Tiaras & Terror Page 2

  Though we'd been close for years, Noa and I had only recently entered into romantic territory. When I came home to Aloha Lagoon with my tail between my legs after an embarrassing public divorce from my cheating pro-athlete husband, he was there to help mend my broken heart and bruised ego. My ex had left me with some trust issues, so Noa and I were taking things slow. I'd have been happy to have him back in my life in any capacity, but I was certainly enjoying this new, sexy dynamic between us. It didn't hurt that he was an incredible kisser.

  Noa pulled away after a few blissful moments. "Ready to go?" he asked, sounding as breathless as I felt. He hoisted his short, fat pumpkin in one arm and Rikki's tall, skinny one in the other.

  I nodded. With my arms wrapped around my own pick from the patch—a small, perfectly round gourd with a bright green stalk—I followed him through the rows of dirt and vines toward the farm's entrance. After paying for our selections, we loaded them into the back of Noa's black Jeep Wrangler.

  Noa slid into the driver's seat and started the ignition. His phone buzzed as he pulled out of the dirt parking lot, whipping up a cloud of dust in our wake. From the passenger's side, I sneaked a peek but couldn't see his screen. Noa caught me looking and fumbled for the phone, hitting the volume to silence the ringer before shoving the device into the pocket of his board shorts.

  "Who was it?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

  "Nobody important," he replied. "Just work stuff." He flicked a glance at me. "Hey, why don't you call Jamie and see if she and Javi want to come carve pumpkins with us?"

  "Great idea." I grinned. I'd met Jamie through Noa when I first moved back to Aloha Lagoon back in late June. From what they'd told me, the pair had struck up a friendship over their love of water sports—Noa worked part-time as a lifeguard at the resort and loved surfing, and when Jamie wasn't working cashier shifts at Happy Hula, she was the resort scuba diving instructor.

  I dialed Jamie's number, but it went to voice mail after the second ring. A moment later, I received a text message from her: At Starlight on the Lagoon with Javi. I'll call you back.

  Ooh, fancy, I replied. I put my phone back in my purse, not wanting to interrupt her dinner date any further. Javier Morales was another good friend of Noa's. Jamie had been casually seeing the nightclub bouncer and part-time personal trainer at the resort for a few months now. When I'd first met Jamie, she'd flitted from guy to guy, never seeming to find someone who could keep up with her boundless energy. With Javi, I thought she'd possibly met her match. Like Noa and me, they hadn't yet put a label on the relationship, but I liked them together and hoped to see them eventually take things to the next level.

  The Sunday sun was setting as Noa parked the Jeep in the driveway of the beach cottage that I shared with my aunt. I still felt a wave of nostalgia every time I came home to the two-story turquoise house with its white trim and accents of driftwood and seahorse carvings decorating the front porch. Before moving to Atlanta with my ex, I'd grown up here. I'd been raised by my father's younger sister, Rikki, after my parents died in a boating accident when I was only ten. When I returned to Aloha Lagoon, she graciously welcomed me back into her home. I was saving up for a place of my own, but for now I was content living in my old bedroom with its breathtaking view of the ocean and Mount Kilauea.

  Noa and I unloaded the pumpkins and set them down on the front porch before entering the house. On her days off from Happy Hula, Rikki Kalua could usually be found indulging in one of her many eccentric hobbies. Today was no exception. We found her in the backyard, hanging upside-down from one of the trees in her new aerial yoga hammock. Her legs were wrapped firmly around the bright pink fabric straps, and her eyes were closed, a serene expression on her face. In her hanging position, Rikki's dark hair, with its electric blue highlights, coupled with her black spandex tights and matching sports bra, made her look like an eighties glam rock version of Dracula.

  Aunt Rikki cracked one eye open as we approached. "Ku'uipo!" she called, using the pet name she'd called me since I was a kid. The word meant sweetheart. She twisted her body, flipping out of the trapeze-like swing and landing gracefully on her feet. She crossed the yard and greeted me with a warm hug and kiss on the cheek before doing the same to Noa.

  "The pumpkins are on the front porch," I said cheerily. "I'll grab a bowl from the kitchen so we can save the seeds and toast them."

  "Can we dust some of them with cinnamon and sugar?" Noa asked, patting his belly. "I've had a wicked sweet tooth lately."

