Chapter One
Laura
The envelope was white, our names and address scrawled across the top in messy handwriting. I stopped when I reached it in the stack of mail. Who wrote letters by hand anymore?
I tried to think back to the last time we’d received anything handwritten—utterly baffled that I couldn’t even remember—as I tore the envelope open, laying the stack of mail on the table. Brad looked up from his coffee and laptop, noticing what I assumed was a worried look on my face.
“What’s that?” he asked, setting the mug down to give me his full attention. I chewed my lip, tearing the envelope the rest of the way.
“I don’t kn—ah, just junk mail.” Relief and disappointment filled me, but I tried to keep it hidden. What had I expected anyway? The picture of a tropical island—the couple on the front dressed all in white, her blonde hair blowing in the wind as she kissed him, and her hand on his stubbled chin—taunted me. “Apparently we just have to get away,” I teased, winking at him as I tossed it back into the stack and lifted the electric bill, grimacing. “The electric’s nearly a hundred more this month. We’re going to have to turn the air up.”
I laid the bill back into the stack and walked away, back toward the sink where I’d been loading the dishwasher a moment before the mail had arrived. Just before I turned on the water, I heard my husband say, “Now, hang on a second. This is actually addressed to us.”
I looked over my shoulder, narrowing my eyes at him. “What is—oh, the resort thing? Yeah, so? Most of the junk in there is addressed to us. Doesn’t make it any less junk.”
He shook his head, turning the back of the brochure around to face me. “It’s addressed to us. The offer. It says,” he turned it back around to read, “there’s a new resort opening up in the Caribbean, and they’re looking for new couples to try it out, completely free, all expenses paid, in exchange for a review before they officially open.”
I shook my head. “Yeah, right. All they need is our credit card numbers, socials, eighteen small payments of one hundred thirty-nine ninety-five.” I snorted. “It’s a scam, Brad. No one gives you a free vacation.”
Before we could say anything else, we were interrupted by the sound of tiny footsteps hurrying down the stairs of our townhome. I looked up, watching as our children descended the stairs, hurrying through the open-concept living room and into the kitchen.
“Elena, sweetheart, what have you gotten all over your face?” I asked, giving up on dishes for the time being as I bent over to swipe at my daughter’s purple cheek.
“It’s marker,” she admitted. “I didn’t do it.”
I gave her a skeptical look, then glanced toward Britta. “Well?”
Her older sister pressed her lips together. “We wanted to be kittens. I told her we shouldn’t do it.”
I giggled, looking across the room at Brad, who was already lost in his computer, and lifted our daughter toward the counter, grabbing a paper towel and wetting it to clean her cheeks.
“I think this might be legit, Laura,” I heard Brad say again.
“What?” I asked, already forgetting what we were talking about before the interruption.
“The resort. When I look them up, Isla del Amor, it just brings up a landing page where you can enter an email to be notified when they’re open and ready for booking. It says they’ll open next summer.”
I put Elena back on the ground, looking over at my husband, who’d taken a break from his work to show me the screen. The image was nearly identical to the brochure—a happy couple, surrounded by sun and sand. I looked around at the kitchen I desperately needed to clean and sighed, walking toward the computer for a closer look.
“I want to go on vacation!” Britta yelled. “Are we going to visit Gramma and Gramp?”
I shook my head. “No.”
At the same time, Brad said, “Maybe.”
I looked at him, hands on my hips and lips pressed together as Britta squealed with delight. Seeing my expression, he closed the computer and addressed her. “Maybe, sweetheart, but maybe not. Mommy and I were just talking, okay?”
Her shoulders slumped. “But why can’t we? We haven’t seen them since Christmas.”
“Your mom and I are going to talk about it, okay?” He grinned. “Now, what do you say to Dad’s famous grilled cheese for lunch?”
The girls climbed up in their chairs at the table while Brad slid his laptop into his bag, the conversation momentarily dropped. I picked up the mail from the table and moved it to the counter as he made his way across the room to start lunch.
I stared down at the brochure on top, reading the side I hadn’t paid any attention to before.
Isla del Amor —
Where your paradise is our destination
Brad and Laura,
You have been nominated to take part in an exclusive, all-expenses-paid trip to the brand-new Isla del Amor on June 10th through the 16th.
At our island of love, you will enjoy a six-night stay in one of our private paradise huts, just steps away from the ocean. During the day, spend your time getting pampered, enjoying lavish cuisine crafted by our world-renowned chef, relaxing on the beach, and much more!
This trip is all-inclusive and 100% free.
The only thing we will ask is that you provide a review detailing your time on our island for future guests when we are open to the public.
Prepare to disconnect from your everyday life, reconnect with your partner, and enjoy yourselves like you never have before.
We request your response by June 3rd, so that we may fill your spots should you choose not to attend.
We hope to see you soon!
Amor,
Your Isla del Amor Team
At the bottom, there was an email address and phone number where you could reserve your spot. I read through the message again. Brad was right; it did sound like there wouldn’t be a catch…but there had to be, right? It wasn’t like we couldn’t have used a vacation. Between work and the kids, the chance to reconnect with my husband was incredibly tempting, but could we afford the time off from our busy schedules? And what would we do with the girls? There was also a very big part of me that still worried this was a scam of some sort. It just didn’t make sense. Who ever heard of a completely free vacation?
Besides that, I read the first line again… Even if it was real, who had nominated us?
Chapter Two
Nick
“Good morning, handsome.” I felt her hands snake around me, rousing me from sleep. I inhaled sharply, stretching my arms as I looked over my shoulder.
“Good morning,” I said through a stretch, reaching up to kiss her lips. She remained on top of me as I rolled over, her blonde hair hanging down over my chest. “What are you doing up so early?”
She grinned, but it fell short of her eyes. “I’ve been up for a while. I wanted to get my meditation in before we left. Did you forget?”