by Victoria Zak
Be careful what you wish for.
Antonio’s words ghosted through his thoughts, but he laughed the warning away. As charming and invigorating as the island may be, he didn’t have a fantasy Antonio could use to sway him from the reason he was there. Slipping on his polarized sunglasses, Dario descended the stairs with renewed certainty. Antonio and a silver-haired woman waited by a convertible Jeep with painted palm fronds and the Indulgences logo on the side—his ride to the resort no doubt. Clearing his throat and mentally summoning his A-game, he was ready to impress and conquer.
“Buongiorno,” he said with a smile, extending a confident hand to greet his future business partner.
2
Kenderly turned her face into the warm breeze as it swept through the open shuttle window, breathing in the change she felt coursing all around her as she and Antonio began their twenty-minute ride to meet their next guest at Aragon Island’s private airport. Only a few weeks had passed since a hurricane had assaulted their remote paradise. The cutting winds and driving rain had ravaged the lush green landscape for days. Thankfully, except for a handful of dedicated staff, the guests had been evacuated in plenty of time. The resort itself had sustained very little damage.
Unwilling to leave, she and Antonio had remained on the island, safe in the knowledge that Antonio had built the resort with such forces of nature in mind. When the storm passed and they ventured outside to survey the damage, she’d been reminded of just how fragile life was. Mankind often forgot how powerful Mother Nature could be. Weeks later, the island still bore the marks of her wrath, but Kenderly wasn’t worried. Nature had a way about her that always gave back more than she took.
It wasn’t the physical changes from the storm that caught her notice so much as the changes in the energy that floated on the wind that morning. On their way to greet Antonio’s unexpected guest, she could sense a shift coming. More often than not, when a guest arrived, her gifts would allow her a sneak peek into their personalities, their innermost fantasies. She couldn’t help but think the sudden change in energy was a prelude to this particular arrival.
Antonio’s previous lover, Cassandra, had been hounding him for months to sell a portion of their island to her group of fortune-hungry investors, one of whom—the most wealthy and aggressive—was Dario Dicola, a billionaire who apparently didn’t take no for an answer.
Despite being a hot-blooded Latino, Antonio wasn’t one to lose his temper often. But it had taken her two hours to sooth his ruffled feathers after taking Mr. Dicola’s call. She’d almost felt sorry for Cassandra when Antonio called her out for giving the Italian investor his private number. When she’d heard that Antonio had invited Dario to the island, and even agreed to meet with him once his stay had concluded, she’d been shocked to say the least. Antonio had sworn to never sell even the smallest piece of their paradise.
“Don’t worry, Love.” Sitting beside her, Antonio kissed her palm. “When this week is over, Mr. Dicola will understand the magic our paradise holds. And when he does, it will finally put an end to his and Cassandra’s persistent pressuring to develop Aragon Island into something it’s not.”
Kenderly thought to argue with him, but held her tongue, smiling when she met his reassuring gaze. “I hope you’re right, darling.” She had faith in Antonio’s judgment, and in their island, but she also knew not to ignore the feelings that stirred inside her. Something was about to change.
The custom-made shuttle bounced over a few bumps in the unpaved road that provided the only access from the resort to the airport. They’d had it resurfaced since the storm, but the extra traffic during the cleanup had left it less than pristine for their guests. Kenderly made a mental note to ask Mario to inform the maintenance crew, then chuckled when she heard Antonio already tapping out a message.
“Tell Mario it’s not the same without him,” she said.
Indulgence’s event coordinator, Mario, was an intricate part of their lives on the island and completely irreplaceable. On any other day, he would be sitting across from them dressed in one of his brightly colored island shirts, preening his shoulder-length hair before meeting their guests. An unfortunate accident that morning had sent him into a panicked frenzy. Apparently, when the salon was restocked after the storm, someone had mixed up the hair dye toners. Fuchsia was not his color.
“I don’t see what the problem is,” Antonio remarked as he dropped his phone back into the breast pocket of his navy blazer. “Nothing could be worse than that hideous lime he loves so much.”
