The Vacation

by Nikki Rayne

  The Vacation - An Enemies to Lovers Romance

  Don’t Hate Me - Book Two

  Nikki Rayne

  Jamie Knight

  Contents

  The Vacation

  Also by Nikki Rayne

  Mailing List

  1. Olivia

  2. Olivia

  3. Olivia

  4. Frankie

  5. Olivia

  6. Frankie

  7. Olivia

  8. Frankie

  9. Olivia

  10. Frankie

  11. Olivia

  Epilogue - Olivia

  More to Come!

  Also by Nikki Rayne

  About the Author

  The Vacation

  By Nikki Rayne

  & Jamie Knight

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and all incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 Nikki Rayne

  First Edition May 2020

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Also by Nikki Rayne

  Don’t Hate Me

  The Neighbor - Book 1

  The Vacation - Book 2

  Billionaire Brothers

  Billionaire’s Seduction - Book 1

  Coming Soon - Book 2

  Forbidden Hot Boss

  Cherry On Top

  Mailing List

  If you’d like to be notified when Nikki Rayne’s and Jamie Knight’s next book is released, sign up for the mailing list and get a free copy of Drilled!

  1

  Olivia

  My phone rang. The fluttering of my heart attempted somehow matched the ring tone. Until I saw Hope’s name, I thought it was him calling… begging me to come back to him.

  “Hello,” I said as I tapped the speaker button and sat down on the soft, squishy mattress.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Hope asked.

  I shrugged, squeezing myself into a tight hug. “If it’s not, I can just come back.”

  “You could use the money for something else,” Hope said.

  “Is that your way of telling me you want me to move out?” I asked.

  Hope groaned loudly, letting me hear her annoyance. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like but I want you to heal.”

  “I just want to get away for a while. I’m too close to Danny. It’s like I’m trapped here. If he sees me out and about, he’ll follow me back here,” I said. “I don’t want to cause any trouble for you.”

  “I’d just call the cops,” Hope said. “He’s not going to get away with that shit while I’m around.”

  I flopped down on the bed and tucked my ebony hair behind my ears. “It’s been years since I’ve had the chance to go anywhere. I’d ask you to come but I know you’re busy with your job and Max.”

  “I’m sorry,” Hope said. “If you wait a few months, maybe I could take some time off.”

  “That’s the thing… I don’t want to wait. I need this now,” I said.

  “If you’re sure,” Hope said.

  I bit my lip. Hope always looked out for me. It wasn’t surprising that I was living in the house she’d inherited. She could have had a one-bedroom apartment and she still would have found space for me.

  “I’m sure,” I said. “It’s just two weeks.”

  “Have you talked to Tori about it yet?” Hope asked.

  “She suggested it when she gave me the money,” I said nervously scratching my elbow. “It’s what she wanted me to spend money on.”

  Hope sighed. “Well, okay. Let me know if you need a ride to the airport, okay? Max will lend me his car.”

  “I’ll get a ride,” I said. “You worry too much about me.”

  “I worry the right amount,” Hope said. “Call me tomorrow, okay?”

  “Of course,” I said. “Love you.”

  “Love you too,” Hope said. “Oh, could you turn off the kitchen lights when you go to bed?”

  I chuckled. “No problem.”

  I looked at the phone, worried the next call would be from Danny. He probably thought I just needed time and would come back, like I had every other time.

  This time though… it was different. I was done.

  In the morning, I’d be on a plane to a small town in Mexico I could barely remember the name of. Exclusive. Private. Time for just me.

  I needed a break from Tori insisting I put myself out there. She was far more social than I was and I was exhausting from pretending to be something I wasn’t.

  Hell, I was over forty and there wasn’t a year of my life that I had lived just for me. It was time.

  I wasn’t sure how I’d pay Tori back. She said it was a gift but I couldn’t accept a gift that massive and not find a way to pay her back.

  I’d worry about that later. It was a worry I couldn’t have on my shoulders. There was already more than enough on my shoulders.

  I finished packing my things and started the water for a bath. My skin prickled as I lowered myself down into the tub.

  Hope had given me rose-scented bubble bath and candles of the same scent, glowing around the room. The setting was relaxing but still, I couldn’t let my muscles unwind.

  Normally, the tub was the one place I let my mind wander but tonight, I couldn’t. I couldn’t think about new relationships, hot guys, or even sex. After what I’d been through with Danny, I was certain I wouldn’t ever find love.

  Even after witnessing Hope, one of my best friends in the entire world, find Max, I still knew something like that wouldn’t happen for me. I needed to focus on myself.

  I needed to heal.

