyond that. I’m not ready for love again. But you, Tony . . . hell, I lost Wendy because of what she did to me. You’ve still got a chance with Hannah. I’ll tag team drive your ass tonight if you want.”

I think about it. I’d love nothing more than to have her in my arms, but if she doesn’t want to see me, if I’m going to cause her pain, I don’t want to go running to her doorstep. “Listen, man, thanks for having my back, but let me think on it.”

“I wouldn’t think too long,” Caleb says. “I didn’t say anything, kept hoping you’d seen it, but maybe you didn’t. When we were driving away, I saw Hannah come around the side of the house. She was looking at us . . . she was trying to look for you, Tony. Now, some people say I’m not a smart man, but I know love when I see it.”

I reach in my pocket and grab my phone, going to message drafts, finding the text I never sent to Hannah. I can’t wait any longer, and I hit Send.

* * *

“So this property could be the next big deal we need,” says Martha, Oliver’s property acquisitions manager. She’s mainly talking to Oli, because I’m sitting quietly to the side, pretending to look at the big monitor she’s rigged up on the wall. I’m sitting quietly to the side, looking at the big monitor that Martha’s rigged up on the wall. We’re on the second floor of the Flaming Dragon building, above Mindy’s Place in the office that is supposedly Oliver’s headquarters. Really, it’s Martha’s office, but it’s a good place to talk business. I’ve been coming in for the past couple of days. I’ve felt obligated after giving away the Mobber estate to Hannah.

Oliver hasn’t said anything, but he understands, knowing that I want to make it up to him and everyone else. I told Caleb the truth. My sleep’s been shit. I’ve been hitting the gym like a madman because I’ve got a desperate hope that if I tire my body out enough, it’ll get pummeled into sleep. So far, all I’ve done is earn a really sore set of quads. Every time I try to lie down, I’m thinking of Hannah, wondering how she’s doing.

I feel like shit.

“Hey, babe?” It’s Mindy, sticking her head in the door. “Someone’s here to see you, says they need to talk business.”

“Show them up,” Oliver says. I’m too tired to bother to look. Probably another associate, maybe someone with the deal Martha found.

There’s a quiet knock on the door, and it opens. “Hello, I didn’t mean to—”

I twirl around at the sound of the unmistakable voice, standing up so fast that the table jumps as my aching quads jostle it, spilling Martha’s coffee and making her jump back herself. “Hannah! What are you doing here?”

I cross the space to her, stopping up short. “I took a flight here. This is something I had to do face to face. Tony, I got your text message, and I wanted to respond, but . . . listen, I’ve got three hundred and seventeen dollars in my checking account, a landlord who’s gonna be pissed that I don’t have my rent, and Cassie’s freaking out on me, hoping that I’m not wasting my damn time.”

“I’ll excuse myself,” Martha says, exchanging glances between us, an amused expression on her face. “I think you all have a lot to talk about.”

She leaves while Oliver sits back, an interested look on his face as Hannah and I stare at each other, both of us too nervous to reach out and cross that final line separating us. Finally, Hannah clears her throat and looks over at Oliver.

“I’m here about Wesley’s land,” Hannah says. “What Aurora is planning to do . . . here, it’s easier if I just show you. I can’t believe that I’m doing this, I’m so gonna get sued, but dammit, it’s the right thing to do!”

Hannah reaches into her purse and pulls out the file, showing it to us. I’m horrified. It’s the only word I can think of. “A five-floor main building, restaurants, water park . . . what the fuck, they’re tearing out the spa to put in—”

“A golf course,” Oliver says, shaking his head. “There’s going to be literally nothing left.”

“Exactly,” Hannah says. “And unless we can stop them, after that, their sights are going to be on the village. I can’t but help think I bear some responsibility for this. It should’ve gone to you guys! You’d obviously have to make your money, but at least you guys would have respected the land!”

“We would have.” Oli gets up to leave. “Let me start making some calls and see what, if anything, can be done. Legally, my hands are tied, but there might be some options. I might start with calling this Wesley Mobber—”

I cut him off, getting up. “Let me. I have his personal number. It’ll be better coming from us. I’ll give him a call. The book’s back at my place.”

