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A Life-Changing Event

M isty watched as the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen walked
through the airport terminal, straight toward her. She felt there
was nothing she could do to tear her eyes away. Even with her hus-
band, Rob, and their friend Becca there to witness her indiscretion, she
stared shamelessly at the stranger. What a magnificent figure of a man, she
thought as she drank him in with her eyes. He had jet-black hair, light
mocha skin, soft brown eyes, and the body of a model moving beneath
his stylish suit. He was the most exotic-looking man she’d ever seen. She
could only guess at where he came from—in Honolulu airport there was
no telling where someone was from or where they were going.
Maybe he’s native Hawaiian and part Japanese, she pondered. Or
­German-Mongolian? She went through a series of fantastical racial combi-
nations, each almost fitting the bill, but always coming up short. Whatever
he is, it was God’s finest hour the moment he was born. Time seemed to slow
down for her as he walked by. She studied him intently without effort,
her every sense tuned to his movements. He smiled youthfully but carried
himself with a maturity beyond his years. She found him an instant mix
of delightful contradictions that only fed her growing interest.
Once he had passed by her, Misty felt a powerful urge to follow him.

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She justified her desire, thinking, Rob probably won’t care. He followed
Jennifer Aniston once when she passed us in Caesars Palace, and I didn’t get
onto him. But once the stranger was around the corner and out of sight,
the spell was broken. She found herself slightly out of breath and more
than slightly embarrassed and turned to Becca for cover.
Misty and Rob had recently moved to Captain Cook, Hawaii, for
Rob’s job as a consultant for the KOA Coffee Plantation. They had kept
their house in Malibu, worried that island life might be too isolating—an
issue Misty faced shortly after they had arrived. Though beautiful, Cap-
tain Cook had only 3,200 residents, and she worried about being able to
find enough clients.
As a personal trainer, Misty was highly recommended and carried a
large client base at Elite Fitness, where she’d worked for years. Despite
how excited she was for the chance to move to Hawaii and have a vaca-
tion, it was difficult to avoid thinking about how her practice had almost
been to the point where she could have opened her own business. She
tried to focus on adjusting to life in the tropics, but Captain Cook, with
its combined lack of a good gym, a moderately stocked video store, or
even one decent bar, soon wore on her patience. Growing bored and rest-
less after only a few weeks, Misty invited Becca to visit. She then pulled
Rob away from his job, convincing him that the three of them should
spend time on the beautiful island of Kauai. Rob could only spare one
weekend before he had to head back to the Big Island and the plantation
in Captain Cook. She and Becca were not about to stop after one week-
end and one island. Their next stop was Maui.
Misty checked the departures list above her head. Twenty minutes.
“Come on, Becca. We’re going to miss our flight if we don’t get our butts
in gear!” She began charging ahead of them. Then she remembered.
“Oh, Rob! Sorry!” She turned around and gave Rob a hug and a kiss.
“Please be careful on your trip home. I’ll call you later tonight. And thanks
so much for letting us take this side trip. It’s really unselfish of you.”
Rob gave her a funny look and said jokingly, “Just stay out of trouble
in Maui. Remember: you’re on a sightseeing trip.”
“Don’t worry, Rob,” Becca said, trying to reassure him. “I’ve got our
entire week mapped out. We’ll see you back home next weekend.”
“Yeah, next weekend,” Misty said, looking up and twirling her hair.
She broke into a smile. Rob and Becca both laughed.

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As she and Becca walked away, Misty turned around to see her hus-
band one last time.
“I’ll come back, promise! Love you!”
“Love you, too,” he said with a wink.

Misty was just beginning to feel annoyed at loosing rock-paper-scissors

with Becca over who got the aisle seat when she felt compelled to look
up. She almost jumped when she saw that same ridiculously handsome
stranger she’d seen earlier walking gracefully down the aisle. This can’t
be happening, she thought.
As he passed, she stretched her arms above her head, attempting to
accidentally brush him with her fingers, but missed by an inch, catch-
ing only air. She pulled her arms down and folded her hands in her lap,
blushing. Now that was childish. What in the world has come over me?
Suddenly, her nostrils filled with the pungent but bold smell ema-
nating from his body. My God, he smells like pure testosterone! Excitement
rolled through her body, making her shiver. Becca looked at her. “Is
everything okay?”
Misty stared blankly at her before replying. “Uh, just a little cold,
Becca. Would you mind pointing the air in a different direction?”
If she thought the urge to get up and follow him in the airport was
strong, it was nothing compared to the urge she had now. Luckily, she
came to her senses and buckled herself in so tightly she thought her legs
would go numb. She felt hot, then cold, then hot again. Not only did she
wish she hadn’t asked Becca to turn the air vents away, she wished every
air vent over the surrounding seats was pointed directly at her. She no
longer felt in control of her body. It was as if the mere presence of the
man had caused her circuits to go haywire.
When the plane landed, Misty asked Becca, “Why don’t you get the
luggage while I get in line to rent a car?”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll wait for you at the carousel.”
Misty felt totally dazzled and barely heard a word Becca said. It had
been a long time since she felt such a strong attraction to a man. She
tried to reason with her emotions. This is ridiculous. I’m a married woman.
I have no business feeling like this. Feeling a little more in control, she
stepped up to the car rental counter.

