Chapter 3

Kelsey smiled and put an oyster, a shrimp, and a piece of fish on her plate. "Well, when I first got out of college I worked at a fertility clinic. I hadn"t had much luck in the love game and I wanted to have kids." She paused, picked up the oyster in the shell, added a few drops of hot sauce, and slid it into her mouth.

"Good?"

"Mmm." Kelsey nodded and widened her eyes. "Do you like them?"

"I do," Isabella said, then ate the oyster on her plate. "So?"

"So, I decided not to wait to find the right partner and went through IVF. When Dana was a little over a year old, I used the same donor and was able to get pregnant again. I had Emma and became a single mom of two."

Kelsey looked over and saw Isabella staring at her.

"You are so brave," Isabella finally said.

Kelsey shrugged. "I had help. My brother and his family live nearby, so the girls have grown up with their cousins. My mom and dad also helped."

"Still, you were so young. God, when I was twenty-four there was no way I could've had a kid," Isabella said.

"Parenthood is different for everyone," Kelsey said. "Hey, what's this?"

"What?"

"This." Kelsey pointed with her fork to a piece of fried food.

"Oh, that's conch. It's kind of like crab. Dip it in this sauce, it's yummy," Isabella said.

Kelsey followed Isabella's lead and tasted the fried food. "Mmm, that is good."

Isabella grinned. "Here, have a piece of this fish. It's delicious. What am I saying, it's all delicious." She giggled.

"It is." Kelsey smiled at Isabella and was suddenly glad she'd grabbed her bag off the luggage carousel. She hadn't expected to meet anyone on this trip, and thought she would be doing most things by herself.

Isabella returned her smile. "Thanks for having dinner with me. This is much better than eating at the bar."

"I was just thinking the same thing."

"Now, tell me what else I need to watch for since you made it through the teenage years with your girls."

Kelsey laughed. They continued eating, talking about their kids.

Their server came back to check on them as they were finishing up. "I wanted to let you know that the breeze off the water tonight is very nice. A moonlit walk along the beach would be lovely."

"Oh, thanks," Kelsey said, giving him a smile.

When he walked away, Isabella leaned over the table. "Oh, my God!" she said in an excited whisper. "He thinks we're a couple."

Kelsey chuckled. "Look around us, Bella. It's all couples. It wouldn't be a stretch to think we're together."

Isabella surveyed the restaurant and looked back at Kelsey with a smirk. "Okay, I guess I see what you mean."

"I was going to walk along the beach after dinner anyway. Would you like to join me?" Kelsey asked with a grin.

The corners of Isabella's mouth turned up. "Well, I can't let you go alone since we're a couple now."

Kelsey laughed.

Just then the server came back with their ticket. "Let me have that," Isabella said, taking it from his hands. "I'll put it on my room. My deal is all-inclusive."

"Mine is, too. Let me at least get the drinks," Kelsey said.

"You can get it tomorrow," Isabella winked.

Kelsey dropped her head and smiled. I may have found someone to hang out with while I'm here.

They left the restaurant and walked down the path to the beach. With her sandals dangling from one hand, Isabella could feel the cool sand between her toes. She gazed over at Kelsey and thought back to all they'd talked about at dinner.

"Why do you keep looking at me and looking away?" Kelsey asked.

"I was wondering…"

"Yes?"

"Did you date while the girls were growing up?"

"Not really. They kept me pretty busy and there wasn't much time for going out or meeting new people," Kelsey replied.

"Oh, wait!" Isabella said, stopping in the sand.

"What?"

"Were you hoping to have a little vacation fling? Am I messing that up for you?"

Kelsey turned to Isabella and laughed. "No! You probably didn't notice, but I haven't seen any single gay women roaming around the resort. So, I don't see a fling in my future."

"Oh, you're gay," Isabella said quietly, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes, I am. Is that a problem?"

"Not at all. I wondered when you said you hadn't found a partner." Isabella smiled and couldn't quite believe Kelsey didn't at least have a girlfriend. They may have just met, but Isabella could tell Kelsey was a nice person. Her dark brown hair was thick and curls fell at her shoulders. Then there were her eyes. Isabella had noticed at dinner they were hazel, a light brown, but she had a feeling they might look green or blue depending on what she was wearing.

"Maybe someday." Kelsey shrugged.

They began walking again and Isabella saw the bungalows coming into view. "It really is nice out tonight. Thanks again for having dinner with me."

"I had a great time. Thanks for taking a walk with me, especially after our server thought we were a couple," Kelsey replied.

"It didn't bother me."

"It seemed to."

"Not at all. It's just funny to me how we assume things about people just by looking at them and who they are with," Isabella explained.

"Do you mean how I thought you were staying for weeks when I saw your luggage?" Kelsey said, amused.

"Or how I thought after seeing you with one bag and your small purse that maybe you could teach me a few things about letting go," Isabella said.

"Letting go?"

"Yeah, maybe I don't need all this stuff, just a few things will do," Isabella said. She was hoping that instead of sulking about Christmas without her boys, maybe this could be a kind of reset for her life. Being a divorced mom was not going so well.

"Hmm, that may be true, but I don't know what all you have. Maybe you need everything," Kelsey said. "We're all different people."

