Page 4 of Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort)
Chapter Three
The long hallway that led to the brand-new Cherish Spa entrance had the lights turned all the way up. Once the spa was actually opened, they would be dimmed to a soft glow, but until the construction was done, the contractor insisted they be turned up to a level that was almost an assault on the senses. The amethyst color that now covered the walls looked much better in the dimmer light but was surprisingly not horrible in the harsh brightness. The large water wall behind the reception desk was turned off but must have been on at some point recently as part of the blue-gray slate making up the backdrop was damp in spots.
All the new signage for the spa was leaning up against the wall or laid out on the new couches still covered in the clear wrap they had been shipped in. Drea had tortured herself trying to come up with the perfect name for the spa. One of the few conditions that her uncles had given her in regard to the spa was that, like everything else on the resort, it had to be named after a song. Despite the fact that her boyfriend, Kyle, who was now the marina manager, and his first mate and best friend, Dalton, had been insistent that Relax was the perfect spa name, Drea was adamant it wasn’t. Even if it meant they had listened to the two of them sing that damn song for weeks. Leona had suggested something with heaven in the title—after all, there were plenty to choose from—but Drea thought that was too cliché. She had finally settled on Cherish, much to the surprise of everyone, but now that the logo and signage was done, Leona couldn’t argue that it was a great fit.
Drea had paperwork strewn all over the reception desk as she danced around to some country song Leona didn’t recognize. Lost in thought, Drea shifted through all the papers, creating little stacks that must have had some sort of method of organization. Leona walked up to the counter as if she were bellying up to a bar and unceremoniously dropped the bag of M&Ms in front of her best friend.
“Why, thank you?” Drea said, barely looking up from the invoice that she was reading.
“He’s here,” Leona replied, not needing to elaborate.
Drea put down the invoice and looked up quickly. “And you know this because you got the check-in alert or because you’ve seen him?”
“Oh, more than seen him. We had a…conversation…if you will,” Leona motioned with her hand.
“And I’m sure it was not a lighthearted, polite, very customer service oriented, small talk, kind of conversation.”
Leona scowled at Drea knowingly. Drea laughed under her breath at the reaction and moved some of her paper piles, clearing a place for Leona to come perch up on the counter. Making her way round the desk, she hopped on up and leaned back, resting against the higher portion of the reception desk.
“He called me ‘menina’ like he doesn't know my real name!?
?
“I think it’s kinda cute that he has a little pet name for you.”
“Cute? Drea, do you know what that means? I looked it up—it means ‘little girl’ in Portuguese, and not in a nice, cute way. He literally calls me ‘little girl.’ That is not flattering!”
“I’m sure he doesn’t mean it in an insulting way,” she countered.
Leona grabbed the bag of candies and opened it up, grabbing a handful before answering. “Oh, yes, he does. This isn’t like Kyle calling you ‘sweetness,’—he’s trying to belittle me.” She shoved the handful of chocolate in her mouth. Drea and Kyle, having been friends for years, got together about five months ago after finally admitting feelings for each other. Everyone knew they were perfect for each other and had just been waiting for them to eventually hook up, but the whole affair hadn’t been without its own drama involving her overprotective uncles and a family secret, but all ended well with them together and Drea fulfilling her dream of opening a spa.
“I don’t understand this animosity between you two,” Drea said, reaching into the baggie. “I mean, he can't actually hate you. He comes back every year and always asks that you be the only one to take care of his room.”
“Because he’s an asshole! He likes to abuse the power that fame and money have afforded him.”
“You didn’t think he was an asshole when we were seventeen,” Drea reminded her.
“He wasn’t one then! He was…oddly charming. All flirty and funny,” she sighed. “That day that Carmella called out sick so I had to go service his room and he was in there, he actually helped me change the sheets. It was sweet. Had I realized that he was only doing it to get into my pants, only to toss me out like an apple core on the side of the road, I would have done things differently. I didn’t realize I was dealing with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
“Oh, you serviced him all right,” Drea said giggling.
“I did not!” Leona threw an M&M at her best friend. “At least not in that moment. The servicing came later.” Both girls giggled at the euphemism.
“I think you still like him, or else you wouldn’t let him get to you like this,” Drea said, getting serious again.
“I do not!” Leona answered. Popping another piece of candy into her mouth, she thought about Drea’s statement. She didn’t have feelings for him—at least not warm fuzzy feelings—but she couldn’t deny that she was still very, very attracted to him. He was sexy, there was no way around that. A large portion of her “rub tub” fantasies involved him in one way or another, although she wasn’t ever going to admit that out loud.
“Are you sure?” Drea asked pointedly. “Are you sure that beneath all that loathing it’s not just you nursing a seriously old crush?”
Leona paused partway to her mouth with another M&M. She thought about what her best friend, who had been by her side since kindergarten, had just asked her. “He makes my blood boil, Dre. Just the thought of him makes me…ugh, I don’t even know. I won’t deny that at one point in time I thought he could stop the world and spin it backwards. The idea of him wanting me…oh man, the idea of him wanting me would just light me up. But now…now it’s different. I hate the way he treats me, like I’m just the help. I didn’t want or need a lifetime of promises from him then or now. I’d just like him to treat me like I’m not gum on the sidewalk. I don’t think that’s really asking all that much.”
“I also think that he still has feelings for you on some level. I think he acts like that because he likes seeing you all worked up—he likes knowing he got under your skin. It’s a weird little game you two play,” Drea offered.
“That’s it, no more romance novels for you,” Leona said, pointing at Drea. “You’re cut off. They are putting ideas into your head.”
“Just sayin’…” she countered, pointing right back at Leona.
“Just saying what?” Kyle’s voice came from the hall as he and Dalton walked into the spa’s lobby.