  Once all my wounds were gone, then I’d have to worry about getting a job… make money… things I never thought I’d have to worry about at this particular point in my life.

  I opened the drain with my toe and stood in the tub. I wrapped a luxurious, fluffy towel around myself.

  My eyes scanned the perfect room. I was thankful that Hope let me stay in her home but I wanted my own place. I wanted to wrap a towel around myself that I’d picked out and purchased with my own money.

  In my life with Danny, I hadn’t been able to purchase things on my own. I had to ask for permission. Now, on my own, I didn’t have the money.

  Tori had offered to loan or gift me money each month but I couldn’t accept. The vacation was already more than enough.

  My phone buzzed and I walked over to the counter, glancing down at my phone next to the sink. The skipped beats inside my chest made me feel nauseated.

  A text.

  From Danny.

  I closed my eyes and wished I was in my small little cabin on the beach, far, far away. But when I opened them, I was still in Hope’s bathroom.

  I tapped the screen, wishing I would have ignored the messaged.

  Are you ready to come home yet, my love?

  I paced the floor, trying to calm the storm that was swirling in my stomach. My phone buzzed again.

  I gave you enough time. I miss you. I love you. Come home, okay?

  I turned off the screen and exited the bathroom. If I hadn’t needed it to contact Hope and Tori, I would have seriously considered leaving my phone behind.

  The screen lit up again and as much as I wanted to resist looking, I couldn’t.

  Sweetie, can we talk?

  An engine rumbled outside. Not just any engine… it was familiar.<
br />
  Danny was outside. And I was home alone.

  2

  Olivia

  My heart was pounding. I kept the light off as I crept toward the window, afraid of what I’d find.

  I didn’t dare touch the curtain. Even though the room was dark, I was afraid that my body was making a shadow.

  Would it even matter if it did? He already knew where I was and he probably already knew I was inside.

  My phone buzzed again and I gasped before juggling the phone from hand to hand. It dropped the soft carpeted floor with a gentle thud and I fell with it.

  I wrapped my fingers around the phone, pressing my back against the wall. My hands were shaking so violently I could barely keep a hold of the phone.

  I leaned forward, hoping to hide the glow from the screen.

  Just a talk. I miss you so much. You’re my everything.

  The message read.

  I couldn’t respond. I didn’t want to respond. All I could do was sit there hiding, hoping he would just disappear.

  He revved the engine. The messages came quicker.

  Olivia. Reply. I know you’re in there.

  Do I really have to beg?

  It’s time to grow up. This is getting ridiculous.

  Answer my fucking messages!!!

  A tear rolled down my cheek and dropped onto the phone. I didn’t know why I couldn’t just tell him to go to hell. Or call the police.

  Even locked inside Hope’s house, I was still scared to hell of Danny. That probably wouldn’t ever change. What needed to change was my location. I needed to get away.

  I dialed Hope’s number.

  “You forgot to turn out the light,” Hope said.

  “Danny’s outside,” I said.

  “Oh shit,” Hope said. I could hear her walking across the floor of Max’s house. “Yeah, that’s him all right. Should I send Max over?”

  My words were stuck deep in the back of my throat. I managed to spew them out with effort.

  “No, I don’t think that would be a good idea,” I said. “I don’t want anything to happen to Max.”

  “Max can handle himself.”

  “I don’t doubt that but this isn’t his fight,” I said.

  Hope sighed. “Okay, well, then I’m calling the police.”

  “That’s going to just make things worse,” I groaned. “I should just go out and talk to him. What does it matter? I’ll be gone tomorrow anyway.”

  “Do not talk to him,” Hope said annunciating each word clearly. “When has that ever made things better.”

  I buried my face in my hands. I wasn’t sure how this was my life.

  When I first met Danny, he’d been the kind of guy who opens doors and brings flowers. He gave me back rubs and treated me like a queen.

  Hell, if anyone would have told me what an asshole he’d turn out to be, I wouldn’t have believed them.

  I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment it had happened. It must have been a gradual shift and by the time I realized what had happened, it was too late.

  Even now, hiding in Hope’s house, I was terrified. He didn’t love me. He didn’t even like me. The problem was he didn’t want to lose.

  I drew in a breath and tightened my grip on the phone.

  What is it? I’m at the store.

  The three dots appeared.

  Bullshit.

  You don’t have any money.

  Anger made my fingers tremble.

  I’m with a friend.

  I waited. It was a full minute before he typed a response.

  Can we talk later?

  He believed it. And he calmed down.

  I can’t tonight. How about tomorrow night.

  I would be gone. Thank God.

  Lunch.

