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“Believe me, I’m glad to do it,” Nadia said, walking towards the door. “All of our restaurants are exceptional. I suggest the fine dining restaurant tonight. The chef is always doing something special.”

“Thanks for the suggestion.”

“I’ll see you later.” Nadia left, quietly closing the door behind her.

Isabella turned back to the beautiful view out her back deck and took a deep breath.

This would be her first Christmas away from the boys and she wasn’t handling it well. When her ex-husband told her he was taking them to New York for Christmas, she was upset. They had always spent Christmas at home in Charlotte. This was the second year they’d been divorced and it was his turn to have them for Christmas, so she couldn’t really do anything about it.

Christmas wasn’t the same without them. To keep from ruining Christmas for the people around her, she’d decided to work instead. A small smile played across her lips. It just so happened that her current client was a resort on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Isabella had hoped the sun and sand would keep her mind off Christmas.

She planned to try to call the boys, but figured they’d be out doing something fun with her ex-husband’s family. Isabella ambled over to the mini refrigerator and took out a bottle of water.

Once she opened the glass door onto the back deck, the rhythmic lapping of the waves called to her. She settled into one of the chaise lounges and drank deeply from the bottle.

Her thoughts drifted back to meeting Kelsey Kenny. Isabella furrowed her brow. Did she call me Bella? No one called her Bella and if they did, she usually corrected them. She tilted her head and smiled. There was no need to correct the kind woman. Isabella probably wouldn’t see her again anyway. Just because they were staying at the same resort didn’t mean their paths would cross. It was a big place.

When the attendant had appeared at the shuttle to help her with her luggage, she wondered if Kelsey had sent him her way once she’d gone inside the resort. Of course, the resort offered top-notch service, but she wouldn’t be surprised if Kelsey had a hand in it.

Once she’d made it to the reception desk, she looked around and didn’t see Kelsey anywhere. A few minutes later the resort’s executive director, Carmen Oliver, appeared to welcome her and then Nadia led her to the bungalow, pointing out amenities along the way.

She wondered if Kelsey was traveling alone, just as she was. When they were on the drive from the airport to the resort, Isabella had glanced over at Kelsey as she gazed out the window. Something about the woman’s face made Isabella think she wasn’t exactly happy to be there.

Isabella sighed, closing her eyes and letting the island breeze waft over her travel weary body. She hopped up and decided to take a quick shower and change her clothes. Isabella didn’t care for dining alone, but she was hungry and fresh seafood sounded delicious.

Kelsey strolled down the path back towards the main building. It was so peaceful and hard to believe there were so many other people at the resort. She walked past the bar and over to the entrance of the restaurant. Her eyes scanned the room, seeing mostly couples with a few families already seated and enjoying their meal.

She thought about going back to the bar and ordering dinner there.

“I knew it,” a familiar voice said from behind her. “This place is full of couples and families.”

Kelsey turned and looked right into Isabella’s smiling face. “Hey,” she said with a friendly smile.

“Shall we sit together? I hate eating alone,” Isabella said.

“I do, too. I was about to go back to the bar,” Kelsey said.

“Maybe we’ll hit it after dinner.” Isabella winked.

As they followed an attendant who took them to a table, Kelsey noticed Isabella’s large purse on her shoulder. Kelsey smiled and couldn’t keep from laughing as she remembered her looping the purse onto her bag and giving it a spin.

“What’s funny?” Isabella asked as she sat down at the table for two. She hooked her purse over the chair.

“Your purse reminded me of your little dance with your luggage earlier today,” Kelsey explained.

Isabella stared at Kelsey as she put the strap to her small crossbody bag, barely big enough to hold a phone and not much more, over the back of her chair.

Kelsey raised her eyebrows. “What?”

“You bring one bag and have a small purse and here I am with two large suitcases, my computer satchel, and a huge tote. Perhaps I could learn something from you.”

Kelsey raised her eyebrows. “How long are you staying?”

“A week or so,” Isabella said, resting her chin in her hand.

Kelsey laughed. “We’ll see about that when you observe me repeating outfits later in the week.”

“I don’t know, the idea of not lugging all this around is appealing in this relaxed environment,” Isabella said.