by Amy Knupp
“This is yours?” Mackenzie asked, glancing around. The boat was small but classy and seemed to have everything a person needed for overnight trips on the ocean—a seating area up front that appeared to convert to a berth, a stovetop, sink, and mini refrigerator, a compact deck for enjoying the sun or fishing.
“Yes,” Giovanni said. “You cannot live on an island without a trusty boat. This gets me around on my personal time.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you. You’ll probably want to sit here,” Giovanni said, indicating the dinette area on the opposite side of the cockpit. “The seats on the deck can get a lot of cool air at this time of day.”
As Mackenzie slid into the dinette booth with Drake following her, she said, “So where are you taking us, Giovanni?”
The man glanced at Drake conspiratorially. “I’m not at liberty to say. It will be a short trip, however. You’ll know very soon.”
Drake situated himself up against Mackenzie and settled his arm around her shoulders, breathing in her fresh, feminine scent. Giovanni slid into the captain’s seat and started up the engine. When he looked at his passengers again, as if to ensure they were ready, Drake gave him a silent thumbs-up.
“We’re off,” Giovanni said, and the engine got louder.
Mackenzie was quiet for a couple of minutes, her gaze bouncing around, taking in the inside of the boat as well as the sights outside of the windows. “Why can’t you tell me where we’re going?” she asked Drake, eliciting a grin from him. She was little-girl-like in handling a surprise, it seemed, as she’d peppered him with questions from the time she’d finished her shower until now.
“Because it’s a surprise,” he said before pressing a kiss to her temple.
“I’ll be surprised right now.”
“You’ll be surprised in ten minutes. Stage one of the surprise.”
“You’re mean.”
“You’re impatient,” he said with a low, lazy laugh.
“What’s in the bag?” she asked, eyeing it as if it could reveal the secret.
He’d packed for both of them while she was in the shower, in addition to setting out appropriate clothing for her to dress in for this first stop. It was the one part of the day he was most worried about her reaction to, but Giovanni had sworn it would be worth the early wake-up. “Swimsuits, a couple of changes of clothes, a brush, a few other necessities.”
“That tells me nothing.” She crossed her arms over her chest as if pouting but leaned her head on his shoulder. He liked it when she put her head on his shoulder.
A handful of minutes later, Giovanni directed the boat into a covered slip similar to the one they’d left behind. On the end of the long pier was a wooden sign that said Welcome to Susulu.
Mackenzie sat up straight and read it out loud. “Okay, what’s Susulu?”
“Susulu is a private island that houses my brother Pasqual’s top-of-the-line health and fitness resort,” Giovanni explained. “That’s him approaching.”
“Well, of course it’s top-of-the-line. That goes without saying when it comes to the Rossi family, right? I think I’ve actually heard of this place,” she said, sliding around the banquette table, standing, and then stepping to the back uncovered part of the boat for a better view. It wasn’t very light out yet—sunrise was officially in about fifteen minutes, Drake knew—and unlike Jiva, Susulu had hills and cliffs and varied elevations beyond the strip of sand that wrapped around it, which shadowed the beach.
Once they’d docked and secured the boat, all three of them disembarked. Giovanni introduced Drake and Mackenzie to Pasqual, or Paq. Like Giovanni, Paq had dark hair and tanned olive skin and a lady-killer smile. It was easy to tell just looking at the guy he was a fitness buff, and Drake would bet he spent lots of time lifting based on his musculature.
“This is where I leave you,” Giovanni said soon after, knowing they had an appointment to make.
“Thanks, man,” Drake said, shaking his hand again, giving him a sincere look. “I appreciate the ride and everything else.”
“Anytime, my friend. Have fun today.” Giovanni aimed the last at Mackenzie, then walked back toward the pier to head to Jiva.
“We must hurry,” Paq said, gesturing to an ATV with four seats parked nearby. “We’ll get you up the hill quickly.”
