Chapter 5

"Kelsey, look at you," Isabella said, sitting in the lounge chair next to her. "That swimsuit. The color is perfect for you. How has some lesbian not snatched you up?"

Kelsey chuckled and took off her sunglasses. "What about you with that blond hair, those sparkling blue eyes, and that winning smile?"

Isabella gave her a cheesy smile. "But is this smile good enough to win you over to this grand idea?"

"We'll see. What about my earlier question? Do you have a friend you'd rather do this with?"

"I've been thinking about it," Isabella said seriously. She looked into Kelsey's eyes and noticed they had a blue-green tint reflecting the nearby water. They were beautiful and serious, but she also saw a hint of amusement.

"I don't have a friend I would want to come back here with every month. I only want you. What better way to get to know each other and make a new friend?" Isabella said honestly.

Kelsey smiled. "I thought about it, too, and you're right. There's no one I want to do this with but you."

Isabella's smile was brighter than the sun. "Does that mean you'll do it?"

Kelsey nodded. "We both know that our responsibility is to Coral Bay. I don't think our friends would understand that the way we do."

"I agree, but we can have some fun along the way. Can't we?"

Kelsey laughed. "We'd better. That's the whole idea, isn't it?"

Isabella leaned back and released a relieved breath. "Do we need a drink to toast to our new partnership?"

"I brought you a bottle of water," Kelsey said, reaching into her bag and handing the bottle to Isabella. "I have to pace myself if I'm going to make it all day."

"Oh, this is going to be a beautiful friendship," Isabella said, opening the bottle. "You will keep us on task and semi-clear headed."

"I'm glad you think that, but honestly, I love these drinks so much that if I didn't pace myself, I'd be drunk and asleep before the sun sets."

Isabella chuckled. "I'd be right there with you."

Kelsey held her bottle to Isabella's. "Let's have the time of our lives and show the world what a jewel Coral Bay truly is."

"To the time of our lives," Isabella said, touching her bottle to Kelsey's then taking a big gulp.

"So tell me, Bella," Kelsey said with an inquisitive tone, "why has someone not snatched you up?"

"Oh, God, Kels," Isabella groaned. How could she tell her she hadn't even thought about a man since the problems began with her husband?

"Come on. Have you dated since your divorce?"

"I haven't nor have I had the desire to," Isabella said. "I wouldn't even know how to go on a date." She looked over at Kelsey and saw a compassionate smile; then she furrowed her brow. "What is it?"

"Uh oh. I'm rethinking our marketability. I haven't been on a date in forever."

Isabella chuckled. "So what? We didn't sign up to find love on these excursions. We're just out for a little adventure."

Kelsey raised her eyebrows. "That might be an angle we could explore."

Isabella dropped her chin and stared at Kelsey. "Are you saying we should look for love interests while we're on these little rendezvous?"

"Not for me. For you!" Kelsey exclaimed.

"Why not you? Why not both of us?" Isabella shrugged.

"I thought you had no desire," Kelsey said, lowering her voice.

Isabella smiled. "I don't want to be single for the rest of my life. Eventually I want to find someone who is more than a friend."

Kelsey smiled and took a drink from her water bottle. "I am patiently waiting for you to continue."

Isabella chuckled. "So this is the getting to know each other part, I guess."

"Well, since we are a couple I think it would be a good idea, don't you?"

Isabella saw the kind smile on Kelsey's face and realized how easy she was to talk to. They may not have known each other long, but she got the idea that Kelsey was not one to judge.

"Spencer, that's my ex-husband, and I had very different ideas of marriage. How we didn't know this before we got married still baffles me. He wanted the traditional Southern marriage where the wife stays at home and raises the kids. To put it mildly, I did not want that."

Kelsey furrowed her brow. "I don't see you as the stay at home type."

"Exactly. So I found something I was good at and could do around raising my boys. That meant we shared responsibilities of the family and even though I worked mainly from home, sometimes he had to do his part."

"And he didn't like that?"

"No, he liked the idea of me being home and handling most of the day to day things. But we're great at co-parenting so far." Isabella looked over at Kelsey and tilted her head. "You had to do everything, didn't you?"

"I'm kind of like you. I found something I was good at and could do from home while the girls were younger. I did most of my work while they were in school and scheduled their activities around the rest of my workday. It was quite a balancing act at times and it meant some late nights for me after they went to bed," Kelsey explained.

"Did you wish you had a partner to help?"

Kelsey sighed. "There were times when I wished I had a partner to share things with. Sure, it would be easy to want help when they didn't want to do homework, take a bath, or were just generally cranky. But for me, it would've been nice to have someone when they did things I was proud of. Like when they took their first steps or did well in school. It would've been nice to turn to someone and be excited for them together. It was a lot of little things."

Isabella couldn't keep from reaching over and squeezing Kelsey's hand. "And now?"

Kelsey smiled. "They will both graduate soon and begin their careers. I know Emma will likely end up in the D.C. area immersed in politics and I wouldn't be surprised if Dana moved after she finishes her nursing degree. I get the feeling she's ready to leave the mountains, which is a big deal for her."

Isabella smiled. "You really know your daughters."

Kelsey shrugged. "I hope so. I want them to always know they can come to me with anything. We all need someone we can count on."

