Epilogue

Simon eased himself into the seat next to the driver, wondering why he'd let Max talk him into coming to the island, and dreading the next two weeks. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the tropics, there was nothing he loved more than a beach full of half-naked women, but the way his friend had described the resort had him a bit worried. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he liked all the comforts in his life; the idea of roughing it didn't appeal much to him, but Max had always been there for him, so he gave in.

Letting out a long sigh, he looked around the boat, spotting a pretty blonde sitting in the front of the boat. "Who's that?" he asked the driver. "She's a pretty little thing, looks a little lonely sitting up there all by herself."

"She's a guest, sir," the driver said. "That's all I can tell you."

"Well, you're no fun," he said, getting to his feet. "I think I'll go make her day. I bet I can get a kiss out of her before we get to the dock."

He stumbled just a bit as he made his way to the front of the boat, but the blonde didn't notice. "Is this seat taken?" he asked, giving her one of his best smiles. "It looks like we're going the same way. Are you on vacation, too?"

"Vacation, oh, yes, that's what I'm doing," the blonde said, and his confidence began to grow. "I'm sorry, I'm Kira. It's nice to meet you."

He picked up her hand and kissed the center of her palm. "Kira, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman," he said, flashing her another smile. "I'm here on vacation too. Maybe we could spend some time together."

"Oh, I don't know……I'm not really……that is, I'm here to get my head together," she said, then her cheeks turned pink. "You know what I mean, but thanks for the offer anyway. Oh, look, there's the dock. I can't wait to see the island."

Shocked that he'd been turned down, he could only stumble back to his seat. "Now I wish I'd taken that bet," the driver said, a little smile on his face. "That would have been easy money. "