  "Of course." Aunt Rikki waved her hand. "But there will be plenty of time for that later," she added, brushing a stray blue hair behind her ear. "Right now, I need to go change clothes. We should be leaving soon, or we'll be late for the pageant."

  I blinked at her. "The pageant?"

  She nodded. "The Miss Undead Hawaii Beauty Pageant. You know, the one with all the vampires and zombies." Rikki put her arms out in front of her and staggered forward a few steps. "Braaaaaains," she moaned and then chuckled to herself.

  I couldn't help but crack a grin at her bad The Walking Dead impression. After a moment, my smile faded and my confusion returned. "I know which pageant you're referring to," I said. "But we never go to that."

  "Well, there's a first time for everything, dear," my aunt replied, her tone even. "I stopped by the Hana Hou's box office this afternoon and picked up tickets for the entire Happy Hula staff so that we could show our support for Harmony. She's been so excited about the competition that it's practically all she's talked about around the shop for the past couple of weeks."

  My jaw went slack. My aunt wanted to forgo our pumpkin carving night to cheer on the Wicked Witch of the East Pacific—and she wanted me to go too? "But we always make jack-o-lanterns on the first night of the Alohaween Festival," I protested, my voice coming out a little whinier than I'd intended. "It's a Kalua family tradition." I looked to Noa for help, but he just shrugged. I shot him a dark look. Traitor.

  Rikki put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "We can carve the pumpkins tomorrow after the parade," she promised. "Harmony is a member of the Happy Hula family, and this pageant is important to her. Plus, it's for a good cause—the ticket sales go to charity, you know. I bought a ticket for Noa too." She smiled sweetly at him before turning her attention back to me. "If you don't want go for Harmony then please go for me. Okay?"

  I stifled a sigh. For some crazy reason, my aunt had taken it upon herself to try to force a friendship between Harmony and me. It was a lost cause, but for Rikki's sake, I would suck it up and go to the pageant. Maybe if I was lucky I'd get to see Harm fall flat on her face while on stage. A girl could dream, right?

  "Okay," I agreed, reaching up to give her hand a squeeze. "Go change. Noa and I will wait for you downstairs."

  Aunt Rikki beamed at me. "That's my girl." She gave me another quick peck on the cheek and then turned and padded barefoot into the house, humming "Monster Mash."

  As soon as she was out of earshot, I rounded on Noa. "Can you believe she'd cancel our jack-o-lantern night for Harmony of all people?" I asked, unable to hide my disappointment.

  A sympathetic smile curved Noa's lips. "I'm sorry, Kales. But, like she said, we can still carve them tomorrow after the parade. My lifeguard shift ends just before it starts. Why don't you meet me at the resort pool, and then we can head over together to watch?" He slipped an arm around me and leaned down, planting another doozy of a kiss on my lips. I pulled back a few beats later, feeling giddy and a little bit dizzy.

  "What were we talking about?" I asked dreamily.

  Noa chuckled. "Beats me," he said, winking. He pulled me closer to him as we walked back into the house hand in hand.

  Rikki came downstairs a few minutes later. She was dressed in a lacy black dress over bright orange tights. I'd been without a car since I'd moved home and the three of us couldn't fit on my aunt's eggplant purple Vespa, so we all piled into Noa's Jeep. About ten minutes later, we arrived at the Hana Hou Theater.

  The little parking lot for the light blue stucco building was nearly full. Noa cruised the Jeep slowly up and down several rows before we found an open space. We hurried toward the entrance, and he held open the door for Aunt Rikki and me as we slipped inside. Jamie was waiting for us in the lobby, along with Luka Hale and two other Happy Hula employees: our other cashier, Tonya Friedman, and Rose Peters, one of our sales associates.

  Jamie beamed as she waved us over. "Javi's here too. He's saving some seats for us down near the front," she said when we approached.

  "Great," I muttered. My flat tone won a sidelong glance from my aunt. I quickly pasted a smile on my face. "How was dinner with Javi?" I asked to change the subject.

  Jamie's smile widened, showing off her lightly freckled dimples. "Delicious. I couldn't decide on a dessert, so he ordered the sampler platter so I could try a little bit of each. How sweet is that?"

