Page 1 of Finding Kenna
Chapter One
“Let me get this straight,” Carly said with a huge shit-eating grin on her face. “You jumped on the poor man? You couldn’t figure out anything else to do to try to save him than literally jumping on top of him?”
“Shut up,” Kenna grumbled with a small grin. “I mean, it wasn’t like I meant to land on him. I misjudged.”
“Apparently,” Paulo said wryly as he leaned on the edge of the bar.
“And they were SEALs?” asked Kaleen, on duty behind the bar with Paulo.
“Yup,” Kenna confirmed. “I was running along the Ala Moana Park out by the Magic Island Lagoon, minding my own business, when I looked over and saw him floating facedown in the ocean. I didn’t think. I took off my shoes and shirt and jumped in to save him. But, as you all know, he didn’t need saving. He was watching his friends under the water, who were doing some sort of military training. I was embarrassed as hell and couldn’t believe I’d actually done that.”
“I swear that’s like the best meet-cute ever,” Kaleen said.
“What’s a meet-cute?” Paulo asked.
“Seriously?” Kaleen asked.
“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t serious,” Paulo returned.
Kenna smiled at her coworkers’ ribbing. She loved working at Duke’s. The other waiters and waitresses were all pretty cool and it felt like working with a large family rather than coworkers. The restaurant was located in the heart of Waikiki on Oahu and was pretty much always crowded. It was at the back of the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort, situated right on the beach.
The restaurant was named after Duke Kahanamoku, who was a native Hawaiian, six-time Olympic swimmer and water polo medalist, as well as the father of modern-day surfing. There were three of the restaurants in Hawaii and three in California, all well known for their cocktails and decadent hula pie dessert.
It was Friday night, which was always busy at the restaurant, and that meant great tips.
“A meet-cute,” Kaleen explained patiently, “is when a guy and a girl meet in a super cute and unique way.”
“So only a guy and girl?” Paulo asked.
“Well, no, I guess not.”
“I mean, is it a meet-macho if it’s two guys who are into each other? Or a feminine-frolic if it’s two women?”
“Shut up,” Kaleen said, rolling her eyes at her coworker.
Kenna had always enjoyed the banter between the two bartenders. They were reason one thousand and twenty-two why she loved working here.
It was also well-known around Duke’s that Paulo really wanted to find a serious boyfriend, so they all tried to set him up at least once a night. So far, everyone—including Paulo—had struck out. A shame, because he was one of the best guys Kenna knew. Always volunteering to walk someone to their car and insisting all the waitresses text when they got home.
“What’d I miss?” Charlotte, another waitress, asked as she rushed up to the bar with her tray and drink order from one of her tables.
“Kenna was about to explain why she thought inviting the Navy SEAL she jumped on top of to hang out here tonight was a good idea,” Carly helpfully offered with a grin.
“It wasn’t that I thought it was a good idea, but he asked if he could see me and my brain kind of short-circuited,” Kenna defended.
“He said seven, right?” Kaleen asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s seven-fifteen. He’s late,” Paulo said with a frown.
“The traffic down here sucks,” Kenna said, defending Marshall despite not even knowing the man.
“You gonna ask Vera to put him in your section?” Charlotte asked.
“Not sure Alani would like that,” Paulo said.
Alani was the manager on duty tonight. And while she was pretty cool, she had a thing about the servers chatting up friends and family who came into the restaurant. Kenna couldn’t blame her. They were usually always busy and work was work. Which was why it had been the worst idea ever to invite Marshall to come to Duke’s tonight. It wasn’t as if she could hang out and get to know him.
