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shrugging apologetically.
    “I must have been hungrier than I realized.”
    Leilani beamed at her. “It’s good to see a city girl eat like that. Most of the other recruiters who came turned up their noses at our food. It offended Tutu immensely.”
    “It’s their loss,” Ophelia assured as she peeled another savory section of chicken from the bone and popped it into her mouth.
    “ Tutu’ s going to end up loving you.”
    Ophelia wrinkled her nose with skepticism. “I somewhat doubt that, but...” She paused. “Thank you. For not getting upset about why I’m here.”
    Leilani licked her fingers and leaned back in her chair. “You’re just doing your job.”
    “That’s a very positive outlook. I hardly imagine other recruiters were welcomed so generously.”
    “Dane’s a grown man. He knew what he was doing when he left the mainland, and he knows what he’s doing here. No one can change that, except him. Tutu doesn’t give others enough credit to make their own decisions.”
    Ophelia reached for a napkin from the stack in the middle of the table. She wiped her fingers with it before placing it next to her plate. “Is that why you were sneaking in tonight? She doesn’t trust you?”
    “It’s more complicated than that. Tutu has been responsible for me for years. And she had good reason to worry for a long time. But things are different now. I’m different. And she hasn’t been able to see that.”
    “She seems like a woman who could be pretty stubborn....” Ophelia thought about her own mother’s rigid standards and dropped her eyes to toy with the remains of her rice, pushing the grains into a tidy pile in the corner of her plate. “But I’m sure she loves you. She seems like someone who would love fiercely.”
    When she looked back up, Leilani nodded. “She is! She’s been there for me through a lot. I just wish she’d give me some credit for how much I’ve changed.”
    Ophelia tried redirecting the subject. “Who was it that brought you home tonight, if you don’t mind my asking?”
    Leilani’s eyes sparkled at this question. “My boyfriend, Sam. We’ve been seeing each other for three months now. Dane’s even been giving him odd jobs around the plantation. I think it kinda drives Tutu crazy, having him around so much.” Leilani giggled at this.
    “So do you have a boyfriend?” she asked.
    Ophelia started at this unexpected question.
    “Um...”
    “You’re not wearing a wedding ring.” Leilani pointed out the obvious.
    “No. I, er, recently got out of a long-term relationship.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
    But even as she said the words, Ophelia noticed the younger girl smiling.
    She raised her glass of water. “Then here’s to your week of island adventures.”
    Ophelia thought it a strange toast, but she clinked her glass next to Leilani’s and then took a sip.
    “I’m glad you’re here,” Leilani said. “It will be good for Dane.”
    Ophelia couldn’t be sure what Leilani meant by that and decided perhaps it was safer not to ask.
    * * *
    D ANE WAITED RATHER anxiously for Ophelia Reid to appear in the inn’s dining room the following morning. Keahi filled a large plate with stacks of golden macadamia nut waffles slathered in coconut syrup while Pele listened to Leilani chattering about her time kayaking at Kealakekua Bay the day before. Dane sipped from his coffee and made occasional attempts to read the newspaper, but with each slight noise, he would glance up, expecting to see Ophelia enter the room.
    He attributed this edginess to Ms. Reid’s agenda—the last thing he wished to deal with was a pushy recruiter making the same offers he’d heard dozens of times in the past three years. But deep down, he had the uneasy feeling that Ophelia’s proposal wasn’t the only reason his gaze kept wandering to the dining room doorway.
    He was sending just such a glance toward the entry when she finally appeared. The sight of her caused a tingling of interest