One
Early December
Sliding open the glass doors, Courtney stepped outside, closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath of fresh air. Nothing else in the world smelled like the air in Hawaii, and she should know, considering all the places she’d visited. For a few minutes, she stood there with her eyes closed and let the sun warm her face while the sound of the ocean washed over her.
Paradise. There really was no other word for the island. How could you call it anything else? The temperature never dipped too low, unlike in Boston where the whopping temperature this morning when she stepped on the plane was twenty-eight degrees. At the same time, the island rarely saw temps go higher than ninety. As if the wonderful weather wasn’t enough, Hawaii had gorgeous beaches and water perfect for swimming and surfing.
Yep, as much as she loved New England and its four seasons, she adored Hawaii. It was by far her favorite place to retreat to when she wanted to get away. Actually, more than once she’d considered moving out here permanently. Each time, though, the fact that such a move would take her so far away from her family stopped her. Instead, she settled for owning a suite at the Sherbrooke Hawaiian Village Resort and coming whenever she could.
Unfortunately, the past seven months had been hectic thanks to both family and work obligations, making a visit impossible. For the next two weeks, she planned to soak up as much sunshine as she could before heading back to Providence and diving into her new position at the Helping Hands Foundation while at the same helping with her uncle Warren’s reelection campaign.
Not that he needed much help. Even though the other party had yet to even hold their primaries, political polls were predicting her uncle would win a second term, a fact that didn’t come at all as a surprise. Throughout his presidency, Uncle Warren had maintained a high approval rating, and since he took office, the economy was doing well. Still, the man was her uncle, and she wanted to help him, so whether or not his campaign needed her, she’d be there.
The opening to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture reached her out on the balcony, and Courtney opened her eyes. Glancing inside, she considered letting the call go to voice mail. If it was important, the caller could leave a message, and she’d call them back later. On the other hand, the responsible thing to do would be to take the call now and handle the matter before she did anything else. And if Courtney was anything, it was responsible. Sometimes maybe even a little too responsible, according to her younger sister, Juliette, who often insisted she needed to be more spontaneous and fun loving. Unlike when it came to several of her cousins and sister, those two words never appeared in a sentence alongside the name Courtney Belmont.
She left the doors open when she stepped back inside and retrieved the cell phone from her purse. She expected the call to be from one of three people: her mom, Juliette, or her best friend, Meg, since they called her the most. A glance at the screen showed it was instead from her cousin Leah.
“Hey, are you around this upcoming weekend? Gavin and I are heading to Providence. I thought we could get together. I haven’t even seen your new place yet,” Leah greeted.
While Leah and Gavin called Connecticut home, Gavin’s daughter, Erin, lived in Providence. Rather than waste time driving back and forth, Gavin kept an apartment in the city, and he and Leah usually stayed there when it was his weekend to have Erin.
“Sorry, no. I’m in Hawaii.” If she was at home, she’d love to spend some time with her cousin. With so much else going on, including her move from Boston to Providence, she had spent little time with any of her cousins. The same was true of her siblings.
“Did you go straight from the reception to the airport?”
Leah wasn’t too far off. After her brother Scott’s wedding reception, she’d stayed at her parents’ house before driving into Boston early this morning to catch her flight. “No, I flew out today.”
“Good timing. It’s supposed to snow again tonight. Hopefully, they’re right this time and we only get two inches.”
The previous week the meteorologists had predicted they’d get a mere inch or two before the snow changed into rain. They’d been off by about eight inches.
“Hawaii. Nice choice. I wouldn’t mind being someplace warm right now. When will you be home?” Leah asked.
“The seventeenth. I want to be there for election night.” There wasn’t a doubt in Courtney’s mind that her cousin Brett would win the special election being held to fill the vacant Senate seat on December 19, and she wanted to be there to congratulate him when he did.
“Can you believe my brother still refuses to admit he’s going to win? Every poll has him ahead of Gina Hammond. There is no way he’ll lose.”
Courtney agreed. However she, like everyone in the family, knew changing Brett’s mind about anything was impossible. So until they counted all the ballots and declared Brett the winner, he’d remain open to the possibility that he might lose.
“Then I guess we’ll get to say ‘we told you so’ on election night,” Courtney replied before moving the conversation on to something she’d wanted to ask Leah Saturday but couldn’t since Gavin had stayed by her side all day. “Any idea when Gavin will ask you to marry him?”
Thanks to Gavin’s daughter, Leah knew he’d bought an engagement ring months ago. Despite having it, though, he hadn’t popped the question, and the wait was driving her crazy. In Leah’s shoes, Courtney would be going a little nutty too.
“No clue.” Leah’s exasperation traveled through the phone. “But I’ve made a decision.”
Sitting inside and talking on the phone while in Hawaii made about as much sense as wearing a bikini while skiing, so Courtney grabbed a bottled water from the kitchen and headed back onto the balcony. Having a well-stocked kitchen waiting for her thanks to a single phone call was just one of the many perks of owning a suite inside a hotel.
“If he doesn’t propose before the end of the month, I’m going to ask him to marry me on New Year’s Eve,” Leah explained.
Courtney unscrewed the cap and took a sip as she sat down. “Why wait until then? Do it now.”
“I.... Honestly, I don’t know. Waiting until the end of the month feels right.”
Courtney could almost hear her cousin shrugging back on the East Coast.
“I know it makes no sense. But I’m going to wait and see what happens. If he hasn’t asked by New Year’s Eve, I’ll ask him before the party,” Leah continued, referring to the annual New Year’s Eve bash the Sherbrooke family had been holding every year for decades at Cliff House in Newport.
Part of her hoped Gavin proposed before the end of the month, because if he’d bought a ring and told his daughter, he obviously wanted to do it. At the same time, she liked the idea of Leah taking control of the situation and asking him. Regardless of which way it happened, Courtney was happy her cousin had such a great man in her life. Considering the creeps she’d dated in the past, Leah deserved to be with someone who adored her. And no question about it, Gavin Kincaid was crazy about Leah.
“Well, if he asks before I see you, call me.”
“Don’t worry, I will. Have fun on vacation, and I’ll see you on election night.”