Chapter Thirty-Seven
Christian
In some ways, I was still getting used to waking up with Gretchen in my arms, even though we'd spent most nights together over the past couple weeks since I'd moved down to Hawaii. But it was a good feeling to wake up with her head pillowed on my chest, her hair fanning out around us. That morning, she had her arm slung low across my hips, nearly touching my morning wood, and I bit my lip, fighting against the urge to touch myself. I had already made her late to work once that week; I knew that I couldn't do it again. No matter how much I might want to.
I nuzzled her gently and watched as she woke up, blinking sleepily up at me. Then, she looked over at the alarm clock and sighed. “That time already?” she asked muzzily.
I blinked at her. “Do you have to work today?”
She frowned and then cocked her head to the side. “No, I don't,” she said slowly, clearly still waking up. She made a face. “Why did you wake me up? I was having a nice dream.”
I smiled a little at her complaining. “I thought you had to work. Seeing that you don’t… maybe we could have a nice breakfast and then maybe go surfing,” I told her.
She rolled her eyes. “Ever since you've retired, you've been insufferably active,” she said, even though I could tell she was amused.
I shrugged. “I like spending time with you when I get the chance,” I told her. “Anyway, we had a lazy movie day the other day when it was raining, didn't we?”
“That was nice,” Gretchen said, smiling at the memory. “Hey, do you mind if Mina comes surfing with us today? I haven't spent nearly enough time with her since you've been back, and I'm feeling kind of bad about that.”
“If you want, the two of you can have a girls’ day,” I said, even though it pained me to even think of it. I wasn't trying to smother her or anything like that, but I was running out of things to do with myself when she was at work, and her days off were the main breaks in the monotony. I was still working on what Paul had said, coming up with some hobbies that I liked doing. Surfing was one of those, but I still wasn't confident enough to go out on my own, without Gretchen there.
“No, I want you there,” Gretchen said, trailing a hand over my chest. “We can talk about the business and stuff. Plus, I just want you and Mina to get to know one another better. You're the two most important people in my life.”
“But I'm the most important, aren't I?” I asked teasingly.
“Maybe,” Gretchen said, smirking at me. “But only if you agree to make your blueberry pancakes this morning!”
I laughed and rolled out of bed. “Deal,” I said. “You want to stay here in bed while I make them, or are you going to come down and keep me company?”
“I might hop in the shower,” Gretchen said. “And then I'll meet you downstairs? I feel sticky after our time together.” She blushed adorably at the thought of what we'd gotten up to the night before, and I had to laugh.
“Still so shy,” I said in amusement, coming around the bed to kiss her gently.
I checked the news as I got the pancakes ready to go. I nearly choked when I read through my emails. “All my stock in Sunrise has been sold,” I informed Gretchen as she came into the kitchen.
“Oh, wow, really?” she asked, sounding surprised. “Already?”
“Yeah. I left Paul in charge of it, and he says they've found some investor who wants to come in and take over what I was doing with the PR stuff. Only his background is actually in PR rather than the real estate sector. He'll still do some of the TV shows that I was doing, like that International Dream Homes one that I was supposed to start filming in a month or two, but for the most part, instead of the real estate stuff, he'll just be focused on marketing and press liaisons.”
“Cool,” Gretchen said. There was something else in her eyes, though. “Do you regret it?” she asked quietly.
I frowned at her. “Regret what?” I asked. “Giving it all up? The business was doing better without me anyway. I'm sure-”
“I'm not asking about the business,” Gretchen interrupted. “I know how much you must have put into that business over the years. What I'm asking is, do you regret moving here?” I could see the way she was waiting with baited breath, and even though I knew I was probably going to burn one of the pancakes having this conversation right now, I moved across the kitchen toward her, catching her hands in mine.
“No,” I said firmly. “I absolutely do not regret moving here. In fact, I feel so lucky to be here and to be here with you. You have no idea how happy you make me; how happy Hawaii makes me.”
“Don't lie,” Gretchen said, looking down at the floor. “I know that I make you happy and whatever. But I can tell that you're chomping at the bit. You don't know what to do with yourself now that you have all this free time. And-”
“Gretchen,” I interrupted. She finally looked up at me. “Gretchen, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be here,” I told her. I laughed a little. “Honestly, this is probably good for me. As Paul said, my main problem is that for the past decade or so, my whole life has been work and going around with random women. I haven't had any hobbies or anything else. Yeah, it's taking me a bit to settle into this, but at the same time, I'm happy to be here with you. Don't even doubt that.”
