He turned to me, and I expected a big, fake smile. He did not smile. Sunny rarely smiled at me. I’d seen him smile before, elusive and legendary, but at me, for me? Nope. Not since we met a year ago had Sunny smiled at me. Like turning his frown upside down might sever his soul. But others really liked him. Coworkers respected him. Sunny was a mystery.

“Or not…hey, don’t forget who’s letting you crash here and saving you from awkward nights with your friends. Should be a little nicer. If you even know what that word means?”

“Nice?” he echoed, casting his eyes toward the ceiling. “Because you were so nice when we first met?”

“What are you talking about? How was I not nice inviting the new guy, whom I’d never even met, to my place for a party where I fed you and gave you at least six types of drinks?”

He shifted his weight onto his right foot. “That was all great, probably for show for the rest of our coworkers, but once we were alone, you weren’t particularly welcoming.”

I combed through my memories. That night was a blur, as was any event in which I was expected to be social for hours with a large crowd of people. All I remembered was biding my time before everyone had left and needing to sit in silence in my bedroom to recharge and escape from the energy-sucking climate of parties before a panic attack hit. I’d felt it coming when I was in mid-conversation. After that? I didn’t remember much, probably because I was great at blocking out anxiety. Otherwise, I’d hem and haw for months over what could’ve been done to either preemptively avoid panic attacks or quickly defuse them.

“I don’t remember what detail you’re hanging on to, to think I was unwelcoming.” I extended my arms in a grand gesture. “But take this into consideration?”

Sunny relaxed, his shoulders less tense and his face less…Sunny. “You’re right. I do appreciate this. It’s saving my ass and my entire vacation.”

“Feel free to look around. You probably won’t be spending much time here, but there’s a fully stocked kitchen and a private yard overlooking the ocean.”

He walked to the wide sliding glass doors that made up the back wall. The manicured lawn wasn’t huge, but it was secluded. Past the rock wall, sunlight glimmered on the bright, blue water.

Pushing his fingers through his hair, he muttered, “Wow. It’s going to be hard to leave this place once they find a room for me.”

“You’re welcome to visit.”

“I’ve never been great at vacationing. I’m so tied to work, helping family, getting things done for the next phase, that it’s strange to not do anything.”

“If you’re not going to do anything, then you might as well not do anything with that view.”

“Yeah. I don’t even think I’d ever come here if it hadn’t been for Sam getting married. Maybe I’d come to Hawaii, maybe this island, but a cheaper place. A rental.”

I knew what he meant. My family was on my butt to detach from work, and I would’ve never come here to this specific hotel, much less this often, if it hadn’t been for Diya and her comically large discounts.

Sunny checked his watch. “I need to shower and get ready to meet the guys.”

“Tonight wasn’t on the agenda.” A spiral of anxiety fluttered at the base of my skull. I hadn’t expected there to be so many exursions because, well, I hadn’t thoroughly thought this through. I could mentally prepare for later events, but tonight? Already? It was too short notice.

“No. It’s just for the guys.”

I sighed with great relief, noting how Sunny paused to give me a quiet look. He probably assumed I was simply overcome with relief for not having to be around him, which I wasn’t going to correct. Let him stew for a second.

Instead, he asked, “Where should I put my suitcase?”

“Oh…” I looked to the right at my room with its lavish king-size bed big enough for three people and attached private bath, then looked to the left at the room Diya had staked claim on because “elder sis needed some luxury in her life.”

She probably wouldn’t want to walk in on Sunny undressing in her room. Kimo probably wouldn’t want that, either.

Crap. I really hadn’t thought this through. I indicated the room to the right.

“Thanks,” Sunny said, pulling his suitcase into my room and promptly walking back out. “This is the room I should…”

Hmm. Had I left my underwear on an unmade bed? “Yeah. Um. My sister is taking the other room.”

“To be clear: This is your room?”

“Yes. I’m sure she’ll switch rooms with me. The other has two beds.”

“Ah. That’s okay. I’ll take a quick shower and crash on the couch tonight.”

“Sounds good. But word of warning, she wakes up at five thirty and is very loud.”

“Why does she wake up that early?”

“She claims it’s the equatorial sunrise. Always begins to rise around that time, so she naturally rises with the light. She hardly ever wakes up to an alarm clock.”

He cocked a brow.

“I know, right! She’s so weird. Anyway, she wakes up early, goes for a jog, comes back, and makes breakfast and lunch. Loudly. She lives alone—well, sometimes her boyfriend stays over, but he sleeps like a log—and anyway, she isn’t used to keeping it down for others. You can try the couch if you’re not a light sleeper.”

“It’s fine.” He backtracked into the room, only to return. “Um, thanks. For this.”

I nodded. I mean, what was I supposed to do? Ignore my coworker’s situation when we had so much space here? Had this been a typical hotel room, then no. I couldn’t have helped much aside from storing his luggage and letting him use the bathroom. Unless we had double beds and Diya didn’t mind bunking with me like old times.

When he disappeared to do what he needed to do, I called Diya.

“Hey! Sorry I’ve been MIA. It’s chaos today,” she said on the third ring.

“Oh, no. That sucks. Everything okay?”

“We’ll get through it. It’s like someone said, hey, your normal busy season pandemonium isn’t enough this time, so here’s more problems caused by the main booking site and now you can deal with it instead of the people who caused the issue! Yay!”

I groaned. “Sounds very stressful. Anything I can do?”

“No. I just wish that I could spend more time with you today. Hey, are you sure you don’t want to take my car and go places?”

“You know me. I really like the peaceful alone time. I love walking the shoreline from here. I saw three honu already and dolphins! Had to tell someone to stay away from the honu.”

“What is wrong with people? We have signs everywhere. Thanks for saying something.”

“Of course. Hey, so while you’re on the phone. Is it okay if someone crashes here? Just for a night or two? Promise he won’t get in the way—”

“He who?”

“Oh. Yes. A coworker. His reservation got messed up and guess the hotels are booked.”

“You better tell me more.”

“Um. That’s all.”

“That can’t be all. Who is this man?”