"A partner would be nice for that," Isabella said as she looked out over the water.

"Yeah," Kelsey replied wistfully.

Isabella sat up and turned to Kelsey with a warm smile and extended her hand. "Well, Kels, you can count on me for the next year to be right here, by your side, doing all kinds of crazy adventures."

Kelsey met Isabella's eyes and took her hand. "Okay, then. You can count on me as well, Bella."

They shook hands and both chuckled.

"I think it's time for a drink," Isabella said.

"Would you look at that, here comes an attendant. Make a note of how they appear just when you need them," Kelsey said with a grin.

Isabella took out her computer and began to tap the keyboard. "I'm making a document we can share for notes. We may as well start now. Oh wait, I have an email from Carmen. I think it's our itinerary for tomorrow."

"Good afternoon, ladies. I'm Luis," the attendant said with a smile. "Is there anything I can get you?"

"Hi, Luis. You are here just when we need you," Isabella said.

"That's my job," he replied with a grin.

Kelsey chuckled. "Do you have a nice frozen cocktail that's perfect for the beach?"

"I have a frozen mango or pineapple daiquiri that is delicious. Or there's always the classic margarita," he replied.

"Oh, the frozen mango for me, please," Isabella said.

"I'll have the pineapple," Kelsey added. "We can share," she said to Isabella.

"I'll be right back," Luis said.

"I like how we've settled on this sharing thing," Isabella said.

"It'll make our reviews more interesting." Kelsey winked at her.

Isabella laughed. "Have we already started the job?"

"We're simply taking notes, right?" Kelsey grinned.

"Right." Isabella nodded and looked back at her computer. "Here's our itinerary for tomorrow. She sent this to both of us. First, we have breakfast here then we take the ferry to St. John."

"Hold on," Kelsey said, taking her tablet from her bag. "I'll follow along."

Isabella waited so she could pull the email up then continued. "Once there, they'll provide us with snorkeling gear and we'll hike to Honeymoon Beach," she said excitedly.

"Hmm, it's about a one mile hike. We'll have to carry the snorkeling gear and they'll also provide lunch to take with us. We can do that, right?" Kelsey asked.

"Yes, it can't be too difficult or they wouldn't suggest it," Isabella said.

"We'll spend the morning and part of the afternoon on the beach. They have the leaning palms and we might even see sea turtles. Then we go back to the trailhead where we can rent bikes to pedal around the island," Kelsey read from the email. Her phone began to ring and she fished it out of her bag. "Oh, that's Dana, my oldest," she said to Isabella.

"Go ahead and take it."

"Hi, honey," Kelsey said, connecting the call on speakerphone.

"Hi, Mom. I just got off the mountain and my face is frozen. I knew you could warm me up," Dana said.

Kelsey chuckled. "I'm sitting under an umbrella on the beach watching the waves roll in. I just ordered a frozen pineapple daiquiri."

"Mom!"

"I told you that you and Emma should have come with me."

"Which swimsuit are you wearing today?"

"The girls helped me pack," Kelsey said to Isabella.

"Of course they did." Isabella laughed.

"Who are you talking to?" Dana asked.

"My new friend, Bella. I'm wearing the blue one piece," Kelsey said.

"She looks amazing!" Isabella said loudly.

"I knew you would!" Dana exclaimed. "I won't ask if you're having fun because the beach and a frozen drink sound heavenly right about now."

"I'll tell you all about it when I get home," Kelsey said.

"Thanks, Mom. I'm warmer already. Have fun. I miss you," Dana said.

"I love you, sweetie," Kelsey said.

"Love you, too."

Isabella smiled at Kelsey. She'd enjoyed watching their conversation unfold. It was easy to hear the love in Kelsey's voice and see the joy on her face. "Show me their pictures," she said to Kelsey once the call ended.

Kelsey opened the photo app on her phone. "This is Dana," she said, leaning over to show Isabella. "And this is Emma."

"They both have your pretty eyes," Isabella said. "Yours are a beautiful shade of blue-green today."

"Thank you," Kelsey said shyly. "Let me see pictures of your boys."

Isabella took out her phone and pulled up a photo. "This is Wyatt and that's Gus. His name is Augustus and we call him Auggie sometimes, but he's our Gus."

"They are beautiful," Kelsey said. "Their hair is a little darker than yours, but they have those blue eyes."

"I guess we both passed along our gorgeous eyes," Isabella said with a grin.

Kelsey chuckled. "I like your confidence, Bella."

Isabella smiled. She wished she felt as confident as she sounded on most things. "That's not confidence, it's fact. We both have nice eyes."

"We do!" Kelsey nodded. "Perhaps you're teaching me to be a bit more factual."

Isabella laughed. "Honey, if you've got it, own it."

Kelsey laughed with her. "Okay, let's go back to St. John. What's next?"

Isabella turned back to her computer but noted Kelsey's shyness when talking about her beauty. She stole a glance towards Kelsey and wondered if she realized just how beautiful she was. Isabella knew she had been turning heads all her life. There was something about blond hair and blue eyes coupled with her Southern accent that made people notice her. But Kelsey had more than just good looks. She had a presence about her that was inviting and friendly.

"You're staring at me, not the itinerary," Kelsey said.

Isabella snapped her attention back to her computer.