Chapter 2

Isabella walked into her bungalow and gasped. "Wow, this is incredible."

"I'm glad you like it," Nadia said. "Where would you like me to leave your luggage?"

"Let's see," Isabella said, looking around the large room. "How about over there?"

Nadia rolled the bags in front of the closet. "Carmen has assigned me to be your assistant while you're here. If you need anything at all, simply call the front desk."

"Don't you get to go home at night?"

Nadia chuckled. "I'm here a lot, but yes, I go home at night. Someone will always be at reception if you need anything while I'm not here."

"Thank you," Isabella said. "Do you do this for all your guests?"

Nadia smiled. "Well, not everyone, but we try to be extra available to our guests in the bungalows since you're not in the main building of the resort."

"Carmen didn't have to do that for me. I'm supposed to be working," Isabella said.

"I hope you'll be able to enjoy the resort as well."

"Oh, I plan to," Isabella said. "Let me get something for you."

"No, ma'am. I'm here for you. It's all part of our service," Nadia said.

Isabella tilted her head. "Are you sure? I don't feel right not giving you something."

"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.

"The fewer things I have to carry with me, the better," Kelsey said as their server appeared with menus.

"Could you bring us two delicious fruity drinks fit for this paradise?" Isabella asked, looking over at Kelsey.

She nodded and the server disappeared to get their drinks, letting them peruse the menu.

"I have two boys," Isabella said, leaning over the small table. "I'm never without snacks or maybe a dinosaur or two in my purse."

Kelsey chuckled. "I remember those days."

Isabella studied Kelsey again and tilted her head. "Do you have kids?"

Kelsey nodded. "Two daughters, but they are in their twenties now."

"What!" Isabella exclaimed, surprised. "You must have been a teenager when you had them."

Kelsey thought for a moment. "My oldest, Dana, is twenty-four and Emma is twenty-two. Your comment made me realize that I was Dana's age when I had her."

"Really? I thought we were the same age," Isabella said.

"How old are your boys?"

"Wyatt, my oldest, is thirteen and Gus is ten," Isabella said.

"Oh, you're getting to the fun stuff then—teenagers," Kelsey said, widening her eyes. "I think you're a lot younger than I am."

Isabella shook her head. "I'm forty. That's not far behind forty-eight, but I swear, Kelsey, you don't look it."

Their server set two drinks down that were the color of the sunset. Each had a skewer with a piece of pineapple and a cherry.

"Oh, these look delicious," Isabella said, holding up her glass. "To my first Christmas without my boys and no, I'm not taking it well."

Kelsey clinked her glass to Isabella's. "I get it. My girls didn't want to have Christmas with me."

They both sipped from their drinks and nodded in approval.

"What do you mean they didn't want to have Christmas with you?"

Kelsey paused. "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

"Yes, it might make me feel better about my situation."

"Okay, here goes. I'm from Denver. Dana is in nursing school and has been a patrol and rescue skier since she was a teenager. She stays on the mountain during the holidays, but usually makes it down for Christmas Day. Emma, my youngest, is in the last year of her political science degree and got the opportunity to go to California with her roommate whose mother happens to be a congresswoman. She's in heaven right now. So…" Kelsey paused to take another sip of her drink.

"So?"

"The girls know I've always wanted to spend Christmas at the beach. Be careful what you tell your kids," Kelsey said, leaning over the table. "They thought it would be a great idea for me to come on this beach getaway while they"re doing their own thing for Christmas. I don't think either of them realized I wanted to spend Christmas at the beach as a family."

"Oh, okay. I'll remember that. Be specific," Isabella said, narrowing her eyes.

"Exactly." Kelsey nodded. "Now, what about you? You said this was your first Christmas without your boys?"

Just then their server came back to take their orders.

"Would you want to order the seafood sampler and split it?" Isabella asked. "We can try everything that way."

"That sounds good," Kelsey replied.

"And bring us another round of these drinks, please," Isabella said.

When the server left the table and after another sip of their drinks, Kelsey said, "Okay, Bella. It's your turn."

Isabella scoffed. "You called me Bella."

Kelsey furrowed her brow. "Isn't that your name?"

Isabella shrugged. "My name is Isabella."

Kelsey sighed. "I barely heard your name on the bus. The traffic was kind of loud until we left the airport. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You can call me Bella. I kind of like it."

"Are you sure?"

Isabella nodded.

"I like your Southern accent," Kelsey said with a smile. "Now, about your boys?"

"I've been divorced for two years. We alternate holidays. I had the boys last Christmas and it's my ex-husband's turn. I didn't think it would be a big deal because we both live in Charlotte, but he decided to take them to New York to be with his family."

"I'm sorry. That must be hard," Kelsey said compassionately.

"I started to work over the holidays, but decided getting out of town would keep me from bringing my friends down. Can you imagine how awful it would be to spend Christmas with my friends and their kids? Anyway, I can work from anywhere, so here I am."

"So we're both single moms spending Christmas without our kids," Kelsey said with a frown.

"Yep. Hey wait, what about your girls' father?"

Kelsey raised her eyebrows and noticed their server coming towards their table. "That's a whole other story."

Isabella tilted her head and furrowed her brow.

Their server set the large platter of food in the middle of the table and gave them each a plate. Another server was right behind him with their second round of drinks. Once they had everything on the table and the servers were gone, Isabella raised her eyebrows.

"I'm all ears."