Hannah nods. “He’s right, it’s kind of like Wesley shares a bond with all of us. Besides, I want to say this in front of you first. It’s what brought me here.”

Oli looks curious as he sinks back into his seat, and I turn to Hannah, curious. “What do you mean?”

She takes a deep breath, and I can see . . . fear? “Oliver, I’m sure your brother told you all about the place and how special it is, I can tell from your reaction. What he didn’t tell you is how we fell in love. God, I was so wrong about him.”

“Hannah—” I start to tell her that Oliver already knows, but she keeps going, momentum not letting her stop.

“Tony, you’re cocky, you’re sarcastic, you’re a major pain in the ass, and your decision to send me a dick pic, of all things—”

“You bugged me to get Hannah’s number so you could send her a pic of your dick?” Oliver growls at me, and I blush.

“It’s okay, Oliver. I kinda asked for that,” Hannah says, blushing herself. “That’s a story for another time. But I was wrong about Tony. He’s the kindest man I’ve ever met. Wesley sent me the final letter he wrote, the final challenge . . . and in it, I read how he sacrificed everything to make me happy. So Oliver, please don’t be angry at him. Tony, at the property, I wanted to tell you, but I was too afraid. I thought that there’d be no way I could really feel this way, especially this fast. And just like you did with the property, you saw the truth and did the right thing . . . so I want the world to know that I love you too. You said you’d burn down Wesley’s estate to make me happy. Well, how about we work together and save the place where we fell in love?”

“You sure that’s what you want?” I ask, my throat tight. Hannah nods, and I get up, going to her and pulling her into my arms, kissing her softly. She wraps her arms around my neck, and I hold her close, tears of happiness trickling down my cheeks as I feel complete again. “Hannah, I swear to God, I’ll be the man you deserve.”

Oliver looks from Hannah to me and laughs. “Yeah, I guess I looked about that stupid when I walked back into the Beangal’s Den and went to get Mindy back. Hannah, Tony’s told me all about you two. But let me call my lawyers, see what we can do. You two . . . well, go get that phone number because we’ve got some important business to handle. And guys, don’t get too sidetracked,” he says with a grin and a raised eyebrow.

* * *

We’re back down in the basement. Because of the time difference between here and Hawaii, it’s late, but for Wesley Mobber, it’s just past lunch. Wesley is sitting in his meditation room, but of course he’s going to have good Wi-Fi in that place. it’s one of those weird things about him, the balance of ecological with modern high-tech. “It’s nice to see you again, Tony. And nice to see Hannah with you.”

“It’s good to see you too, Wesley,” I say, smirking when a familiar squawk sounds and Mo Mo settles on his shoulder. “You too, Mo Mo. I wish I could be saying this is under happier circumstances.”

“Wait,” Wesley says, smiling that strange little smile of his. “First, before we talk about what you emailed me, there’s something I have to ask. Have you two talked?”

“If you mean have we told each other how we feel, yes,” Hannah says, reaching over and giving my hand a squeeze. “But Wesley, us being in love isn’t the reason we called. It’s Aurora and your legacy, your estate.”

“You know what a legacy is?” Wesley says, chuckling. “It’s what people who don’t have anything else to leave behind comfort themselves with saying they have. My legacy, if there is one, is going to be the people I’ve been able to touch and influence. So tell me, how have I touched you two?”

“You gave us the chance to fall in love,” I reply immediately. Behind the computer screen, Oliver raises an eyebrow, but he sits back silently. “You taught me that there are things more important than money, work, and rules. There’s people. And the Aurora plan is to eventually take the heritage of Alani’s village and destroy it, turn it from something to be treasured into some plastic trinket to be hawked to tourists for ten bucks and a side of fried plantains. I can’t just sit by and let that happen.”

“They are rat bastards, I agree,” Wesley says.

“Rat bastards!” Mo Mo squawks, and Oliver sits up, surprised, and I have to hold back a grin. Welcome to what I had to put up with. It gets better.

“So we have to—” Hannah says, but Wesley grins. “What?”

“You two have taken me to be a man with a lot of money who’s more than a little off his rocker, right?” Wesley asks. “Wait, don’t answer that.” Wesley continues, and I have to laugh. “But I made my money by being the coldest blooded shark in an ocean of sharks. Do you have a copy of the contract?”

