Chapter 30

Kelsey was standing on the deck of the bungalow and couldn't wait to see Isabella. They had stayed at Peaches and had another drink with their friends before Sylvie took them back to St. Thomas to get ready for their date.

Riley, Alex, and Liz had planned a special evening for them and Kelsey couldn't quite believe it. She knew the islands could be magical, but she'd attributed that to the beautiful surroundings and how the people catered to tourists. But this was more than that. These were their friends and they were happy she and Isabella had found their way to each other.

Kelsey decided to stop questioning everything and just enjoy it. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let the sounds of the waves along with the breeze give her a moment of calm.

"Hey there, sexy," Isabella said from the back door.

Kelsey turned around and with one look at Isabella, she lost her breath. "Bella," she gasped. "You're so beautiful."

"Do you like it?" Isabella held the hem of her dress out and twirled in a circle.

She was wearing a short dress that hugged her waistline as the skirt flowed around her thighs. The spaghetti straps were hidden under her loose blond curls that rested on her shoulders. The azure color of the dress made Isabella's eyes sparkle an even deeper blue.

"I love it," Kelsey said. "I can't stop staring at you."

"Oh, honey. Look at you! I won't be able to take my eyes off of you all night," Isabella said.

It was Kelsey's turn to do a little twirl with a shy smile. She was wearing a soft floral print dress with a high-low hem and flowy skirt. It was a sleeveless V-neck, also with spaghetti straps, and an open back. It was more revealing than anything Kelsey had ever purchased for herself, but when she saw it she knew she wanted to wear it for Isabella.

Kelsey remembered Isabella commenting on their first trip how much she liked it when she wore her hair down. So Kelsey decided to let her curls hang loose just above her shoulders.

Isabella walked over and reached for Kelsey's hands. Kelsey watched as Isabella gazed up and down her body then met her eyes. "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, Kels."

Kelsey grinned. "We are a stunning couple."

Isabella leaned up and gently kissed Kelsey's lips. "Mmm, are we sure we want to do this? Our bungalow is pretty inviting right about now."

Kelsey chuckled. "Oh no, we're going out for a romantic evening, my gorgeous love."

They heard a knock at the door and Kelsey furrowed her brow. "I wonder who that could be?"

"We're not supposed to be at the dock to meet Sylvie for another twenty minutes," Isabella said.

Kelsey opened the door to find Carmen smiling at them.

"Hi," she said. "Oh, my. You both look absolutely incredible."

"Thank you," Isabella said. "We never get to dress up on these trips and it's fun."

"Is something wrong?" Kelsey asked with a flutter of uneasiness in her stomach.

"No, no. Everything is fine. I wanted to drive you to the dock to meet Sylvie," Carmen said.

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to," Carmen said. She looked at Kelsey then Isabella. "I feel bad about the whole situation. I really want you to have a special evening."

Kelsey glanced at Isabella and gave her hand a squeeze. "I know you have to do what's best for the resort. We understand, right, babe?"

Isabella nodded and smiled. "We do. It's been a bit of a whirlwind when you think about it. When Kelsey and I came here we never thought about making a new friend, much less falling in love. Here we are in the middle of a huge, dare I say, successful marketing campaign. We've fallen in love and now what do we do?" Isabella chuckled. "We'll figure it out together."

"Thank you for understanding. But tonight is all about your special first date. Shall we?" Carmen said, walking out the front door.

They walked down the path that led to the front of the resort. Kelsey felt Isabella put her arm through hers and smiled over at her.

"Hey, Kelsey. Hey, Isabella," someone called from the pool.

They stopped and two women approached them. "We've been following your trips and can't thank you enough for this one. When you announced this month was to relax and recharge, my friends and I couldn't make reservations soon enough."

"Oh, wow," Isabella said. "I'm so glad you're making time for yourselves."

"We did massages this afternoon after we saw your post this morning," the other woman said.

"Weren't they amazing?" Kelsey said.

"Oh, yeah," the two women said in unison.

"Tomorrow is a beach day," Isabella said. "The resort has the best attendants that will bring you anything you need."

"This is Carmen Oliver," Kelsey said. "She's the CEO of the resort and will make sure you have a wonderful time."

Carmen shook each of the women's hands and smiled.

"We don't mean to keep you. It was nice meeting you all," the woman said.

"Wait," the second woman said. "Could we get a picture with you?"

"Of course," Isabella replied.

"Let me take it," Carmen offered.

Kelsey gently put her arm around Isabella's waist as the women stood on either side of them. They all smiled and Kelsey couldn't imagine that these women would care if they knew they were a couple.

"Thank you," the woman said. "We'll post this in the comments and tag you both."

"Have a wonderful evening," Kelsey said.

"You, too," the second woman said. "You both look lovely."

As they walked away Carmen looked over at them but didn't say anything.

"Maybe we should just ask them," Isabella said.

"Ask them?"

"Yeah. Hey, thanks for coming to the resort," Isabella began. "You'll never guess what happened. Kelsey and I have fallen in love. Does that make you want to stop following us?"

