“Well, yeah?” I look at her as if she’d just asked a ridiculous question. “You’re my assistant. You get to go wherever I need you to go.”
“Awesome.” Her smile seems a permanent fixture on her face, along with that thoughtful, dreamy look I usually have when I first learn I’m going somewhere I’ve never been. Only difference between me and Paige is that she has yet to learn that these trips never turn out the way we dream about them. She was Cassandra’s assistant for only a month before becoming mine and didn’t travel farther than Chicago. Not that Paige couldn’t afford to travel anywhere she wanted on her own—she has plenty of family money—but she’s not above being appreciative of all-expense paid trips, either.
We arrive at the hotel. I turn to Paige, who’s trying to steady my heavy duffel bag, suppressing an uncomfortable look.
“What the hell did you pack in this thing?”
I laugh.
“I think I packed everything I own—Cassandra must be rubbing off on me.”
“God, I hope not.” Paige chuckles and readjusts the duffel bag strap on the opposite shoulder, her wispy blond hair poking out from underneath the ball cap.
“Well, you know me,” I say with a shrug, “prepared and organized as always.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” I don’t see it, but I sense Paige’s eyes rolling dramatically.
When we finally make it up to my suite, I gasp as I open the door. Immaculate. Lavish. And with a beautiful balcony view to die for.
Paige places my bags next to the wall.
I kick off my Chucks and plop down on a wicker chair with a soft teal cushion near the sliding glass balcony door.
“Nice, isn’t it?” Paige says, looking about the room.
“Nice is an understatement.” I run the palm of my hand across the smooth surface of the table next to me and I think of my parents momentarily, about the only time we ever went on a vacation when I was younger. We stayed in a cheap roadside motel one night on the way to visit friends of my parents somewhere in Texas. It wasn’t much of a vacation really, but I was glad to see my parents spending time together, doing something other than working sixty-hour weeks and too tired to talk to one another when they saw each other in passing.
Paige plops down on the end of my perfectly made bed, her tanned legs dangling off the edge, her feet dressed in an expensive pair of Louboutin gladiator-style sandals.
“How much time do you think we have?” she asks, bouncing gently on the bed to test the feel of the mattress.
I don’t even want to think about work because I just got here, but it was inevitable.
“I’ve gotta take a shower,” I say, raising my back from the comfort of the chair, “and put on my makeup and fix my hair—we’ll head down to the pavilion in about an hour.”
Paige nods and gets up from the bed.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’m gonna get a bite to eat. I’m over in 510. Call me when you’re ready—unless there’s anything you need before I go … boss?” She winks.
I shake my head and smile, leaning my back against the chair. “No, I’m good, but thanks. See yah soon.”
The door closes with a click behind her.
Finally I’m alone. In Hawaii. I’m in Hawaii! I can hardly believe it. I glance over at my hard-side suitcase sitting upright on the carpeted floor and I contemplate pulling out my camera gear packed safely inside of it—I bring it pretty much wherever I go. Then I glance at the clock on the nightstand beside the bed and a long, deep sigh escapes my lungs.
Accepting that it’s not a good time—unfortunately, it rarely ever is—I erase the camera gear from my mind and get up from the chair, sliding the glass door open and stepping out onto the balcony. The warm eighty-degree breeze greets me as I make my way out, pushing through wandering strands of dark auburn hair pinned sloppily to my head. I shut my eyes for a moment and breathe in deeply, taking the wind into my lungs and savoring the moment of peace while I can. Because once I step out that suite door to head down to the wedding site near the beach, peace and tranquility will be nothing but a memory.
TWO
Sienna
I meet Paige in the hallway an hour later and we’re on our way to the elevator. She’s changed into another pair of shorts and a cute lacy top. Her blond hair has been brushed and lies softly over both shoulders.
“I’ve already met a guy,” she admits.
I look over at her.
“You’re kidding.” This doesn’t really surprise me much; Paige has always been a social girl; not to mention she’s beautiful, with a magnetic personality to boot—she dreams of becoming a model someday, and personally I think it’s just a matter of time.
Her slim mouth spreads into a grin.
“Hey, it’s not like I went looking,” she says as she moves a few long strands of hair away from her face, tucking them behind her ear. “I went to check things out and ended up in the bar downstairs.”
“The bar? Paige!” I shake my head disappointedly.
The elevator dings and stops on the fourth floor, the doors parting. A thirtysomething couple steps in.
“I wasn’t drinking,” she whispers, rolling her eyes. “I was just looking around and getting a feel for the resort.” The woman looks in our direction. “Anyway, he works at the bar and told me to stop in and have a drink sometime when I get a chance.” She grins and lowers her voice even more. “He’s not the kind I usually go for, but he’s hot enough I’m willing to make a few adjustments on my requirements list.”