Chapter 12

"Hey," Kelsey said as Sylvie drove into the circular driveway of the resort. "You work on St. Thomas, too?"

Sylvie gave her an amused grin. "No work today, ladies. Today, we play."

Kelsey and Isabella looked through to the passenger side of the car and saw Carmen smiling.

"Merry Christmas," she said. "Hop in."

Once Kelsey and Isabella were settled in the back seat, Carmen turned around. "Did I not tell you Sylvie is my wife?" She winked at Sylvie and Kelsey heard them both chuckle.

"No wonder Sylvie knew exactly what we needed when we needed it," Isabella said.

"Not true," Sylvie said. "I gave you the same service I give all my guests."

Carmen turned to look at them. "Sylvie has her own outfitter company and I run the resort."

"Please tell me you share clients," Kelsey said.

They chuckled. "We do, but we all try to share guests on the islands," Carmen said.

"Let me guess. It's the island way," Isabella said.

"Exactly." Sylvie chuckled.

They pulled into a parking area, walked down a dock, and stopped at a boat.

"Is this yours?" Kelsey asked.

"Yep," Sylvie said, stepping onto it and holding out her hand for Carmen then Kelsey and Isabella.

"Is having a boat on the islands kind of like having a car on the mainland?" Isabella asked.

"Sort of," Carmen replied as she made sure they wouldn't hit the sides of the boat slip as Sylvie backed the boat out. "We love to spend time on the water when we're not working."

"I don't use this boat for anything but us," Sylvie said, smiling at Carmen.

"I thought you said your kids were joining us," Kelsey said.

"They are," Carmen replied. "They have gone sailing with a friend."

"They'll drop them at the beach behind Peaches and they'll ride back with us," Sylvie explained.

As they sped across the water to St. John, Kelsey leaned back, in awe of the incredible view. "I can't get over how beautiful it is. One thing we want to talk about in the video and blog is the beauty of this place. I can't imagine ever getting used to it."

"Yeah, I wonder what we'll think as the year goes along," Isabella added. "I can't imagine not being amazed, though."

"I still enjoy going to work every morning," Sylvie said. "I get to see this on my way to St. John. There are times it looks different depending on the weather, but it's always beautiful to me."

"I suspect it will be just as beautiful next December as it is now," Kelsey said. "Maybe I should think about retiring here."

"You could!" Carmen said excitedly.

"Would you miss the mountains?" Isabella asked.

"Nah, I'm a beach kind of girl." Kelsey smiled.

"You know, what's stopping you now?" Carmen asked. "You can work from anywhere. Maybe you both should think about that as you come back each month."

"Oh, I could just see the fit Spencer would throw if I tried to move the boys out of North Carolina," Isabella scoffed.

"They have two parents," Sylvie said.

"Yeah, but we put a stipulation in the divorce agreement about staying in North Carolina," Isabella explained.

"You have to stay there?" Kelsey asked.

"Not exactly. Spencer and I have an agreement if either of us want to leave the state," Isabella replied. "We did that so the boys could have a stable living environment, but if something comes along it doesn't mean we can't talk about it."

"So you have options?" Kelsey asked.

Isabella shrugged. "Kind of."

"Here we are," Carmen said, moving to the front of the boat.

"We'll tie up to this buoy, set the anchor, and walk onto the patio at Peaches," Sylvie said. "It's the back way."

Kelsey looked out over the water to the sand and saw the familiar patio. "I guess it isn't deep?"

Carmen chuckled. "It's about knee deep. Come on." She held out her hand and helped each of them slide off the boat and into the water.

"This is awesome!" Kelsey exclaimed as they walked through the water. She reached over and grabbed Isabella's hand. "Have you ever taken a boat to a bar?"

Isabella giggled. "I don't think I have."

Liz, Alex, and Riley welcomed them as they ambled through the sand and onto the patio.

The conversation was lively and the beer flowed. Not long after they'd arrived, Carmen and Sylvie's kids walked up from the other end of the beach.

"Kelsey and Isabella," Carmen said. "This is my son, Tanner, and daughter, Mia."

"It's nice to meet you," Kelsey greeted them. She figured they were around Dana and Emma's ages, maybe a little older.

"Mom told us about this big marketing program you're planning," Tanner said.

"You don't approve?" Kelsey asked, hearing doubt in his voice.

"It's not that," he said. "It's a big undertaking."

"It is, but we're ready for it," Isabella said. "If it takes off like we hope, just imagine the traffic it can bring to the resort."

"And to Mom's business on St. John," Mia added. "Tanner thinks he knows everything about the resort business."

"No I don't, but it's different when you have something exotic like here compared to a city—" Tanner said.

"Like Denver or Charlotte?" Isabella interrupted, smiling at Kelsey.

"You have to find the thing to sell where you are," Kelsey said, looking at Tanner and Mia. "I have an idea. We're doing a spring break getaway in March. My daughters and a couple of their friends will be the focus group. Could both of you come back then and join the group?"

"You both know these islands better than we do and could give the trip a personal touch," Isabella added.

