by Jenna Brandt
Peyton stepped back, glancing around. Obviously, she did care. “What’s wrong?”
“I just don’t want to make a spectacle of us,” she whispered.
“I don’t care if the whole world sees,” Blake countered.
They climbed into a waiting Land Rover, which took them to a massive theater.
“What are we doing here?” Peyton probed.
“You’ll see,” he said, hopping out of the car, and pulling her along with him. “It’s a surprise.”
They made their way inside to an empty modern theater. The curtain was closed and Peyton looked utterly confused why they were there. “What’s going on?”
“I asked my younger brother, Richard, to set up a private showing of his Nutcracker performance. Everyone is raving about it, and I wanted us to see it, without any interruptions or distractions.”
He pulled her down to the front row and they took their seats in the center of it. The lights dimmed and the familiar classical music began to play. Ballerinas, men in soldier costumes, and the Mouse King all took their turns on the stage, dancing around and performing one of the best renditions of the ballet Blake had ever seen, and he’d seen a few in his day.
“That was amazing,” Peyton gushed. “I can’t believe how wonderful that all was.”
“Glad you liked it. We need to get going if we’re going to make it to our next destination on time.”
“What’s next?”
“We’ve already established you’re not afraid of heights. I could tell when you were in my plane. So, I decided to bring you here.” Blake gestured to a giant indoor roller coaster with lots of loops, corkscrews, and hills.
Peyton’s eyes grew wide with fear. “I don’t think so, I didn’t even like those when I was a kid,” she said, turning around to rush away.
He reached out and grabbed her wrist to stop her. “Come on, you’re not chicken, are you?”
“No, I’m just not an idiot. One of two things is going to happen, I’m going to have a heart attack from the fright, or I’m going to fall out of it and plummet to my death.”
“First off, you’re in way too good of shape to have a heart attack. Second, my brother has his best mechanics inspect every inch of this ride multiple times a day. It’s the safest roller coaster in the world. Besides, I’ll be right next to you the whole time,” he said, stretching out his hand to her.
Peyton let out a heavy sigh, then placed her hand in his. “Fine, but if I die, it’s all your fault.”
“I take full responsibility, but it’s not going to happen,” he promised.
As they got close to the front of the ride, Peyton turned to Blake and asked, “Where’s the line?”
“My brother closed it down for an hour for us. We get the front, and can go as many times as we want.”
“Let’s just start with one time,” Peyton said with reservation.
They climbed into the front two bucket seats. The shoulder harness came down and fastened into the bar between their legs.
“You ready for this?” Blake asked with excitement as he reached out and squeezed her hand with his.
The train of cars shot off a moment later, causing them to be pushed back against their seats. The ride dipped and turned, twisted and flipped, and by the end they were both out of breath from the thrill of it.
“What did you think? You want to go again?”
“Will you hate me if I say no?” Peyton said, biting her lip. “I honestly thought I was going to be sick a few times.”
“Of course not. I’m just happy you tried it once with me. After all, I told you I was going to show you more adventure while you were on the island.”
“You did indeed,” she said, climbing out of the bucket seat, and patting her hair back into place. “I never thought I would see the day when I would wear a Versace gown on a roller coaster.”
They made their way back into the promenade of the entertainment district. “What should we do next?” Peyton asked with excitement.
“I have plans back at my area of the resort,” Blake explained. “But we don’t have to go right now. Anything you want to do; my brother Richard can make happen VIP style.”
“Or, we can just pretend to be a normal couple and roam around incognito,” Peyton suggested.
“Normal couple? I’m a Witlock. We don’t do normal,” Blake explained. “I’m not even sure what normal would look like.”
“Let me show you,” she said, pointing to a big man in a red velvet suit with white fur trim. “Let’s go tell Santa what we want for Christmas.”
“I already have it,” Blake said, looking at her directly. “I don’t need anything else.”
“Come on, there’s always something more to want.”
“Fine, lead the way,” Blake conceded, knowing she would just keep pestering him until he gave in. “I’m not even sure why my brother has a Santa at the resort since we don’t cater to kids.”
“Because at Christmas time, everyone’s a kid at heart,” Peyton pointed out. “Plus, I heard he’s shooting a reality show with Santas in it right now.”
They waited in the line like a regular couple of Joe’s, to Blake’s irritation. He couldn’t remember the last time he had to wait in a line. The only thing that made it bearable was being able to watch Peyton marvel at the decorations as they did. Luckily, Santa wasn’t all that appealing to the adults at the resort, so there was only one couple ahead of them.
“I’ll go first.” Peyton sat on Santa’s lap and leaned over and whispered in his ear what she wanted. To Blake’s complete astonishment, Santa nodded his head, patted Peyton on the bottom, and whispered something back, causing her to laugh. Then out of the blue, he placed a kiss on her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and for a moment, Blake wondered if Peyton had a crush on Santa.
Blake was about to punch Santa in the face for kissing his girl, but before he could defend Peyton’s honor, she stood up and moved away. “You’re turn.”
