Page 55 of Harper's Holiday Romance
Julia used her cap to shoo the flying dragon away.
“That reaction was.”
“Dramatic? I know, but I can’t help it.” I sulked.
“No judgement, but I would like to see how you attempted to get a fly out of a conservatory.” Julia laughed. Her lopsided grin revealed a quite enviable set of teeth. She placed her hat back in place, tucking the small strands of loose hair behind her ears. Her lips were lubricated enough that the glisten from the sun made them look like a plain glazed doughnut—my favourite. She had three distinct laugh lines that creased on her right side whenever she smiled. I hadn’t noticed them until now.
“Do you have any plans tonight?” Julia asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“There’s a special Mexican event taking place here on the resort. Would you like to join me?”
I hesitated. Billie and Sarah were nowhere to be found. “You can think about it,” Julia added.
“I want to; I just want to make sure it’s okay with my friends first. Is that alright?”
“They can come too if you like.” Julia stood up straight in the pool. “Let me know?”
“Sure. I’ll text you later.”
Julia glided through the water closing the gap between us once again.
What is she doing?
I froze. My eyes flickered right to the only other person in the pool. She was oblivious of the gap closure. I was not. My breathing became shaky. I could feel myheartbeat in every limb like my heart had broken into hundreds of tiny pieces. Her body was close enough now that my averted gaze noticed the rise and fall of her chest. I waited to feel the coolness of her wet hand against my face.
Julia used her forefinger to brush a piece of hair from above my ear. “Got it,” she said smoothly.
“Got what?” I sucked in a deep breath.
“There was a bug in your hair. It’s gone now,” Julia said calmly.
I refrained from freaking out with every ounce of self-control I could muster. My violent fear of creepy-crawlies was getting worse with age; only my best friends knew how to best approach a creepy-crawly incident.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Julia sunk into the water, so only her head and shoulders were visible. She backed away; the motion of her arms stroking backwards to aid her movement caused the dents in her shoulders to appear where her muscles contracted.
She was sexy. Period.
Julia oozed confidence.
“See you tonight.” She winked.
She actually winked. The smize coupled with the wink, coupled with the wrinkle in her nose, was the cutest fucking thing I’d ever seen. If I wasn’t floating in water, I would’ve lost the ability to stand.
“I think the concierge is in love with me.” Billie said, staring blankly at her bed.
“You got another present?” I trailed in behind her. The beds were perfectly made up, our shoes tucked neatly away beneath the slate dressing table, our robes hung back on the wardrobe door, and our slippers were placed handily below. There was a small parcel in the centre of the bed wrapped up with purple tissue paper and a pretty yellow bow.
“Oh.” I smirked. “Yep, she’s definitely in love with you.”
Upon finding out it was Billie’s “birthday”, Rosalina, the seventh floor concierge, had gone out of her way to make Billie feel special. In six days, she’d received a beach bag, a cap, a keyring, and numerous unrequested room service deliveries, including chocolate covered strawberries the night before. They weren’t just any chocolate covered strawberries though, these were stamped with the hotel’s logo and served on a bed of desiccated coconut. They were my favourite, and I was disappointed to find only four calyx remaining when I returned.
“She’ll be upset when she finds out I don’t swing that way.”
“I think she’ll be more upset if she finds out it wasn’t your birthday,” I countered.