“Of course,” Hannah says. “Why?”

“Turn to page seven, paragraph 31E,” Wesley says. “It’s a minor little paragraph, but . . .” As he talks, I can see the shrewd business acumen glinting in his eyes. We might have misjudged him, underestimating him the whole time because he very clearly has a trick up his sleeve.

Hannah’s already flipped over her pages, and we read it together. He’s right, it is minor, but it’s a very clear out, and Wesley can trigger it unilaterally without getting us in trouble.

“Hawaii has some very strong laws on exploitation and land use, and I’ve added to it here,” he explains. “Their plans give me an out. So . . . Oliver, are you there?”

“I’m here,” Oliver speaks up, coming around. “It’s nice to talk to you face to face again, Mr. Mobber.”

“Here’s the deal,” Wesley says. “I’m willing to sell my property to you, with a few new clauses to the contract.”

“What new clauses?” Oliver asks.

“First, I realize that you’re not looking to lose money, but the spirit of this land must be preserved. I thought I was careful in narrowing it down to just you or Aurora, but I should’ve known better. With that in mind, I’m going to require that you have a permanent live-in manager on the estate. They would have to be approved by myself and my wife first.”

“I think I can find some people who might be willing to do that,” Oliver says, glancing at me. “Although from what I know, they’re a pain in the ass at times.”

Wesley grins. “Okay. I’ll contact Aurora and tell them I am triggering clause 31E. Tomorrow morning, I’ll call you. Oh, and one more thing.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“You came to me. This time, I’ll come to you. Alani would like to see some of the mainland, and I’ve heard that there’s a hell of a coffeehouse in the family, and a hell of a singer. Alani happens to be a fan of Heartstopper. Think we can arrange something?”

Oliver laughs. “Wesley, you get here, and we’ll make it happen. It’s a deal.”

When we’re done with the call, Hannah hugs me tightly. “Thank you, Studmuffin.”

“Studmuffin?” I ask, and Oli grins, getting his laptop and recognizing his queue to leave. We’re alone, and I turn to Hannah. “What is this Studmuffin stuff?”

“That’s what I thought of you when I first saw your butt. You were a total studmuffin. I just wanna take a bite of that bubble butt.”

I laugh, embarrassed. “Uh, yeah, if you say so.”

Hannah laughs, getting up and straddling my legs. “I’m for real. I can teach you how to twerk. I taught Roxy all her best moves. Want me to show you?”

I laugh, putting my hands on her waist before reaching around and running my hands over her ass. “I think I’ll pass. I might have something, but not as much as my big booty . . .”

Hannah wags her finger at me to not finish that sentence even as she arches her back to press her ass into my hands more. “Oh, no, buddy, don't you dare say it!”

I laugh. “Sorry, couldn't help myself.”

I massage Hannah’s ass, and she sighs happily before giggling. “Don’t tell anyone I said this, but I sort of miss that damn bird. I’m going to be happy to see her again.”

“I knew it,” I reply, pulling Hannah into my lap more and drawing her in for a kiss. “But if you really want to show me some dancing, I have a few ideas.”

“What?” she asks breathlessly, moaning as I kiss down to the curve of her neck, licking the soft skin, relishing the taste of her.

“Let’s see how well you can pole dance . . . on my pole.”

“Mmm . . .” Hannah moans, rolling her hips against the hard bulge in my pants. She glances at the door and sees that the lights are off. We’re alone. “A little corny, but challenge accepted.”

Hannah stands up, reaching for the first button on her blouse and opening it for me. There’s no music, but that doesn’t make her slow striptease any less erotic as she peels off her blouse and skirt for me, leaving her in just her bra and panties before she reaches for my shirt. “You know, my love . . .” she says before stopping and shivering in pleasure. “My love . . . it feels good to call you that.”

“It’s even better to hear it,” I reply, reaching up to brush her hair out of her face. “I should have told you exactly how I felt back on the island. I was just . . . afraid.”

