Which was terrifying. Because if it was this easy for me to want to be with her, then that meant she had that much more power to destroy me, and the sad part was, I'd probably let her, because even though I wanted to be that guy that was tough as shit and didn't give a damn.

I'd always known that once I fell for someone — once I fell in love, it would destroy me from the inside out. My mom had always joked that I wore my heart on my sleeve. In my profession it helped. People genuinely trusted me. They liked me. And in return, I tried to do my best for them.

Them. I needed to keep remembering what I'd been born to do. Lead others and sacrifice. At least, at the end of the day, I'd still have my job. Logistics, voting, politics, they were topics that, given the chance, would take over a person's life, leaving no space for anything else. I needed my life to be that way in order to be able to control things.

Groaning, I decided to put my mind to rest.

For tonight.

I was going to focus on getting through dinner. It would be hard enough fielding Grandma's ministrations. I'd need all my energy for that woman. I swear, God had done a number when He'd made her.

"We're here!" Grandma shouted as if we were at the World Cup.

"Yay." Beth pumped her fist into the air and gave me a tired smile.

Poor girl. She was probably just as tired as I was. It wasn't as if that flight had been something made out of dreams. It had been hell, hell on earth. And it truly had made me question my desire to procreate.

"I'm so hungry I almost ate the three-week-old candy I found at the bottom of my purse," Beth murmured so only I could hear her.

"What? No sharing?"

"It had fur on it." Beth sighed. "Fifty-fifty chance I would have died from some sort of fungus poising."

"More science." I sighed. "Hot."

"Fungus. Always hot."

"Where's the damn boat?" Grandma put her hands on her hips and stomped down the dock, while I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose.

Grandma yelled obscenities into the night sky, but I wasn't paying attention, because Beth had somehow managed to lean against my shoulder, and my shoulder had decided in those brief seconds that it liked being leaned on. So I stayed, paralyzed by her touch, debating whether or not I should put my arm around her or just stand there like a limp idiot.

"You kids stay here. This is just…" Grandma didn't finish; instead she continued yelling and walked off down the beach, cell phone in hand.

Beth didn't move. Instead, she leaned further against me while I closed my eyes and let the smell of the islands permeate my senses. The air was thick with the humidity of flowers. For the first time in two years, I felt semi-relaxed.

That is until a horn sounded in the distance.

I blinked a few times as a boat. Scratch that, it was more like a freaking yacht. Of course, when dealing with Grandma Nadine what else could I expect? The woman didn't do small, in any capacity, so if the Titanic suddenly rose from it's watery grave and made it's way across the ocean to our destination, yeah, I wouldn't even blink. A the yacht got closer it was harder and harder not to look away. I'd always had a thing for them and this one was beautiful. Stark white with its lights reflecting off the water. I could retire on it and live comfortably for the rest of my life. The side said Titus Enterprises, maybe we were having dinner on it? . A man in a blue Hawaiian shirt pulled up to the dock and waved us over.

"I think that's our ride," I whispered in Beth's hair, shamelessly allowing myself a few deep breaths.

"Hmm..." she answered and started walking down the dock.

I blindly followed, Hypnotized by the sway of her hips as she made her way down toward the water.

The captain helped her into the boat. She was tired, but I was at least still functioning.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Are you Jace Brevik?"

"Yes?"

"And Beth Lynn?" He pointed to Beth who looked absolutely dead on her feet.

"Yeah…"

"Great!" He clapped his hands together. "I'm your captain. Your grandmother is going to follow in the next boat. She said something about needing to use the restroom again, so I was given the go-ahead to drop you kids off so you can eat."

"Food." I grunted. "Fine, how far away is it?"

The captain gave me a funny look then answered, "Things are only as far away as you allow them to be. Now sit back and relax. There's rum punch in the back. Help yourself."

"Alcohol." I nodded. "Score."

"Right, because that hasn't caused us any problems in the last twenty-four hours," Beth joked sleepily.

Ignoring her, I grabbed two paper cups and went to the little mini-bar at the back of the boat. Filling both cups to the rim with the pink juice, I grabbed a bag of Maui Chips to share with Beth and returned to where she was sitting.

"Eat." I handed her the chips.

"Food!" She snatched the chips from my hands and opened them.

"You respond like this to all types of food, or is it just junkfood, like chips and cookies?" I laughed.

Beth closed her eyes and slowly placed a chip on her tongue then closed her mouth and started chewing. Who the hell ate chips like that?

"All food," she said, still chewing. "I love salt."

Well, that explained the weird chip placement. She reached for another chip and did it again. I swore and looked away. What the hell was my problem?

I lifted the rum punch to my lips and took a sip. The liquid was cold and sweet, but not too sweet. It had a hint of ginger and basically tasted like heaven after that flight.

"It's pretty." Beth sighed, drinking her punch.

"What is?"

"The sky. The hotels. The water." Beth pointed to the shoreline as all the hotels of Waikiki Beach lit up the dusk night sky. "I've only been here once. I promised myself I'd come back after graduation, but then I got a job, and you know how that goes. Ten years later you wonder why you haven't ever taken a vacation."

I snorted. "Know what that's like."

"Anyway." Beth cleared her throat., "I've been thinking."

"That can get you into trouble."