  "Bordering diabetic," I replied, smirking.

  Jamie rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me. The lights in the crowded lobby flickered in a dimming pattern, a signal that the pageant was about to begin. "Come on," she said, gesturing for the rest of us to follow. "We should take our seats."

  We made our way across the polished concrete floor and through the double doors that led into the auditorium, wedging our way through the crowd until we reached the third row from the stage. Javi Morales was perched in the middle of the row, surrounded by empty seats. He exhaled a sigh of relief as we began to file in next to him.

  "It's about time," he teased, winking at Jamie. "I just had to fight off a gaggle of old ladies that tried to swoop in and take your seats. They've been giving me the stink eye ever since. I think one of them even tried to put a hex on me." He gestured to the far right of the auditorium, w
here, sure enough, a cluster of women were squinting daggers in our direction.

  "Thanks for saving our spots," Aunt Rikki said, leaning past me to smile at Javi. She lifted a hand to her mouth to shield it from his view. "I approve of this one," she whispered to Jamie, loud enough that I was sure even the little old ladies in the far corner could hear. Javi and Jamie glanced at each other and then quickly averted their gazes, though I noticed they were both smiling.

  We quickly settled into our seats. I perched on the navy cushioned chair between Noa and Jamie and sent my gaze to the stage, which was still hidden by velvety red curtains. A familiar young man with his hair dyed silver walked across the raised platform to a microphone in the middle. I recognized him as Tad Emerson, who worked for Lovely Linens and had delivered the tablecloths and napkins to a friend's wedding reception that I'd helped plan several months back. I'd heard that Tad had a flair for the dramatic, auditioning for every play that was held at the Hana Hou, though he often wound up being cast as the stage manager rather than the leading man.

  "Aloha, and good evening!" he said cheerfully into the mic. "My name is Tad Emerson, and it's an honor to be your host for this year's Miss Undead Hawaii Beauty Pageant." He beamed at the crowd. "For those of you who are new to our little production, let me give you the scoop." He cocked his hip and raised a hand to gesture to the wall of red velvet behind him. "As you can tell from the competition name, this isn't your average beauty pageant. On the other side of that curtain are some of the most gruesome creatures from our little lagoon. These contestants will be judged in two categories: costume design and best undead walk. The ghoul with the highest overall score will be crowned this year's Miss Undead Hawaii. She'll receive a cash prize of three thousand dollars and will appear on the Hana Hou Theater's float in the Alohaween Parade tomorrow afternoon." Tad's smile widened. "But before I introduce you to our crowd of corpse-like contestants, let's meet this year's judges."

  Tad waved to someone standing just offstage. "First, we have one of the Hana Hou Theater's wonderfully talented assistant directors, Mr. Brody Jackson." Polite applause filled the room as a tall, dark-haired man with a cleft chin emerged from the wings and joined Tad on the stage, pausing to bow to the crowd.

  "Readers of the Aloha Sun may recognize our next judge from the photos next to her salacious headlines," Tad continued. "Please give it up for local journalist—who's a former contestant of our freaky pageant herself—Miss Felicity Chase."

  I made a face. Journalist? More like glorified tabloid reporter, I thought sourly as I watched a skinny woman with wavy chestnut hair strut across the stage. I'd crossed paths with Felicity Chase on several occasions since my return to Aloha Lagoon—starting with the time she'd cornered me and tried to pump me for a detailed account of how I'd caught my ex-husband in bed with three NFL cheerleaders. Suffice it to say that the reporter and I weren't exactly chummy.

  When the clapping had subsided, Tad gripped the microphone once more. "And now, guys and ghouls, it is my pleasure to introduce to you this year's celebrity guest judge and honorary Master of Ceremonies for this week's Alohaween Festival. You may know her from her performances in movies such as Death Warmed Over, Return to Monster Island and, most recently, her starring role as ghoul bounty hunter Abby Gray in the hit television series Dead Hunters. Please give a warm Aloha Lagoon welcome to Grace Lowe!"

  The auditorium erupted in a roar of applause as a young woman strode onto the stage. She was average height, with glossy brown hair, dark eyes, and plump lips that rivaled Angelina Jolie's. Even from three rows back, I could see the stage lights glint off her perfectly white teeth as she smiled at the crowd. I glanced up and down our row to find Javi, Luka, and Noa wearing matching open-mouthed expressions.