“I was too,” Hannah admits, undoing my shirt and leaning in to kiss my chest. She runs her tongue over my nipples, biting lightly and making me moan as her breasts press against the bulge of my cock inside my jeans, their warmth soaking through the denim and making me throb. I run my hands through Hannah’s hair, gasping as she kisses back up, looking me in the eyes as she straddles me. “I’m not afraid anymore. I love you, Tony.”

Hannah puts her arms around my neck and rolls her hips, riding my cock through her panties and jeans, kissing me deeply as she does. I chuckle. Not this time. Instead, I reach around and pick her up, setting Hannah on the wide wooden topped table that the cafe uses for preparing pizza dough, making her giggle. “Plan on covering me with pepperoni and mozzarella?”

“Don’t give me any ideas,” I tease back, kissing down her throat as my hands undo her bra. I free her breasts as Hannah runs her fingers over my shoulders and back, gasping when my lips find her right nipple and suck longingly. I devote myself to Hannah’s breasts, licking and sucking to the sound of her gasps and light growls of pleasure while I undo my pants, freeing my cock.

“Lie back,” I whisper, helping Hannah down before lifting her hips and easing her panties off. I kiss my way down and trace my tongue over her lips. Hannah’s hips buck, and I slip my hands under her ass, cupping her cheeks to lift her pussy to my mouth, not letting her get away as I suck and taste her. My tongue slides up and down between her lips before I swirl around her clit, teasing Hannah.

“Tony . . . God, you feel so good,” she gasps, and I reward her by letting my tongue flutter over the tip of her clit, tickling lightly. Her breath catches in her throat and choked pleas rip from her lips. “Please . . . please . . . please . . .”

I stroke my tongue over her clit harder, sending her hurtling into the throes of her orgasm. I keep my mouth glued to her, refreshing the exhaustion in my body with every droplet that coats my tongue and dribbles down my throat. When she’s done, I stand up, my cock iron hard and pulsing with desire. I lift her knees. The table is at just the right height that I don’t have to do anything to line myself up.

Holding onto Hannah’s thighs, I push forward slowly, my cock sinking into her in a single long, amazing thrust that leaves both of us staring into the other’s eyes. She reaches down and entwines her fingers with mine as I let her knees slide to my elbows, holding her open and vulnerable to me as I fill her all the way up. Her pussy grips me tightly, sending thrills through my cock to bloom in my chest before exploding in my brain, signals that tell me she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, and that I’ve finally found my perfect partner.

Slowly, taking our time, I thrust my cock in and out of Hannah, our eyes never wavering with each stroke. My heart beats hard and deep in my chest with every slap of our hips together, and my breath quickens as I pump faster and faster.

Leaning down, I kiss Hannah hungrily, pushing her back further onto the table to climb up, pressing her body into the warm wooden surface and holding her still. Our tongues stroke and twist together, sharing breath and soul as we speed up, my hips driving my cock into her with all the passion and love that I’ve been holding back ever since I left Hawaii. My fingers tremble as I grab the edge of the table, my cock pumping harder and faster, Hannah wrapping her legs around me and digging her fingernails into my back as her pussy tightens around me, she’s so close to coming again. “Tony . . . fuck . . .”

“Now!” I gasp, my balls growing tight and my cock swelling in an instant before I come deep inside her, my heart stopping as I fill her up. Hannah quivers and gasps, crying out my name again and again as she holds me tight. I hold onto her, my heart and soul bared as I stay deep inside her, feeling her pussy milk and squeeze me until not a single drop is left, and I feel myself truly bonded for the first time in my entire life.

As my heartbeat returns to normal, I hold her close, letting my skin just press against hers, the feeling so perfect that I never want to let her go again. “So . . . what about your job? Your apartment?”

Hannah shakes her head, kissing me softly on the lips. “I don’t want to go back.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, stroking her back and looking in her eyes. “You told me your job was important to you.”

“It was, but I found something more important. And I was thinking . . . if Oliver’s going to send you to manage Wesley’s estate, you might need a partner.”

“Hmm . . .” I tease. “Well, Cassie does know the place pretty well.”

Hannah laughs, tugging on my hair. “Don’t make me go rough next time. I’ll still go Katniss on your ass if I have to.”

I laugh, kissing her soft lips. “It’d be a dream come true for us to be back there together.”