emotional care of the contestants than creating on-screen drama.
“As for throwing you guys together, I did have the good sense to run the idea by Tess first, and she agreed it couldn’t hurt. So, what are you going to do? Arrest me for wanting to help out a pal?”
“And if I seduce your sister?”
“Believe me, I’ve seen many guys try and fail. If she does decide to give you a shot, it’ll be because she wants to. Not because of any rain shower I had her install… Hold on a second.”
Although he partly covered the phone, Donovan could hear Tess’s voice in the background.
“Tess says that if you two decide on vacation fling sex, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But she’d rather go shopping for a wedding gift. Which also works for me and would probably make Mom and Dad really happy. Dad especially because it’d give him a chance to throw a big bash. He loves getting everyone together. When Lani and I were kids, he held a blue moon theme party. He even got Sha Na Na to come to the island and perform the song.”
“You’re making that up.”
“I kid you not. The backup guys showed up in gold lamé, which wasn’t exactly beach attire, and Bowzer had even shaved his armpits, which was kind of weird. But the show was retro-cool and everyone loved it.”
“I’ve already gotten invited to the Christmas luau.”
“Best party of the year,” Nate said. “It even tops Dad’s New Year’s fireworks extravaganza. Once you see Lani dance, you’ll probably propose on the spot.”
“I’m not in the market for a wife,” Donovan reminded him. “I’m down here recharging for the Academy.”
“So you’ve actually decided to become a Feeb?”
Donovan thought he detected a hint of disapproval in Nate’s voice. “Probably. Either that or making chief has been my goal from the beginning.”
“Not exactly the beginning,” Nate was quick to point out. “I seem to remember spending hours in a patrol car with an idealistic, wet-behind-the-ears rookie who kept spouting off about helping the people, making the world a better place to live in, yada, yada, yada. I often wondered if you didn’t get all caught up in climbing that ladder of success to show Kendall she’d made a mistake when she walked out on your marriage.”
“Kendall had nothing to do with it,” Donovan countered irritably. One thing he didn’t need was a lecture about his former wife.
“Didn’t she?”
“Not at all,” Donovan said. He’d become concerned they’d be a bad fit before the wedding, but both Kendall—whose family had known his forever—and his parents had assured him that pre-wedding doubts were normal. “Besides, what makes you think I won’t be in a better position to help people as a special agent?”
“In the first place, those guys seem to live in their own worlds and don’t spend all that much personal time mixing with ordinary citizens. You’d be even more socially isolated than you are now.”
“I’m not socially isolated.” Hadn’t he gone out to dinner tonight?
“So you say. There’s also the point that Lani would hate the gypsy lifestyle of following you around from field office to field office as you climbed that federal bureaucratic ladder.”
“Which is a moot point since she assured me that she’s no more interested in getting married than I am.”
“Then she’s lying either to herself or you… And you must really be getting along like gangbusters to have discussed marriage your first day on the island.”
“Only in regards to your passion pit.”
“Now see, you’ve got to be exaggerating, because my sister has excellent taste. She flew up and helped me decorate this house when I moved in. She definitely doesn’t do tacky.”
“Okay. So, maybe the bedroom is sensual, not tacky. But the fact remains that Lani and I are both single adults, capable of making our own decisions. So, why don’t you do us both a big favor and butt out?”
The silence extended so long,
“As for throwing you guys together, I did have the good sense to run the idea by Tess first, and she agreed it couldn’t hurt. So, what are you going to do? Arrest me for wanting to help out a pal?”
“And if I seduce your sister?”
“Believe me, I’ve seen many guys try and fail. If she does decide to give you a shot, it’ll be because she wants to. Not because of any rain shower I had her install… Hold on a second.”
Although he partly covered the phone, Donovan could hear Tess’s voice in the background.
“Tess says that if you two decide on vacation fling sex, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But she’d rather go shopping for a wedding gift. Which also works for me and would probably make Mom and Dad really happy. Dad especially because it’d give him a chance to throw a big bash. He loves getting everyone together. When Lani and I were kids, he held a blue moon theme party. He even got Sha Na Na to come to the island and perform the song.”
“You’re making that up.”
“I kid you not. The backup guys showed up in gold lamé, which wasn’t exactly beach attire, and Bowzer had even shaved his armpits, which was kind of weird. But the show was retro-cool and everyone loved it.”
“I’ve already gotten invited to the Christmas luau.”
“Best party of the year,” Nate said. “It even tops Dad’s New Year’s fireworks extravaganza. Once you see Lani dance, you’ll probably propose on the spot.”
“I’m not in the market for a wife,” Donovan reminded him. “I’m down here recharging for the Academy.”
“So you’ve actually decided to become a Feeb?”
Donovan thought he detected a hint of disapproval in Nate’s voice. “Probably. Either that or making chief has been my goal from the beginning.”
“Not exactly the beginning,” Nate was quick to point out. “I seem to remember spending hours in a patrol car with an idealistic, wet-behind-the-ears rookie who kept spouting off about helping the people, making the world a better place to live in, yada, yada, yada. I often wondered if you didn’t get all caught up in climbing that ladder of success to show Kendall she’d made a mistake when she walked out on your marriage.”
“Kendall had nothing to do with it,” Donovan countered irritably. One thing he didn’t need was a lecture about his former wife.
“Didn’t she?”
“Not at all,” Donovan said. He’d become concerned they’d be a bad fit before the wedding, but both Kendall—whose family had known his forever—and his parents had assured him that pre-wedding doubts were normal. “Besides, what makes you think I won’t be in a better position to help people as a special agent?”
“In the first place, those guys seem to live in their own worlds and don’t spend all that much personal time mixing with ordinary citizens. You’d be even more socially isolated than you are now.”
“I’m not socially isolated.” Hadn’t he gone out to dinner tonight?
“So you say. There’s also the point that Lani would hate the gypsy lifestyle of following you around from field office to field office as you climbed that federal bureaucratic ladder.”
“Which is a moot point since she assured me that she’s no more interested in getting married than I am.”
“Then she’s lying either to herself or you… And you must really be getting along like gangbusters to have discussed marriage your first day on the island.”
“Only in regards to your passion pit.”
“Now see, you’ve got to be exaggerating, because my sister has excellent taste. She flew up and helped me decorate this house when I moved in. She definitely doesn’t do tacky.”
“Okay. So, maybe the bedroom is sensual, not tacky. But the fact remains that Lani and I are both single adults, capable of making our own decisions. So, why don’t you do us both a big favor and butt out?”
The silence extended so long,
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