“Okay,” Gretchen said. She paused. “Soon you'll have the business stuff to keep you occupied.”
“Right,” I said, smiling a little. She and Mina were keen to bring me on as a “consultant” for their new joint business. Since neither of them knew what they were in for regarding taxes or other business details, I was working with both of them to make sure that they had all the permits they needed and hashed out a contract that was fair to both of them.
It was exciting, honestly. It reminded me of a few years ago when Paul and Alex and George and I had sat down to form Sunrise Real Estate. At the time, we never could have imagined where it would end up, as, I was sure, Gretchen and Mina were feeling at the moment. It was good to be a part of a team like that again. And I'd do anything to help Gretchen out if I could.
Gretchen's phone buzzed, and she smiled when she looked down at it. “That's Mina,” she said. “I'll tell her to meet us down at the beach in about an hour?”
“Sounds great,” I said, smiling at her. I hummed a little as I went back to making pancakes.
It was the perfect day for surfing, a little overcast, so we weren't stuck directly in the sun, but still warm despite the fact that it was January. I paddled out into the spray with the two women, keeping my eyes peeled for waves that would be within my ability level.
We managed to hit a few waves each before lunch time, and then we let the waves push us back to shore so that we could enjoy the picnic lunch that Mina had packed for us all.
“It's going to be fun, going into business together,” Mina said, still smiling out at the waves.
Gretchen laughed. “I'm just glad that we have an actual business consultant now!” she said. “You know, that was my main worry about this whole thing. You're not supposed to hash out contracts with your best friend.”
I snorted. “It worked well enough for me,” I said.
“At least until the point that they exiled you to Hawaii!” Mina teased.
I glanced over at Gretchen, smiling at her. “No, that's worked out pretty well for me, too,” I said.
Both girls giggled a little at that one, and I slung an arm around Gretchen's shoulders, pulling her into a sideways hug for a moment.
“But seriously,” I said. “There may be certain friends who you don't want to go into business with, but for the most part, I think that's bullshit. No one respects you the way that your good friends do. And while that can, in itself, be detrimental to a business, it’s about taking everything in moderation, right?”
“Yeah,” they agreed.
“So, why pineapples anyway?” I asked Mina suddenly. It wasn't something that I'd ever asked her before, I realized. And although of course there were pineapples galore on the island, it still seemed sort of strange to me that she'd set up a shop devoted to them.
Mina laughed. “When I was a kid, my mom used to put my hair up into this high ponytail,” she said. “Only my hair wasn't long enough for it, so it just kind of spiked up everywhere. I grew up getting called Pineapple Girl. It seemed only fitting that I take that nickname with me into business.”
I stared at her. “Really?” I asked.
Mina shrugged. “It wasn't like I knew what else I wanted to do. And originally, I sold all sorts of different fruits and some vegetables, but pineapples don't go bad as quickly, and they seemed to be the most popular things in the shop anyway. I started focusing more and more on them, and here we are today!”
“You've tried her pineapple shakes, though,” Gretchen said, smiling fondly at her friend. “They're amazing, aren't they?”
“They are,” I agreed. “And I can see how refreshing they are after a long massage.”
“They'll be especially refreshing when enjoyed in a hammock out on the porch of our new place!” Mina said, grinning happily. “I can't believe we're putting in a dozen hammocks.”
“It was a great suggestion,” Gretchen said.
“Especially given the proximity to the beach,” I agreed. “We're going to have to watch and make sure that they're paying customers using them, but otherwise, I think it's going to be awesome.”
“Definitely.”
We were all silent for a while, considering the waves, munching our sandwiches, and thinking our separate thoughts. “You know, if the press were to happen to get news that you were hanging out around our shop…” Mina said suddenly, trailing off at the end.
I laughed a little. “Is that your marketing strategy?” I asked her. “Send an anonymous tip into the press and shamelessly whore me out for business?”
She shrugged, unrepentant. “It couldn't hurt, right? They'll get bored of your lifestyle soon enough anyway, especially once word gets out that you and Gretchen are living together. You're no longer the most eligible bachelor in the country. They'll move on to the next hot thing, sorry to say.”
“I'm not sorry,” I said, reaching over to squeeze Gretchen's hand. “It was nice while it lasted, but I like this better.”
Gretchen didn't respond except to lean over and kiss me gratefully.
“You two are so sappy,” Mina said, rolling her eyes, but I could tell that she was secretly pleased with our relationship. I still had a long way to go in winning over the rest of the island, especially those of them who had witnessed the scene at New Year's, but it was only a matter of time.