I’m impressed that I was able to avoid burning on the first day, but that was probably thanks to Antonio’s expert sunscreen application. I blow out a breath as I throw the dress on and think about how it feels like it was a lifetime ago that Antonio and I were playing nice and even getting handsy with one another. It must have been a fluke, some kind of twilight zone that we stepped into. Antonio just got out before I did. Because if it were up to me, we would have stayed in that place forever.
* * *
Antonio: Meet you at the restaurant.
I walk out of the bungalow, staring at the text Antonio sent me twenty minutes ago. He couldn’t even wait for me to go to the restaurant together.
Whatever. Fine by me. I thrust my phone into my clutch a little more roughly than necessary just as Chris pulls up in front of me. “Good evening, Ms. Nikki! I’m the lucky guy driving you to your dinner reservation.” He smiles.
“Thanks, Chris.” His playfulness eases my dread about having dinner with Antonio and reminds me of what I’ve been wondering about all day. “Hey, you mind telling me how news gets around so fast here?”
He chuckles. “Ah, so you’ve noticed. Are you sure you want to know? It might lose its magical appeal if you know all our secrets.”
“Hurry up and spill before I think I’m being spied on by big brother while I’m in the bathroom.”
“Well, it’s not like those provide any privacy to begin with…” I give him a troubling look. “I’m just messing with ya.” He taps his ear where a clear wireless earpiece sits. “We use these like walkie talkies. It’s how I told Kelsey you were funny, and how she told Anya that you and Mr. Tony weren’t a couple.” His eyes widen at his last statement, like he has revealed too much.
“Don’t sweat it. We’re not a couple. We’re just… I don’t even know what we are, to be honest.”
He nods and smiles as we approach the entrance to the restaurant. “Well, Ms. Nikki, if love and a little bit of magic are what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place.”
10
Nikki
SEVEN YEARS AGO – NEW YEAR’S EVE
Miami
My logical brain can’t comprehend it.
I’m head over heels for this man. A perfect stranger.
Had I met him in Vegas, I’m sure the night would have ended with an Elvis impersonator and wedding bells.
But this kind of thing never happens to me. I thought I had higher odds of ending up on the side of a milk carton than in the arms of the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on. The even crazier part? I think he’s just as far gone as I am.
We played a rapid-fire game of twenty questions, almost in an attempt to spot red flags, but each answer seemed to only make us fall deeper.
He’s a morning person, and I’m a night owl. But he promises to bring me coffee and breakfast in bed after returning from the gym.
I prefer ordering in and he likes eating out. But I love every cuisine, so I offer to always let him pick the place to order from, as long as I get to try a bit of his meal.
We go back and forth for what seems like an eternity. Creating a world in which we fit, in which we stay molded to each other like we are in this exact moment.
Little did we know that as the minutes were counting down to the New Year, so were the last moments of magic between us.
* * *
“Crap! Five minutes till midnight. I should probably go find my friend,” I tell Tony as we stand near the bathrooms on the main floor of the club.
He nods. “Yeah, I need to find my family too.” He hesitates. “Or we could wait until after midnight so I can give you your New Year’s kiss.” He leans down and kisses me softly, like a lover who’s done this thousands of times before.
I wrap my arms around his neck and still have to pop up to my tiptoes while in platform heels to reach him. “But you’ve already given me my best New Year’s kiss ever. Nothing is ever going to top it.” I give him a quick peck.
His hands on my hips keep me close to him. “Hmm, I don’t know if that counts. It was before midnight, and that might mean it’s bad luck. Better to be safe and do it again at midnight,” he teases.
I love this.
