I wonder if I’ll ever find the person who complements me that way.
“Do me one favor, dear,” Grandmother adds as I’m about to leave. “While you’re at the resort, be sure to protect yourself.”
“I’ll wear plenty of sunscreen; don’t worry.”
“I didn’t mean sunscreen, though you’d do well to steer clear of sunspots.” She pats my cheek. “I meant, prophylactics. Condoms.”
And that’s what causes me to drop dead of embarrassment. The end.
Or so it seems as I leave Grandmother’s and wish I could wipe the memory of her saying that from my brain for all time.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Are you flipping kidding me?” I have to take off my sunglasses when stepping out of the cab, which picked us up at the airport. Like it matters whether or not I’m looking around with sunglasses on.
There are times when a person needs to see things without a filter.
Like right now.
“Why are you surprised?” Hayley shakes her head at me, standing by my side. “We looked at pictures on the website. Remember?”
“Sure, but it’s one thing to see something online and another to see it in front of you.” Somehow, I manage to pry my eyes away from the sparkling jewel in front of me long enough to shoot her a look. “Don’t tell me you don’t think this is impressive.”
“Oh, sure I do. I think it’s fucking stunning.” Spoken with Hayley’s usual style. “But I’m not gonna stand around with my jaw touching the ground either. Besides, we’re holding up the porter.” She hands a few bills to our driver, who’s on his way before I even think to thank him.
I would normally chafe at the way Hayley described me, but there’s more than a little bit of truth to what she said.
I’m completely overwhelmed, and I know it looks that way.
But seriously, this place could be part of a movie set. In fact, I think I’ve seen it in more than one movie. The sort of place an extremely wealthy, connected, fabulous person stays.
The main building, which we sail into behind the porter pushing our luggage on a wheeled rack, is completely white from roof to foundation, making it shine under the bright sun. It’s like a diamond nestled in blue velvet—that would be the sky, where not a single cloud is in sight.
From the moment we turned off the road, the fountains and palm trees lining both sides of the wide gravel drive leading to the main entrance told me this was going to be a special place. There are tropical flowers everywhere, and the aroma is enough to make me dizzy.
“Would you like a drink?” A young man in white linen approaches us as we wait at the concierge desk.
“I’ll have a mai tai.” Hayley turns to me, brows lifting.
“Just a water for me, thanks.” When her brows lift even higher, I shrug. “I’m exhausted, and I know it would go straight to my head.”
“Suit yourself, babe. As far as I’m concerned, we’re on vacation.”
Something tells me there’s more to it than that, but I’m willing to bite my tongue. The way her eyes keep roaming the lobby is a dead giveaway.
She needs a drink to calm her nerves before any family members show up and ask if she’s put on a little weight.
“You know, everybody’s going to be so busy fawning over your sister this week, they won’t even pay attention to you.” I’m trying to be helpful. I really am. “You could probably streak through the resort and nobody would notice.”
“How nice would that be for once?” She shoots me a grateful look. “You’re a good friend.”
“Who, me?” I point to myself with a shrug. “I’m just along for the ride.”
Our waiter comes back with beverages around the same time we step up to the desk.
“Ah, yes, our wedding party. How was your trip?” The girl behind the desk is all smiles as she looks back and forth between us.
“Early,” I groan, which earns me a giggle.
“You’ll have plenty of opportunities to rest and relax now that you’ve arrived. We’ve included all the information you’ll need here, in this folder.” She hands it to me before turning away to the table running the length of the wall behind her.
I didn’t notice them until now, too busy being glad we were finally there and staring in wonder at how beautiful everything is.
There’s a long row of baskets sitting there, overflowing with items. The poor girl grunts softly as she picks one of them up; it’s so heavy.
“Thank you for being part of our special day.” Hayley lets out a soft sigh upon reading the handwritten note pinned to the basket. “Kylie’s really outdone herself.”
She has too. There’s a bottle of wine with the names of the bride and groom printed on the label, two glasses, a candle, truffles, a little book titled Our Love Story, what I assume is an itinerary for the week, and more buried underneath.
“Wow. I’m … impressed.” I mean, there’s being extra, and there’s this. Not that I think I’d do much differently if this were my wedding.
Though let’s be honest. I’d have to hire somebody to do it for me since I’d find a way to lose track of everything before I even got started.
“I have nothing but respect for anybody able to put something like this together.”
We have to give the basket to the porter since it’s too awkward for even the two of us to carry together. He puts it with the luggage and follows the concierge’s instructions to find our room.
According to the map of the resort, the rooms are situated in various smaller buildings that sort of radiate from the main building in a half-circle. We step out of the main building and follow him down a flower-lined path to one of the outer longhouses.
“Ooh, there’s somewhere I wanna visit.” Hayley points to the pool, half-visible through even more thick, luscious flowers and palm trees.
“This is like heaven. Did we die and go to heaven?”
She laughs. “I doubt it. Though I’m sure Kylie would make up welcome baskets for that too.”
“Don’t be hard on her.”
“She’s a total social-media bride.”
“Oh shoot!” I forgot about taking pictures for my accounts. Before we reach the longhouse, I manage to snap a few shots of pretty flowers and trees against that startling, ridiculous blue sky.
“Don’t think so much about work.”
“I find that hilarious, coming from you. You’re the one who turned this trip into my working vacation, or did you forget?”
She’s wearing sunglasses, but I know she’s rolling her eyes. Call it a side effect of knowing somebody for a long time.
The rooms in the longhouse are positioned on either side of a long hallway.
“This is you, ladies.” The porter opens the door, using an electronic key.
And I pretty much have to lean against the doorframe to keep from hitting the floor. “Holy. Cow.”
I follow Hayley inside, and even she looks impressed. There are doors that open onto the beach. I mean, straight onto the beach with its white sand and blue-green water. We have a patio too. I can already imagine having breakfast out there.