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Once Misty had the car keys in hand, she thanked the clerk, and then
stepped aside so the next person in line could move up to the counter.
As she attempted to pull her billfold from her purse, her driver’s license
slipped through her fingers. As she quickly bent to pick it up, she lost
her balance but a pair of strong arms latched onto her before she fell.
Awkwardly, she looked up to see who it was. It was him! He was standing
behind me in line the whole time.
“I am so sorry,” Misty said as she worked to get back on her feet. “I
am such a klutz.”
With a soft smile and a confident look, the man apologized. “No,
it’s my fault. I was trying to get a look at the birth date on your driver’s
license. Surely you can’t be a day over twenty-nine.”
What a charmer this guys is! she thought. She had to say something or
risk looking stupid.
“Oh, this thing? I need to get it reprinted. Can you believe they messed
up my birthday?” Misty wasn’t great at being clever but she had to try.
He laughed. “I wouldn’t bother. There’s something mysterious about
not knowing a woman’s age.”
“Ladies never tell,” she replied with a wink.
Misty couldn’t believe how easy it was to talk to him, and within
minutes after he rented his own vehicle they were laughing and carrying
on as if they’d known each other forever. That is until Becca appeared.
“Where have you been?” Becca demanded. “You were supposed to
meet me at baggage claim.”
She had a rolling suitcase in each hand with carry-ons stacked on top
of each and a purse around her neck. A full-bodied woman with flowing
red hair, she schlepped toward them, burdened with the rolling luggage.
She looked almost comical. When the man shook Becca’s hand, she fell
under the same spell.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Didn’t we just see you on the plane?”
“If you just flew in from Honolulu, it’s possible.”
Much to Misty’s surprise and her immense pleasure, Becca asked,
“Hey, we’re going to be with a group touring Maui until next Saturday.
Why don’t you join us for cocktails one evening?”
“I would love to. I’ll be tied up most of the week, but how does next
Friday night sound?”
“That’s perfect!” Misty shouted, scrambling in her purse for a pen

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and paper. “I’ll give you my cell number. Just text us that afternoon, and
we can decide where to meet.” She didn’t know why she was so outgoing
with this man. Part of her knew it was for Becca, who was single and
desperately needed a romantic fling to top off her vacation. Another part
of her wanted to see him again, at any cost, and it scared her as much as
it thrilled her.
“I hear there are some fun places in Lahaina,” Becca added.
“Anywhere will be nice as long as I’m in the presence of two beauti-
ful women. You girls look like you could be a lot of fun. See you Friday.”
He flashed a smile at them, spun on his heel, and walked away.
Becca stared at him as he disappeared into the crowd.
Misty poked her. “Lahaina my ass. You’re just thinking about his
haina.”
They both broke out laughing until they were almost out of breath,
needing the release from the incredible tension they both felt around him.
“Well,” Misty said wiping a tear from her eye. “Shall we?”

Friday morning the women left their hotel before sunrise for a sailing
tour to Lanai. Once known as Pineapple Island, Lanai was still home to a
large pineapple plantation. The history of the plantation had been inter-
esting, the samples were delicious, and they even saw a few dolphins while
snorkeling around the coral reef. But all they could think about was their
rendezvous with the mysterious, sexy man they had met at the airport.
On the sailboat ride back, horror struck. While checking yet again for
a text from Mr. Mysterious, Misty’s most prized possession, her iPhone,
slipped from her grasp and disappeared into the blue waters below.
Why the hell did I ever take my phone with me on a damn boat trip? If I
had only left it in the room! she thought, slapping herself on the forehead.
She felt as if it were she who had sunk to the bottom of the sea, and
in some ways Misty wished she had. Tonight they were supposed to meet
up with the most handsome stranger on the planet, and now they had no
way of receiving his text message. By the time the boat docked it would
be too late to try and get a replacement.
“I am so sorry, Becca. I know how much you were looking forward
to this evening. Can you ever forgive me?”

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Becca seemed visibly upset. “What a crappy way to end our trip,
Misty. How could this happen?”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry! We should call this trip ‘Disaster in the
Pacific: Shame at Sea,’” Misty offered, trying to cheer up Becca.
She couldn’t blame Becca for not speaking to her for the next two
hours. She didn’t feel like talking anyway. Sure, it was disappointing for
her, but poor Becca was single and might have had a chance with him.
All Misty would miss was the thrill of Becca’s score with Mr. Mysterious
and some lively conversation. Despite trying to convince herself of this,
she felt she was really missing much more.
Once the sailboat docked back in Lahaina, Misty and Becca decided
to get a bite to eat and go up to their room. It had been a fun week sight-
seeing, but those memories would be overshadowed by the disappoint-
ment of their missed adventures.

