Page 54 of Vacation with the Ice Queen

"Thank you for dinner," Serena said softly. "And for your honesty."

"Thank you for the beautiful box," Lila returned. "And for yours."

Serena reached up, brushing a strand of hair from Lila's face with gentle fingers. The simple touch sent shivers across Lila's skin.

"May I kiss you goodnight?" Serena asked, her usual commanding tone softened into something closer to hope.

The request—so proper, so unexpectedly old-fashioned from a thoroughly modern woman—charmed Lila completely. "You may," she answered, a smile curving her lips.

Serena leaned forward, one hand coming to rest lightly on Lila's waist as their lips met. Unlike the hungry passion of their pool encounter, this kiss held a different quality—deliberate, exploring, present. Serena's mouth moved against hers withexquisite attention, as if memorizing the sensation for later contemplation.

When they parted, both slightly breathless, Lila felt the impact throughout her body—a slow burn rather than explosive heat, but no less powerful for its gradual nature.

"Goodnight, Lila," Serena said, reluctance evident in her voice as she stepped back.

"Goodnight," Lila replied, equally reluctant to end the moment. "Sunrise yoga tomorrow?"

"I wouldn't miss it," Serena assured her, a smile playing at lips still faintly smudged from their kiss. "Though focusing on meditation may prove challenging after tonight."

With that acknowledgment of mutual desire, she departed, moving down the garden path with her usual purposeful stride slightly softened by the evening they'd shared.

Lila remained on her porch, watching until Serena's figure disappeared around a bend in the path. Only then did she release the full breath she'd been holding, allowing herself to feel the magnitude of what had just transpired.

It was terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure.

As she cleared the dinner dishes, blew out the candles, and prepared for bed, Lila found herself touching the wooden box Serena had given her, a tangible reminder that whatever happened between them had already moved beyond simple physical attraction or holiday dalliance.

The box would remain on her shelf long after Serena returned to New York. Like the memory of tonight, it would become part of her collection of meaningful moments—beautiful, lasting, but ultimately belonging to the past rather than the future.

Lila slipped into bed, her body tingling with anticipation despite her assertion that they should take things slowly. She'd meant what she said about deliberate exploration being differentfrom impulsive connection. But as she drifted toward sleep, memories of their goodnight kiss playing behind her closed eyelids, she wondered if her heart had already outpaced her carefully constructed boundaries.

Eleven days stretched before them, full of possibility and inevitably ending in goodbye. Whether that goodbye would leave her wounded or merely wistful remained to be seen.

For now, she would focus on the present. The rest would unfold as it was meant to, moment by moment, breath by breath.

Just like the mindfulness she taught others, this situation called for awareness without attachment, experience without expectation.

If only her heart would cooperate with such sensible philosophy.

7

SERENA

Serena slid her feet into sandals that cost more than some people's monthly rent and stepped out onto her villa's terrace. Morning sunlight sparkled across the ocean, almost offensively bright and cheerful. She squinted against it, wondering how she'd managed to wake up feeling both rested and restless at the same time.

Last night with Lila had been... unexpected. Not the dinner itself—she'd gone there with clear intentions—but the way they'd parted. With restraint. With promises of something more measured than their midnight pool encounter.

She checked her watch: 6:45 a.m. Still time before her meeting with Lila at the secluded beach. Just enough to scan her inbox, she told herself, even as another part of her mind whispered that those emails could wait.

"Damn this island," she muttered, running a hand through her hair that she'd left loose—another small rebellion against her usual meticulous Manhattan style.

She made her way back inside, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The woman looking back at her seemed softer somehow, like a photograph with the edges gently blurred. Evenher posture had changed, the defensive lift of her shoulders less pronounced after days of Lila's yoga sessions and that life-altering massage.

Her phone buzzed with a notification: Ashley, checking in from New York. The familiar rush of adrenaline hit her system, but instead of immediately answering, Serena found herself hesitating.

"Eleven days," she reminded herself. That's all the time she had with Lila before returning to the boardrooms and battles awaiting her. And she'd already wasted three of them pretending she wasn't completely captivated by a woman who looked at the world so differently from herself.

The thought sent her straight to her laptop anyway. She'd never been good at indecision. Half-measures weren't in her DNA. If she was going to explore this thing with Lila, she needed to rearrange her workload accordingly. Delegate where possible. Prioritize ruthlessly.

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