Page 62 of What I Like About You

“Right. Well, now that I have made this moment about as awkward as it can be, I’m going to head out to Almost Paradise,” she told them, excusing herself.

“Wait! We have you booked in Any Way You Want It!”

“What for?” Zara asked, confused. She had just been there the other day. Did Drea have her appointment confused with someone else?

“Hair, makeup, mani, pedi.”

“We just did that the other day,” she reminded the cute little brunette. Drea must have her confused with someone else.

“Right, ummmmm, well…” Drea stammered. “We have this after-sun hair treatment thing, and we’ve only tried it out on ourselves so far, and I was thinking you could be our first real customer!”

“Okay, but I don’t want you to go out of your way here. And my mani/pedi is fine.”

“I noticed last night that it was kinda chipped, so let’s just get it freshened up for you,” she said as she pulled her through the salon door.

“Drea, what is going on?”

“Nothing! I just want you to have the best experience ever at the Cherish Spa.”

“If you think that what’s going on between Tripp and me will affect my review of the spa, it won’t, I promise. My review will be one hundred percent objective.”

“No! That’s not it at all,” she insisted. “I won’t lie, this is the happiest I’ve ever seen him. You being back in his life is bringing out a whole new side of him. But more than anything, after last night, you’re one of us now. This is what friends do—we help spoil each other. So please, just let me do this for you.”

Zara had no way of saying no to that. She loved that the group of friends who now surrounded Dalton were people who loved him this much. People who were willing to accept her, no questions asked, simply because they loved him. He’d always wanted people to accept him for him, not his money or who his dad was, and knowing that he had found that here made her so happy.

Four hours later, after a brand-new manicure, pedicure, and hair treatment, Zara and Antwan walked back to their room, her hair elegantly put up into a simple French twist. Glancing at her watch, she figured she had just enough time to pick out an outfit and make herself smell pretty before Dalton was at her door. She hadn’t brought a whole lot with her in the way of “nice” clothes, since she hadn’t really thought there was a need to dress up past dinner. He seemed to like the dress that Drea had given her the other day, so maybe that one would work.

“What’s that for?” she asked Antwan as they walked by a large tent that was set up just adjacent to the pool.

“Someone must be having a party,” he answered, picking up speed.

“Where are you going so fast?”

“I have to pee. Let’s just go.”

Zara sighed, very confused why everyone around her was acting so weird. Or maybe she was just still so relaxed from the massage earlier that everyone just seemed weird. That must be it.

Antwan opened the door to their room and made a beeline for his bathroom. Wow, he must really, really have to pee, she thought. Sauntering into her own bedroom, she noticed an ice-blue cocktail dress laid out on her bed. The strapless satin dress had a sweetheart neckline that would sit just low enough on her breasts to show off her cleavage, but a layer of tulle embellished with dainty black dots covered the top portion of the dress, fully covering her shoulders. The skirt was a simple A-line, but just looking at it laid out like this made her wonder how it would poof out if she spun in it. She wouldn’t be able to wear a bra with it, but somehow she figured there would be zero complaints about that.

Sitting right beside the dress was a pair of dressy black sandals in her size. Another punch-drunk smile spread across her face as she reached for the little note card that was perched on top of the shoes. She didn’t need to open it to know who it was from, but she was way too excited to see what it said.

My beautiful Zara,

I think we need a do-over…

Shall we try for our perfect “Night Under the Stars” again?

Love, D

And just like that, Zara was a puddle all over again.