ISABELLA

      The days leading up to the Christmas holiday had passed quickly, mostly because of the things that needed to be done. Omari and I decorated the apartment, well when he wasn't handling business, and I made sure that I had enough food to prepare the dinner he'd requested. For my first time decorating I think I did a good job; the tree wasn't anything like the ones my parents had paid to have decorated, but it was definitely up to par with the ones I'd seen when I went ornament shopping. I'd gotten gifts for everyone and sent them to their respective addresses and just spent time with my husband...lord I'm getting like Paula with that.

OMARI

      "Damn, Is," I groaned as I fixed my second plate of food.

      She'd cooked the traditional meal of turkey, stuffing, mashed potato's, macaroni and cheese, candy yams, string beans, and collard greens but she also threw in these banging honey barbecue chicken wings and the best deviled eggs I'd ever tasted. I'd lounged around all morning and it had taken every ounce of will power I possessed to keep from sneaking in the kitchen as the aroma of the decadent food she prepared wafted over towards the living room where I saw watching DVD after DVD of classic movies.

      "I'm glad you're enjoying it," she replied in amusement as she grabbed to small bowl she'd placed her chicken salad in and munched on that.

      "Is that all you're eating?" I asked with a frown.

      "I got to taste everything first hand when I was cooking so I'm not that hungry," was her simply response. "You may want to save some room though because I did make dessert."

      "What did you make?" I asked curiously.

      "Peach cobbler."

      "I love you," I told her and she fell out laughing.

      "I love you too," she replied with a wink before sitting Indian style on the sofa and putting 'The Last Dragon' in.

ISABELLA

      I was laughing at 'Bruce' Leroy's naiveté when Omari sat next to me and handed me an envelope. I turned towards him and glanced at it curiously before asking him what it was. We'd exchanged gifts earlier, which consisted of a lot of little things like fragrances, clothing, and body products. There was hardly anything that either of us wanted that we couldn't afford to purchase ourselves so gift giving wasn't that big of a thing. It was more for the thought behind the gesture.

      "What's this Mari?" I asked him.

      "Merry Christmas," was his response.

      I placed my bowl on the coffee table before opening the envelope and a huge smile crossed my lips when I realized what was inside. There were two roundtrip tickets to Hawaii. I embraced him in a hug before asking him when we were to leave.

      "Tonight."

      "Tonight? But I have to pack! I have to call my parents and let them know that I'm going out of town and then double check to make sure I've had everything after I've packed-"

      "Calm down baby," Omari replied with a smile. "Just pack the necessities. Anything we forget can be purchased once we get to the island."

      "But-"

      "It's a vacation baby. Chill and relax," he spoke and kissed me on the lips softly before releasing me so that I could head into our bedroom and pack.

OMARI

      "Babe, we got to go!" I called out to Isabella as I checked the time.

      "I coming!" she called out to me from the closet.

      "You've been coming for the last thirty minutes Is," I told her getting frustrated. I was ten minutes from going in there and pulling her out with whatever it was she'd been packing and whatever she was wearing. Missing the flight was not an option since it was the holiday and all the flights were booked.

      "You know you have a lot of attitude for someone who expected me to pack a little over a week full of clothes in several hours," Isabella replied as she made her way out of the closet, dragging her huge structured luggage.

      "Whatever," I replied, "Is that all?"

      "Yes," she replied as she motioned for me to take her suitcase.

      As I took hold of her heavy ass bag she stretched and glanced around the room, looking as if she was making sure she didn't forget anything, before grabbing the soft gray Juicy Couture jacket that matched the drawstring pants she'd slipped on several hours ago and followed me out of the apartment.

ISABELLA

      "Here you are," the driver replied as he paused to a stop at Mauna Lani Resort.

      "This place is beautiful," I replied in wonderment as I grabbed my bag and slipped out of the car.

      Omari and I headed inside of the beautiful resort that looked amazing in the sunset. I'd gone on several trips but there was nothing like Hawaii, especially to be here with Omari. It didn't take us long to check in and be directed to our private bungalow that had an amazing ocean view.

      "This place is amazing Omari," I whispered in wonderment as I took in the suite.

      "I'm glad you like it," he replied with a soft smile gracing his face as the hotel worker who helped us to our new home brought our bags in.

      "I love it," I replied as I made my way over to him and wrapped my arms around him. "I love the gesture and I love you."

      Before our kiss could get too far, the bellhop cleared his throat and said, "Will that be all?"

      "Yes," Omari said simply and slipped him a few bills before seeing him out of the bungalow.

      While he did that I went deeper and entered one of the two master bedroom's that had an amazing view and stared out the window for a while. These were the views I wished I had while living up East. You just couldn't get any better than this.

      "So what do you want to do first?" Omari asked me as he hugged me from behind.

      I leaned into his hold and sighed in a contented manner before smiling when I caught sight of the well lit pool. "I want to go swimming!"

      "Swimming?" he asked me in disbelief as he pulled back a little.

      I unzipped the Juicy Couture jacket I wore to reveal a practical lavender bra and said, "Do you have a problem with that Mr. Deveraux?"

      "None at all," he replied in amusement as he watched me strip out of the rest of my clothes so that I was just standing in my undergarments. I threw him a wink as I grabbed the suitcase I knew held the one bathing suit I had enough time to pack and headed into the bathroom. "Come on now. That's not fair!"

