Page 1 of What I Like About You

Chapter One

Some days Zara Wellingtonjust couldn’t believe that this was her life. Yet somehow, she was standing in the beautiful open-air lobby of the Indigo Royal Resort on St. Thomas. A light breeze ruffled her skirt, bringing with it the fresh scent of the ocean she knew must be close by. She was sure that the smile she could feel spread across her face looked about as dopey as they came, but she didn’t really care. An all-expenses paid trip for her and her BFF to a luxury resort in paradise deserved a dopey smile.

Not that this was the first trip of its kind. In fact, it was the fourth all-expenses paid trip she’d taken this year. But something about this one felt different. Maybe it was because it was for a full week, rather than a long weekend, or simply because they had offered to fully cover her best friend, Antwan Thomas, as well, where usually the most they were given for him was a discounted rate. Or maybe it was due to the fact that she’d heard so much about this resort over the years that when they had reached out to her asking if Relaxation InSPAration would like to come check out the new Cherish Spa, she would have been willing to pay her own way if that is what it would have taken.

While none of her friends had actually been to the Indigo Royal, it certainly seemed like back in Atlanta everyone knew someone who had been here and that they simply “raved about it.” It said a lot about the resort, though, that the kinds of people in her family’s social circle spoke so highly of it. It took a lot for old southern money to react that way about any place that wasn’t also old southern money. Yet somehow the Indigo Royal had managed to sneak into the hearts of the alleged in crowd, and Zara couldn’t wait to find out why.

Julie, the petite, slender blonde behind the desk, greeted Zara with a beaming smile that looked like it belonged painted onto a doll’s face. Her fingers moved at what seemed like warp speed across the keyboard as she input Zara’s information into the resort’s system.

“Alright, Miss Wellington, you and Mr. Thomas are booked into suite 1736, which is a two-bedroom suite in Purple Rain, so you’ll both have your own space,” Julie said, handing Zara back her ID and a little envelope with two proximity keycards enclosed. “There is a key in here for each of you. If you lose one or they get damaged, just let us know and we can easily replace them for you.”

“Purple Rain?” Zara asked, a little confused. What did a Prince song have to do with her hotel suite?

“Yes, every building on campus is named after a song. The building you’re in is the Purple Rain,” she said, that bright smile still plastered to her face. “So, if you’ll just wait a moment, I’ll go get Miss Miller for you.”

Julie disappeared down a little hall behind the counter before Zara could even react to anything the blonde had told her. More than anything though, she was excited to hear that she and Antwan would have their own space during this week. She adored her best friend, and there wasn’t anyone else on this planet she would want to bring with her on a trip like this. However, she also knew him well enough to know that the two of them in a hotel room was a recipe for disaster. There was no doubt in her mind that at some point on this trip Antwan would be on what he termed a “hottie hunt,” and that he would more than likely be successful, leaving her either sexiled from her own hotel room or stuck in there with whomever he’d picked up. While their taste in men was similar enough most of the time, she didn’t feel the need for front-row seats to that show.

“Zeeeeee…” Antwan said, drawing out the sound of the letter as he sashayed up to her. “I’m moving in. Seriously, may never leave.”

“We have been here ten minutes and haven’t made it out of the lobby yet,” she responded.

“Right, but have you seen the man candy that has made its way through here during that time? Girl, this is gonna be good.”

Zara just shook her head and laughed, once again thanking whomever made the decision to give them a two-bedroom suite. Antwan was a good-looking guy who quite often described himself as a young Idris Elba, so Zara had no doubts he’d be able to find someone interested. She, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure about how she felt about putting on her swimsuit in front of said “man candy.” Even though she was relatively tall at just shy of five feet nine, she was a size sixteen on her best of days. And while she had come to terms with being a “bigger” girl years ago, she still didn’t quite have the confidence to parade around in a bikini—or any swimsuit for that matter. Body positivity movement or not.

“Hi! You must be Zara,” a brunette with corkscrew curls said as she came out from the little hall where Julie had disappeared. “I’m Drea Miller, manager and creator of Cherish Spa at the Indigo Royal. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to join us this week!”