Kelsey chuckled and played along. "Why no, Isabella. We're all about the rest and relaxation this trip. By the way, you both look amazing."

Carmen smirked and started towards the lobby. "You both do look amazing. Let's forget about all the other stuff and have a lovely evening."

Kelsey smiled at Isabella and put her arm through hers. "I already am."

Sylvie was waiting at the dock and whisked them over to Peaches. It was such a beautiful night and the stars were beginning to come out. The moon was shining bright and lighting their way across the calm water.

Once they were on shore, Sylvie drove them to Peaches where they walked in to find Liz, Riley, and Alex waiting for them.

"Welcome," Riley said. "We have a special table for you. If you'll follow me."

"Wait, what about all of you?" Isabella asked.

"We'll take you back when you're ready. No hurry," Sylvie said.

"Liz and Alex are taking care of the bar and I'm taking care of you," Riley said with a grin. "Now, please follow me."

Kelsey held out her arm to Isabella and they followed Riley through the door and up to their apartment.

"I know you've been up here before, but it's quite the romantic spot when the moon is out and the stars are shining," Riley said.

They went through the bedroom up to the rooftop where a string of lights adorned the sitting area. There was a table set off to one side and Riley reached into the small refrigerator for a bottle of wine.

"Riley, this is beautiful," Isabella said.

She poured each of them a glass of wine. "Take a little time to enjoy your drink and I'll be back up with dinner shortly."

"Thank you," Kelsey said.

"It's our pleasure," Riley said with a wink then left them alone.

Isabella raised her glass. "To our first date of many."

Kelsey smiled and touched her glass to Isabella's. She took a sip of her wine, but her eyes never left Isabella's. "Are you sure about all this?"

Isabella raised her brows then her face relaxed into the most beautiful smile. "I am. I know we'll have challenges to overcome along the way, but I'm sure about you and me."

Kelsey grinned. "I wanted to give you one more chance because I'm never letting you go, Bella." She reached for Isabella's hand and led them over to the edge of the deck. They looked out over the water, a blanket of stars above them.

"I don't like this idea of hiding our relationship," Isabella said. "I know I haven't been in your shoes, Kels, or faced the things you have, but I don't think I can hide this happiness I feel. People are going to know."

"I don't like it either," Kelsey replied. "I'm not sure hiding it is the right thing to do. I agree with you that honesty would be the best way to handle it."

"Maybe we could drop little hints here and there and see what happens," Isabella said, taking a sip of her wine.

"Hmm," Kelsey murmured. "Why would we act any differently than we have? I mean, I'm not going to post that picture we took last month of us kissing. That's for us. Let's do our regular thing tomorrow on the beach and see how it goes."

"We'll see if we act any differently," Isabella said.

"Good plan." Kelsey leaned over and kissed Isabella softly.

"I was thinking," Isabella said. "Do you have to go back to Denver once we land in Charlotte?"

Kelsey tilted her head. "I guess I don't. Why?"

"Well, if you're not letting me go, don't you think it's time you met Wyatt and Gus in person?" Isabella said, raising one eyebrow. "Stay with us a few days before you go back to Denver."

Kelsey widened her eyes. She had talked to the boys regularly since starting this marketing campaign. They had all done video calls and the boys were often in the background when she talked to Isabella.

"Is that fear in your eyes, babe?" Isabella asked, amused.

"No, it's just that my girls love you and…"

"And my boys are going to love you. They ask you about the family vacation every week."

"Are you sure?" Kelsey said

"You keep asking me that," Isabella said. "Maybe I need to ask you?"

Kelsey reached for their glasses and put them on a nearby table. She put her hands on Isabella's hips. "I've told you that I want you here and also in our real life. We haven't talked about what's next, but I love you and what I see is our big happy family."

Isabella put her hands on Kelsey's cheeks and cradled her face. "Oh, Kels. I love you, too. That's exactly what I want."

Kelsey pressed her lips to Isabella's in a heated kiss. She pulled her closer and deepened the kiss as Isabella's arms wrapped around her neck.

"Mmm," Isabella moaned, gasping for a breath.

They heard Riley coming up the stairs and Kelsey quickly kissed Isabella again.

"There will be more of that later," Isabella said softly.

Kelsey giggled and handed Isabella her wine. "Much more."

"Hey," Riley said, stepping onto the deck with a bag of food. "Dinner is served. I've brought a variety of seafood."

"Oh wow, Riley," Kelsey said, helping her set out the food.

"That's what we had the first time we had dinner together," Isabella said.

"There is a Wi-Fi speaker over on that table if you want to play music. Do you need anything else?" Riley asked.

"I don't think so," Kelsey said, looking over the spread before them.

"If you need anything, text me. Other than that you're welcome to stay up here as long as you want," Riley said.

"Thank you, Riley. You're spoiling us," Isabella said.

"Nonsense. You're our friends and we're happy to do it. One of these days we'll visit you in the states and I know you'd do the same for us."

"We'd love that!" Kelsey exclaimed.

Riley smiled. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."

They watched her go down the stairs then turned to their feast.