Free Life's a Beach by Jamie K. Schmidt Page A

it could be he was concentrating on the white-knuckle turns.
    “I figured you’d go down to Honolua Bay and pick yourself up a pro,” Dude finally said.
    “Pro as in a hooker?” she asked, astonished.
    He snorted. “Pro surfer. One of those rich boys.”
    “Ugh.” Amelia shuddered. “I hate rich guys.”
    “What?” Dude gave her the side eye.
    “I mean it. I’m never dating a rich man again.”
    “Again?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “Jay and I didn’t live in the same world, even if we shared the same bed. He’s never worked a day in his life.”
    Jay was used to money solving all his problems. Girlfriend pissed off? Offer to pay her back for the vacation she spent her life savings on. Caveat: she had to agree to an open relationship. Jerk.
    “Not all rich men are like that. Some are rich because they worked their asses off.”
    “Sure,” Amelia agreed. “But they’re all old men. I don’t have daddy issues. I want a guy my own age, you know?”
    “I hear you, but there are younger men with money.”
    “Yeah, entitled assholes who think they can buy everything and everyone. No way. Been there, done that. Worked like an indentured servant to prove I wasn’t mooching off him.” She shuddered. “All the while, he was doing the humpty dance with Jiggly Boobs the barista.”
    “You need to move on.”
    “Dude, it was two days ago.”
    “Life’s too short.”
    “I am moving on,” she said, waving her hand out the window. “I’m expanding my coffee horizons and considering a two-week fling. Are you in or out?”
    “You sure you don’t want a surfer? All the tourists go wild over the bad boys.”
    “I’m not sure I could take their egos. Besides, I’m not really the surf bunny demographic. Wrong color hair. Tits are too small. Hips too big.”
    “Hey, I like your tits and hips.”
    “You’re a charmer,” she told him.
    “I call it like I see it,” Dude said unapologetically. “Your hair is
nani
too.”
    “Does that mean snarly and hard to control?”
    “No, it means ‘pretty.’ ”
    Amelia beamed. “You think I’m pretty?”
    “Among other things.” He reached over to hold her hand, but she put it firmly back on the wheel.
    “We’ll have plenty of time for that later,” she said, pushing her hair back over her ear, suddenly feeling shy. “I’m not usually like this. I just want to be reckless and carefree. I really would like to be your lover for the next two weeks. But this is the last time I’m asking.”
    “Sunshine, it was a done deal as soon as you smiled at me.”
    “I wish we weren’t on such a curvy road,” she said. “I’m feeling a little naughty.”
    “And there goes my hard-on again.”
    “Now who’s being a tease?”
    —
    Kai had failed to mention that Maui Grindz was next to a coffee plantation. She made Dude go on the self-guided tour with her and held his hand as if they were newlyweds. Amelia told herself she wasn’t going to fall in love with his beach-god looks and his sexy innuendos. This was a casual affair. She was a modern woman. But damn, it would be easy to forget that this was temporary. He made her laugh, and her heart beat faster when he looked at her with those ever-changing hazel eyes. Amelia could barely wait until tonight.
    “You should have gotten an SUV,” Dude said on the drive home.
    “Why? Are the roads going to be that bad?” She squinted through the windshield. It hadn’t rained. Amelia couldn’t imagine these roads slippery and crumbling with mud.
    “No, you bought out the entire bakery section, and most of the coffee section.”
    Amelia held up a hand. “That was in self-defense. Do you know Makoa buys the coffee at Office-freaking-Max?”
    “That’s why I drink the beer.”
    She couldn’t argue with that. “Just remember to be sober for your scuba lessons tomorrow. I don’t want to have to rescue
you
this time.”
    “Are you going to be my assistant?” he asked. “You can rub waterproof sunscreen