“Stop picking on the man,” Kenderly playfully admonished. “You can’t fault him for wanting to look nice for our guests. First impressions are important.”
Antonio harrumphed, but she could tell by the difficulty he had hiding his grin that he was more amused than agitated by Mario’s absence.
“Speaking of nice.” Antonio reached up to finger a lock of her hair. “Have I told you how ravishing you look this morning?”
She turned her face into his palm and kissed his wrist. “Yes, but I never tire of hearing it.” Antonio considered her a moment, the corners of his mouth curling up into a hungry smile she knew all too well. “Oh, no.” She withdrew from him with a playful laugh. “We can’t be late to meet your special guest. Besides, it took Catalina an hour to weave this intricate pattern,” she said, running her hand over the long silver braid hanging over her shoulder. “Five minutes with you and I’ll look like an island savage.”
“Sounds exotic,” Antonio said with a salacious wink. “How is Catalina?” he asked when it became clear she wasn’t giving in to his seductive objective. “I regret that I haven’t had the time to catch up with her or the other staff since the storm.”
“She’s worked her fingers to the bone since returning from the mainland to check on her family.” As head of the housekeeping staff, Catalina was so much more than a maid. Kenderly had come to love her as a friend, as well as depend on her to keep the resort gleaming for their guests. “I do worry she’s overdoing it, though. She takes so little time for herself.”
“Maybe, on the next off week, we should insist that she does,” Antonio suggested. “I’m sure she would appreciate the extra time with her family.”
That’s what Kenderly was afraid of. Catalina had sacrificed everything to support her large family. She could see the toll the hard work was taking on her. Catalina was a young, vibrant woman. Though she rarely complained, her friend needed to indulge in her own fantasies for once. “I’ll speak with her again,” Kenderly said with a doubtful sigh as the shuttle pulled onto the tarmac. Maybe she needed to get creative. Weaving fantasies is what the island was about, after all.
The shuttle pulled up to the plane just as the door opened. Antonio took her hand and helped her out, the bright island sun hot and high in the sky. When Mr. Dicola appeared at the top of the stairs, Kenderly drew in a shuddering breath.
“What’s wrong?” Antonio asked.
Kenderly shook her head, careful to hold her welcoming smile. Mr. Dicola was every bit the stylish, handsome mogul his profile portrayed, much taller than she’d imagined, ducking to clear the doorway before he descended to greet them. What struck her the most was not his charming smile or his confident stature, but the utter loneliness she sensed hiding behind them.
“Mr. Dicola.” Antonio stretched out his hand. “Welcome to Indulgence. I trust you had a nice flight.”
“A long flight to be exact, but other than the landing, uneventful.”
“Glad to hear it,” Antonio quipped and turned to Kenderly. “May I introduce my partner in business and in love, Kenderly. Kenderly, this is Mr. Dicola, the investor Cassandra has mentioned on occasion.”
“Dario,” he insisted, bending over her hand to bestow a disarming kiss. “And I do hope Cassandra has mentioned me more than occasionally,” he said, turning his attention back to Antonio. “Although, that would explain why I’m here, instead of in my office in Milan closing a deal to buy a piece of this paradi
se.”
“We don’t have a deal yet,” Antonio politely reminded him. “Only an agreement to talk once you’ve completed your stay here.”
Kenderly watched and listened on their ride back to the resort, intrigued by Dario’s effortless success at hiding his inner feelings. His smile was as easy as the breeze. His eyes, though hidden behind a fashionable pair of sunglasses, crinkled in the corners with his careless laugh, and no doubt held the same heat that ran through his Mediterranean blood. He wasn’t a dark man inside, she decided fairly early in their conversation, but there was definitely more to him than met the eye.
The jeep pulled up to the portico in front of the resort and Kenderly accepted Dario’s hand to help her out.
“Thank you,” she said with a polite nod as she preceded them up the stairs into the lobby.
“Come.” Antonio nodded toward the patio beyond the wall of glass that framed the back of the resort, overlooking the eastern island shoreline. “We’ll enjoy a refreshing drink by the pool while Kenderly consults with you about your stay.”
