Free A Hero's Pride by April Angel, Milly Taiden

 
     
     
    Chapter One
     
    Kayla glanced at the open email on her laptop screen. It was
a message from her best friend about the blind date she’d arranged for her. Why,
oh why did she say yes to getting set up? And with some guy that was the buddy
of her best friend’s boyfriend no less. She’d met a few of his friends, and
they were more the player type. Not her style at all. Then there were all the
times her mother had attempted to fix her up. The experiences left her wary of
the word “date.” She knew better than to allow herself to be talked into dates,
especially with her bad luck when it came to men. But in a moment of weakness,
she’d agreed.
    Dammit.
    There was no backing out at this point. Her date, Ryan
Mitchell, would make the effort to meet her halfway. According to Sue, her best
friend and perpetual matchmaker, Ryan was undergoing some kind of physical therapy.
He was going down to Florida for some medical tests anyway. It gave them the
opportunity to meet there before she headed over to her parent’s private island
off the Florida Coast, Isla Dorada—The Golden Island.
    Beads of nervous sweat trickled down her back at the thought
of what was coming. She glanced around her cabin and sighed. All the girls were
still asleep. Their last day at the sleep-away camp had been a mixture of
happiness and sadness. Kayla eyed the luggage lined up by each bunk. Tomorrow
they were scheduled to leave, and she wouldn’t see them again until the
following summer.
    Her shoulders slumped. Maybe she should rethink this whole blind-date
thing. Her phone vibrated in the pocket of her shorts. She stood and walked out
of the cabin before taking the call.
    “Hey, mommy.”
    “Kayla, really? ‘Hey, mommy.’ What are you, twelve?”
    Well she felt twelve. She’d been sleeping in a cabin with
five twelve-year-olds. So maybe the childishness of the girls had rubbed off on
her.
    “What’s up mom?”
    Her mother hated every one of the volunteer activities Kayla
did. The daughter of a well-respected and wealthy Spanish family did not roll
around on the ground with kids for weeks during the summer. If it were up to
her mother, she’d be off in the French Riviera meeting a suitable man. The man
would no doubt be one of her father’s best friend’s sons and some dull
character to boot. Or, if her mother had her way, she’d be organizing charity
balls. Nothing as mundane as playing in the woods with a bunch of little girls.
    “Kayla, tell me you’re done with your little…summer
project.”
    If it were up to her mother, Daniella Santomas, Kayla would
have had a completely different life. But even though they didn’t approve of
some of her decisions, her parents were still there for her.
    “Maybe I’ll stay here and live in the wild with the girls,
mom. That should be fun.”
    She loved adding wood to the fire.
    The sound of her mother’s exasperated inhale came across the
line.
    “You know sometimes I think you say things just to see my
reaction.”
    No, really?
    “Anyhow, I’m calling to ask if you’re still going to do it?”
    It had been her mother who called Sue and begged her to set
up Kayla with someone. According to Sue, her mom had insisted that Kayla meet a
new man before her birthday to bring her luck. Sue had laughed when she’d
described the conversation to Kayla. Her mother had given poor Sue so many
requirements that Sue had told Kayla’s mom she was better off buying Kayla a
dog—something her mom had not found amusing.
    Kayla shook her head. “Yes, I am.” She didn’t divulge any of
the details of her planned date. So far all she’d set up was dinner at the
hotel they were both staying at overnight, not in the same suite of course, unless
things progressed in that direction out of their own accord. Sue had said Ryan
was a nice guy who was ready to start dating after a major life change while in
the military. So Kayla hoped he would be a good fit for her new dating motto:
No More