Page 43 of See You Next Month

“Nope.”

Kelsey grinned. “Well, I have something for you, too.”

“Merry Christmas to us,” Isabella said, putting her arm around Kelsey’s shoulders.

13

Isabella looked over at Kelsey as she waved goodbye to Carmen and Sylvie. The smile on her face could light up the growing darkness. They’d come back from Peaches after the sun had set but there was still enough light for Sylvie to navigate the water.

“Not bad for a Christmas Day away from home, wouldn’t you say?” Isabella said to Kelsey as they turned to walk through the resort and out to their bungalows.

“It was a good day, but it isn’t over yet,” Kelsey said.

“Do you want to have dinner?”

“I ate enough stuff at Peaches that I’m still full. How about you?” Kelsey replied.

“Same,” Isabella said. “Let’s go to the bungalows, exchange gifts, then we can do our usual walk along the beach.”

Kelsey nodded and Isabella saw an uncertain look on her face. “Would you rather do something else?”

“No,” Kelsey said.

“Then what’s wrong?” Isabella watched Kelsey give her a sideways glance.

“Nothing is wrong,” Kelsey said. “I’m kind of rethinking my gift. Do you remember when you told me my love language was doing for others?”

Isabella grinned. “Of course I do.” She stopped and reached for Kelsey’s arm to stop her as well. “Your gift will be perfect because it came from you and you obviously thought about it, so stop worrying,” Isabella said, widening her eyes.

Kelsey chuckled. “Okay.”

“You are definitely the thinker in this couple,” Isabella teased as they started walking again.

“Someone has to do it,” Kelsey said.

Isabella scoffed. “Just because I like to do things in the moment does not mean I don’t think things through.” She watched Kelsey smirk and raise one eyebrow. “Most of the time.”

Kelsey laughed. “Whatever our dynamic is, it seems to be working, so I’d say we’re fine.”

“Sometimes you need a little spontaneity and sometimes you need a plan,” Isabella said.

“As a couple we have that on lock.”

Isabella chuckled. “We do.”

They stopped at Kelsey’s front door and Isabella said, “I’ll be over in a minute.”

Isabella went inside her bungalow and found Kelsey’s gift where she'd left it next to the TV. She walked into the bathroom and took her hair down. She’d worn it up all day, but wanted to leave it down tonight if it didn’t look too bad. She fluffed it and noticed a crease where the hair tie had held it all day, but it would do.

A smile played across her lips as she walked back into the room. She couldn’t help but wonder what Kelsey’s gift to her was. It didn’t really matter. She knew she’d love it because it was from Kelsey. Each day they had gotten to know each other better and Isabella wouldn’t be surprised if they were best friends by the end of the trip.

She grabbed the gift and walked next door to Kelsey’s back deck. “What’s that?” she asked Kelsey while she fiddled with something.

“It’s a speaker I borrowed from Riley. I’m just pairing it to my phone. We like to listen to music while we sit out here, so I thought it might sound better,” Kelsey said.

“What are we drinking? I almost grabbed beer, but we drank that all afternoon,” Isabella said.

“There’s wine left in my fridge,” Kelsey said. “How about we finish it?”

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