“Consult?” Dario asked when they were seated around one of the marble tables beside the pool. “I wasn’t aware that a tropical vacation required a consultation.”
“Please, forgive me,” Antonio offered. “We’ve done things a bit out of order it seems. We normally have our guests complete an extensive questionnaire before their arrival so that we might better facilitate their wishes and fantasies.”
“Ah, yes. Fantasy.” Dario chuckled. “Oh, my fantasies are quite simple I assure you. In fact,” he glanced around the poolside, and then up toward the tiki bar, pulling his sunglasses down to peer over the rim. “If she’s willing, we could wrap this up in a single night. No need to drag it out for an entire week.”
Kenderly looked over her shoulder to see who he was referring to, frowning when Catalina turned around with a drink tray in her hands. She walked toward them. What was she doing working the bar?
“I’m afraid it’s not quite that simple.” Antonio smiled at Cat when she approached, but neither of them questioned her reasoning for being there as she set their drinks on the table, sweet vermouth for her, and Antonio’s customary Cognac.
“I hope you don’t mind.” Antonio nodded to the last glass in Cat’s hand. “I took the liberty of asking Cassandra about your drink of choice.”
Dario reached for the glass of fine Italian wine as Cat took a step forward to hand it to him. Their hands collided. The glass slipped from her fingers. In slow motion, Kenderly watched as the wine sloshed out of the tumbling glass and onto the sleeve of Dario’s tailored suit jacket, the sound of shattering glass the final sonata in their clumsy, symphonic introduction.
“Oh, my gosh! I’m so sorry!” Cat immediately dropped to the deck and began picking up the larger shards of glass, but Dario reached down to stop her.
Cat rose to her feet and froze, her gaze locked with Dario’s. Kenderly felt the moment it happened. Their connection coursed through her veins as if she’d felt it herself. For a split second, the overwhelming loneliness she’d sensed in Dario was eclipsed by a glimpse of a new fantasy. Cat’s fantasy.
“It’s no problem at all.” Dario pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket, but instead of whisking it over his sleeve, he wiped the drops of wine from Cat’s arm. When he reached her hand, he pulled it to his lips and kissed the burgundy drops from her knuckles.
Cat snatched her hand away, glancing nervously between Dario and Antonio. “My apologies,” she said. “I’ll pay for—”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Dario insisted.
Sensing Cat’s distress, Kenderly rushed to ease her fears. “Catalina, this is Dario Dicola, our honored guest for the week. Dario, this is our hospitality manager, Catalina. We gave our staff some extra time on the mainland to see to the wellbeing of their families after the storm, and Cat is filling in at the bar today.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Dario said with all the charm of a devilish prince.
Cat blushed. “I am truly sorry about your—”
“Catalina, can you please ask Mario to escort Mr. Dicola to his cabana,” Kenderly interjected. “I believe his luggage should be there by now and I’m sure he’d like a moment to freshen up.”
Catalina nodded, gave Dario one last apologetic glance, then scurried off.
“We can finish the consultation after you’ve changed and had a moment to rest,” Antonio suggested.
“There’s no need to bother with the usual formalities, darling.” Confident in her intuition, Kenderly gave Dario a polite smile before she took a sip of her drink and relaxed against the back of her chair. “I believe we already have everything we need to make Dario’s stay at Indulgence a memorable one indeed.”
3
Cat cursed as she rushed through the foyer toward the salon to find Mario, crashing into Kenderly and Antonio’s personal maid as she rounded the corner into the hallway. Damn-damn-damn!
“Oh, Dios mio!” Rosa’s hand flew to her chest as the tall stack of folded beach towels she was carrying toppled to the polished marble floor.
“Rosa! I’m so sorry!” Cat knelt and scooped them up, but the damage was done, most of them now needing to be refolded. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me!” Everything she’d touched since waking up that morning had either ended up on the floor or spilled on their guests.
“I tell you again, gatita,” Rosa admonished. “You need to slow down.”
