the Seychelles or somewhere like that.”
“There’s so much to choose from,” said Carla.
“Endless choices!” said Angelique. Excitement buzzed through her as the possibilities multiplied in her head.
Atreus grinned. “Maybe one day we’ll have a hotel in each one!”
“Let’s hope,” said Carla, interlacing her fingers with his.
Angelique beamed. “You guys are awesome,” she said. “This is like a dream come true. Actually it’s more than that, ‘cause my dream was to run a beauty parlor. This is a hundred times better than that.”
“Oh, shut up,” Carla said, grinning. “ You’re the most awesome person I know. You deserve every bit of success you get.”
“Hey!” said Atreus, batting her and pretending to be offended. “Aren’t I the most awesome person you know?”
Carla batted him back, giggling. “Yes, okay, you and Dios. Then you, Angelique.”
“Sorry,” Atreus said to Angelique, in such an insincere way that it set them all of laughing.
Angelique looked at them, her true friends, and breathed a deep sigh of satisfaction. For the longest time, as happy as she had been, there had been something bugging her. Like hearing someone knocking on the door, but never being able to find the door and open it to find out who’s there. Though she knew she was still not quite at the threshold, she felt as though she’d turned into a corridor where the knocking was louder. She was on the right track.
Only one thing bothered her. “But where’s Theo going next?”
“Wherever he wants,” said Atreus. “Once he’s tied up the Little Ekali details, I don’t need him for anything else.”
“Oh.”
Angelique’s heart plummeted. So Theo was to retreat back to his Psychiko mansion, never to be seen again. It seemed there was no way their relationship could bloom. It would be stuck forever, their magnetic potential unrealized, left to fester in her head.
She barely knew this guy, she told herself, it shouldn’t bother her so much, but that didn’t seem to make any difference. She slumped into a pink, gilded armchair at the side of the room and tried to hoist her heart back up to its rightful place. She picked at the elaborate stitching. It felt like her heart was stuck at the bottom of a chasm. Or else it had an anchor tied to it.
“I’ve got an idea!” said Carla, jumping up out of her seat.
“What is it?” Angelique asked.
Carla turned to Atreus. “Invite Theo to go with Angelique! He can accompany her in case they want to begin to put any deals together. You need a legal person for that, right?”
“Well, sure, I guess,” Atreus said, though he looked unconvinced. “But it’s a little early for that.”
“Maybe,” said Carla. “But maybe, just maybe, Angelique might find the perfect piece of land for a Kostas Hotels Spa Resort sooner rather than later.” She flashed a winning smile at them both. “You know I’m right.”
*****
“Wow,” Carla said as Angelique stepped into the hallway of the suite. “You’re dressed to impress!”
That was no lie. While Carla had been playing with Dios, Angelique had used the sprawling marble bathroom to prepare for her lunch meeting with Theo, her stomach fluttering all the while. First she’d sunk into a deep bubble bath, her dark braids piled on top of her head, then she dried her brown skin with the soft, white hotel towel before smoothing coconut oil onto it.
She slipped into the most formal dress she had, a powder blue Grecian gown that cinched around her toned waist and blossomed out into a full skirt. She placed her tiny braids into an arrangement that twisted back from her hairline in seven sections into a top knot. She left a section of braids down at the back of her head and they hung down to her waist. Her favorite gold chandelier earrings hung in her ears and matched the stud in her nose.
She took a deep breath and applied some clear lip gloss, her eyes wide as she shot Carla a nervous
“There’s so much to choose from,” said Carla.
“Endless choices!” said Angelique. Excitement buzzed through her as the possibilities multiplied in her head.
Atreus grinned. “Maybe one day we’ll have a hotel in each one!”
“Let’s hope,” said Carla, interlacing her fingers with his.
Angelique beamed. “You guys are awesome,” she said. “This is like a dream come true. Actually it’s more than that, ‘cause my dream was to run a beauty parlor. This is a hundred times better than that.”
“Oh, shut up,” Carla said, grinning. “ You’re the most awesome person I know. You deserve every bit of success you get.”
“Hey!” said Atreus, batting her and pretending to be offended. “Aren’t I the most awesome person you know?”
Carla batted him back, giggling. “Yes, okay, you and Dios. Then you, Angelique.”
“Sorry,” Atreus said to Angelique, in such an insincere way that it set them all of laughing.
Angelique looked at them, her true friends, and breathed a deep sigh of satisfaction. For the longest time, as happy as she had been, there had been something bugging her. Like hearing someone knocking on the door, but never being able to find the door and open it to find out who’s there. Though she knew she was still not quite at the threshold, she felt as though she’d turned into a corridor where the knocking was louder. She was on the right track.
Only one thing bothered her. “But where’s Theo going next?”
“Wherever he wants,” said Atreus. “Once he’s tied up the Little Ekali details, I don’t need him for anything else.”
“Oh.”
Angelique’s heart plummeted. So Theo was to retreat back to his Psychiko mansion, never to be seen again. It seemed there was no way their relationship could bloom. It would be stuck forever, their magnetic potential unrealized, left to fester in her head.
She barely knew this guy, she told herself, it shouldn’t bother her so much, but that didn’t seem to make any difference. She slumped into a pink, gilded armchair at the side of the room and tried to hoist her heart back up to its rightful place. She picked at the elaborate stitching. It felt like her heart was stuck at the bottom of a chasm. Or else it had an anchor tied to it.
“I’ve got an idea!” said Carla, jumping up out of her seat.
“What is it?” Angelique asked.
Carla turned to Atreus. “Invite Theo to go with Angelique! He can accompany her in case they want to begin to put any deals together. You need a legal person for that, right?”
“Well, sure, I guess,” Atreus said, though he looked unconvinced. “But it’s a little early for that.”
“Maybe,” said Carla. “But maybe, just maybe, Angelique might find the perfect piece of land for a Kostas Hotels Spa Resort sooner rather than later.” She flashed a winning smile at them both. “You know I’m right.”
*****
“Wow,” Carla said as Angelique stepped into the hallway of the suite. “You’re dressed to impress!”
That was no lie. While Carla had been playing with Dios, Angelique had used the sprawling marble bathroom to prepare for her lunch meeting with Theo, her stomach fluttering all the while. First she’d sunk into a deep bubble bath, her dark braids piled on top of her head, then she dried her brown skin with the soft, white hotel towel before smoothing coconut oil onto it.
She slipped into the most formal dress she had, a powder blue Grecian gown that cinched around her toned waist and blossomed out into a full skirt. She placed her tiny braids into an arrangement that twisted back from her hairline in seven sections into a top knot. She left a section of braids down at the back of her head and they hung down to her waist. Her favorite gold chandelier earrings hung in her ears and matched the stud in her nose.
She took a deep breath and applied some clear lip gloss, her eyes wide as she shot Carla a nervous
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