Page 99 of See You Next Month

Kelsey smiled and hoped Isabella would remember that when issues began to surface because she knew they would.

They walked through the resort holding hands and Isabella grinned at Kelsey. “I like this.”

Kelsey chuckled. “Is it different than when we walk arm in arm?”

“Yep,” Isabella said. “There’s a sign flashing over heads that says we’re a couple.”

Kelsey chuckled. “Oh, my God,” she said under her breath. “Here we go.”

Isabella laughed as they walked into the lobby and down the hall to Carmen’s office.

Kelsey knocked on her open door. “Hi, Carmen.”

“I could hear you laughing down the hall. Aren’t you both in a good mood,” Carmen said with a smile. “Have a seat. Are you ready to rest and rejuvenate?”

“We are,” Isabella said, sitting in one of the chairs across from Carmen’s desk.

“There has been a development,” Kelsey said, sitting next to Isabella.

“A development? There have been tons of positive comments on your post from the flight yesterday.”

“Oh, good,” Kelsey said.

“There’s also been another uptick in reservations this month. More people are following you two than all the other months combined.”

“Really?” Isabella said. “I’m telling you, people want to slow down. They need to recharge.”

“So what’s this development?” Carmen said, steepling her hands on the desk.

Isabella smiled at Kelsey and reached for her hand. “Kelsey and I are under the island’s magic spell. We’ve fallen in love,” she said, looking over at Carmen with a wide grin.

“Oh!” Carmen exclaimed, sitting back in her chair.

“Is that a good oh or a bad oh?” Kelsey asked after a moment. She could see the wheels turning in Carmen’s head as she looked from Isabella to Kelsey and back.

Carmen took a breath and let it out then smiled. “Well, first, good for you. That’s wonderful.” She tilted her head. “You know, Sylvie thought there might be something going on between you two.”

Kelsey smiled. “It just kind of happened. Neither one of us was looking for anything?—”

“But our hearts had different plans,” Isabella finished.

Carmen smiled and sighed. “I’m not sure what this means for us. You two have had chemistry from the beginning and your friendliness is what attracts followers.”

“But,” Kelsey said, “you’re not sure what will happen if they find out we’re more than two single moms who’ve become friends.”

Carmen nodded.

“We didn’t have many negative comments about our Valentine’s trip when one of the couples we highlighted was gay,” Isabella said defensively.

“Yes, but they weren’t the hosts. It was advertised as a trip for couples to celebrate love in February,” Carmen stated. “I wish you nothing but the best, honestly I do. Please understand I have to look at this from a business standpoint as well.”

Kelsey nodded. “I get that.”

“Couldn’t it possibly bring in more queer followers?” Isabella said. “Every month we’ve mentioned how LGBTQ+ friendly the islands are.”

Carmen nodded. “Maybe, but we could also lose as many or more. We’ve already invested a lot of money in this.”

“It isn’t like we did this on purpose,” Isabella said heatedly.

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