Chapter 4

On the way back to the condo, the trio stopped to get a combination pizza to go and then once Jack had been given a tour of their two-bedroom home, Terri showed him to the lanai that gave its occupants a spectacular view of Diamond Head overlooking the crystal blue of the ocean while Janet carried a tray containing a pitcher of iced tea and three glasses.

"This is great," Jack said, as he made himself comfortable at the glass-topped table. "With this warm weather, you must eat out here a lot."

"We try to," Janet said. "But our schedules don't always work. Especially Terri's."

"Still working long and crazy hours, even in paradise," Jack teased with an accompanying wink.

"Yes, but I get to enjoy my days off, too, which is nice."

"We both do," Janet agreed.

"Are you working seven days?" Jack asked, after taking a bite of his pizza.

Janet shook her head. "Sometimes I have to work at a flower stand on Saturday if the owner, Mr. Pineda, needs help, but usually, I only work Monday through Friday."

"For both jobs?" Jack queried, his tone skeptical.

"Yes, Jack," Janet answered with a laugh and a shake of her head.

"I'm just checking," he said, shifting in his chair. "I'd hate to think of you having to work all the time."

"Don't worry. I have plenty of free time."

"What about you?" Terri asked. "Are you still putting in a lot of hours at the Bistro?"

"Yes, but it's good, you know. I really like having my own restaurant to run. I'm learning so much."

And so the conversation went from there as they enjoyed each other's company once again. The hours flew until Janet finally said she had to call it a night because she had to work at a flower stand at the Waikiki Beach Hotel for a few hours the next day. Terri had Saturday off, so she and Jack continued to converse as they enjoyed the soft midnight breeze.

"You guys really seem happy," Jack said.

"And that seems to surprise you," Terri commented, her eyebrows raised.

"No." Jack quickened to correct the misconception. "I think it's great. I know you weren't all that happy when you left LA, and I know Janet was still getting over her break-up with Phillip, so I wasn't 100 percent sure what I would find when I got here. I'm glad things are going well. For both of you."

Terri smiled. "Thanks, Jack. We're so happy to have you here. We've missed you soooo much."

Jack tried to shrug off Terri's comment. "You're just saying that."

"I am not," she said, somewhat indignant that he would question her sincerity.

She rose from her chair.

"Let me show you what Janet and I have been working on."

With purposeful strides, Terri walked into the living room and retrieved a white piece of paper from the coffee table. She returned to the terrace and set the paper in front of Jack before taking her seat.

"Does that look like the work of two people who hardly missed you?"

Jack looked from the paper to Terri.

"Wow, Terri, I don't know what to say. I'm sorry I doubted you. This list proves you and Janet have found a way to spend as much time with me as you possibly can. I'm flattered."

"Well," she said, her tone softening, "you should be."

They shared a much-needed laugh before Jack saw the look of concern on his friend's lovely face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"If you look closely at that list, you'll notice there's one troubling spot."

Jack perused the list and saw the many question marks after the event listed for tomorrow night.

"Surprise birthday party?" he questioned, looking to Terri for the answer.

She nodded. "For Thomas Magnum, someone you don't seem to be too fond of, even though you haven't even met him."

Jack leaned back in his chair and held up the paper for further inspection.

"You and Janet want to go to this party?" he finally asked.

"The truth is we were invited before we knew you were coming, so we said we'd be there. We told TC, one of Thomas' best friends, that you were coming from the mainland to visit. He extended an invitation for you, too. I know it's probably the last place you want to be, but..."

"You really want to go, don't you?" Jack asked, surprised at how excited Terri looked when talking about this party.

"Yes," she admitted, a hint of pinkish color spotting her slightly tanned cheeks. "I think...I mean, we think it would be fun. Janet and I talked about it, and we decided we wouldn't have to stay long, but we could make an appearance, especially since we already bought Thomas a gift."

"What did you get him?" Jack asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well," Terri said, her voice growing even more excited as she leaned in closer to Jack. "Janet mentioned that the tape recorder he's using is pretty old and beat up, so we decided to buy him a new one. We hope he'll like it, and we also think it'll help Janet when she has to transcribe his notes, so it's actually serving a dual purpose. Pretty neat, huh?"

"Yeah, that is."

Jack continuing to study Terri unnerved her somewhat.

"Jack, what is it?" she finally asked, wanting him to stop his scrutiny.

"You like this guy, don't you? I mean, really like him."

Terri couldn't stop the color from rising to her cheeks. "Yeah," she answered. "I do, Jack. I like him a lot."

"But what about Janet?" Jack blurted out.

"What about Janet?" Terri repeated.

"Well, I mean, does she have a problem with you liking this Magnum guy?"

"Not that I know of. Why would she?"

Jack suddenly found himself feeling awkward. Based on Terri's reaction, Janet didn't seem to have an attraction for the PI. Jack had to ask himself why he assumed she would have.

"I-I just thought maybe she didn't want you to get involved with her business relationship, that's all."

Terri eyed him and then a slow grin spread across her face.

"That's not the reason. We may not have seen each other in over a year, but you can't fool me, Jack. You thought there was something going on between Thomas and Janet, didn't you?"

"Well..." he said, trying to cover his discomfort at having been found out.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because why else would she have taken on a second job?"

"You thought she was assisting him in more ways than one, huh?"

"Terri!"

"C'mon, Jack. You don't have to pretend to be offended with me."

"Why is she working for that guy?"

"I think she explained that to you when you called. Janet just wants to have some extra spending money. Things are more expensive here. She thought it would be something different for her and challenging at the same time. She really enjoys working for him."

"And that works out well for your plans, right?"

Terri ran her forefinger along the rim of her glass. "So far, it's just a mild friendship, if it could even be called that. Thomas is very nice, but I can tell there's a lot more to him than what you see on the surface."

"Okay," Jack said, after seeing Terri's expression soften once more when she mentioned Magnum's name, "I have to admit, I'm intrigued."

Terri laughed. "You mean relieved, don't you, that Janet doesn't want him for herself."

"Now what do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," Terri said, deciding a conversation about Janet and Jack could wait for another time.

If they stayed up any longer, they'd be witnessing the beautiful sight of a Hawaiian sunrise. Which wouldn't be bad, but still, they both needed some sleep.

"I know you meant something, but I won't push you," Jack said, no longer able to stifle a yawn. "Let's get some shut eye so we'll both look our best for tomorrow night's festivities. I'd hate to meet the infamous Thomas Magnum with bags under my eyes because you kept me up all night talking about him!"