Drake let Mackenzie sit in front next to Paq and climbed into the back.
“Tell me about your resort,” Mackenzie said, and though she didn’t mention her job, Drake knew she was logging the information as much for business as her own curiosity.
“I’d be happy to,” Paq said as he started up the engine. They lurched forward slightly when he hit the gas. “The island is almost seven square kilometers. The resort takes up less than a quarter of that, and the rest is wilderness. We have just about any type of fitness facility a person could want, from swimming pools to sports fields to tennis and racquetball courts and a state-of-the-art workout facility with weights and classes. We have multiple paths through the jungle for bicycles and running. You could do a different activity or sport every day for a month here.”
“Wow. So active people all the way, huh?”
“You could also sit on the beach, but the majority of our clientele would rather be parasailing or kitesurfing or even kayaking. They are passionate about movement and fitness. We have three separate restaurants on the property, ranging from quick post-workout specialties like smoothies and protein bombs to a whole-foods sit-down dinner place where the food is the purest fuel for the body.”
“Impressive. I’m afraid I might starve here,” Mackenzie said. “I’m addicted to crap food.”
“We have a restaurant with more standard fare as well. We offer numerous classes each day, from fitness in the gym to beginner lessons on all kinds of activities. There is always something new to learn for most.”
“And what about the rooms for lodging? It looks like you don’t have beachfront casitas like Bellamore.”
“You are correct. Ninety percent of Susulu is perched high above the surf. We have a lodge with suites as well as individual clifftop cabins. You can hear the surf from every room and the views are magnificent, with sea vistas for miles.”
“It sounds amazing. I’d love to see it all.” She turned in her seat to look at Drake. “Are we doing a tour?”
To maintain his surprise a little longer, Drake said, “You’re not working today,” just as their climb ended and the ATV leveled out. Before them was a building with a steep thatched roof and walls made of native-looking slabs of wood and glass. There were thick, exotic-looking trees everywhere, and several similar-style buildings were visible scattered in the distance.
“This is our meditation and yoga pavilion,” Paq told them. “Come along.” Drake checked the time and saw they had about two minutes to spare.
They walked inside to find a long, narrow room with shelves lining one wall stocked with supplies and equipment—exercise balls, mats of every color, blankets, yoga blocks and bolsters, and more.
“What are we doing?” Mackenzie said in a low voice to Drake, because there were voices on the other side of the wall, and it was definitely the type of building where a person was compelled to use a quiet voice.
“Grab a mat and a bolster and then follow me,” Paq directed.
Drake led Mackenzie to the shelf and picked out a rolled-up mat for each of them.
“You got me up in the middle of the night to do yoga?” she whispered, confused, to Drake as they trailed behind Paq, who’d picked out his own equipment.
“More than just yoga,” Drake told her, and he took her hand as they rounded the end of the equipment wall into a large open room that was obviously made for classes. The entire long side of the room was floor-to-ceiling windows and beyond them… Drake and Mackenzie stopped in their tracks at the same time, just taking in the view.
Giovanni had promised this view was astounding, but Drake couldn’t have imagined.
From their ele
vated spot, they had a centralized view of where the sun was making its way up on the liquid horizon, already painting the sky in vivid oranges and yellows and pinks. There was a large rock jutting out of the water on the right side, not big enough to be considered an island, exactly, but its silhouette added drama to a setting that didn’t need any help in the drama department. To the left, farther out, was an island with a hilly silhouette. The ocean was almost as smooth as glass and reflecting the sky like a mirror. Below them, more of Susulu was visible, with outlines of palm trees, a long stretch of sand, and the turquoise waters of a resort swimming pool.
“Wow,” Mackenzie said, her eyes wide. “That’s…”
“Yeah,” Drake said. There were no suitable words.
“We’re going outside,” she said, her voice full of awe, as they followed the others toward the double glass panel that was open to the cool morning air.