"Really? That sounds like fun," Mia said.

"Tanner, do you know about deals that maybe we don't?" Kelsey asked. "We'd love to do a long weekend on a budget, so everyone could experience this beautiful place."

Tanner smiled. "I might know of a few ways to save money and still have the island experience."

"I hope it involves your mom's resort. We are doing this for Coral Bay," Isabella pointed out.

"Coral Bay is the best place to stay," Tanner said. "My mom knows what she's doing."

Kelsey chuckled. "We think she does, too."

"Are you not going to give me a hug?" Liz asked as she held out her arms to the kids.

They both gave Liz a hug and Kelsey and Isabella went inside for another beer.

"I've got refills right here," Riley said from behind the bar.

"You know, you should really think about working from here," Isabella said, sitting on one of the bar stools.

"I don't know," Kelsey said. "It seems too good to be true for someone like me."

"Someone like you? What does that mean, Kels? You are an incredible person."

"You've only known me a few days."

"I've known you less than that and I agree with Isabella," Riley said. "If you spend a lot of time here, you get to where you can read people."

"How did you do it? Liz told us you came here for a wedding, fell in love with Alex, and moved here in a matter of weeks," Kelsey said.

Riley smiled and set a fresh beer in front of each of them. "I had just retired. I was a teacher," she said. "I wasn't sure what I wanted to do next, but when I met Alex I knew who I wanted to do whatever with. It was scary and I had a ton of doubts."

"It's different living here than visiting, isn't it?" Isabella asked.

"Yeah, but for me everything was wide open. I didn't have to work and I could stay here long enough to see if what Alex and I shared was more than just an island fling," Riley said.

"Kelsey could work from here," Isabella said. "We both work from home."

"Then you could move here, too," Riley said.

Isabella shook her head. "My boys are in North Carolina."

"They won't always be there," Riley said. "Maybe this is an option for both of you to think about."

Kelsey looked at Isabella and widened her eyes. "That's another angle we could explore in our monthly trips. People who work from home could vacation for longer here."

"I hope you two aren't always working," Riley said.

Isabella chuckled. "We're not, but this is a big deal to us and we want to make you even more successful."

Riley chuckled. "More business is always nice, but to keep our laid-back charm we don't need too many people. However, you two will always have a place here."

"Thank you," Kelsey said, putting her arm around Isabella's shoulder.

Isabella grinned at her and they sipped their beers. Kelsey wasn't sure why, but she'd found herself reaching to put an arm around Isabella or squeezing her hand at different times during the day. She blamed the fact that it was Christmas Day and when she'd first seen Isabella this morning she was upset, but Kelsey felt closer and closer to Isabella the more time they spent together.

Kelsey followed Riley and Isabella through the back door to the patio.

"Babe, you might want to tell Kelsey that living and working here is a little different than vacationing here," Riley said, sitting down next to Alex.

"I don't know about that," Alex said. "You still get to hang out in the most beautiful place on our planet. The weather is nice most of the time. You can swim and walk along the beach every day, plus get your work done."

"You're really selling it, Alex." Isabella chuckled.

"Isabella and I were talking earlier about the things you do on vacation that you might not do in your everyday life," Kelsey said.

"Yeah, these are escapes from your everyday life and once you get back home, it's back to the real world," Isabella said.

"What you're saying is that you can't be on vacation all the time, but I think you can bring this kind of escape into your everyday life. Alex stayed and look what she got," Liz said, smiling at Alex and Riley.

"I stayed and look what I got," Riley said, nuzzling Alex's neck and kissing her on the cheek.

"That is all very tempting," Isabella said. "But it would be at least ten years before I could make the big escape to live here since my boys are younger. You all had your kids when you were kids."

Kelsey chuckled. "That doesn't mean once they"re grown they don't still need you."

"Yeah, but they can need you while you live in the Virgin Islands." Carmen grinned.

Kelsey looked around the table at this group of women. She was pretty sure they had all come from different walks of life but had become friends in this magical place.

Kelsey tried to picture what it would be like to live here. She'd fit right in with this group. They had already welcomed her and Isabella. But when she thought about it, the idea of being here without Isabella didn't feel right. Kelsey chuckled when she thought: we're a couple.

Isabella leaned over. "What's funny?" she asked quietly while Liz told a story at the other end of the table.

Kelsey smiled. "I was trying to imagine living here. It wouldn't be the same without you, Bella, so I guess I'll have to wait until you're ready."

"What a nice thing to say," Isabella said. "But we'll see about that. You may be sick of me by the end of the year."

"No way," Kelsey said. "We're a couple."

Isabella chuckled and smiled at Kelsey. That was the winning smile that Kelsey was used to seeing and beginning to love.

"Hey, I have a Christmas present for you when we get back to our bungalows," Isabella said quietly.

Kelsey's eyes widened in surprise. "You do? You didn't buy something from the gift shop this morning, did you?"

"Nope."

Kelsey grinned. "Well, I have something for you, too."

"Merry Christmas to us," Isabella said, putting her arm around Kelsey's shoulders.