  I swallowed down the sourness. Lying over the phone came to me easier than I thought it would even though it made my skin crawl. I hated lying.

  Sorry, I have a job interview.

  I watched the dots do the wave.

  Aw sweetie, you don’t need a job. Just come home.

  I’d be gone before lunchtime.

  Fine. Lunch.

  Danny sent me a few more messages setting up the time and the location. He knew I wasn’t going to go home. I wasn’t the least bit surprised he choose my favorite restaurant. He even sent me a little lobster emoji as if everything between us would be okay. Was okay.

  Seconds after I said goodnight, he drove off and I was able to take in a full breath of air. I rolled over onto the floor, exhausted from the conversation.

  After twenty minutes—according to the clock on my phone—I got up. I quickly dressed and checked my bags.

  I grabbed my purse and brought everything downstairs. I stood next to the front door and tapped a number into my phone.

  “Yes,” I said. “I need a ride to a hotel near the airport, please.”

  3

  Olivia

  I hadn’t said goodbye to Hope or Tori. I ran away. Like always.

  The plane hand landed an hour ago. It wasn’t until the driver announced we were almost there that I sent both Hope and Tori a text that I had landed and was doing well.

  Tori told me to have fun.

  Hope asked if I was okay but I didn’t want to talk about what had happened. While I was in Mexico, I was going to pretend that Danny didn’t exist. I was going to pretend I didn’t exist.

  This vacation was about inventing a new me. A new start. A new Olivia Watts.

  We pulled up to the beautiful dark-wood cabin. The second I stepped out of the car, I could hear the ocean.

  I sucked in a slow breath, filling my lungs with the salty air that was somehow cool even though the sun above was hot. The breeze gently shook the leaves in the tree.

  As I exhaled, I envisioned my old self leaving my body. I was a blank slate.

  “Want me to bring in your bags?” the driver asked.

  “Oh, that’s okay,” I said. “I can get it.”

  “As you wish,” he said bowing his head. “Here’s your key, a pamphlet with some information about the area, and a few delivery places. Be sure to call early as they’re all about fifteen minutes away.”

  I gave the short, thin man a smile. “Thank you.”

  “If you need anything, call the number on the paper,” he said. “I’ll be back in a week. You sure you don’t need anything else?”

  “I’m good, thank you again,” I said.

  “Of course.” He got back into the car and drove off, leaving me standing on the gravel path with my bags.

  The sounds of the birds, ocean, and wind instantly relaxed my entire body. Coming to the secluded beach was the best decision I had ever made.

  My phone buzzed. I already knew it wasn’t Hope or Tori on the other end.

  Danny was looking for me. I hadn’t shown up for our date. He was surely pissed.

  Oh well. No time to even check his message.

  I grabbed my bags and pulled them toward the cabin. I fumbled with the key and had to set down my bags. The last time I’d stayed in a hotel, it had a special key card to open the door, not an actual key.

  “Ah-ha!” I said as the key slid into the lock. I wanted the door to know I had defeated it.

  The room was rather plain but everything was still nicely decorated. There was a bed in the far corner of the room with white curtains falling down from the canopy. From the window near the bed, I could see the ocean through the trees.

  A simple kitchen was on the other side of the room. The bathroom behind the little dining table was bigger than I would have imagined.

  There was a large built-in tub. A tall glass vase sat on the edge with fresh white and pink flowers that lightly scented the room with their sweet, floral smell.

  I couldn’t wait to jump in the ocean and relax in the tub afterward. I opened my suitcase and pulled out my black bikini. It was my favorite because it fit me comfortably and I looked damn good in it.

  Confidence wasn’t something I had much of but the blac
k bikini helped me find what little I had left. But that was going to change.

  I was different here already. I liked who I was here and I hadn’t even been here long.

  There was a fruit basket on the kitchen counter and some other staples in the cabinets. A bottle of wine sat at the far end with a note attached.

  Have a lovely time. Love, Tori.

  Not sure what I’d do with a bottle of wine and no one to share it with. Maybe I’d have a glass with dinner.

  I laughed at myself. Drinking wasn’t something I did a lot of but maybe that was the old me.

  I grabbed my phone, a beach towel and dashed out of the cabin. The fresh air felt good on my skin.

  Hot sand seeped between my toes. The waves gently rolled up my private beach.

  I looked down to the left and to the right. About a quarter of a mile down the beach to my right was a couple that looked a bit red. The man had gray hair and the fit woman walking toward him from the beach looked about twenty years younger, maybe even thirty.

  She crawled on him and gingerly placed a kiss on his lips. He didn’t care a single bit she was dripping water all over him.