CHAPTER THREE
“We're preparing to land, Sophia,” Nico said softly.
I was curled up in my seat, reclining back comfortably with a super soft blanket draped over me and fluffy pillow behind my head. I looked around and realized I had no idea how long I'd been asleep. I'd originally planned on a short nap, but according to Nico, we were almost at our destination, which meant I had to have been asleep for hours.
I stared back at him, blinking, confused and disoriented for a second. Then it hit me. I needed to put on my seatbelt and get seated properly.
“Oh, thank you,” I said, yawning as I moved back into a seated position. “That went by fast.”
“It tends to do that when we sleep,” he said.
Given his case of bedhead, it looked like he'd also taken a nap. His normally impeccably styled hair was a little more ruffled than usual, which I had to admit, was pretty cute.
“We should be on the ground in fifteen minutes.”
I stared out the window and still didn't see any sign of land whatsoever. All I saw was the bluest water I'd ever seen in my life and gauzy white clouds, which were slowly disappearing as we descended beneath them.
“For your first time flying, you're a pro,” Nico said as we landed. “Didn't seem nervous at all.”
“It wasn't as bad as I thought,” I said.
Partially because being with Nico made it less scary, and partially because of that delicious champagne.
“Good, I'm glad to hear that,” he said. “And I hope you find the rest of the trip isn't as scary either.”
I lived in California, so I was no stranger to palm trees and the beach. Though I hadn't been to the beach in years – thanks to not having the time or the money to get out to the coast. As the plane descended, I found myself excited at the prospect of landing and seeing what the South Pacific had to offer.
I looked over at him and he flashed me a warm smile. I found that it was hard to remain uneasy when you were with someone like Nico. He just made you feel relaxed and comfortable, even though everything about this trip was unorthodox to say the least. I was surprised to find though, that I suddenly started feeling less like a commodity my father had sold, and more like a friend who'd been invited on an amazing trip.
Once we were on the ground, we were escorted to a limo with air conditioning and even more champagne, and were whisked away. It still felt like a dream to me. Nico handed me a glass and smiled.
“You seem more relaxed already, Sophia. I'm very glad.”
“I am,” I said, taking a sip of the bubbly. “Thank you for being -- well, not a murderer, I guess?”
He laughed. “I'm not a monster, I swear,” he said. “Just lonely. It's been a long time since anyone has joined me on a trip and I always enjoyed sharing these times with friends.”
“Oh?”
I found it hard to believe that Nico had any trouble getting a date. He was rich, incredibly attractive, and very kind. I would bet that most women would drop everything for a trip like this and not think twice about it. It made a small voice in the back of my mind suddenly question if maybe something was wrong with him after all. I wondered why he'd had to pay for my company when there should have been a line of women at the tarmac begging to be brought along.
“Yeah, after my wife died –”
“Oh God, I'm sorry,” I said, my eyes wide, suddenly feeling very sorry for those unkind thoughts.
“Yeah, she died about a year ago. Cancer,” he said, his eyes softening as he looked away from me.
“I'm so, so sorry,” I said, now feeling terrible for thinking that something was wrong with him. “How long were you married?”
“Ten years,” he said. “She was my everything, which is why I've done nothing but work since she died. I had no desire to enjoy life without her in it. But lately I started thinking that she wouldn't want me to live like that, which is why I booked this trip to begin with. But honestly, I almost cancelled it all. The idea of coming alone, well, it –”
“Say no more,” I said.
I pulled a tissue from my purse and handed it to him. He accepted it with a grateful smile and dabbed at the corners of his eyes.
“Now I see why you wanted company,” I said softly. “But why me? Of all the people who would have given their left arm to be sitting right where I am?”
He turned his beautiful, blue eyes toward me and smiled gently. “Because in all the months I'd been coming to the diner, you always were so happy and cheerful. You were always so kind to me. And I figured I needed a little of that in my life right now.”
“And it was worth paying my father's debt for me to keep you company?”
He nodded. “But honestly it was more than just that. I wanted to keep the diner open,” he said. “Where else would I stop in to eat during my travels? It seemed like a sound investment to me.”
So, his intentions were good. I felt guilty for assuming the worst, but who wouldn't have in my place? It all still felt too good to be true though. Though my fears were somewhat eased, I was still a little cautious. I'd started the day ready to work, prepared to put in another long day at the diner with no hope of a break. And yet tonight, I was going to end the day curled up in a comfortable hotel room, having my every whim catered to.
Was it any wonder if all felt so completely surreal?
***
I was wrong about us staying in a hotel. I'd envisioned a Hilton or a Sheraton – some hotel chain you usually expect to stay in when you go on vacation. Instead when we pulled to a stop and Nico opened the limo door for me, I found myself staring directly at the beach. There was no hotel, no flock of tourists crowding the beach with their noise and litter. There was nothing but white sand and brilliant blue water before me.
“Where are we?” I asked, thinking maybe he'd brought me the beach before stopping off at our resort.
“See that bungalow out there on the water?” Nico said, pointing out into the sea. “That's where we'll be staying.”
My jaw hit the ground and I very audibly gasped. We were staying on the water. Like, literally on the water, surrounded by the ocean and several yards from the shore with nothing but a wooden bridge between us and the sand.
I looked over at Nico, still unable to comprehend exactly what I was seeing. I mean, I'd seen plenty of pictures of places like that, but there was always some part of me that supposed it was Photoshopped. As I looked at the gorgeous blue water surrounding the bungalow on the raised platform, I almost had to pinch myself.
