Hawaiian Masquerade (Destination Billionaire Romance) by Rachelle J. Christensen

I’ll just flush a few mil down the toilet for fun.”
    They’d both hit their marks, and now it was time to wrap up before she said something she shouldn’t. “Look, I’d better go now before my paint dries, but I just wanted to tell you I love you and thanks for supporting me.”
    “Wait, you’re painting? Who are you, and what did you do with my sister?”
    “I’ll text you my work in progress.”
    “I love you, too. You’re a great example to me.”
    It took a few minutes to immerse herself in the painting after talking to Jordan, but soon she was sweeping brushstrokes across the blue ocean expanse that rolled in its ever-changing colors and forms a hundred yards from her house.
    There was a particular color of aquamarine with a tinge of Payne’s gray that she wanted to get just right for a wave cresting in the distance. The incoming tide made her think of her parents, and emotions that she’d dealt with long ago bubbled to the surface. Four and a half years ago, Jordan and Lexi’s parents were killed in a head-on collision with a cement truck. They were on their way home from a movie, and Lexi’s mom, Shalice, had just texted her that she should go see it. Lexi didn’t remember the movie now, but she remembered how the disbelief and emptiness overtook her when she learned they had been killed. The shock intensified when Jordan and Lexi were contacted by an attorney to go over the life insurance policies for twenty-five million dollars on each of their parents. Suddenly, Jordan and Lexi were multimillionaire orphans.
    Jordan had already started Burke Enterprises—working ninety-hour weeks, flying back and forth to China—and it was a success. When he suggested that they invest their money into his business and that Lexi should come work for him and become a partner in Burke Enterprises, it seemed like the only thing that made sense in her crazy, turned-upside-down world.
    After a couple of years working with Jordan, she had discovered that being a millionaire didn’t mean you could sleep in and order crumpets and tea—at least not if Jordan was your brother. Burke Enterprises continued to grow, providing jobs for thousands of Chinese workers as well as hundreds in the States at their home offices in Chicago. She had dealt with anxiety, stress, and apathy for far too long before finally calling it quits.
    Lexi tightened her grip on the paintbrush. She wouldn’t go back to that life. If only she could convince Jordan to come for a visit—maybe he would see there was more to life than work.

7
    P ika and Derek made over six hundred dollars on Saturday, and while Derek was carefully counting out his money Sunday morning, Pika hit the surf to celebrate. “I’ll meet you at one o’clock. Hopefully Jefe will have run out of coconuts by then.”
    Derek sighed, but he knew he’d be back on that truck chopping his guts out; the money was too good to pass up. He massaged his right shoulder, wincing at the tenderness from chopping for six hours. He wondered what Lexi did for work. She hadn’t mentioned anything so far, except that she’d overtaxed her reserves before moving to Kauai. The corporate grind would probably take some time to recover from—not that he would know. He kept thinking of questions he wanted to ask Lexi, and now that he had her number, he could. He didn’t want to come across as needy, though, so he left his phone alone.
    Derek slung his camera bag over his head and drove to Waimea Canyon. He’d had a couple people ask about photos of Kauai’s own Grand Canyon at the last street fair. Maybe getting in some nice shots of the reds and greens rippling across the dry scene would keep his mind off Lexi.
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    M onday morning , Derek’s muscles protested from the weekend, but his mind was clear and full of anticipation to see Lexi. With money problems under control for another month, everything looked brighter on the island as he drove up to Ke’e Beach. He parked his car, grinning when