Cat blew out a breath, brushing away the stray tendrils of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. “Rosa, please. Not now. I have to find Mario.”
“Too much work and no play, this is no good. Kittens, they are meant to play once in a while.”
Cat scooped up the last remaining towel and tossed it into Rosa’s arms before she took off down the hallway again.
“Gatita!” Rosa called out to her in a sing-song voice. Cat slid to a stop and turned back to her. “Mario is this way. I saw him in his office on my way to the laundry.”
Cat reversed course, stopping to give Rosa a peck on the cheek. “Gracias!”
“Slow down!” Rosa shouted after her as she rounded the corner and sprinted to the other end of the resort, stopping short when she came to Mario’s open office door to find him still on the phone.
“Yes, two o’clock is perfect. The guests will arrive at the helipad at one-thirty, so have the limousine waiting. Gracias.”
“Antonio needs you poolside.” Catalina rushed over and grabbed Mario’s hand.
He pulled her to a stop when she tried to drag him out of the office.
“I need to make one last call,” he argued.
“This can’t wait,” Cat insisted. “Antonio’s VIP is…” Breathtaking. She shook the memory of Dario’s hypnotic stare and captivating smile from her head. Don’t go there, Cat. “He’s, uh, well, he’s—”
“He’s what?” Mario asked, concern marring his usual carefree countenance. “What’s got your spandex in a twist, honey? Did he do something inappropriate? I’ll kill him!”
“No! Nothing like that.” Oh, man. Maybe she needed to take Kenderly up on her advice and take some time off.
She’d had many guests flirt with her since first coming to work for Antonio and Kenderly, but none of them as potently charming as Mr. Dicola. Fraternizing with the guests wasn’t strictly forbidden, but she had no room in her life for indulgence and fantasy, short-term or otherwise.
“He’s out by the pool with Antonio and Kenderly. I may have spilled a three hundred-dollar glass of wine on his four thousand-dollar suit.” She cringed as the words left her lips. “And then I offered to pay for his dry cleaning—oh God, I’m so fired.” Stains like that don’t come out! “I haven’t waited tables since I came to the island. I should have never offered to take Soraya’s shift.”
“Shh.” Mario took her by the elbow and walked her out of his office toward the pool. “No one’s getting fired, honey, least of all, you. It was an accident, yes?”
Cat nodded.
“Antonio and Kenderly will understand.”
Cat swallowed. She hoped so. She and Kenderly had become friends over the last year, but she was still her boss. “Kenderly asked me to come find you to show Mr. Dicola to his cabana so he can change.”
Mario stopped short when they reached the entrance to the pool. “Oh, honey. Is that him?” He dipped his head to peer over the rim of his sunglasses at Mr. Dicola relaxing by the pool. Cat’s stomach fluttered at the sight of him. His coat draped over his knee, he was sprawled out in his seat, his shirt unbuttoned and the wine-stained sleeves rolled up to show his sinewy, tanned forearms. “No wonder you’re walking funny,” Mario said with a chuckle.
Cat glanced down at her feet, then gave Mario a playful shove. “I am not.”
“Stand right here,” he said and pushed his sunglasses back up onto his nose. “I’ll try to get him to take off his shirt before we head down to the cabana.”
“Don’t you dare!” Cat said with a gasp. “If you’re going to try anything, try to keep him from getting me fired.”
“Have it your way.” Mario waved her off as he pushed through the doors.
She watched anxiously until they left the patio before she returned to the bar. If she was lucky, she’d get through the rest of her shift without spilling any more drinks, or the rest of her life without seeing Mr. Dicola again.
The next morning, Cat sat downstairs in the resort’s formal dining room eating a piece of toast to calm her queasy stomach before she headed to Kenderly’s office. The night had been long and restless with the thought of losing her job. In addition to her disappointment in letting Kenderly down, she was so close to reaching the end of her two-year contract. She couldn’t afford to lose this job, especially over a klutzy move like spilling drinks. Having woken that morning to an urgent email from Kenderly requesting an unscheduled meeting, she got the feeling that was exactly what was about to happen.