“Don't worry,” he said. “There are two bedrooms.”
“Two bedrooms?” I muttered, still in shock that there was a bungalow out here in the middle of nowhere, and now he was telling me it had not one, but two bedrooms?
“Daniel will bring the bags,” Nico said, motioning toward the driver. “Let's go see our lovely little abode, shall we?”
He reached out for my hand, and I let him take it in his. We walked toward the water, and the closer we got, the larger the bungalow became. We crossed the bridge , and it made me a little nervous as it swayed and rolled with the ocean. As we stepped up on the walkway, my knees trembled a bit. Nico caught me, however, his strong hand holding onto my arm for support.
“Careful,” he said. “The walkway gets a little wobbly because of the waves.”
I looked out at the serene, crystal waves as they crashed upon the white sandy shore, and listened the seagulls crying over head. I stared at the water beneath us, amazed that it was so clear; clearer than I imagined ocean water to be. California had some pretty beaches, but nowhere was the sand and water so pure and clean as where we were standing.
“Madeline always loved the beach,” Nico said softly. “It was her favorite place to be.”
I assumed Madeline was his wife, and feeling for him, I squeezed his hand gently. “I'm sorry she can't be here with you,” I said.
“Thank you. But you are here,” he said, raising my hand to kiss the back of it. “And that's all that matters right now. She would have wanted me to enjoy myself, and I'm going to make sure that I do, that we do.”
“Madeline was a lucky woman,” I said, staring into his eyes, which reminded me of the water beneath my feet.
Nico's cheeks flushed a little, then he looked away. We continued walking to the bungalow, and I couldn't stop drinking in our surroundings. I'd never been in a place with such natural beauty and it left me in utter awe.
“I actually bought this property for Madeline,” he said, his voice tinged with nostalgia. “But we never made it out here. The cancer struck fast and hard. We unfortunately, never had a chance to travel again once the diagnosis was given.”
I had no words to offer him, and the more I heard about him and his wife, the more it made sense that he didn't want to come all this way alone. I imagined it had to be hard to be on a property you'd bought for a wife who'd never had the chance to see it.
Even though he explained it briefly , I still didn't understand what made him choose me. I was nothing special; just an ordinary girl working in a diner, struggling to help her father make ends meet. We were lower middle-class, if even that. The diner was all we had, and without Nico's help, we'd have had nothing at all.
I wasn't on his level. He was completely out of my league and I had no idea why he'd choose somebody who quite obviously lacked the class and refinement of the women I was sure he was used to spending his time around.
We reached the bungalow and Nico opened the door, holding it open for me. The moment I stepped inside, my eyes grew wide. I turned in circles in the middle of the living room staring at the place I'd be calling home for the next few days. It was nicer than any apartment I had ever lived in, or even dreamed of visiting.
We had walked right into a living area with a couch and love seat, both clean and white. A very large flat panel TV was mounted on the wall, but that wasn't where my gaze fell. No, my eyes immediately went to the wall-to-wall window that opened up to a patio where all you could see was water. Nothing but crystal blue ocean as far as the eye could see.
Who needed a TV when you could watch the gentle waves swelling and rolling beneath your bungalow all day? Out on the patio, I noticed there was a hot tub and a massive hammock that could easily fit two or more people.
A kitchen was set off to one side of the main room. It was a small kitchen, but was furnished with high-end appliances – all stainless steel. There was a wine fridge, because of course you'd want wine in your own tropical paradise, along with a mini bar stocked with rows of fancy liquors whose names I couldn't even pronounce. Off to the side of the kitchen was a dining area with a small wooden table and bench seats. It had sliding glass doors that also opened to a small deck that overlooked the sea beyond.
“Nice, isn't it?” Nico said, following me through as I took the tour.
“Very nice,” I said. “Amazing, actually.”
There were two small, but nicely decorated bedrooms, both with views of the ocean through giant floor-to-ceiling windows. My room opened up to the patio, so I could slip outside whenever I'd like or open up the sliding glass doors and let the waves sing me to sleep. Nico was clearly giving me the nicer of the two rooms.
We each had a bathroom, and mine was fitting for the master suite. It had a large jacuzzi style tub and large shower with seating. I was most definitely in the lap of luxury.
“I have no words,” I said. “This is nicer than anything I've ever seen before. Anything I've ever imagined before, quite honestly.”
Nico laughed and kissed the back of my hand again. “I'm just glad you like it, Sophia. You deserve to be happy and enjoy the finer things in life.”
I deserve to be happy? No one – and I mean no one, not even my father – had ever uttered such a phrase to me before. It was such a foreign concept that I'd honestly never even thought about it. Happiness was a luxury that I couldn't afford, so I'd always been content to just do what needed to be done and take the small pleasures in life where I found them.
But happy? Did I really deserve this? What had I done to deserve all of this? After all, if it hadn't been for my father's gambling debt, I wouldn't even be there. So, to think that I deserved it was something of a stretch.
“So, tell me, Sophia,” Nico said. “What would you like to do first? The island is yours to explore.”
What did I want to do? In that moment, I wanted to kiss Nico for everything he'd done, and for being so sweet to me. But I bit my lip and held onto that thought. We were just friends. He wasn't expecting anything – and I didn't think he even wanted anything like that from me, anyway. He seemed content to just enjoy a little companionship, and I was perfectly fine with that.
So, I remarked, “I'd love to go for a swim, if that's okay?”
“That's more than okay,” he said with a chuckle. “It sounds like an amazing idea.”