“Stephanie called in again,” Annette said irritably, hands poised on her narrow, girdled hips. “Some nonsense about her kid being sick.”
Kayla felt a tiny stab of sympathy. Stephanie had three kids under the age of seven. Her husband was a long-haul truck driver, which meant Stephanie was often left to juggle house, work, and kids on her own.
That sympathy was followed immediately by a sense of relief that she hadn’t fallen into the same marriage with children trap.
“I need you to cover her workload.”
“What about Ashley?”
“I fired her.” Annette sniffed, standing taller and lifting her chin. “She was sleeping with one of the clients.”
A lot more than one, Kayla thought, but refrained from saying so out loud.
It was too bad. Despite her obsession with married men, Ashley was a good travel agent. She knew her stuff, and the men often booked expensive getaways afterward.
“So, we’re two agents short today, and we have a lot of time-critical arrangements to make if we want to stay in business. I don’t know how everything is going to get done.” Annette wrung her hands together. Kayla wondered if the gesture was an unconscious one or one well-rehearsed enough to appear genuine.
“We’ll get it done,” Kayla said confidently. A sense of challenge and excitement began to hum through her veins. She always performed better under pressure. “Send me their open files.”
Relief passed over Annette’s features. “Thank you, Kayla. Get us through this, and I’ll send you on that scouting trip next week.”
Kayla’s eyes glittered. Senior agents occasionally got to check out airlines and hotels as part of the job. Sometimes the agency paid; sometimes new resorts would provide compensated stays as incentive in exchange for glowing, personal recommendations. Sate, a new and exclusive adults-only resort, had opened on a private island in the Caribbean, and Kayla was dying to go. The place was extremely expensive, though, so the only way she would get there is if someone else footed the bill.
“Annette,” Kayla said with a genuine smile, “you send me to Sate, and I’ll take on everyone’s workload.”
The morning’s lingering funk disappeared as Kayla focused on the job with renewed vigor. The rest of the afternoon and evening passed in a blur of appointments, phone calls, pricing comparisons, and reservations. For the rest of that week, she came in early, skipped lunch, and stayed late. Four days later, it was well past midnight when she sat back and rubbed her eyes. She reminded herself that every extra bit of effort was totally worth it, because she would be spending a long weekend at Sate.
Tired but happy, Kayla was creating a mental list of the things she would need to do as she drove back to her place. More long days were in her immediate future if she hoped to clear her own schedule and get things done before she left, and she wasn’t going to give Annette any excuse to renege on her promise.
Shopping was definitely on the agenda, too. It had been a while since Kayla had splurged on something sexy and fun. She was definitely due.
The motion sensor lights mounted on the carport roof came to life as Kayla pulled into the driveway. For a moment, she thought she caught sight of something moving back by her shed.
Immediately alert, she flicked on her high-beams, but saw only the shadows of the nearby maple swaying in the breeze.
Kayla got out of the car, a small can of pepper spray in one hand and her keys in the other. Crime wasn’t a big thing in her neighborhood, but she was definitely of the “better safe than sorry” mentality. A woman living alone couldn’t be too careful.
A quick look around revealed nothing more sinister than a few falling leaves.
“Definitely overtired,” she murmured to herself as she went into her house and locked the door behind her.
Chapter Seven
“Well?” Maggie asked, refilling everyone’s mugs.
Taryn, Lexi, Faith, and Mary sat at her kitchen table. Their children, the ones too young to be in school yet, played happily in the next room.
“Oh, Maggie,” Lexi said, emotion filling her eyes, “you wouldn’t believe what we found. Love letters my parents wrote to each other. Family keepsakes from both Ireland and Greece, including a family Bible with an ancestry tree, passed down from generation to generation. My mother’s wedding dress!” She shook her head. “I had no idea those things were still up there. I thought Patricia got rid of them ages ago.”
“Well, that’s something. Did you figure out Kayla’s ulterior motive yet?”
“Remind me who Kayla is again?” Mary requested, taking a sip of her coffee.
