Chapter One
March
Squinting against the bright sunlight and the gleaming blue crystalline water, Zoey Hansen stepped onto the pier.
“Zoey!”
She recognized the high, clear voice of her friend Ella immediately. She spun around just in time for Ella to launch herself into her arms.
Ella squeezed her tight. “I haven’t seen you in so long.”
Zoey squeezed her back, closing her eyes as the sweetness of having Ella close washed through her. Ella smelled tropical and fruity, and her blond hair wisped over Zoey’s cheek. “God, I missed you,” Zoey said vehemently. “It’s been too long. Way, way too long.”
A long year since she’d last come to Sugar Cay. Zoey met with her six best friends here every year. It was an annual tradition they had started when she was a freshman in college.
“You’re right—it’s been way too long. Now let me get a good look at you.” Ella drew back, holding Zoey at arm’s length. The corners of her lips turned down. “You look tired. Have you been working too hard?”
Zoey laughed. “Stop, please. You sound like my mother.”
“Well, you do. Everything okay?”
“Of course it is. I’m just busy.”
Zoey was a fifth-grade teacher in an inner-city school in DC, and she loved her job. She lived and breathed for the thirty-two kids in her class, for being the best teacher she could be. She worked hard to give each one of them a head start in a life that, for many of them, had already seen hardship she couldn’t even imagine.
Ella puffed out a breath, her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight. “I know, I know. Still, you need to remember to do something for yourself sometimes.”
“And that’s exactly why I’m here, Ell.”
“Perfect!” Ella grabbed Zoey’s hand. “And I am going to make sure you make this week all about yourself. Did you know Jake has shipped in a masseuse from Sweden just for us?”
“No kidding?”
“Nope. We’re all going to be so relaxed by the end of the week. Come on. Let’s go to the house.”
Zoey knew by now that Ella and her brother Jake wouldn’t hear of her carrying her own luggage on the quarter-mile trek to the house. Instead, an employee would be by soon to take it up to the house. “That’s what we pay our employees for,” Jake had patiently explained to Zoey the first time she’d come to Sugar Cay.
These days, Zoey was better trained in Jake and Ella’s way of life, so she left her luggage behind and obediently followed her friend down the pier. But just as they were about to step onto the shore, she dug in her heels. “Just…wait a second.”
Ella raised her brows in confusion, but Zoey took in a deep breath. When she’d first met Ella and Jake, she had no idea places like Sugar Cay existed. But here she stood, on Jake’s private island. The charter seaplane that had deposited her at the pier was already powering up to leave, but Zoey didn’t mind the noise. It was music to her ears after the traffic and congestion and dirt of DC.
“I just need to breathe it in for a second,” she told Ella, and swept her gaze over the pristine island laid out before her.
Palm trees swayed along the rocky shore of the bay. Beyond, the roofs of several cottages stood out from the sparkling green foliage. Above the low-lying greenery, gray-tinged clouds gathered on the horizon, but overhead the sky was so intensely blue, it almost hurt her eyes.
The main house was on the other side of the little island, where there was a sugary white-sand beach—the most gorgeous beach Zoey had ever seen, and where the tiny island got its name.
Sugar Cay was a slice of paradise, always brimming with beauty, friends, and laughter. A place she could recharge her batteries for spring break and return to work rejuvenated and ready to dive back into the challenges she faced every day.
If she kept thinking about all this, she wouldn’t need to think about the only thing that had given her pause about coming here this weekend.
Nathan
March
Squinting against the bright sunlight and the gleaming blue crystalline water, Zoey Hansen stepped onto the pier.
“Zoey!”
She recognized the high, clear voice of her friend Ella immediately. She spun around just in time for Ella to launch herself into her arms.
Ella squeezed her tight. “I haven’t seen you in so long.”
Zoey squeezed her back, closing her eyes as the sweetness of having Ella close washed through her. Ella smelled tropical and fruity, and her blond hair wisped over Zoey’s cheek. “God, I missed you,” Zoey said vehemently. “It’s been too long. Way, way too long.”
A long year since she’d last come to Sugar Cay. Zoey met with her six best friends here every year. It was an annual tradition they had started when she was a freshman in college.
“You’re right—it’s been way too long. Now let me get a good look at you.” Ella drew back, holding Zoey at arm’s length. The corners of her lips turned down. “You look tired. Have you been working too hard?”
Zoey laughed. “Stop, please. You sound like my mother.”
“Well, you do. Everything okay?”
“Of course it is. I’m just busy.”
Zoey was a fifth-grade teacher in an inner-city school in DC, and she loved her job. She lived and breathed for the thirty-two kids in her class, for being the best teacher she could be. She worked hard to give each one of them a head start in a life that, for many of them, had already seen hardship she couldn’t even imagine.
Ella puffed out a breath, her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight. “I know, I know. Still, you need to remember to do something for yourself sometimes.”
“And that’s exactly why I’m here, Ell.”
“Perfect!” Ella grabbed Zoey’s hand. “And I am going to make sure you make this week all about yourself. Did you know Jake has shipped in a masseuse from Sweden just for us?”
“No kidding?”
“Nope. We’re all going to be so relaxed by the end of the week. Come on. Let’s go to the house.”
Zoey knew by now that Ella and her brother Jake wouldn’t hear of her carrying her own luggage on the quarter-mile trek to the house. Instead, an employee would be by soon to take it up to the house. “That’s what we pay our employees for,” Jake had patiently explained to Zoey the first time she’d come to Sugar Cay.
These days, Zoey was better trained in Jake and Ella’s way of life, so she left her luggage behind and obediently followed her friend down the pier. But just as they were about to step onto the shore, she dug in her heels. “Just…wait a second.”
Ella raised her brows in confusion, but Zoey took in a deep breath. When she’d first met Ella and Jake, she had no idea places like Sugar Cay existed. But here she stood, on Jake’s private island. The charter seaplane that had deposited her at the pier was already powering up to leave, but Zoey didn’t mind the noise. It was music to her ears after the traffic and congestion and dirt of DC.
“I just need to breathe it in for a second,” she told Ella, and swept her gaze over the pristine island laid out before her.
Palm trees swayed along the rocky shore of the bay. Beyond, the roofs of several cottages stood out from the sparkling green foliage. Above the low-lying greenery, gray-tinged clouds gathered on the horizon, but overhead the sky was so intensely blue, it almost hurt her eyes.
The main house was on the other side of the little island, where there was a sugary white-sand beach—the most gorgeous beach Zoey had ever seen, and where the tiny island got its name.
Sugar Cay was a slice of paradise, always brimming with beauty, friends, and laughter. A place she could recharge her batteries for spring break and return to work rejuvenated and ready to dive back into the challenges she faced every day.
If she kept thinking about all this, she wouldn’t need to think about the only thing that had given her pause about coming here this weekend.
Nathan
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