Chapter Fifteen
“How about the French restaurant tomorrow night?” Kayla asked.
Mack shrugged, her shoulders jumping more like she’d been scared at a haunted house than been offered Coq au Vin. “Sure.”
“Sushi?”
“Okay.”
Kayla bit back a sigh. It would have been her third one of the afternoon, and she was pretty sure the woman helping them make reservations for restaurants and excursions thought she had some strange variety of asthma.
Kayla made sure to hold tight to her arm, but it would have been nice for Mack to play along and act like they were a happy couple enjoying their pre-wedding honeymoon.
She was going to have to say something, but they needed to get away from their effusive experience host first.
“We’ll think about it and come back,” Kayla said.
When she stood up, she nearly lost her grip on Mack’s arm.
Belatedly, Mack stood and followed her out of the open-air office.
She still looked like she was having trouble focusing.
Kayla decided to drag her up to the balcony overlooking the main pool.
The stairs down were too dangerous with Mack so distracted.
She’d probably miss a step and tumble down the whole staircase, breaking both legs and her neck in the process.
Mack had been withdrawn and quiet all afternoon.
When Kayla had strolled in from the deck, it was to catch the tail of Mack’s robe disappearing into the bathroom.
She’d spent an awful lot of time in there, considering she’d already showered.
When she finally emerged, fully dressed for a relaxed island evening, she hadn’t said anything about the kiss or her mood.
In fact, getting her to say more than one word at a time had been a struggle.
While Kayla had wanted to ask what the hell was going on, she had to hurry to get herself showered and dressed.
Not long before Mack had emerged from the bathroom, Kayla had seen Skye and Amy pack up and head to their room.
Since she had updated the Plan of Seduction to include making sure the two couples had dinner together every night, she needed to hustle to make it happen.
Considering how she’d rushed her shower and pampering, she was pretty pleased with how she looked.
In fact, the vast majority of the words she’d gotten out of Mack were when she told Kayla she looked gorgeous as they left the room.
Kayla pulled them to a secluded spot at the railing and spun to an obviously shocked Mack. “Talk to me.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to need more than one word at a time, Mack.”
She gave a sheepish smile that absolutely melted Kayla’s heart and looked at her toes.
She looked a lot like she had when they were kids and she first told Kayla that she was gay.
The tenderness and vulnerability filled Kayla’s heart and made her eyes sting.
Mack was so sweet and good. Whatever it took to make her happy again, Kayla would do it.
“Hey,” Kayla said, taking her hand. “You can talk to me. You know that, right?”
“Yeah. I know. It’s just…”
Before Mack could finish her thought, one of the massive French doors behind them swung open with a crack of angry hinges.
Amy and Skye spilled onto the balcony, laughing and stumbling a little on the change from carpet to balcony stone.
Amy held a glass of wine that nearly sloshed over the rim as she moved.
She was wearing a scandalously skimpy dress that showed off most of her back and an awful lot of the side of her breast. Skye reached out to steady her as she wobbled but caught sight of Mack and Kayla over her shoulder.
There was a moment when she looked like she might bolt back into the lobby but then thought better of it.
Mack sighed but gave Kayla a wink that almost made her look like her usual self. “Come on. Let’s go invite them to dinner.”
“Hey, strangers.” Kayla put on her widest smile as she stopped as close to Skye as she could manage while draped on Mack’s arm. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Hey, K. McKensie,” Skye said through gritted teeth.
Mack didn’t exactly lighten the mood. She nodded in return but looked like she’d much rather use the motion to headbutt Skye in the nose.
Joy blossomed inside Kayla. She hadn’t been wrong. That was jealousy written all over Skye’s face. It looked good on her. Sharpening all her angles and sparkling in her eyes. Kayla cleared her throat. “Have you two checked out the restaurant and excursion options? They’re amazing.”
“There’s so much to choose from. This place is magical,” Amy gushed.
Surprisingly, Amy’s enthusiasm for the amenities turned out to be an unexpected boost for the Plan of Seduction.
Kayla had been trying to determine the plan of attack in finding out their dinner plans for the night, but Amy spontaneously suggested they eat dinner together, not just that night, but every night they would all be there.
“After all, we’re here together. We might as well make a foursome out of it.” Amy added a cheerful giggle that Kayla worked hard to emulate. Mack and Skye stopped staring daggers at each other to give her a weird look, so she didn’t think she’d actually nailed it.
