Page 141

Isabella giggled and dashed to the deck.

“Congrats,” Carmen said. “I can’t believe a year ago I welcomed you to the resort and the next day we came up with this plan.”

“I wasn’t kidding,” Kelsey said, watching Isabella hurry back towards her. “It was the best day of my life.”

“Excuse me, do you remember us?” a woman said, walking up to them holding another woman’s hand.

“You were on the beach the day Isabella proposed to me,” Kelsey said.

Isabella walked up and slid her hand into Kelsey’s. “Oh, hi.”

“We had to come back to Coral Bay to experience Christmas,” the woman said.

“We have the photo you took of us in our office at home,” Isabella said. “It’s where we both can see it when we’re at our desks.”

“Congratulations,” the other woman said. “We’ve met several people at the resort who are your followers.”

“We plan to do a post tomorrow closing out the year,” Kelsey explained.

“But we’ll be checking in from time to time,” Isabella added.

“It was nice to see you again,” the woman said.

“How many offers have you had from other resorts?” Carmen asked as they waded the short distance to the boat.

“We’ve had a few from other Caribbean islands,” Kelsey said.

“But we’ve just moved into our new house and want to stay at home for a while,” Isabella said.

Sylvie had arranged for two boats to whisk them away from the beach over to Peaches. They got in the boat and could see their family waving as their boat started towards St. John.

“Have you had any problems since you moved there?” Sylvie asked Kelsey.

“There have been a few things said here and there, but nothing we couldn’t handle or didn’t expect,” Kelsey said, smiling at Isabella.

“I think fear of the unknown is what drives some people. Once they get to know us, how can they not like us?” Isabella chuckled.

“I can’t imagine.” Carmen laughed with her.

They settled back and enjoyed the ride to St. John as a married couple. Once they’d made it to Peaches, several of the locals who had become friends were already there. The party was in full swing.

“We’ll give you a minute,” Carmen said as they reached the beach.

Kelsey and Isabella watched as Carmen and Sylvie walked away hand in hand.

“We’ve made it through a year of vacations,” Kelsey said, gazing at Peaches.

“Did you ever doubt us?” Isabella asked, stepping in front of her.

“Once I said yes to you, I never doubted,” Kelsey said honestly.

“That’s my girl,” Isabella said, cupping her cheek. “And my wife.”

“God, I love the sound of that: my wife,” Kelsey said. She leaned in and softly touched her lips to Isabella’s. She wrapped her arms around her, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. Their lips caressed, nibbled, and expressed the love bubbling from their hearts.

After several moments Isabella moaned. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you like that since we said I do.”

“I know,” Kelsey murmured, touching her forehead to Isabella’s. Suddenly she gasped. “Listen! They’re playing our song.”