After returning home to sleepy Captain Cook, they spent the next week
trying to get their mysterious stranger, whom they had both started call-
ing “The Man,” out of their minds. Misty kept telling herself she was a
married woman and that dropping her phone overboard had been for
the best. Becca, however, took it much harder. She had been robbed of,
potentially, the most fantastic chance meeting of her life.
The following Friday Misty headed back to Maui to attend a week-
end yoga retreat at the Lancaster Hotel. Rob rarely did yoga anymore
because he was so busy with work, and even Becca had backed out of the
retreat, claiming that she had a cold. She probably would have sucked
it up and gone if it hadn’t been for the failures of the previous weekend,
but she was feeling too defeated for the mental and physical challenges
the trip promised. So off Misty went to Maui alone.
The Power Yoga class she attended late Saturday morning gave her
the energy and relaxation she needed to hone her body and cleanse her
mind of negative thoughts. When class ended around 3:00 pm she took a
shuttle into Lahaina in hopes of finding a new phone. Luck was on her
side. She found the newest generation iPhone along with a purple case to
protect it from future falls–as long as they weren’t over the side of a boat.
With her new phone in hand, Misty bounded off to catch the shuttle

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back to her hotel. She had decided not to make too friendly with the
other class members so that she could spend a relaxing evening cozily
tucked in her hotel room. A good book and room service were looking
mighty nice. After she got off the bus, her phone began to beep. Startled,
she thought, That was quick.
The message read: “Where are you guys? Thought I would try 1
more time to hook up with you before I leave Maui tomorrow am. If you
are still in town, let me know. We can all go for drinks. I’m @ the Lan-
caster Hotel. If you can, meet me in the lobby around 6:30.”
No way! He’s staying at my hotel! Could this be fate? No, it can’t be fate.
Becca is supposed to be here with me. I can’t meet with him alone.
She sat on a park bench for a spell to think. Suddenly room service
and solitude seemed tasteless and lonely. More isolation. She contem-
plated how stale her marriage with Rob had become. Rob was a good
man, but she knew from the start she had only married him because she
had felt pressure to get married. By thirty, people get married.
Rob had been a client of hers going through an ugly divorce. Misty
had felt sorry for him. It had been a marriage of convenience, or sym-
pathy, or whatever you want to call it. That, and Rob was head over
heels infatuated with her. She told herself she would grow to love him,
but now it was clear that he could not make her feel the way she felt
at this very moment. To feel so entranced and excitedly nervous over a
complete stranger seemed more real than anything she had felt in eight
years of marriage. Misty felt guilty but finally decided that maybe there
was something to learn from all of this. Tonight she was going to find
out what she may have been missing the last eight years of her life. The
thought occurred to her, Maybe I’m just not cut out to be married.
She looked at her watch. I need to get it in gear. It’s already 4:30, and
I have so much to do. What am I going to wear? What am I going to tell
Rob and Becca? What am I going to do with my hair? She ran to the hotel,
speaking her thoughts out loud, “At least he’s staying at my hotel.”
Then it hit her. He’s staying at my hotel!
She felt her face burn in embarrassment. Here she was about to go
running through the door in sweaty yoga clothes. She could pass him in
the lobby!
Oh, no. She began to panic. I never bring anything nice to wear on yoga
trips! Okay, calm down and breathe deep. That’s it, nice and slow, in and out.

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She used the pool entrance and got into the closest elevator. Once the
doors slid shut she got her wits about her and began to laugh. She was
acting like a teenager going on her first date.
I’m lucky to have this feeling again, she thought. I need to savor the
moment. Once inside her room she madly threw off her clothes and
dashed into the shower. Out of the shower, she dropped her towel to
study her limited wardrobe.
Tonight all the old rules and inhibitions go out the window, she decided.
I am going to be whoever I want, and I’m not going to look back. If I’ve sup-
pressed these feeling all these years, then I need to find out just who I am and
how I feel.
She guzzled a single-serving bottle of tequila from the minibar to
settle her nerves and wondered, Now where to start?
She glanced at her body in the mirror. Oh, yeah. She looked down at
her chest, which was usually masked by a sports bra or covered in layers
of workout clothes.
You know what? I’ve got great boobs. Now there was a thought she
hadn’t had in quite a long while.
Misty was proud of her physique. Years of exercising had given her
a honed, disciplined body that was essential to her success as a personal
trainer. Her figure seemed to say, “I can make you look like this.”
Dressing from the waist down was no problem. She had brought
several nice pairs of shorts and cute sandals. Misty knew she had nice
legs and was anxious for The Man to see them. The rest was going to
be more of a challenge as she had brought nothing that would show off
her cleavage. She had breasts to be envied in her teens and even after the
last twenty years they were still a sight to behold. While married to Rob,
Misty, for reasons she didn’t know, had become accustomed to covering
her breasts. She’d forgotten they were assets. What the hell. It’s about time
I put these babies to use.
The change in attitude felt good. She began to laugh. At that moment,
laughter became her friend, and she knew it was the only thing that
would get her to this meeting with enough sanity to keep from implod-
ing on the spot.
Okay, now for the final decision. She brought out the tank top she usu-
ally wore under her workout shirts. It was nothing fancy, but she knew
she looked great in lavender. After putting it on, she looked in the mirror.

