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“Okay, so does it matter who knows?” Kelsey asked.

Isabella sighed. “It’s just us. We’re in our perfect little world with no problems. It’s nothing but you and me right now and I want to keep it like that as long as I can. I’m not naive, Kels. I know we’ll have challenges and things will come up, but do we have to have them now? I want to put them off as long as I can.”

“We will have challenges, but there’s no reason to put them off. We’ll face them together and as long as we do that everything will be all right. I believe in us, babe. You believe in us, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

“We have to think about this and prepare. That doesn’t mean we can’t do all the things you want to do. We simply need to talk, that’s all, nothing more than that.”

“I’ve never been in a shall we say different relationship,” Isabella said.

Kelsey raised her brows.

“The only reason our relationship is different is because it’s two women,” Isabella added. “I’ve always done what everyone expected, so I don’t know what is going to be coming at us.”

“Okay, I get that, but we’ll face the challenges together,” Kelsey said again.

“I think I understand now. We have to be prepared. This is not a time to be spontaneous,” Isabella said.

Kelsey walked over and pulled Isabella tightly against her. “There’s nothing wrong with being spontaneous.” She crushed her lips to Isabella’s in a deep, passionate kiss.

“Oh,” Isabella said, catching her breath. “I like the way you're spontaneous.”

Kelsey smiled, but still held Isabella close. “We never danced last night.”

“Uh, we were kind of busy doing another kind of dance.” Isabella giggled.

“How about now?” Kelsey said, reaching for her phone.

“We have to go out on the deck then.”

As Isabella opened the back door, Kelsey brought up “STRINGS” by MAX. As it began to play, she opened her arms. Isabella smiled and put her arms around Kelsey’s neck as she’d done many times before.

“The first time we danced to this song I felt like I was in a dream,” Kelsey said. “Your boldness never surprises me now, but it was a different story then.”

Isabella chuckled. “Something came over me when I heard that song and looked at you.”

“Oh, Bella,” Kelsey said softly. She inhaled to slow the emotions that suddenly raced through her body. “When I started to listen to the words, I realized they were true.” She smiled and began to sing along with the song. “‘Make my heart beat double time when you’re on me. Don’t you know that’s what you do?’”

“I didn’t know what was happening to me,” Isabella said, gazing into Kelsey’s eyes. She cupped the side of Kelsey’s face. “I thought it was the island magic Liz had been telling us about. But I couldn’t keep from thinking or talking about you after I got home and I knew there was more going on.”

Kelsey softly pressed her lips to Isabella’s and felt tears sting the back of her eyes. She couldn’t quite believe this incredible woman was falling in love with her.

As the song ended Kelsey pulled away. “I love you, Bella,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

“Oh, Kels. I love you, too,” Isabella said, pressing her lips to Kelsey’s. It was a tender kiss putting an exclamation point on the poignant moment.

Kelsey rested her forehead against Isabella’s and sighed. “I didn’t mean to get so emotional, but the song and this place…”

“It’s the perfect time for me to hear and say I love you,” Isabella said with a smile. “It’s us.”

“It’s so us.” Kelsey chuckled. She nuzzled Isabella’s neck and they held each other for a moment.

“Mmm,” Isabella murmured. “I’ll remember this moment for the rest of my life.”

They pulled away and smiled.

“Okay, let’s go see Carmen. I can handle anything with you.” Isabella winked.