Chapter One
The dude-bro standing in front of her treadmill huffed and puffed as he lifted free weights in the resort fitness suite. For the life of her, Drea Miller could not understand why people went on vacation and still got up early to work out. Why would you fly thousands of miles to paradise only to still be a slave to your alarm?
Should I ever go on an actual real vacation, you won’t catch me in the gym, she thought as she continued to pound away on the moving belt, trying to keep her focus on her own breathing and heart rate rather than the borderline-disturbing noises coming from the only other person in the room. Seriously, if she could hear him over her headphones, she could only imagine what it sounded like without.
To say she’d never taken a real vacation would be a lie. Her uncles had taken her to the mainland a number of times when she was growing up; they had wanted to make sure she saw things like the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, and the Alamo. But going on a long-haul field trip with your three bachelor uncles, disguised as an adventure, wasn’t exactly in the same category as the luxury all-inclusive experience that the Indigo Royal Resort was known for.
Dude-bro let out a loud grunt and dropped the weights in his hands, letting them hit the mats he was standing on just as Drea was starting to slow down to a speed-walk for her cooldown. He picked the weights up and walked them back over to the rack, looking in the mirror the whole time, and then winked at her. Well, there went her hope that he’d been eyeing himself in the mirror during the workout rather than her. She smiled back politely then quickly looked down at her phone, trying to push him out the door with her mind, hoping with all her being he wasn’t going to try to engage her in conversation. After a moment of scrolling through her workout playlist she looked up, hoping he had left. Apparently, she was not going to be that lucky.
“Hey,” he said, jutting his chin out with a grin, trying to be suave.
“Hi,” Drea replied, not bothering to stop what she was doing, hoping he’d take a hint.
“Glad to see I’m not the only fitness enthusiast here. The last couple of mornings I was starting to think maybe I’d have the place to myself the whole time.”
Drea had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at his lame attempt at a conversation starter. She had no idea how long he’d been at the resort, and didn’t really care. But she couldn’t exactly tell him that.
“I usually do my morning runs on the beach,” she responded. “But, I’ve got an early excursion, so...here I am.”
“Gotcha. Which one? My buddies wanna go on some boat tour thingy this morning, so we may hit that up,” he said, stepping around to the side of the treadmill so that he was now immediately to her left. She could smell the booze radiating from his breath and out of his pores as he did so, making her have to stop herself from visibly cringing.
“Oh, the Turtle Cove snorkel? That one is really fun! Totally worth the extra money, since it’s not technically included in the resort package.”
“You’ve already done it? Well damn, I was gonna see if you and your girlfriends wanted to join us.”
Drea stumbled over herself a little, but righted her step before he noticed. He thinks I’m a guest! Well, shit. Ok, just let him down easy…or…
“I could probably convince my friends to get on the boat,” she smirked. “I mean, the rum punch is to die for!”
“Well then, this sounds like a party! I’ll round up my dudes and we’ll catch you beauties in a few!” He snapped his fingers, pointed at her with “finger guns,” and winked as he walked backwards to the door leading to the lobby. Drea held up a thumbs-up as she watched him exit backwards, still looking at her.
Once the door was closed, she stopped the treadmill and just stood there, exhaling loudly, shaking her head. She should have let him down easy, should have told him the truth. But it was just too easy to play him. And maybe he and his buddies wouldn’t really get on the boat. If the smell of booze emitting from him was any indication of how much they had partied the night before, it might be another three days until the rest of that group woke up.
Hopping off the treadmill, she headed for the lobby, poking her head out to make sure the coast was clear. When she was sure her new BFF wasn’t hanging out, she dashed across the wide open-air space, dodging the massive round table that stood in the middle of the lobby, playing host to an exceptionally large fern as well as a number of different packets of information about the resort and the island. She had loved running circles around this table when she was little, trying to get one of her uncles to chase her. Her giggles would bounce off the walls and echo their way into the restaurant or out to the pool.
Making her way into the restaurant, she noticed there were already a few early risers already seated for breakfast. Based on the number of to-go carafes sitting on their tables, Drea guessed most had just returned from the beach, having taken advantage of the “Sip with the Sunrise” coffee service they offered their guests. It was something Drea’s mom and aunt used to love to do—go sit on the beach and sip coffee while watching the sun come up. Drea loved that her uncles had taken their little indulgence and made it an everyday ritual, even if the women who inspired said ritual were no longer able to enjoy. She smiled as she took in the scene, and walked along the edge of the room toward the kitchen door in the back. She slipped into the kitchen, narrowly avoiding a server with a full tray who was headed in the opposite direction.
“Morning, baby girl!” came a shout from the other side of the kitchen.
“Morning, Uncle Miller. Wasn’t expecting to see you up for breakfast this early. Didn’t you do dinner last night?” Drea said, crossing over to where her favorite uncle was pulling pans of muffins out of the massive industrial oven.
Although singling him out wasn’t fair, since she loved all three of the men who raised her more than anything, there was an extra special place in her heart for Uncle Miller. Maybe it was because he had been her dad’s best friend, or because he was the one who had apparently been insistent that he and his brothers still be the ones to raise her, or maybe it was just his signature “magic muffins,” the ones that always landed their resort on annual lists of best hotel restaurants. Uncle Vaughn, who was the general manager of the Indigo Royal, had always been the serious and strict one, pushing her to study and learn everything she could, instilling in her discipline and routine, but also always challenging her to try something new. Uncle Grayson, who she had always just called “Uncle Gray,” had taken on the role of fun uncle, from the funny voices he gave to her stuffed animals when she was little to teaching her how to sail, rock climb, and any number of other outdoor activities he was in charge of as activities director for the resort.
But it had been Uncle Miller who had been the biggest influence on her growing up. He’d handled the meals, bedtimes, and all the day-to-day school and extracurricular stuff. He’d been the one nursing her back to health when she was down with the flu (although Uncle Gray wasn’t ever going to let anyone forget the one time he’d been the puke receptacle when she brought home the stomach bug in the third grade). He’d been the one who very awkwardly tried to explain feminine products and “the change,” as he called it, to her after an embarrassing gym class incident, before running to Vaughn’s long-time girlfriend Simone and begging her to please take over before he scarred Drea for life. He’d been the one who had modeled love and loyalty and been her rock as she figured out the world. He also happened to be the most incredible chef, and made muffins that were simply to die for.