Blake made it clear he had his limits. “Just so you know, I’m not sitting on his lap. I don’t need a repeat performance of what I just witnessed. I have a good mind to tell my brother about it.” He walked over, leaned towards the bearded man that somehow looked vaguely familiar. “I want to find a way to honor my mother’s memory while pleasing my father.”
“I think you can do that, Blakey. The ‘Witlock Trio’ is made up of very determined young men,” Santa said with a wink from above his fake beard. Immediately, Blake realized it was his younger brother, Richard.
“What on earth are you doing in that costume?”
“Did you actually think I would have a Santa helping guests on the island?” Richard teased Blake. “Peyton told me she knew you were making plans to come over when she overheard you this morning on the phone with me. We cooked this prank up together, big brother.”
“I can’t believe you did all of this to get me,” Blake mused with a chuckle. “I really thought you were the worst Santa I’d ever seen.”
“Have a fun rest of the day, Blakey,” Richard said with a chuckle. Then looking over at Peyton, he added, “This one’s a keeper by the way. Any woman that can pull one over on a Witlock man, is well worth the effort.”
Once they were alone, Blake turned to Peyton and shook his head. “That was…awesome! My brothers and I grew up playing pranks on each other. I can’t believe you planned that with him. I honestly thought I was going to knock him out when he kissed you. Come to think of it, I still just might.”
“Don’t be mad at him. It was all my idea. He didn’t even want to do the kiss, but I told him it would push you over the edge.”
“Honestly, that’s what surprised me the most. Richard’s pretty dull; I would’ve never expected it of him. He usually refrained from the pranks growing up, unless he was forced into it.”
“He didn’t seem so dull to me,” Peyton pointed out.
“That speaks more to who you are than him. You have a way with the Witlock men, it seems
.”
“There’s only one that matters to me, though,” she said, reaching out and placing her hand on his chest. She looked up into his eyes and he could tell she wanted him to kiss her, and he would have, if he didn’t see Step-Monster in the distance.
He grabbed Peyton around the waist and yanked her backwards towards the side of one of the store fronts. He placed his index finger over his mouth, gesturing for her to be quiet. Luckily, Mara hadn’t seen him yet, which meant he could avoid her.
Drats, she was still coming this way. Blake glanced behind him and saw the door for the store was ajar. He moved backwards, pulling Peyton along with him. He watched as Mara glided by. She had a determined look on her face, and he realized, she might have been looking for Richard since he was just with them.
Once she was good and gone, Blake relaxed and turned to face Peyton. “Sorry about that.”
“What on earth was that all about?” Peyton questioned with shocked confusion.
“Just the worst possible person to run into. You would be better off going your whole life without meeting my Step-Monster.”
“She’s here,” Peyton said, moving forward and glancing out the window. “I’ve only seen pictures on social media. Is she as pretty in person as she is plastered all over the internet?”
“Mara should be, for all of my dad’s money she’s spent on plastic surgery and fancy creams and treatments. I swear, she nearly bankrupted the family ten times over.”
“She probably has a spending problem. You know there’s an addiction gene for that,” Peyton pointed out.
“Yes, it’s called being a gold-digger,” Blake stated snidely.
“Are you here for the next dance session?” a voice said from behind them.
Blake and Peyton spun around to find a beautiful brunette woman standing in a black, fringed dance dress.
“Yes, yes we are,” Peyton declared to Blake’s utter dismay. There was no way she was going to get him to dance. Flashes of cotillion came flooding back, and Blake was ready to bolt. The problem was, Peyton had her arm firmly wrapped through his, and she wasn’t letting him go anywhere.
“This is going to be so much fun,” Peyton declared as they followed the brunette woman into the other room. “I love to dance.”
Blake leaned over and whispered, “Peyton, you really don’t want to see me dance. I have two left-feet.”
“Stop exaggerating, you’re a Witlock. You can’t be all that bad. Aren’t you all raised to go to social events?”
“Yes, and I’m warning you now, I was the worst dancer between my brothers.”
“You can’t be. You’re an athlete, which means you’re naturally good on your feet.”
“Yes, at running, not dancing. Your toes are going to regret this decision.”
“Thank you for joining us, everyone,” the brunette woman said with a raise of her hand, obviously not recognizing Blake as one of the Witlocks. “Please turn and face your partner. We are going to start with the simple pattern of the Waltz.”
Blake took Peyton into his arms and held her in his frame. He took a deep breath as the music began to softly play in the background. The instructor started counting. It seemed Blake remembered the steps from the dance as well as the direction he was supposed to go in, keeping him from bumping into other couples. However, it didn’t save Peyton’s toes from the numerous times he stepped on them. Each time he uttered an “I’m sorry,” she braced herself for the next one. The song ended and Peyton gingerly lifted her foot up to rub her toes. “I think you’re right. We finally found something that Blake ‘The Blazing Comet’ Witlock isn’t good at.”
“I tried to warn you. Can we go then?” Blake pleaded.
She nodded. “I don’t think my toes could take another dance.”
“Good, I have an amazing surprise for you back at my place anyway.”