“That’s right,” Taryn said, looking across the table. “You weren’t around for all the evil step drama. Patricia was Lexi’s father’s second wife, and Kayla is her daughter. It’s a long, sordid story, but in a nutshell, Kayla is a jealous, spiteful, man-stealing, lying whore-bitch who made Lexi’s life hell.”
Maggie’s lips quirked. “Why don’t you tell us how you really feel, Taryn?”
“I’m serious. It’s because of Kayla and her mother that Lexi had to go live with her aunts in Georgia.” Taryn waved her hands in the air as she spoke, something she did when she was feeling particularly strongly about something. “And when Lex returned for her father’s funeral, they tried to scam her out of her inheritance. But that’s not even the worst of it. Kayla couldn’t handle the fact that Ian loved Lexi and not her, so she lied and told Lex she was pregnant with Ian’s baby and pushed Lex into a tree so hard she almost bled to death right there on the county fairgrounds.”
Lexi winced while Faith and Mary gasped.
Maggie, who had heard the stories several times, simply frowned. “Kayla worked at the pub at one time, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, she did.” Taryn nodded. “She tried to sink her claws into Jake first and got pissed when he told her she was nothing more than a bartender with benefits. She screwed him over on Homecoming weekend, which is how I ended up tending at the pub.”
“Wait,” Faith said, her brows drawing together, “Kayla was involved with Jake and Ian? How did that work?”
“It was a no-strings arrangement of convenience.”
Faith’s frown deepened, no doubt remembering her own past. “For them, or for her?”
“They were all consenting adults. Jake and Ian were very upfront about everything. Kayla knew the score, but she was hoping it would turn into something more. When it didn’t, she wasn’t happy.”
Lexi shifted uncomfortably. “It was all a long time ago, Taryn.”
“People don’t change, Lex.”
“Don’t they?” asked Maggie, her green eyes swirling in contemplation. “The Jake and Ian I know are devoted husbands and fathers, caring men with good hearts. It’s hard to reconcile that image with what you’re describing. Oh, I know our guys weren’t choirboys back then, but I bet their perceptions have changed now that they have daughters of their own.”
“Damn right they have,” Taryn agreed.
“All I’m saying is, maybe Kayla has grown up, too.”
Taryn looked skeptical. “I see where you’re coming from, Mags, but as you pointed out, our guys have us and our kids now. As far as I know, Kayla is still living the single life.”
“Has she asked you for anything, Lexi?” Mary questioned. “Suggested mending bridges, perhaps?”
“No, nothing. She left the key to the house at the pub and told Jake I should return it to Pine Ridge Realty. I haven’t spoken to her in almost ten years. She hasn’t tried to contact me directly, or spoken to anyone else that I know of.”
Taryn laid her hand on top of Lexi’s. “Oh, Lex. I know that look. You’re thinking of calling her, aren’t you?”
“Guilty,” she said on an exhale. “Just to thank her, you know? She didn’t have to let me know about those things. And about everything else, well, I forgave her a long time ago. Carrying that kind of grudge around eats at your soul.”
“She’s right,” Maggie agreed. “I�
�ve forgiven Spencer.”
“Who?” asked Faith.
“Spencer Dumas,” Maggie clarified.
“Wait. Are you talking about the CEO of Dumas Industries?” Mary asked. “I met him at a charity ball Aidan and I went to last year. He had a beautiful woman on each arm.”
“That’s the one,” Maggie said on a sigh.
“Maggie was engaged to him at one time,” Taryn supplied helpfully. “But he couldn’t keep it in his pants, so she called it off. Then he tried to scam her out of her land.”
“No!”
“Yes!”
“It’s all in the past,” Maggie said, waving her hand, “and everything worked out, didn’t it? Besides, I really think that, to Spencer, it wasn’t ever personal. It was just business. I forgave him a long time ago.”
“You are both better women than me,” Taryn said, then turned back to Lexi. “What does Ian say about Kayla’s sudden selfless beneficence?”
