“I’m sorry to interrupt.” Manny returned Kayla’s beer to her with a warm smile. “I thought I heard your fiancée say something to you when you were taking the picture. Watch your teeth?”
Kayla’s cheeks hurt with her smile. “It’s an old joke. We’ve been friends since we were kids, so we have a lot of inside jokes.”
Mack slung her arm over Kayla’s shoulder. “I was terrible at parallel parking, and she was helping me. The windows were down, so she stuck her head out the window to scope out the curb.”
“I said she was fine, so she started to roll up the window while my head was still sticking out of it. The window chipped my tooth a little.”
As they laughed at the shared memory, Kayla touched her tongue to the spot. To her surprise, the sharp spot on her front tooth was smooth. When had that worn away? Had it really been so long ago? It felt like just yesterday they were dumb kids making jokes. A wave of grief rushed over her for her youth. She watched Mack and their new friends laughing about their teenage hijinks and determined that on this vacation, they would make new memories.
The driver stepped onto a rock at the edge of the parking lot and announced, “Everyone back on the bus. Time to take you to paradise.”
Kayla wrapped her hand around Mack’s bicep. “Ready to get this honeymoon started?”
“Let’s do it.”
Chapter Seven
“Welcome to Rainbow Sands!”A young woman with gorgeous spiral curls and perfectly smooth, russet skin handed Kayla a single orange hibiscus flower. “Please follow me this way.”
Kayla and Mack followed in her wake away from the curving driveway and the shuttle bus’s exhaust fumes. The front of the resort was an open arch ten feet wide leading into a tiled lobby dotted with plush couches, armchairs, and carved wooden end tables. Rather than leading them to the reception desk bustling with activity, their guide steered them off into a smaller, quieter side room.
“Thank you for celebrating your wedding with us. Juliana will assist with your check-in.”
Juliana stood from behind her desk and held out both hands to them. Everyone they had met on their brief time on the island had the same wide smile, but most looked as forced as those inKayla’s photographs. Juliana’s ruby-red lips split wide, in what was unquestionably a genuine smile.
“Ms. Kayla, how lovely to meet you at last.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Juliana,” Kayla said.
“Are you two old friends?” Mack asked with a wink.
Kayla released Juliana’s hands to take Mack’s. “Juliana, this is McKensie.” At the last minute, she remembered to add, “My fiancée.”
“Ah, yes, Mack. A pleasure to meet you at last. Congratulations on your impending marriage.”
“Thanks, Juliana.”
They settled at either end of the desk and suddenly, Juliana was all business. “I hope you had a pleasant flight. Your room is ready for you, of course. We have you in one of our Oceanview Suites. I personally selected the room with the best view of the cove just for the two of you.”
“You’re just too wonderful. We couldn’t have done any of this without you,” Kayla said.
“It was nothing.” Juliana’s smile was professional, but also a little conspiratorial.
If only Juliana knew the extent of her part in the conspiracy. The very moment Kayla left what she thought had been a coffee date with Skye a month ago, she had called Rainbow Sands to put her plan into motion. Since then, she and Juliana had spoken nearly every day. First, she had cajoled Juliana into bending the rules and splitting the two-week wedding package into two separate one-week packages. Then she had sweet-talked her into sharing all the details of Skye’s arrangements. Then she had convinced Juliana to fit her and Mack into the same week. The information she had asked for was not strictly a violation of Skye’s privacy since the package was still under her name, but it was certainly flirting with the line. How lucky had she been that Juliana had answered the phone that first day?She’d stumbled upon the most agreeable partner in not-quite-crime.
As Juliana clacked away at her keyboard, entering their passport and flight information, Kayla tested to see how far she could push for one more tidbit. “I don’t suppose you could tell me if our friends have arrived yet? We hoped to have a room close to theirs.”
Juliana’s smile didn’t falter a fraction. “Ms. Skye and Dr. Amy have indeed checked in. They arrived very early on the first flight this morning. Unfortunately, I cannot get you a room close to them.”
“Oh no? That’s disappointing.”
So Skye was trying to marry a doctor. That wasn’t surprising. She was a consummate charmer, and with all her extreme sports, she was constantly finding herself in emergency rooms. Whoever this Dr. Amy was probably got her claws into Skye while she was injured and unable to defend herself. Wasn’t that some sort of ethics violation?
“Are they at least nearby? Maybe we’ll run into them on the walk to the room?” Mack said.
Speaking of charmers, Mack had come to the rescue. She was leaning in, leveling her most devastating smile at Juliana. Kayla congratulated herself again on securing such a sharp partner for this mission.
Like so many women over the years, Juliana was clearly blinded by Mack’s smile. “Ms. Skye upgraded their room to a Honeymoon Bungalow, so they won’t be in the same building. The bungalows are right in front of the suites, though. Between you and the beach. You’ll no doubt see them during your stay.”