"I know." She played with the half-empty cup in her hands, twirling it around a few times before leaning back against her seat. "I know this situation isn't ideal. I know you have a lot going on. But, I think this is what I needed. A vacation. To get away for a bit. I'm just sorry that you got drug into it."

I threw my head back and laughed. "Honey, it was my own damn fault. I actually said yes to Grandma." Shrugging, I continued. "I was, uh, supposed to hit on your sister and get her to like me. There was a certain wager going on between Grandma, Kacey, and Travis. They wanted someone good for Char, and Grandma wanted to win the wager. Clearly, Grandma succeeded. Jake and Char seem happy."

"So you are still a white knight, sweeping in just in time to save the day." Beth sighed.

I, in turn, panicked. "What do you mean? White knight?"

"I remember." She broke a chip in her hand and popped it in her mouth. "Senior year. You were at prom with your cousin."

My palms got sweaty all over again as I rubbed them on my pants and waited for what was next.

"You swept in and danced with me when I was pouting all by myself."

I laughed. "Believe me when I say, there was nothing white-knightish about your rescue."

Her face fell. "What do you mean?"

"Truth?"

She nodded. "I thought you were really hot."

The sound of Beth's laughter filling the crisp night air may as well have been a damn explosion inside my chest — I would have been happy to listen to her laugh all night.

"Thanks." She smiled. "That made my night."

"That's a shame." The word were out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Because as far as compliments go, it was pretty shitty. I hope that you've been told that you're more than hot. I hope guys use the big words with you. You're a big words type of girl."

Beth's smile tightened; she shrugged and looked away. "Char says Jake gives good compliments. It's sweet."

With a frown, I set down the cup. "You don't seem convinced that it's sweet at all. If anything, your entire body just slumped further into your chair, and your shoulders fell forward. Don't you like Jake?" Personally I thought he was a spoiled ass, but he was working on it, and I respected him for that.

"It's not that."

Beth shook her head and stared down at the damn cup in her hands. Irritated, I grabbed the cup, forcing her to look up.

"It sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud."

"What does?"

Beth rolled her eyes. "I don't even know you. I'm not going to get all emotional on you."

"Lies," I smirked. "I've danced with you for at least three minutes and shared a few hours in bed with you. And if Grandma has her say about anything, we're most likely engaging in some sort of Hawaiian wedding tradition where sharing rum punch means we're married."

"Valid point."

"Tell you what. This is a free pass. Besides, we're on the ocean. Nobody can hear us, no cell phones are going off, and there's no media. It's just you and me. You want to howl at the damn moon, just say the word. I've officially made the ocean Switzerland."

Her mouth curved into a smile. "Neutral? Hmm, can senators do that?"

I paused then snapped my fingers. "Just did."

Beth laughed.

I held my breath. It was that beautiful. I didn't want to ruin it by making any noise at all.

"Fine." She chewed her lower lip, tilting her head to the side. "I think it's jealousy."

"Jealousy?" I leaned forward so our knees were touching. "How so?"

"Travis was in love with Kacey since he was little. Char was in love with Jake. Each of them had their past, their own story, and a Cinderella ending with a fairy godmother in the form of a lipstick-wielding grandmother."

I chuckled. "And?"

"And," Beth leaned forward and sighed, "I have science."

"Rock on." I nodded encouragingly.

She smacked me in the arm. "I'm serious!"

"I thought you liked your job."

"I do! I just…" She started twirling a piece of her hair. "I just… sometimes, I just wish for the Cinderella story. I want the happy ending, I just want… more."

"More isn't always better, Beth. Remember that. It's easy to watch from the outside. Especially when you're lonely. Hell, it's easy to assume people have the perfect life. You make up a fantasy about how lucky they are and how perfect they are. But truth? Life sucks. It's freaking difficult. Most couples bleed and fight and burn to stay together. That's what it takes. It isn't a fairytale. And I don't think that's what girls want in the first place. They may say they do. You may say you want easy, but believe me when I say you want hard. You want a guy to fight. You want him to be willing to go to battle for you. Don't for one second envy a situation you know nothing about. Instead, be at peace with where you're at in life and know that when the right time comes, it will happen. And when it happens, it's going to be hard, and you're going to have to ask yourself if it's worth it."

"Do you think it is?" she asked in a small voice. "Worth it?"

Sometimes I hated my own honesty. "Most of the time." I swallowed and looked away, feeling guilty about what I was hiding from her. "No. I don't think it's worth it. And even if it were, I can say with absolute certainty that I wouldn't stick around to find out."

"Whoa," Beth said. "Brutal. But honest."

"Who says politicians can't be honest?" I joked aloud even though my heart thumped in betrayal. "I hope I didn't let you down. I just don't think I'm made that way." Lies. All lies. I had been made that way, at one point, but people change. Things happen.

"What way?"

"Like Prince Charming." I elbowed her. "Walking straight into love just seems like a bad gamble to me. It doesn't make sense. Why willingly walk into a situation where the odds aren't in your favor? Why take the chance that things won't end up happily ever after? Why not just do what you're good at and be successful? To me, success makes me happy, I don't need another person in my life to know that I'm a good person. And I don't need approval from the opposite sex to feel like more of a man."

"So..." Beth smirked, "you're okay with dying alone?"

"If I don't get assassinated first," I teased.