A.J. Llewellyn - Phantom Lover 08 - Stolen Magic by A.J. Llewellyn

Author:A.J. Llewellyn [Administrator]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

anai has a reputation for being dry and not Lparticularly beautiful, but I fell in love with it the second we walked up to his house on Kapiha’a Place. I hadn’t given much thought to what I

expected from his family home, but was charmed by the pretty paniolo, cowboy-style pale green house with red trim and wrap-around lanai. An old Woody station wagon waited out front and Koa’s hand ran lovingly over the side panels.

“This is my baby.” I was so shocked he left it out in the open and that it looked freshly washed.

“Oh, no. I get Gerry, my old neighbor, to come over and start her up and he washed her for me when I told him we were coming. This here darlin’ is the only woman you will have to share me with. Her name is Jemima, because she always looks tastier than pancakes to me.”

I laughed and the front door to the neighbor’s house opened. Koa released my hand, waving to the old Asian man coming toward us in a spry slippah-shuffle.

“Man, you did us proud,” he grinned. “Where’s your belt?”

“I don’t have it yet. The one I held after the fight belongs to the other guy. I’m still waiting for mine.”

“Still, you’re champion of the world.” The old guy rocked on his heels. “Folks here sure are proud of you.”

“Thank you, Gerry. I want you to meet my friend Manalo. He’s going to be staying with me a while.”

“Good to know you, Manalo.” Gerry shook my hand with a firm grip. “Where’s the girl you brought here last time, Koa? She was a looker.”

“She’s not around anymore.”

I tried not to feel hurt that Koa had told me he’d never brought anybody he loved here before. Maybe he meant he’d never brought another man he loved here.

“That’s my boy Koa, breaker of women’s hearts,” Gerry laughed.

“I’m not that bad.” Koa looked embarrassed.

“Yes, you are. If I looked like you, if I had your world championship, I’d chew ‘em up and spit ‘em out, too. That last one though, man, you hit the jackpot there.”

“I can’t even remember her.”

“She was Miss America, Koa. You can’t forget Miss America.”

Koa looked at me, a spooked expression in his eyes. Maybe he could tell I was wondering how long it would take to swim back to Maui.

“Still, plenty of your other conquests around,” Gerry gloated.

Great. Just what I need.

“Well, we’ll be seeing you.” Koa walked up the dark red stairs leading to his front door, unlocked it, letting me into the house. I smelled lemon furniture polish and knew somebody had spruced the place up for him. Then the phone started ringing.

“This is nuts,” he said after the third congratulatory invitation to dinner, drinks and…more.

I stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall, alone with the ghosts of his past, listening to Koa chit-chat with one woman after another. For two hours, he fielded dozens of calls and even did a couple of phone interviews with boxing reporters who were anxious for a word with the champ.

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