Thirty Person POVThe rest of the day was filled with a series of small, perfect moments. Delilah had booked them a pottery class at the resort’s art center right after freshening up. Naomi had scoffed at the idea initially. “Pottery? Really? I’m terrible at anything artistic.”“Nonsense!” Delilah had argued, pulling her playfully towards the studio. “It’s about the experience, not the masterpiece. Besides, I bet you’ll be a natural.”Naomi, still skeptical, shook her head and dug her heels into the sand. But an hour later, both of them were elbow-deep in clay. It was messy, far messier than they had anticipated. Clay splattered on her arms, her face, even in her hair. She struggled to center the clay, her attempts resulting in lopsided, wobbling masses. Delilah, whose station was next to her, wasn’t doing much better. She was giggling uncontrollably, her face streaked with clay.“Oh my god, look at this!” Delilah laughed, holding up a distorted vessel that resembled a melting ice cre
third person povThe morning of Naomi’s fifteenth birthday, Delilah stirred first. She blinked sleep from her eyes as the sunlight filtered through sheer white curtains. The soft hush of ocean waves brushing against the shore could be heard as she eased out of bed quietly, trying not to wake Naomi. They had slept in Delilah’s room after binging on different shows all night long. Her bare feet padded across the cool floor as she slipped into a light flowing dress and tiptoed into the hallway, her heart fluttering with both nerves and excitement.Downstairs, the resort staff greeted her with warm smiles and hushed voices. She’d been planning this for days. Every detail. Every flavor. Every hue. Over the past two days, she’d watched Naomi closely, noting the things she reached for at breakfast, the colors she lingered on in gift shops, the songs she hummed under her breath. She wasn’t trying to impress the girl. She just wanted her to feel seen.With the help of the staff, Delilah set up
Delilah’s POVThe next morning started with matching white robes and a mani-pedi appointment at the spa that overlooked the ocean.Naomi picked the brightest shade of pink polish for her fingers and a dark blue for her toes.“Very contrasting,” I teased.“It’s called style.”I chuckled and shook my head at her antics.I picked coral.Our technician, a sweet older woman with silver braids and a love for island gossip, kept us entertained with stories of dramatic honeymooners and a couple who’d allegedly faked an engagement for free upgrades.“She told the chef she was ‘emotionally allergic to dairy,’” she whispered.Naomi nearly dropped her mocktail from laughing so hard.That was new.Her laugh was unrestrained, belly-deep.We wandered back to the villa on warm feet, barefoot and giddy, snacking on plantain chips and trying to come up with fake rich-person alter egos.As the afternoon light began to soften, we made our way to the beach again. The sand was impossibly soft beneath our b
Delilah's pov Naomi had quickly settled into the plush leather seat beside me. I’d offered her a pair of noise-canceling headphones and access to the jet’s entertainment system, and within minutes, she was engrossed in a movie, a small smile playing on her lips. I, on the other hand, spent most of the flight gazing out the window, watching the landscape transform below us. A few hours later, the pilot’s voice crackled over the intercom, announcing our descent. Naomi pulled off her headphones, her eyes bright with curiosity. "Almost there," I said, a thrill of anticipation running through me. And then, we landed with a smooth glide onto a private airstrip. We landed just after three. The air was different the moment we stepped off the plane. It was warmer, softer and even had that salty kind of calm that only came from being near the ocean. No blaring horns. No suits. No flashing cameras. Just breeze and sun and a sky so open it felt like we could breathe all the way down to our ri
Delilah's povI finally pushed myself up, the duvet pooling around my waist. The penthouse felt different when Calix wasn’t in it.I wandered back upstairs, barefoot, the sleeves of his white button-down swallowing my fingers. I had gone downstairs to grab a cup of coffee and some quick bites of toast just after he left.He was gone now. And that left me alone in the house. The house staff had the day off and Naomi was away.It had taken weeks of living with Calix to get used to being home alone on some days. I walked back into his bedroom and sat on the bed to finish up my coffee.My clothes from last night were draped over a nearby armchair. As I reached for them, my eyes landed on a small, mahogany desk placed next to the armchair. Papers were neatly stacked on it and a simple, small calendar was pinned to the edge of the desk with a pushpin. Curiosity, a gentle, insistent tug, drew me towards it.I leaned in, my gaze falling on the calendar.One date was circled three times in bl
Delilah's pov Calix was mid-sentence when I realized I was staring. Not in the polite, attentive way. Not in the “I’m listening to what you’re saying” way. Nope. I was outrightly staring — chin resting against my palm, lips parted slightly, completely zoning out while he told some story about his childhood. I wasn’t hearing a word. I was just watching him. The way his shirt sleeves were rolled to the elbows, exposing strong forearms and that watch he never took off. God, I was completely done for. “Delilah.” I blinked. He caught my eye, a small smile playing on his lips. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, his voice a low, melodic rumble that sent a shiver down my spine. I sat up quickly, tugging my blazer closed even though I knew the goosebumps on my arms had nothing to do with the night’s cool breeze. My mind raced, a chaotic mix of emotions. Love? It was too soon, wasn't it? Too fast. We’d only truly started to acknowledge… this… whatever this bloomin