Free Barefoot Bay: Hold On To Forever (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Maria Geraci Page A

going to be one wedding to remember, Ari.”
    “I think you’re right,” Ari said, still laughing at Abuela’s outrageous antics.
    Willow stood from behind her desk. “So if everything looks good to you ladies, I suggest you all head to the spa for your day of beauty.”
    “Manis and pedis!” Abuela said, “Here we come!”
    Felicity went along for the manicures and pedicures, but she was skipping the massage and this afternoon’s barbeque. Time was critical here. If she was going to get the Martinez and Martinez account fair and square she was going to have to come up with a spectacular presentation. She tried to work in the villa, but sometime around noon, Aunt Cindy, her father’s sister, and her two daughters, Molly and Kate arrived.
    Felicity gave her aunt and cousins a quick tour around the resort and left them basking in the spa with the rest of the women. She took her sketchpad and her beach bag, and went to the pool. If she had to work, she might as well enjoy some sun while she was at it. She found an empty lounge chair in the corner, away from the rest of the sunbathers, set up her work space, slathered herself in sunscreen, and began brainstorming.
    * * *
    This morning was spa day, followed by a beach barbeque in the afternoon. After spotting Mitch in town yesterday at the Sunshine Emporium, Mitch and Nicki had gone on the snorkeling trip, while he’d stayed back at the shop to look over Beth’s lease. He definitely still needed a one-on-one with his baby brother. Spa activities weren’t his thing, but some beach time didn’t sound bad. He could kill two birds with one stone. Talk to his brother, and spend more time with Felicity.
    There he was, thinking about her again. More than just thinking about her, really. It was almost like he was becoming obsessed. Last night after another family dinner, the four of them, Mitch and Nicki and he and Felicity had gone back to their villa and played Cards Against Humanity. Within just a few rounds he’d been able to predict with almost one hundred percent certainty which cards had belonged to Nicki or Mitch. But not Felicity. She continued to surprise him with the simplest things. One card might be raunchy, and the next round, she’d toss out a completely logical answer to the question. He’d been so engrossed in her company that he’d forgotten to talk to Mitch.
    After everyone left for the spa, he used the quiet time to work on a case, then headed down to the beach. Slowly, family and friends from Miami were beginning to trickle in for the wedding. His Uncle Pete and Aunt Annie were here, along with the cousins from his mom’s side. Some of Nicki and Mitch’s college friends had arrived now too. Staff from the resort were grilling hamburgers and a bartender had set up a daiquiri bar.
    He scanned the area looking for Felicity, but she was nowhere in sight.
    “That’s a really nice thing you did yesterday,” Nicki said, handing him a frozen lime daiquiri.
    He took a sip of the fruity drink. Not his usual style, but it felt good in the early afternoon sweltering heat. “Beth is a nice lady. I’d hate to see her lose her shop.”
    Nicki nodded solemnly. “She is a nice lady. I’m glad you saw that.”
    He tried to act casual. “Where’s your sister?”
    “She’s on lock down in the villa, working on your account. She’s totally going to nail it too.”
    “Good for her.” Well, shit. Today’s beach barbeque suddenly seemed to go flat. He spotted Mitch by himself heading toward the barbeque pit. This was the perfect time for that long overdue brother-to-brother talk. But something made him put his drink down and walk away from the beach.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
    Felicity had no illusions about her ability to run a PR firm. Aubrey was right. She sucked at selling and was even worse at project management, but when it came to the creative part of the job, she was totally in her element. Give her a laptop and a sketch pad and she could come up with