Page 1 of Paradise Pride

1

Meghan

“Remind me never to take a shuttle bus again.” Meghan felt clammy and tired from sitting in the stuffy vehicle for over two hours. The hotel wasn’t even that far from the airport, but it had stopped off at fifteen other hotels before they finally arrived at their destination: Paradise Hotel. Waiting for their luggage to be unloaded, she glanced at the entrance of the tall, rather unappealing building and frowned. “What’s with all the rainbows?”

“What?” Her friend Kim was panting as she joined Meghan with their suitcases.

“The rainbows.” Meghan pointed to the rainbow flags in the pineapple palms by the door and over the entrance.

“I don’t know.” Kim sighed. “And I don’t care. I just want to shower, get changed and have a drink by the pool before I meet Andres.” She looked over her shoulder as the shuttle drove off. “Seems like we’re the only ones who got off here.”

“Hmm…” Meghan grabbed her case and followed her friend into the reception area. From previous experience with packaged holidays, she’d expected chaos at check-in, but there was no one. “Hello?” she yelled, only to be answered by the echo of her own voice. “Hello, is anyone there?”

“Hi, can I help you?” A man came out from the office behind the reception desk and stared at their suitcases. “I’m afraid we’re not open. We’re preparing for an event, so if you have tickets, you can come back tomorrow.”

“No, that can’t be right,” Kim said in an irritated tone. “We’ve booked an all-inclusive holiday with you. I have the confirmation right here.”

“Maybe you got the date wrong?” The man took the confirmation Kim had printed and furrowed his brow as he looked it over. “Did you not get a follow-up email from us, offering you an upgrade in one of our other hotels?”

“No, we never got anything,” Kim said, sounding like she was close to panicking. She was here to see her Spanish boyfriend, Andres, whom she’d met on holiday last year, and she’d asked Meghan to tag along so she wouldn’t be alone during the day, when Andres was working. She’d been unbearable for weeks, talking non-stop about him and speculating whether he would introduce her to his family. Because Kim was only here with one goal in mind: she wanted a ring.

“Okay, my apologies.” The man backed away. “Please give me a moment. I need to start the system so I can check the facts. Take a seat. I’ll be right back.”

Meghan dragged her case along to the reception seating area and slumped in a chair. “I didn’t get anything,” she mumbled as she scrolled through her emails. “I’m sure of it.”

“Me neither. If anyone’s been double and triple checking the facts, it’s me.” Kim groaned and covered her face with her hands. “Oh God, this is a disaster. He’s not lying. It looks closed, and even if they offer us an alternative, we won’t be as near to Andres’ bar as we are now. I only booked this place because it was walking distance.”

“Don’t worry. They’ll come up with a solution. They have to.” Meghan couldn’t have cared less where they were staying as long as there was a pool and the drinks were included. Being thirty-four and single, it was hard enough to find people who wanted to go on holiday with her. Most of her friends were married with kids, and the few single friends she had were too wild for her to spend more than a night with. When Kim had suggested going to Spain together, she’d immediately said yes because it seemed like the perfect solution. During the day, they would sunbathe, gossip and have cocktails by the poolside, and at night, Kim would see her boyfriend, which would give Meghan space to go out, explore and maybe meet new people. After all, what was the point of being single if she didn’t chase opportunities?

“Now I’m going to be late, and I’ll look like shit,” Kim said. “And my ankles are still swollen from the flight. I need to put my feet up ASAP. I was hoping I could do that by the pool.”

“I’m sure Andres will understand if you’re a little late.” Meghan turned to her friend, who was about to lose her temper. “He loves you, and he’ll be happy to see you. He won’t care if your ankles are swollen.”

“Hesayshe loves me,” Kim corrected her. “I’m here to find out if he really does, or if he’s just some lothario who still sleeps with tourists on a regular basis. But if he does love me… If hereally doeslove me, then I want to look my best for him, so he’ll realise we should be together forever and—”

“Ever and ever,” Meghan interrupted her. She’d heard this so many times before, and although she was happy for Kim, it was getting old, especially after a ten-hour journey during which Kim had talked about Andres non-stop. “There he is,” she said, relieved to see the man come out of his office. He was clearly not on official duty, as he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but at least he seemed helpful.

“Apologies for the wait, ladies. There was a glitch in our system. We sent an email to everyone who had booked for this week, but for some reason, yours wasn’t sent, and it’s still pending.”

“Great.” Kim tilted her head as she looked him over. “So, how are you planning on solving this? I have somewhere to be in two hours, and I’d really like to get ready.”

“Of course. My name is Robert, by the way, and I normally work behind reception—when the hotel is open,” he added with an apologetic smile. “I’ve just called my manager. The good news is I’ll be able to give you an upgrade and check you in, and we’ll give you a refund for tonight. The bad news is that we can’t provide food for tonight, but there will be a member of staff behind the pool bar to serve you.” He hesitated. “Unless you’d rather go to one of our sister hotels? I can find out which ones have availability.”

“No, that works for me,” Kim said, getting up. “A room is all I need. Are you okay with that, Megs?”

“Fine with me.” Meghan was surprised at how quickly the problem had been solved, and she, too, was dying to get changed.

“Oh, one more thing.” Robert slipped back behind the reception desk and picked up a flyer. “As I said, there will be an event here this weekend. It’s a Pride event. Women only,” he added, holding it up for them to see. “I just need to check you don’t have a problem with that.”

“No problem at all.” Meghan smiled. “As long as the bar is open.”

2

Florence

“You want me to work the bar tonight?” Florence stared from the pool bar to Robert and frowned.

“Only until midnight—if you don’t mind,” he said. “I’ll stay on reception. I can sleep in the back.” He sighed. “We screwed up with their reservation, so it’s the least we can do, but I understand if you can’t at such short notice. I can ask someone else.”

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