“Did you see that they offer romantic candlelight dinners on the beach? We should book those for the last night. A romantic dinner after our weddings,” Amy said.
“Together?” Mack practically choked on the word in horror.
Amy laughed. “No, not together, but on the same night. Come on, let’s go see if they have availability.”
Amy stole Kayla off of Mack’s arm and they skipped down the stairs together, back toward the entertainment host Kayla and Mack had just left. She looked a little shell-shocked but happily booked them two separate candlelight dinners on the beach to the tune of a few hundred dollars each.
“Our treat,” Amy said, thrusting her American Express card at the host with almost manic force. “Consider it a wedding present.”
“That’s so sweet.” Kayla gave it a beat before she snuck in one of her longshot ideas. “Then let Mack and me get you a present. How about some couples massages?”
Amy squealed in delight. “That would be so fun, wouldn’t it, babe?”
“Yeah,” Skye deadpanned. “Sounds great.”
Kayla winced at both Amy’s pet name usage and the astronomical bill she’d get from her credit card company this month, but it would be worth it if she could pull this off. All she had to do was make sure she and Mack arrived at the spa tomorrow before Skye and Amy.
“Want to try out the Italian place for dinner? I would kill for some alfredo,” Amy said.
How did she get so lucky? Turns out her rival was actually the best wing woman out there.
Not only was dinner together her idea, but she also somehow didn’t know that carb overloads like pasta put Skye right to sleep.
Kayla wouldn’t have to spend another night trying to fall asleep wondering if Amy and Skye were busy having sex.
She looped her arm around Amy’s elbow. “Anywhere there is garlic bread is where I want to be.”
“I knew we were two peas in a pod,” Amy said.
“You don’t even like garlic bread,” Skye said as they marched off across the lawn.
“Sure I do. I just never ate it around you.”
“Why not?”
Kayla shared a knowing eye roll with Amy. “Garlic and date nights don’t mix.”
“Amy eats garlic bread,” Skye said.
“And you’ve never complained.” Amy gave Skye a wink, and Kayla forced herself not to push her into the darkening ocean.
The Italian restaurant was situated on a pier that extended into the surf on the opposite side of the rocky cliff that marked the end of the beach.
Three walls were glass, looking out over the ocean and offering an idyllic view of the sunset.
A bored but polite waiter in a crisp white shirt and slightly crooked black bow tie led them to a round table right in the corner with the best, least obstructed view.
After a brief scramble for seats, Kayla wedged herself into the chair between Skye and Mack.
Kayla put on her most winning smile. “Oh, look at the sunset over the ocean. I’m just going to scoot over here to get a better view.”
Kayla scooted her chair until she was practically in Skye’s lap.
Close enough to feel the familiar warmth and that unforgettable scent that was unique to Skye.
She tried not to let the pang of longing show on her features.
Mack let out a quiet sigh and dragged her chair closer to Kayla, the legs making a horrible squeal as they scraped along the tile floor.
Amy’s smile seemed a bit forced, so Kayla restarted the enthusiastic chatter, directing most of it at her while she released the tension on her leg as slowly and inconspicuously as possible.
Eventually, her thigh would rest against Skye’s, but she had to move slow to avoid detection.
“Well, I learned I’m an even worse dancer than I thought today,” Kayla said, trying to hide her fear with a self-deprecating laugh. Would Skye mention how they hadn’t looked very coupley?
Amy’s smile was overly fond. “Oh, it wasn’t that bad.”
Mack leaned closer to her and grinned. “Don’t take it easy on us. We know we were a trainwreck.”
Skye’s voice had a bite of annoyance to it. “McKensie isn’t light on her feet. Who would’ve seen that coming?”
Mack glared at her for a moment but decided to take her revenge by buttering up Amy while a waiter poured their wine. “I think the tango isn’t our dance. How did you fare? Is Skye worthy of you on the dance floor?”
Skye slammed her glass down harder than was strictly necessary. “I can take care of my fiancée just fine. Maybe you should worry about your own.”
Kayla took the opportunity to place a soothing hand over Skye’s.
She gave the slightest flinch at the touch, but she looked a little less like she wanted to fly across the table.
Kayla ran her fingertips along Skye’s knuckles, trying to savor the moment without getting too lost in it.
God, how she missed the touch of Skye’s skin.