“The shirt we’re going to buy you tomorrow. Blue will do very nicely. A deep sapphire shade to match your eyes. Of course you know that they’re quite remarkable.”
While he might not be comfortable talking about himself, Lani’s candor was refreshing. In his business, most women he met were cops, lawyers, or ones he’d arrested. None of whom were so openly expressive. “Are they?”
“Of course they are,” she said, tossing her auburn head as they walked up the steps to the broad, covered front porch. “For heaven’s sake, Donovan, an intelligent man, especially one who’s received national attention, has certainly taken time to enumerate his strengths and weaknesses. And even when you’re carrying all that heavy baggage beneath them, the way you are now, your eyes are one of the most striking things about you.”
She paused and leaned forward to study them more closely, her gaze narrowed thoughtfully. “They remind me of the sea at midnight, beneath a full moon.”
When she gave him another of those slow smiles, heat collected at the base of his spine.
“I think that this could be a very interesting vacation,” he said.
“Or a long one, at any rate,” she countered in a dry tone.
3
“Well, well,” a feminine voice said. “I see you’ve brought along another art lover for the unveiling.”
Lani tilted her head back, her eyes smiling into Donovan’s.
“Mother,” she said, not taking her gaze from his, “look who’s come to visit us.”
Donovan looked past Lani to the woman standing in the open doorway. As tall and lean as her daughter, she had the same sea-green eyes. Unlike Lani’s wild reddish mane, however, her jet-black hair flowed down her back like a rippling waterfall, brightened here and there by brilliant streaks of silver.
“What a lovely surprise.” The woman’s caftan was every bit as colorful as the sundress worn by her daughter, and, like Lani, she smelled like the flowers printed on the flowing material. Donovan felt as if he’d stumbled into a tropical garden.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Breslin,” he said.
Kalena Breslin’s brightly interested eyes moved from Donovan to her daughter and back again. “The pleasure is ours, Donovan. But please, although it’s been too long since you visited, we’re friends, so I insist you call me Kalena. Nate was telling us all about your success when he was here with Tess for Thanksgiving.”
“Nate sent Donovan down here to seduce me,” Lani offered.
“Your brother has always been an enterprising man,” Kalena agreed easily. “In that respect he takes after your father.”
Donovan felt obliged to set the record straight. “Lani’s mistaken.”
Kalena smiled, the same slow, devastating smile that made her daughter so dangerous. “I’m not so sure,” she said smoothly. “My daughter has always been quite perceptive.” She glanced at Lani. “By the way, Taylor called here looking for you, sounding upset. I told her you’d call her back as soon as you arrived.”
“Taylor Young is my friend who’s getting married at the grotto,” Lani explained to Donovan. “She’s been floating on clouds ever since they got engaged. I wonder what could be wrong,” she murmured, more to herself than to her mother or Donovan. “I let my cell die again. I’ll have to call her on your landline before dinner.”
“From the way she sounded, I believe you should,” Kalena agreed. “You don’t think she and Ford might be having problems regarding the wedding?”
Lani shook her head decisively. “Not a chance. I’ve never seen a couple as wild about each other as Taylor and Ford.” She smiled up at her mother. “Except you and Daddy, of course.”
Kalena grinned at that. “What a nice thing to say,” she enthused. “And so very true.”
She moved aside, gesturing them into the house. The wood entry floor was covered in hemp-textured rugs, and track lighting along the ceiling illuminated the vivid paintings crowding high white walls. All were island scenes, the subjects varying from sun-dappled landscapes to formal portraits to colorful abstracts. The only thing the works of art had in common was that they were undeniably terrible. It was all Donovan could do not to stop and stare.
“Did you warn Donovan about the showing?” Kalena asked Lani as they wound their way down a long hallway lined with more canvases.
“I started to, but I got distracted by a rainbow.”
“Oh, dear,” Kalena murmured regretfully. “I missed that one.”
She glanced up at Donovan, whose attention had been momentarily captured by a portrait of a young native girl seated in the surf beside a wind-tossed palm. Had she stood up, Donovan would have bet she’d have topped the tree by at least ten feet. He vaguely remembered seeing the portrait’s twin in the airport terminal.
“I do hope you made a good wish, Donovan,” Kalena said. “Evening rainbows are especially lucky.”