Drea handed Zara a little seafoam-green gift bag. The handles were tied together with a light blue ribbon that gave the bag a fun beachy feel to it.

“Thanks, it’s nice to meet you. Thank you for the invite—we’re so excited to be here. This is Antwan Thomas, my companion and guest contributor at Relaxation InSPAration.” Antwan briefly tore his gaze away from a group of men who were standing over by the concierge desk long enough to give Drea a quick smile.

“Hi, Antwan! If you two will follow me, I’ll give you a quick tour and show you over to Purple Rain. You can leave your bags here, and Julie will have them brought over to your suite,” Drea said, leading them out of the lobby. Zara grabbed her tote bag and followed Drea past the concierge desk and out toward the pool area.

“I can already smell the tanning lotion,” Antwan commented, thankfully only barely loud enough for Zara to hear.

“Behave,” she hissed back under her breath.

“There is an itinerary in your welcome bag that will tell you about the different treatments you’ll experience each day at Cherish Spa. There are also some activities for the whole group. But don’t worry, nothing that’s overly participatory or anything. Just some fun stuff like a local rum tasting, and our weekly bonfire, oh, and a snorkeling excursion on Wednesday.”

“May I ask who else is coming in?”

“Oh, of course!” Drea said, still smiling like a kid on Christmas. “Travel bloggers Reba Stewart and Kaitlyn Erwin. Tim Roswell and Jenna Stepney, who are travel agents who do a lot of work with our local tourism board. JR Stephens from World Traveler magazine. And…CC de Milo!”

“Wow, that’s quite the group,” Zara commented.

“Wait, CC de Milo. As in the CC de Milo?” Antwan asked, stopping in his tracks. “The model who ripped off her bra during the Heaven Forbid lingerie fashion show because it was “uncomfortable”? That CC de Milo?”

“One and the same,” Drea said, a little pride coming through her voice.

“Well damn. The things I can learn from that bitch…” Antwan commented. Zara just rolled her eyes.

“So this is the firepit where the bonfire is held. This bar serves the pool during peak hours so that ‘Paradise City,’ which is the swim-up bar over on the far side of the pool, doesn’t get too busy,” she pointed out as they walked past the pool. “The area flows into the beach, which has all sorts of lounge chairs, umbrellas, and even a couple of cabanas for you to relax under if the beach is more your thing. Just past the pool here are the three buildings that hold the majority of our guest rooms. Off to your left is Barracuda Tower, which has twelve floors and is host to just over three hundred rooms and suites. Just next to the tower are the Black Velvet and the Purple Rain, which are all multi-room suites. Past that trio is ‘The Casbah’ bar, which is a full-time bar and lounge. It also hosts the night club on Friday nights, and will be the location of the rum tasting tomorrow. If you keep walking past the bar and down a little closer to the beach, you’ll eventually find The Villas, which are four private bungalows available to guests looking for a little more space. One is currently occupied full time by a family friend who is renovating a house on the island. And then past all that is just staff housing. Any questions? I know I just threw a lot of information at you.”

“No, I think we’re good. We’ll probably just put our stuff down and then go for a little walk on the beach or something,” Zara said, looking up at the building that looked more like it belonged at an upscale apartment complex than it did on a beachfront resort. She was still a bit sore from squeezing into that airplane seat and was looking forward to stretching her legs a bit.

“Sounds good. If you need anything, my cell number is on the itinerary, so please do not hesitate to reach out!”

Zara walked through the door to their suite, holding the door for Antwan. However, the moment the door started to shut behind them, she let out a little gasp of excitement. Suite 1736 looked like a small two-bedroom apartment. A living room, complete with couch and two chairs surrounding a coffee table and facing a large flat-screen TV, was just adjacent to the little kitchenette that hosted a table and chairs, full fridge, two-burner stove, small oven, microwave, and sink. She wandered through the living room and into the bedroom to the left, leaving Antwan to find his way into the one off the kitchen. The room was bright and sunny, with a large picture window, king-size bed, and an en suite bathroom.