Page 35 of Luck Be a Genie

Nick added hot sauce to his biscuits and gravy, shrugging. “You get used to it. Some people can handle heat, and some can’t.”

“I ate the sriracha peanuts last night, though, and they were good!”

He chuckled. “No idea, sunshine. Let’s order another omelette for you.”

I made a face at him.

Since we’d gotten to the parking lot early, we were able to get a good spot. There was a fee, of course, but it wasn’t too bad. Nick had rented a jeep from our resort, and we’d driven over with the top down, which was amazing in Maui.

The weather was perfect today. The sun was out, but it wasn’t too hot, and there wasn’t any cloud cover or fog.

I scrambled out of the jeep, excited, and started loading on the sunblock. I’d taken off my sweatpants and sweatshirt, and had on my hiking shorts and tee shirt underneath. My shorts were the quick-dry kind, and were a cute baby blue, and my shirt was the same material in pink.

Nick was wearing the guys’ version of the shorts in dark teal—although his were longer—and a dark tee shirt.

I made sure my hiking shoes were tied properly, wrapped a sweater around my waist in case I got cold, loaded the bottled waters and snacks we’d picked up on the drive into my backpack, and shut the door.

I was ready!

Nick’s chuckle behind me made my stomach swoop, and I turned quickly and smiled at him. He had a backpack on too, and I’d bet anything his was carrying emergency equipment. If Nick were human, he would have been a boy scout.

He pulled me toward him and into his arms. “Morning, sunshine. I just realized I haven’t hugged you yet this morning.” He nuzzled my neck, which made me laugh.

“I thought you were one of those disgusting morning people. Where’s your pep?”

He laughed and kissed my nose, making my eyes cross. “I am one of those disgusting morning people. But I’ve been dragging a bit this morning. It was a late night, last night.”

He took my hand and we headed for the opposite side of the parking area where the trail started. It ran parallel to the ocean for a bit, before diverging, so the scenery was really pretty.

I was trying not to worry about the chaos magic this morning. Last night had been kind of mortifying. To have that happen, not just in front of Nick—who was probably used to it—but in front of his brothers as well, had not been fun.

I’d been feeling a little sore about it last night, wishing things had gone differently, but I was determined not to let it get to me today! I wanted to enjoy this day with Nick.

Speaking of, the trail had started climbing in elevation about twenty minutes ago, and now my thighs were killing me, and my lungs were sending me desperate SOS signals.

Nick, however, looked as cool as a cucumber.

“Stop for a minute,” I groaned, leaning over with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. When I noticed Nick was just calmly waiting for me, and not struggling at all, I scowled at him. “Why are you not even sweating? That’s not normal.”

He was watching me with that fond look in his eyes and small smile that made my insides all gooey. “Want me to carry your backpack?” he offered.

I straightened up. “No! I can carry my own backpack, but thank you,” I said grudgingly. It was sweet of him to offer, after all, even though he was secretly laughing at me. I picked my backpack up again, and swung it over my shoulders, trying not to stagger at the weight. For the last few minutes up the trail, it had begun to feel like a fifty-pound boulder was on my back.

As we started down the trail again, I said in a reflective tone, “I guess lifting the chip from the dip to my mouth doesn’t count as exercise, huh?”

He busted up laughing and reached for my hand again. “Sadly, sunshine, it does not.”

I was feeling pretty proud of myself, because we’d finally made it. The trail itself was supposed to have been only an hour, but it had taken us closer to two because I’d had to stop so frequently. But I had been determined, and looking across at the beautiful waterfall spilling down into the deep pool below it, I could definitely say the hike had been worth it.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful!”

There was mist in the air from the waterfall, and even though we were surrounded by trees on all sides, the sun was shining in through the tops of them and had created a little rainbow in the mist.

I drank it all in.

We weren’t standing there very long before the older couple standing a little in front of and to the side of us started talking. We were standing so close to them, we couldn’t help but overhear.

“Well, this was a bust,” the older man said.