“The same thing you do,” Lexi said, her mouth twisting into a frown. “He doesn’t trust her, either. He doesn’t think she’s capable of doing anything nice without expecting something in return. I just don’t know what to think. I want to believe we’re past all that. Anyway, I have to get back to the Goddess. Thanks for this, ladies. I don’t know what I’d do without you to talk things through.”
“That’s what sisters are for,” Maggie said.
Lexi couldn’t have agreed more, which was exactly why she was going to follow her heart and contact Kayla anyway.
Chapter Eight
Annette tried to backtrack, just as Kayla knew she would. Oh, the agency owner hadn’t come right out and said so, but she had casually tossed out subtle suggestions about the poor timing of the trip and the influx of new clients. Anticipating the ploy, Kayla had crossed every “t” and dotted every “i,” leaving Annette without a valid excuse to cancel, postpone, or delay. As a result, Kayla found herself on a plane less than a week later, staring out at the fluffy cloud layer below.
“Going on vacation?” the guy next to her asked. He had been trying to start a conversation from the moment he had taken the empty seat beside her. So far, he had either failed to pick up on her subtle hints of non-interest or he was simply ignoring them.
Kayla had been around the block enough times to read men with a fair amount of accuracy. They weren’t overly complicated creatures. She smiled inwardly, tacking on a “bless their hearts” to the end of that thought. Sue Ann Sanders, a coworker originally from Alabama, used the phrase all the time. While it sounded supportive and sympathetic to northern ears, Sue Ann often used it to convey veiled anger or pity. The blessing could be intensified by bringing a hand up to the collarbone, something Sue Ann referred to as a “pearl-clutching moment.”
This guy, however transparent, didn’t warrant even a single clutched pearl. Kayla guessed he was going through a classic middle-age crisis. He was fairly good-looking, but had the soft look of a man who had eaten too much takeout and hadn’t spent enough time in the gym. His hair was freshly cut; his clothes new enough that they still had that off-the-rack smell.
“Yes,” she said simply, returning her gaze to the window.
“Me, too,” he admitted. “I’m trying to get back out there, you know? Have some fun, live life while I’m still young enough to enjoy it.”
Kayla said nothing, hoping that would be the end of it, knowing it wouldn’t.
He cleared his throat then gave a small, nervous chuckle. “I forgot how hard this was,” he admitted.
Mild curiosity made her flick her eyes his way. “What, flying?”
“No,” he said, color rising in his cheeks. “Trying to talk to a beautiful woman.”
Despite her resolve not to encourage him, her features softened. “You’re doing just fine.”
“Yeah?” The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “Because it feels like I’m going down in flames here.”
She laughed and glanced pointedly at his left hand where he held his bourbon. The indentation on his ring finger told her he had only recently removed a wedding band. “How long?”
His smile faded somewhat. “Not long. We were married for twenty years. She was my high school sweetheart. She died last year. Cancer. Made me promise I’d move on with my life. So, here I am.” He shook his head. “Doesn’t feel right, though, being here without her. Have you ever been married?”
“No.”
“Ever been in love?”
Something inside her chest tightened. Had she ever been in love? Not really. There had been men she had lusted after and been infatuated with, but no one she had actually wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Did that make her self-centered? Probably, but she had made her peace with it. Better to be content and alone than married and miserable, she thought. If nothing else, her mother’s mercenary approach to marriage had taught her that much.
Aloud, she said, “That is a very personal question.”
He looked away, embarrassed. “I’m sorry. That was rude. See what I mean? I’m terrible at this.”
“Tell me about her,” Kayla said.
For the rest of the flight, he did.
“Thank you, Kayla,” he said, offering a sincere smile as he helped her snag her carry-on from the overhead storage compartment. “Can I buy you dinner? No strings, no expectations, just a thank you. You deserve that much for letting me bend your ear.”
“No thanks necessary,” she told him honestly. “But if we happen to run into each other again, I’ll let you buy me an overpriced drink with a fancy umbrella in it.”
