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An Unexpected Attraction...
For Allie Osaka, dealing with her tragic past means running from it. Inheriting her family’s Kona coffee plantation on the Big Island of Hawaii is the last thing she expects when all she wants to do is keep running. Selling the inheritance and moving on sounds good, but her grandmother’s will comes with a mighty catch—namely irresistible foreman Dallas McCormick, who owns half the plantation.
Flaring tempers and hotter-than-lava attraction can only lead to trouble. But when a tsunami threatens Allie’s future and the promise Dallas made to her grandmother, they both might have to open their eyes to the truth...and to love.
“You’re really beautiful,” Dallas said, before he could stop himself.
“Come on.” Allie wiggled on her stool, made uncomfortable by the attention. “You don’t have to feed me lines just because we’re stuck here.”
“What lines?” Dallas stood, and moved around the table, so he was standing right in front of her. Allie craned her neck up to meet his eyes. “I told you, I only tell the truth.”
He moved in closer, and she tilted her chin up to meet his. She didn’t inch away, but sat very still.
His lips brushed hers, ever so gently. She didn’t push him away, or cry out. Instead, she wrapped her hand around the fabric of his shirt and pulled him closer. She spread her knees and instantly he was between them, her arms around his neck, nothing separating them but thin fabric.
She tasted like tequila and something even more delicious, and though he tried, he couldn’t get enough of her mouth. Her tongue met his in a little dance, and he felt as if, despite all the many women he’d kissed before in his life, she might as well have been the only one who mattered.
Aloha! Her Hawaiian Homecoming is my first book in the Heart of Hawaii miniseries, and I’m very excited to introduce you to the place I love most in the world. Like my main character, Allie, I grew up in a mixed-race family, part Japanese and part English. I was fortunate to take many trips to Hawaii growing up, and it was one of the few places I truly felt at home. I fell in love with the one-of-a-kind lava-rock beaches, the gorgeous tropical flowers growing wild, the welcoming people and their amazing aloha spirit.
Hawaii is a place where cultures often collide, and that’s what happens when Allie Osaka, who’s been running from Hawaii most of her life, comes home to find a cowboy from the mainland has taken over her family’s coffee plantation. As they fight each other to figure out who’s going to decide the fate of the Kona Coffee Estate, sparks fly.
I hope you enjoy their story—and this little escape to the Big Island—as much as I loved writing it. Our fiftieth state is a magical place, and it’s no wonder so many honeymooners escape there every year. Love blooms right alongside those gorgeous birds of paradise.
Here’s wishing you tons of warm sunshine, love and happiness.
Mahalo!
Cara Lockwood
Her Hawaiian
Homecoming
Cara
Lockwood
CARA LOCKWOOD is a USA TODAY bestselling author of eleven novels, including I Do (But I Don’t), which was made into a Lifetime Original movie. She’s written the Bard Academy series for young adults, and has had her work translated into several languages. Born and raised in Dallas, Cara lives near Chicago with her two beautiful daughters. When she’s not writing, she keeps busy running 5K races for charity, kayaking and scuba diving. Find out more about her at caralockwood.com or follow her on Twitter, @caralockwood.
Dedicated to Allen Rebouche,
my knight in cowboy boots.
Contents
Dear Reader
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
EPILOGUE
THE BITTER, UNSEASONABLE, cold March wind whipped across Lake Michigan, whirling flakes of snow outside the high-rise condo in Chicago as Allie Osaka tore into one of dozens of boxes, all marked with the names of high-end stores.
She felt giddy as she dug into yet another wedding gift. Would it be the fancy coffeemaker? That crystal bowl she loved so much? She slipped her hands into the foam packing peanuts and pulled out two beautiful champagne flutes from her fiancé’s uncle. She held them up to the light, admiring their sleek, yet delicate, design, and then carefully put them aside, marking down the item and name on her notepad for the thank-you she’d be writing later. The wedding would be in less than a month, but already they’d been swamped with presents.
She always loved staying over at Jason’s swank Loop condo with the breathtaking views of the massive lake, but now it was even more special, because every Sunday morning felt like Christmas: waking up to piles of gifts just waiting to be opened,