“We’re doing outdoor sunrise yoga with that as our view,” Drake said. He wasn’t a big fan of yoga himself—didn’t deny the value of it, but given the choice, he’d prefer something higher impact and less gentle. But this… He would do yoga every damn morning if this was the venue.
The room had emptied out, and there were nine or ten people outside, situating their mats in silence, then standing on them, gazing reverently at the panoramic view, waiting for the class to start. Closest to the view was a single mat, that of the instructor, it appeared, and instead of creating multiple rows in front of her, people had situated their mats in a single line, so that no one’s view was obstructed.
Drake led Mackenzie to the far side of the row, and they unrolled their mats side by side. As he found the center of his mat and faced the ocean, Mackenzie was suddenly right next to him. Her eyes sparkled with life as she peered up into his.
“This is incredible,” she whispered, and even her whisper was filled with emotion. “You’re incredible. Thank you.” She went up on her toes and pressed a deliberate, heartfelt kiss on his lips that took the rest of his breath away. After lingering for an extra second over his mouth, she lowered to flat feet, looked into his eyes again, and sent him a smile of pure, enthusiastic joy.
As she went back to her own mat, Drake had the thought that he’d do just about anything to put that look on her face every day for the rest of her life. That scared the ever-loving hell out of him. He shoved it deep, determined to enjoy every second of their last day in the tropics.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Falling in love with Drake would be the dumbest thing Mackenzie could do.
But oh, was he making it so hard to resist.
She would’ve bolted upright in bed the second the thought hit her had Drake not had his arm draped over her, sound asleep. Instead, she rolled over, sliding out from under him, and slipped out of bed. He made a muffled noise but didn’t seem to wake up, and she was grateful for that. She needed some time alone to get her head straight.
They’d slept with the door open to the fresh sea breeze, and as it blew over her naked body now, there was a slight morning chill to it. With the dawn light filtering in, she rustled through her suitcase, pulled out thin pajama-type pants that went to her knees, and pulled them on. Then she spotted the lightweight hoodie Drake had worn for yoga yesterday, grabbed it, and pulled it over her head, knowing it would feel good against the cool air. She breathed in the scent of him that lingered in the fabric and glanced at the bed where he slept, tempted to go back and crawl in next to him, fully aware that this was her last chance before they left for home. Their boat ride to the airport was in less than two hours.
With her feet bare and her hair likely a wild tangle, she slid the screen door open and went out to the deck, then beyond, to the sand, registering the coolness of the fine grains under her feet.
The sun was up, but barely, and she would bet there was a heck of a show going on in the sky to the east—and on Susulu—judging by the streaks of pink and orange visible above her on this western-facing side of the island. Mackenzie made no move to investigate any of it. She had too much going through her mind.
She walked closer to the water and lowered herself to the sand where it was dry and powdery and soft. Glancing up and down the shore, she verified she was the only person in sight and relished the privacy. Her gaze locked on to the mellow waves lapping in a soothing rhythm.
She craved the soothing, because inside of her, a storm of disquiet was brewing.
Yesterday had been amazing, unforgettable, perfect.
After sunrise yoga, she’d figured they would head back to Jiva, but no. Yoga was only the beginning of a day jam-packed with adventure and sightseeing and fun.
Drake had gotten Giovanni to help him plan a whirlwind tour of the Rossi brothers’ resorts, all six of them, which would have been awe-inspiring and interesting even if she wasn’t in the travel industry. They’d shuttled between each island, either by boat or helicopter, toured each resort, and then done an extra activity or something else that went along with each resort’s theme.
After yoga and a light breakfast at Paq’s health and fitness resort, they’d visited Franco’s water lovers’ resort for a tour and a surf lesson. Next was Stefano’s nature-focused resort, where they’d taken a helicopter ride to an active volcano.
For lunch, they’d met Vito at his adventure-themed resort. Afterward, Drake had let her choose their activity. They’d been heading to the shore for parasailing when Mackenzie had seen the resort’s kiosk where they coordinated shark diving. She’d stopped in her tracks, an idea taking shape.