He laughed. “It’s a deal. Enjoy your vacation, Kayla.”
“You too, Rick.”
After they parted ways, Kayla sought out her connecting flight. Unlike the previous leg, this one would involve a private, chartered jet, followed by a boat ride to the island.
While she received some appreciative glances along the way, she was left to enjoy the rest of the journey in peace.
A limousine awaited her at the dock. Kayla sucked in a delighted breath when she realized the “limousine service” used real limousines, not the shuttle buses most resorts did. Even better, she was the only one designated for pick-up and got the posh ride all to herself.
After a thirty-minute drive along the coastal road, they passed through a guarded security gate and along a beautifully landscaped drive to the secluded resort.
She tipped the shuttle driver, a very attractive younger man with mischievous eyes and a flirty smile. She had barely had a chance to reach for the grip of her rolling luggage before another guy, also easy on the eyes, bowed his head and took it for her. He flexed his nicely-sculpted biceps and forearms in the process, which she appreciated.
Oh yeah. Being waited on hand and foot by buff, gorgeous man candy? She could get used to this.
If possible, Sate was even more impressive than she had expected. The website photos she had been drooling over pre-trip were stunning, yet they paled in comparison to the real thing.
The main building rose up out of the rocky coastline like some ancient Greek temple, a dazzling mix of white stone, open balconies, and tinted windows.
She walked through the open-air lobby, taking in the immaculate, polished marble floor and matching columns. Crystal lighting, not on in the bright mid-morning light, sparkled between massive, ocean-themed murals depicting sexy scenes of mythological hedonism.
Her job had taken her to some pretty nice places, but this place silently screamed of wealth, class, and privilege. Kayla didn’t fit into any of those categories, but no one here knew that. Annette wanted the agents to get the same treatment their clients would receive so they could make honest recommendations. Therefore, as far as anyone else was concerned, she was just another wealthy woman traveling alone.
Two people stood behind the reception desk, one man and one woman. Both were movie-star beautiful. Kayla wondered vaguely about the application process to get a job here. Was a portfolio required?
“Welcom
e,” the man said, greeting her with a devastating smile. “Checking in?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent.” Sea-green eyes discreetly looked her up and down, flashing with approval. “Name?”
“O’Connell. Kayla O’Connell.”
He tapped his fingers on the sleek tablet before him. “Ah, yes. Miss O’Connell. We have you in the Aphrodite suite. If you would place your hand here, please.” He held out what looked like a slim plate made of black glass. Kayla placed her hand upon it, and seconds later, he said, “You now have full access to all guest amenities.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. Keys and cards are unnecessary. Feel free to explore everything Sate has to offer. Simply press your hand to the access tablets mounted at the entrance to each private area and you’re in.”
“That’s amazing!”
He grinned. “We aim to please. Nikolai will take you to your suite. If there is anything we can do to make your stay more enjoyable, please don’t hesitate to ask.” His voice had dipped slightly lower when he said “anything,” sending potential thoughts of exactly what she might ask for flitting through her mind.
Since that was no doubt his purpose, she met his flirty smile with one of her own. “I will, thank you.”
The buff and sexy blond guy who had taken her luggage smiled and led her farther into the resort, stopping before a circular hub ringed by three gold-accented glass elevators. The atrium stretched up through the center of all twenty-seven stories, with terraced gardens spilling vivid tropical flowers and lush foliage in a stunning cascade of color.
The Aphrodite suite was on the nineteenth floor, and was every bit as impressive as the lobby and atrium. The decor was a sea of white and aqua with crystal and gold accents, from the plush area rugs to the supple leather furniture. To the left, a series of archways and wide steps led to a raised bedroom. If that wasn’t enough, beyond the bedroom lay a spacious bathroom, complete with a sunken Jacuzzi and a six-head shower stall. The entire outer wall, spanning the bathroom, bedroom, and sitting areas, was made of glass panels and led out onto a wide, open-air balcony with a breathtaking view of the sea.
Two of a Kind: A Callaghan Family & Friends Romance Page 3