Making Waves: A Perfect Kisses Novella by Ophelia London

companion as Chase .
    “Welcome home, buddy,” the man said as they shook hands. “You staying a while?”
    “Few days, maybe. I surfed at the Eddie this morning, so life might get pretty busy.”
    “You’re back in the circuit?” Karl said. “That’s great, son. Scene wasn’t the same without you.”
    Will chuckled and held the back of his neck, looking all modest and adorable. “I don’t know about that. Karl, this is Justine, a friend of mine from L.A.”
    “Ahh, the mainland,” Karl said. “ Aloha . If you want to know anything about this guy, I’ve lived across the street twelve years.” He leaned toward her and grinned. “I know all the dirt.”
    “I’ll remember that.” Justine laughed. “And it’s nice to meet you.”
    “Likewise,” Karl said. “Well, gotta get back to the pit. We’re having a block party tonight.” He glanced at Justine. “Authentic Hawaiian lu ‘ au .”
    “You have a lu ‘ au every night, Karl,” Will said, punching the guy on the arm.
    “But tonight is special.” He wiggled his bushy eyebrows. “Two pigs. You should stop by.”
    “Wish we could,” Will said, resting a hand in the middle of Justine’s back. “But we’re only dropping by now to jump on wifi.” Just then, two other neighbors crossed the street, greeting “Chase.”
    “Juss,” Will said, leaning down to her ear. “I might be out here a while. Why don’t you head up to the back porch?” He pointed toward the stairs. “I’ve used the wifi out there a hundred times. The password is ‘catch a wave,’ no spaces.”
    “Thanks,” she said, grateful for his thoughtfulness. She grabbed her laptop from the car, said a quick hello to the growing crowd of neighbors gathered on the lawn, then climbed the stairs. The sun-drenched second-story deck had dark brown planks with a waist-high railing. A gas grill, two porch swings, and a four-top table took up hardly any room on the spacious patio. Another set of stairs dropped down to the golden sand. Justine sat at a black table with turquoise chairs, did some last-minute rearranging, composed a note of explanation to her boss, then made sure she was properly connected to the internet.
    The story was damn good, if she said so herself. She pushed back from the table, kicked off her flip-flops, and propped her feet on an empty chair, exhaling, letting the sound of waves and wind wash over her. Paradise …
    “Any problems?”
    She shaded her eyes to look up at Will. “Not at all.”
    He sat on the chair beside her and slid on a pair of sunglasses. “You mentioned needing wifi at the perfect time. Though it’s pretty impossible to go anywhere in Le’ia and not run into people I know.”
    “Especially when you’re Chase Ryder .” She nudged his knee with her foot.
    “No one around here gives a rip about that,” Will said after a quiet laugh. “They’ve known me since I was a bratty kid. This is one of the tightest communities on Oahu.”
    “You were joking about your neighborhood having a party every night, right?”
    “Maybe a slight exaggeration, but no one knows how to throw a lu ‘ au like Karl. That’s the way it is here. There’s not much Little League or PTA, so we have beach parties.”
    Justine smiled. “Sounds like my neighborhood in Franklin. Comparatively speaking, we’re a small town, too. We have pool parties and cul-de-sac potlucks.”
    “Same thing.”
    “Last summer, my brother Greg hosted a party at his new apartment. Half the guests came down with food poisoning. Bad crab dip.”
    “Yikes.” Will cringed, showing his bottom teeth. “I remember you talking about Greg. And your sister Mackenzie—Mac. She was about to get married.”
    “That’s right. It’ll be a year in January.”
    Will leaned back in his chair. “I recall you were worried about your bridesmaid dress.”
    “Ha! Only because green-freak Mac insisted on vintage, but since there aren’t any decent vintage shops in Franklin, we had to