They left Richard’s section of the island and headed back to Blake’s place. Once there, he said, “I hope you’re hungry.”
“I’m famished.”
“Then I have the perfect place. The remodel is finally finished and I had them keep it a secret from you.”
“Where is it?” she asked, thinking she knew every speck of his portion of the island.
“Up,” he revealed in one word.
They took the elevator to the rooftop where Blake had made an open-air restaurant. There were several fire pits and heating lamps covering the area to keep it warm. Blake guided her over to a set of lounge chairs and sofas. He took a seat on the sofa, and pulled her down beside him. He placed a white, faux fur blanket across their laps as she cuddled in beside him.
“I can’t believe you did all of this without me knowing,” Peyton marveled.
“I decided to make this place in honor of my mother. Her two favorite things in the world were the stars and cooking. This combines them both,” he whispered against her cheek.
“It’s beautiful,” Peyton said, glancing around. “Where is everyone else? Where’s the servers?”
“I wanted you to be the first person to experience it with no one else here. I have Chef Breole in the back, who agreed to come early for this, and one server. That’s it.”
“Where’s the menu?” she probed further.
“We’re having a seven-course tasting dinner with a wine-pairing, so don’t worry about ordering.”
“Wow, you really went all out,” Peyton noted. “I can’t believe you did all this. You thought of everything. You did all this today?”
“I told you, Peyton, while you’re with me, I’m going to fill your days with adventure.”
She looked over at Blake, giving him a smile. “I can’t believe how lucky I am to have found you.”
He nodded in agreement, his mouth met hers, letting her know he sensed their connection too.
The first course of soup came and they sat up to eat it. It was delicious, but all Peyton could do was think about Blake and how much she enjoyed kissing him. She’d rather go hungry and get more kisses, than eat at the moment. However, with course after course coming out, that really wasn’t an option.
“So, tell me about your life before coming to the resort.”
“Well, as you can imagine, raising me on her own after my dad’s death was hard on my mom. She did so much for me, that I wanted to find a way to take care of her now that she’s getting older. It’s why I need to establish my own wellness centers, starting in Washington near my mom. What’s it open and running smoothly, I plan to leverage it to branch into other cities. I’d planned on having Chef Breole be my in-house chef, but when the deal fell through for the property I wanted, I decided to ask him to work on your island instead. It’s why I need the money so bad. I couldn’t find a bank willing to take a chance on me since I never stay long enough in one place to establish a history.”
“If they only knew you the way I did, they would know you’re the soundest investment out there.”
“Thanks, I appreciate your vote of confidence.” Glancing around the restaurant, Peyton had a great idea. “You know what, Blake, I think we should offer a couple’s star-gazing dinner for two up here. It can be just like what we’re experiencing right now. Couples will love it.”
“Then I should probably show you the last surprise.” He stood up and pulled her up beside him. “I saved the best for last.”
Blake guided her towards the back of the rooftop where a set of spiral stairs led to another landing, which was on top of the bar. They climbed the stairs, holding hands the whole time. To Peyton’s surprise, a telescope sat at the top with a table and two plush chairs surrounding it. A star-shaped cake sat in the center of the table. “This is where we’re going to have dessert.”
“It’s stunning,” she gasped. “I love it up here.”
“Wait until you see the view,” he said, gesturing to the telescope.
Peyton moved over to stand behind the long metal tube. She bent down and peered through it. “What am I looking at?”
“Androme
da-it’s the next galaxy over. You can’t see it with the naked eye, only with a very powerful telescope like this one. It’s funny how you might look at something, and at first, you think you know exactly what it is. Then, as you study it, you realize you were mistaken the whole time.”
Peyton stood up and turned to face Blake, realizing he was talking about their relationship. “I know exactly what you mean.”
He reached out and gathered her into his arms. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. A kiss that made all the other one’s pale in comparison, because in this moment, Peyton knew she was falling in love with Blake.
After a few moments, he leaned back and said with a regretful tone, “I have something important to do in the morning. I need to get some rest.”
“What is it? Do you need help with it?”
Blake shook his head. “It doesn’t have to do with the island.”
“Okay, I’ll just keep working on the wellness center while you’re gone. We should probably go check on Comet before we go to bed,” Peyton suggested.
“That’s probably a good idea since when I left, James was trying to track him down in my suite.”
“He escaped again?” Peyton asked with shock. “The dog’s like Houdini.”
“That’s exactly what I thought. How does he keep getting out of his kennel? I think I need to ship in a new one as soon as possible.”
Blake and Peyton made their way back to his place. They entered the suite to find James pacing the room.
“What’s wrong, James?” Blake asked, knowing his valet was extremely upset from his behavior and angry scowl.
“It took me nearly three hours to find him this time. I had no idea there were so many hiding places in your suite, Mr. Witlock. Finally, I found the little beast inside your laundry hamper. Goodness knows how he got in there. When I went to get him out, he bit me!”
“I’m sure he was just startled,” Peyton defended, walking over to the kennel and looking inside. Comet was cowering in the back corner of it, a sad look in his eyes. “He looks awfully regretful over the incident.”