As Drake had checked out the underwater close-ups of sharks hanging on the kiosk walls, his face had lit up like a little boy with his first bicycle. She loved that about him, loved his sense of adventure and his openness to just about everything, and that’s what she focused on, instead of her own fears, as she’d approached the girl at the counter, trying to hide her trepidation as she asked how dangerous it was to dive with sharks. The girl, who was about twenty and less than five feet tall, had answered countless questions from Mackenzie, explaining that they had a team of experts to ensure that it was safe.
When Mackenzie had observed Drake enthusiastically chatting with one of the divers, it was gratitude and the need to turn the tables and make a part of this day special for him that drove her to say, “Let’s do this instead of parasailing.”
The dive had been surreal and incredible and had pumped a crap ton of adrenaline through her, but what she’d remember even more than seeing seven types of sharks up close and personal was the way, afterward, Drake had picked her up in a full-body hug and kissed her until she couldn’t remember her own name and then happily chattered about the experience for the next hour plus, reliving it, play-by-playing it, as they were taxied to island number five for the day.
Angelo’s resort was a spa that centered around meditation, self-care, and pampering, and the massages Drake had scheduled couldn’t have been better timed. Once they’d been blissfully scrubbed and mudded and rubbed to within an inch of their lives, all signs of the adrenaline-fest of the shark dive had been erased.
The finale of the tour was a visit to Luca’s culinary resort, where they’d had a cooking lesson to prepare banana-leaf-wrapped mahi-mahi with a chili-lime sauce, a steamed dalo side dish, and honey cake for dessert. Then they’d eaten their creations at a table for two on the beach as the sun descended in the sky in another spectacular display that, along with the sunrise that morning, book-ended the day in absolute unforgettable splendor.
Mackenzie would hold on to the memories for the rest of her life. But what exceeded the awesomeness of all of that—the once-in-a-lifetime sights, the personalized activities—was that Drake had not only set out to give Mackenzie a fun, memorable day but he’d indulged her devotion to her work. He’d made sure every Rossi brother was well acquainted with Mackenzie’s company and her purpose, and each resort tour they’d been on was personalized to give her information that would help her create the types of trips her clients demanded.<
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That Drake recognized how much value that had to Mackenzie told her he got her.
He. Got. Her.
Between that and his general thoughtfulness and consideration throughout the day, and, oh, also his charm and his wit and his warmth, Drake was, in a word, irresistible. His beautiful smile and luscious muscles and the things he could do to her with his body were just…extra.
Spending four days with him on the other side of the world had allowed her to get to know him even better than staying at his apartment in Nashville had. Here, they’d been nearly inseparable, a couple in every sense of the word except one—they had no future.
After their talk on the beach the other night, Mackenzie understood Drake better, understood that, after the trauma of his dad’s death, he was afraid of losing what mattered most to him, and so he worked hard not to let any one thing—or person—matter too much. She knew now that was why he flitted from one thing to another, keeping his life full to the brim but not with any one focus.
She’d known before that he was a commitment-phobe, and now she grasped why.
It drove home even harder the plain truth—it didn’t matter how close they became here on the island of Jiva. Drake wasn’t a long-term kind of guy. He wouldn’t get serious with Mackenzie or any other girl. He’d have fun and plan activities and be his charming self while it was new, but until he decided he wanted to get over his issue, he would never let himself become involved in a real, lasting relationship.
Burrowing her feet up to the ankles in the sand, Mackenzie admitted it. She wanted that relationship. She wanted the long-term. She wanted to be special to Drake even after this trip, far beyond the magical shores of Jiva.
And there was the ugly, scary, disappointing truth, staring her in the face.
She, as it turned out, was an idiot without measure, because she’d gone and done the dumbest thing possible—she’d fallen in love with Drake North.