      "Life isn't fair," I joked as I closed the door behind me and got dressed.

OMARI

      "Are you good on your own for a bit?" I asked Isabella as I got ready to head to the gold course to play a couple of rounds.

      "Did you see the packages the spa has? You'll be lucky if you see me at all today," she joked as she pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail and slipped on a pair of simple white Haviana flip flops.

      "Aight baby. How about we meet back here around seven and change for dinner at the CanoeHouse?" I asked her.

      "I'll see you then," she replied and leaned in to give me a kiss.

ISABELLA

      When I left the spa, it was well after noon and I was feeling relaxed and ready to explore the area around the hotel. First thing was first though and that was to cleanse my body of the various scented oils that had been used on me and to change into something comfortable and find somewhere to eat. A nice shower with my sweet smelling Jo Malone shower gel pulled the drowsiness caused by the various massages to leave me and I moisturized my skin before slipping into a pair of denim shorts and layered blue and deep pink tank top before grabbing a hair brush and pulling my hair up into a neat ponytail. I stuffed my bare feet into a pair of Air Forces before grabbing the Louis Vuitton jewelry box I'd packed with me to pick out a few accessories.  I quickly went through the motions of slipping on a pair of classic diamond hoop earrings along with a simple watch. After I'd slipped my engagement ring in the jewelry box, leaving my wedding band on my left finger, I sprayed on some perfume and left the bungalow for a nearby eatery.

      It didn't take me long to find the Ocean Grill and it seemed as if I arrived just in time because not long after I was served, fellow vacationers arrived and began to take up all the of the seating. I was sipping on a iced drink and nibbling on the big island tropical fruit salad I'd ordered when a group of kids around my age walked in. It was about three of them but I knew they wouldn't stay long since it really wasn't any where for them to sit. They glanced around the area trying, to no avail, to find empty seating before making their way towards me. I fought the urge to place a frown on my face as they stopped in front of me.

      "Excuse me," one of the guys started. "We don't mean to interrupt but we noticed that you were sitting alone and wondered if you would mind if we joined you. I normally wasn't one to just openly invite strangers but I felt their plight so I nodded and motioned for them to take a seat.

      "Thank you so much!" the female of the group added as she offered me her hand. "I'm Ashley and that's my brother Kevin and that's Eddie, we just met him yesterday."

      "It's nice to meet you all. I'm Isabella," I replied with a friendly smile before eating a piece of pineapple.

      Kevin waved a waiter over and he handed them a menu before taking their order. "So," Ashley started again, "Are you here on vacation with your parents too?"

      "No," I replied.

      "Oh," Kevin replied, "it must be wonderful to live in such a tropical climate."

      "I'm sure it is but I'm not from Hawaii," I replied with a short smile before taking a sip of my drink.

      "Are you a model or something?" Eddie asked curiously.

      A blush formed on my face, "Thank you but no."

      "I'm here on holiday," I replied with a nod before waving the waiter over and asking for my check.

      "Oh, I hope we aren't rushing you to leave," Ashley replied with a frown as I paid my bill and tipped the waiter.

      "Not at all," I calmed her suspicions. "I do hope you all enjoy your lunch and I'm sure I'll run into you again."

      "Really?" Kevin asked.

      I shrugged as I pushed my chair back. "We are staying at the same resort so it's likely that we'll run into each other again."

OMARI

      "So how was your day?" I asked Is as she walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the dresser where she'd placed the clothes she'd unpacked.

      "It was lovely. I had a great time at the spa and got a little shopping done," she replied as she slipped her undergarments on under the towel.

      "Shopping?" I asked.

      "Yes. I had to get something to wear to dinner tonight. Most of the things I had a chance to pack were casual."

      The CanoeHouse was one of the finer dining establishments the resort had to offer and as such it wasn't the type of establishment you wore jeans to. I had just slipped my feet into the brown leather Ferragamo loafers that went well with the calfskin belt holding up my cream colored linen pants when Isabella called me.

      "What's up baby?" I asked her.

      "Can you do the back for me?" she asked and I turned to see her holding a strapless ombre gown over her chest. I made my way over to her without answering her question and kissed her shoulder lightly as I zipped the dress.

      "Thank you," she replied with a radiant smile as she slipped her feet into the dark chocolate leather peep-toe sandals lying at the edge of the bed.

ISABELLA

      I made a quick chore of my make-up, going for a less is more on my face with just a bit of sheer gold gloss, perfectly blended eye shadow, and mascara. I'd pulled my hair up into a classic chignon before initially leaving the bathroom so all that was left was the accessories. A beautiful pair of art deco styled white and yellow diamond chandelier earrings fell gracefully from my ears while a matching pendant was lying around my neck.

      "You ready?" Omari asked as I walked through a mist of perfume.

      "Yes," I replied with a soft smile and let him lead me out of the room.

      "You look amazing," he complimented me as made the now familiar journey to the main resort.

      "Thank you. I have to say you're looking dapper yourself," I answered as I leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth.

      As we entered the CanoeHouse I happened to catch a glance of Ashley and Kevin leaving the resort with their parents. They caught sight of me and I waved at them before entering the restaurant with Omari.