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“Okay.” Isabella stopped and took Kelsey’s hands in hers. “Since we’re a couple now”—she winked—“I vow to spend Christmas with you next year on this beach.”

Kelsey chuckled and repeated Isabella’s words. “I vow to spend Christmas with you next year on this beach.”

They both laughed, then went back to Kelsey’s deck to finish their wine.

Later that night as Isabella lay in bed trying to go to sleep, she thought back on her dance with Kelsey. She had never been attracted to another woman, but there was something about Kelsey. Isabella had known it the first time their eyes met at the airport.

They had done so much in just a few days and with this huge project to complete, she hadn’t given herself a moment to think about Kelsey. Was something beginning between them? Surely not.

Isabella sighed. “I’m not going to think about this right now. I’m going to spend the rest of the week with Kelsey, have a great time, and then we’ll see what happens when I get back home,” she mumbled. “This is vacation stuff, not real-life stuff.”

14

The next few days were filled with excursions and adventures. Kelsey and Isabella went snorkeling, kayaking, bar hopping, and they tasted the local food. Sylvie set them up on Jeep tours and ATV tours. They even took a tour on a yacht to several of the surrounding islands.

“I can’t believe we have the afternoon to ourselves,” Kelsey said, holding the door to Peaches open for Isabella.

“Don’t forget we’re supposed to go on a sunset cruise tonight,” Isabella said.

“I feel like all we’ve done since Christmas is go, go, go. What happened to hanging out at the resort?” Kelsey said.

“Hey there, we thought you two forgot about us,” Liz said.

“Carmen has had us on the go every day,” Isabella said, sliding onto a bar stool.

“We’ve had so much fun, but sometimes it’s nice to sit and drink a beer with friends,” Kelsey said.

Riley chuckled from behind the bar. “She wants you to experience as much as you can before you go back.”

“We know that, but we are coming back. Let us do something new for our next visit in January,” Isabella said.

“Don’t you leave tomorrow?” Alex asked.

“Yes. We couldn’t leave without seeing all of you one more time,” Kelsey said.

“Do you have plans for tonight?”

“Of course we do,” Isabella said.

“It’s a sunset cruise,” Kelsey added.

“You can do that in February for Valentine’s Day,” Riley said. “I’ll explain it to Carmen. We have some ideas for your trips going forward.”

Kelsey looked over at Isabella and raised her brows. “I wonder how receptive she’ll be.”

“We’ve known Carmen for a long time. She’ll need everyone’s help to make this work,” Liz said. “Now, tell us what all you’ve been doing.”

Kelsey and Isabella took turns giving them highlights from the last few days.

“We like to walk along the beach before we go to bed, but we’ve been so tired the last two nights we barely made it through dinner,” Kelsey said.

“Yeah, we’ve learned a thing or two,” Isabella said. “You don’t have to be doing something all the time for it to be a vacation.”

Liz chuckled. “Are you craving your everyday life back home?”

Kelsey and Isabella exchanged a look. “In two days I will be sitting in my own living room and I’m quite sure I’ll be wondering what all of you are doing here at Peaches. It may be my everyday life, but I’ll still remember my escape,” Kelsey explained.

“We’ll miss you, but it won’t be that long until you’re here again,” Liz said.