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Oh my, you can make out the shape of my nipples. What if it’s freezing in the
bar?
He might as well be looking at me without anything on. But then she
thought, Isn’t that the idea?
She gave herself a good look in the mirror and made some final ner-
vous adjustments. Even though she’d thrown this outfit together in a
matter of minutes, she liked the way she looked. Maybe it was the tequila.
On to the great unknown!
When her elevator hit the ground floor and opened wide, Misty
looked across the lobby. There he was. She was so relieved he had dressed
casually in shorts and a Polo shirt. As she approached she could tell he
was giving her the once-over. It was as if he could see right through every
stitch of fabric she wore. To her surprise, this excited her the same way
his smell had on the airplane. She crossed her fingers behind her back
and hoped that everything would be okay.
He met her with a big smile, reassuring her. His salutation was a hug
that released every pheromone in Misty’s being and sent her floating on
air. Time seemed to stop and she felt as if they were the only living souls
on the planet. This was quite unlike any meeting she had ever had before.
If she could only keep from giggling, she could relax and enjoy the ride.
When they got to their table, Misty began to explain, “I am so sorry
we didn’t call you last week. You won’t believe this, but my phone fell
overboard when we were taking a boat ride. I had no way of getting in
touch with you. I want you to know I’ve felt horrible about it all week.”
“So that’s why I didn’t hear from you. Thanks for telling me. I hesi-
tated before sending you the text today. I figured you might not be inter-
ested. It makes sense, me being a stranger and all.” He smiled, flashing a
row of straight, white teeth worthy of a toothpaste commercial. “Speak-
ing of strangers, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”
She had to admit, she was flattered that he’d asked about her right away.
“Well, I’m a personal trainer by trade, and I like all types of outdoor
activities. I love to travel and see the sites, you know. I’ve recently moved
to Hawaii, and I’m really looking forward to exploring the islands. I’m
actually in Maui on a yoga retreat.” She explained about the yoga retreat
and her life as a personal trainer. As she spoke, she realized that he was
listening very attentively. “Other than that, I’m just your average girl,”
she finished nervously.

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His eyes traced her face, hair, and shoulders, and then settled on her
eyes. “Oh, I think you are anything but average, Misty.” When he real-
ized his compliment made her blush, he quickly added, “So, where is
your running mate?”
“Oh, Becca’s sick. She couldn’t make it back to Maui. I feel bad for
her because she wanted to have drinks with you in the worst way.”
“That’s okay because I wanted to have drinks with you in the worst
way,” he replied.
Misty couldn’t stop herself from blushing. Trying to divert the atten-
tion away from herself, she said, “Let’s talk about you. I don’t even know
your name. If you had given it to me last week, we might have been able
to find you.”
The Man paused before saying, “Tonight is not about me. It’s about
you. I come from a culture that honors and adores women. It’s in my
blood, but I have never come across anyone quite like you. You are bright
and beautiful, but you have something—a fire inside that demands to
be let out. I’m never this forward, but tomorrow I leave for home, and I
may never come this way again. Tonight is eternity where you and I are
concerned, don’t you agree?”
Misty nodded.
“We must choose to spend it wisely. If we follow the normal proto-
col, we will go to dinner and know a little more about each other before
we say goodnight. But if you follow me to my room, we can know every-
thing about that fire inside you.”
He pushed his chair back, stood up, and offered her his hand. It all
happened so fast it caught her off guard. His room? I can’t go to his room!
I’m married. I’m not that kind of person. I don’t do that kind of thing.
He didn’t waver. He stood there very solidly, looking at her with his
soft, knowing eyes. He seemed almost supernatural.
Where did he come from? Oh, what am I going to do?
Something in his words sounded so true that she could not deny them.
I know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and if I don’t go down
this road, I may regret it more than anything, even hurting Rob. This time it
has to be about me.
Before Misty could rationalize the situation any further, she felt her-
self stand up, almost as if she wasn’t in control. The next thing she knew,
she was reaching out, taking his hand, and following his lead.

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