Isabella nodded. "But we all learn from each other, too."

"I'm sure there are a few things you could teach me as well," Kelsey replied.

Isabella stopped and smiled. "You're just being nice again."

Kelsey chuckled. "You don't know that. I tried conch and I probably wouldn't have ordered it if we hadn't shared that platter."

"You're welcome, then." Isabella grinned.

Kelsey smiled as they neared the bungalows. "I think this is where I'm staying."

"You think? You don't know?"

"It's dark and I haven't seen it from the beach," Kelsey explained.

"I may be staying right next door." Isabella chuckled, looking at the row of bungalows. "Since we're both here alone, would you want to do something together tomorrow afternoon? I mean, we are a couple now."

Kelsey laughed. "Sure. I have a meeting in the morning but I'm free after that."

"You're not just here for Christmas at the beach then. Okay, well, I have to work in the morning, so…"

"So I'm not the only one working. Will you give me your phone number, so I can text you?" Kelsey asked, pulling out her phone.

"Of course." Isabella took the phone and entered her number then sent herself a text. "There you go."

Kelsey looked at her phone and chuckled. "You put your name in as Bella."

"That's what you call me." Isabella shrugged. "Look," she said, showing Kelsey her phone.

Kelsey threw her head back and laughed. What a nice laugh, Isabella thought. She hoped to hear it again.

"My other half?" Kelsey asked, handing the phone back to Isabella.

"Sure, we're a couple while we're here and you're the other half." Isabella chuckled.

"You're funny, Bella Burns. I'm so glad we ended up here together."

"Me, too."

The next morning Kelsey knocked on Carmen's open office door. "Good morning."

"Hey," Carmen said, getting up from behind her desk and taking a notebook with her. "Let's go in here."

Kelsey followed her into one of the meeting rooms.

"Our new brand consultant is meeting with us," Carmen said, sitting down at the table. "How was your night?"

Kelsey sat down across from Carmen and smiled. Once she was back in her bungalow last night, she'd thought back over her day. Isabella Burns had made what could've been a rather bittersweet day into a delightful one instead. She was glad to be at the beach, but she wasn't sure how much she'd enjoy it without her girls.

"I had a delicious dinner where I tried conch and then had a lovely walk on the beach," Kelsey said.

"Was the conch fried? You've got to have it sautéed in this scrumptious sauce our chef created," Carmen said.

"I'll try it," Kelsey replied.

"We're in here," Carmen said as someone walked past the door.

"Hi," Isabella said, walking into the room.

"Bella!" Kelsey exclaimed.

"Hey, Kelsey. Am I your meeting?"

"You two know each other?" Carmen asked.

Kelsey chuckled. "We met at the airport and had dinner last night," she said with a smile.

"Met might not be the right word." Isabella laughed. "Kelsey helped me with my luggage, but we had a wonderful dinner last night and a nice walk on the beach."

"Oh good. Your bungalows are right next to each other because I knew you both wanted to work while you're here," Carmen said. "Have a seat."

Isabella sat at the table next to Kelsey and took her computer out of her purse. "Sometimes a big purse comes in handy."

Kelsey chuckled and lifted her satchel from the floor and took out her computer as well. "I know."

Isabella laughed and hit Kelsey on the arm. "You were holding out on me."

"Not really. It was in my bag." Kelsey noticed the confused look on Carmen's face. "We were comparing luggage yesterday."

"Oh, okay," Carmen said. "I wanted the two of you to meet because Isabella has redesigned our brand and we want it on the website."

"You're the brand designer?" Kelsey said, turning to Isabella.

"Yeah. You're the web designer?"

Kelsey nodded. "I love what you've done with the brand."

"Thank you," Isabella said with a smile. "I love what you've done with the website."

"We think you're both the best," Carmen said. "That's why we wanted you both to experience the resort and see what other ideas you come up with while being here. We want to make Coral Bay the go-to resort in the Virgin Islands."

"From what I've seen so far, we have plenty to work with," Kelsey said, glancing over at Isabella.

"There's so much I want you to see," Carmen said. "St. John is a short ferry ride away and is home to one of my favorite bars in the islands as well as a beautiful national park. You can hike or ride bikes around the island. I also want you to go on one of our catamarans that offers day trips with snorkeling and other water adventures."

"That sounds wonderful. Is there anything better than a bar on the beach?" Isabella said.

"Hmm, I know the resort offers to set up excursions for their guests," Kelsey said. "Maybe you could offer packages for different types of guests."

"Oh yeah," Isabella said excitedly. "One for families, maybe something for couples or even for friends' trips."

"We offer destination wedding packages, but we could do something for bachelor or bachelorette parties as well. These are great ideas," Carmen said, quickly scribbling in her notebook.

"What about a guest blog or a travel blog by someone who gives a review on their stay at Coral Bay? They could write a daily post on each experience in a certain package," Kelsey said.

"Oh, I like that," Carmen said.

"I do, too, but I don't think you want a professional blogger. Hmm, I'm thinking," Isabella said, putting her finger to her chin.

"Right," Kelsey said, following Isabella's thought. "We need someone who has a following."

"What about an influencer?" Carmen asked.

Isabella raised her eyebrows at Kelsey. "I have an idea."