  "Careful or you might get drool on your shirt," I teased, gently nudging Noa in the ribs with my elbow.

  He jumped in his seat, and his mouth snapped shut as he hastened to straighten his posture. He shot me an apologetic look. "Sorry," he muttered, his tone sheepish. "She's just…er…shorter in person than I thought she'd be." He grimaced, but I could still see the starstruck look in his eyes. "And I'm pretty sure those lips could be seen from space," he added unconvincingly.

  I grinned. "Relax. I'm just giving you a hard time." I gestured to the starlet, who was still waving to the crowd from center stage. "She's a hot Hollywood actress. Even I think she's gorgeous."

  "She's got nothing on you, Kales," he said, pulling me closer.

  Though I knew he was just saying it to try to save face, I let myself enjoy the compliment. I didn't need the validation, but it was still nice to have my ego stroked every now and then.

  The crowd fell silent again, and Tad continued his spiel. "Let me tell you, folks," he said, leaning closer to the microphone. "The judges for our ghoulish pageant have got their work cut out for them this year. The competition sure is stiff." He winked.

  That won a few laughs from around the audience. Beside me, Jamie giggled.

  "Now, who's ready to meet our frighteningly fabulous contestants?" Tad asked.

  The crowd cheered in response.

  "Very well." He cleared his throat as the sound of an organ filled the room with a haunting melody in a minor key. "She's got talent, she's got grace. She's also missing part of her faaaaace…" Tad sang as the curtains slowly opened. "She's Miss Undead Hawaii!"

  The laughter and applause turned to gasps as over a dozen women strutted onto the stage, each wearing gory makeup. There were ghouls in ballroom gowns, cocktail dresses, and even one vampy bride and an undead Playboy Bunny wearing a black leotard, rabbit ears, and fishnet tights.

  I spotted Harmony at the end of the lineup. She was dressed as a zombie pinup girl, with a tattered, Rockabilly-style black dress with a white skull pattern on the skirt and bright red heels that matched her purposely smeared lipstick. Her dark hair was tied halfway back with a red bow and curled so that it flipped out at the ends. She'd used costume makeup to draw scars and stitches along her bare arms and collarbone. She'd also colored over one eyelid and the surrounding area to make it look as if the socket were empty. In the other eye, she wore a special contact lens that made both her iris and pupil appear solid white. The effect was creepy but undeniably creative. As much as I hated to admit it, she'd done an excellent job crafting her costume.

  "Hey, isn't that the chick who harassed Harm in the shop the other day?" Jamie nudged me and pointed to the second woman from the far left. "Jade something, right?"

  I followed her gaze to the contestant wearing the bridal gown. Though her skin was painted blue, I recognized the soft blonde curls. She'd also used costume makeup to make her eyes appear larger. There was fake blood dripping from one corner of her mouth.

  "Didn't she mock Harmony for considering going as the Corpse Bride?" Jamie asked. She scrunched her nose, shaking her head in disapproval. "What a hypocrite."

  I shrugged. "If you ask me, she looks more like an undead Smurfette than a Tim Burton character."

  The line of creepy, costumed women lurched to a stop and stood in a row behind Tad as the judges took their places at a table on the side of the stage. Tad introduced the contestants one by one, starting with the zombie Playboy Bunny who was standing next to Jade. When he introduced Jade, she made a show of swishing her skirt and twirling around in a circle while waving and blowing kisses to the crowd.

  I flicked a glance at Harmony in time to see her beauty queen smile falter just a bit. She quickly regained her composure and resumed beaming at the crowd.

  "And finally, our last contestant of the evening is Miss Harmony Kane," Tad boomed, stepping aside so that Harm could wave to the audience. The Happy Hula staffers in our row cheered loudly, and beside me, even Noa whooped and hollered. Seeing Rikki peek in my direction, I raised my hands and joined in the applause, albeit without much enthusiasm.

  Once each of the wannabe undead beauty queens had been introduced, the competition was officially underway. For the next hour, we watched as each contestant took a turn showing off her costume while staggering across the stage in her best impression of a zombie shuffle. The judges also asked the women questions about their outfits and makeup.