“Hi.” He kissed her temple. “Lacey, these are Ethan’s parents, Jackson and Hanna.”
Lacey released Drew and shook both their hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Your resort is exquisite.”
Hanna beamed. “Thank you so much. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. Drew was just telling us you two were going into town.”
Jackson placed his arm around his wife’s shoulders and gave Drew a wink. “I’m glad you two met.”
Lacey shot Drew a confused look.What did he mean?
“The day I first spotted you, I was talking to Jackson,” Drew explained with a smile.
Jackson let out a chuckle. “I bet if I tapped him on the shoulder with my pinky he would have fallen over.”
Hanna gasped and Lacey’s jaw dropped. “Sweetheart,” Hanna said with a lilt in her voice. “You’re embarrassing them.” Jackson chuckled, and Lacey could see where Ethan got his sense of humor. “You’ll need to excuse my husband. Poor Drew catches the brunt of his teasing when Ethan isn’t around.”
Drew pulled Lacey to his side. “No, he’s right. This beautiful woman took my breath away.”
Hanna placed her hand on her chest and sighed. “How wonderful. Well, you two have fun, and Lacey, be sure to check out the Boutique Marigold. All their gifts are handmade by the locals.”
“Thank you, and it was a pleasure to meet you both.” Lacey smiled at them before Drew pulled her outside.
An aviary of butterflies flapped wildly inside of Lacey. Even though Drew had already told Lacey about the first time he saw her, hearing it from someone else made it all the more special.
The bellhop summoned a cab, and twenty minutes later Lacey and Drew were strolling through the village streets. Every so often, Lacey would stop to look at a piece of artwork or a cute sarong. Drew would offer to buy her things, but she wouldn’t hear of it.
On the corner of a quaint street was a street vendor cart. Round tables surrounded the stand for people to enjoy their meals. Tropical music played from the two small black speakers sitting on the sidewalk to entertain the short line of people. In New York customers would be looking at their watches or phones, but here on the island they were chatting with each other and laughing.
Drew slowed their pace, stopping at the end of the line. “They have the best conch fritters and mango ice cream. Are you hungry?”
“Famished, but what exactly is a conch?” Lacey asked, wrinkling her nose.
“It’s a mollusk. You know that shell you hold up to your ear on the beach to hear the ocean or what sounds like the ocean?”
“Maybe I’ll just stick with the ice cream.”
Drew laughed and shook his head. “You need more than dessert. They also have great jerk chicken skewers.”
“That sounds good to me. But I still want ice cream.”
They approached the cart; inside, two small fans spun air through the tight space. She could only imagine how hot it had to be in there.
The vendor smiled at them. “What can I get you?”
Drew answered for both of them. “An order of jerk chicken skewers, conch fritters, and two bottles of water, please.” He looked to Lacey; she nodded her approval. “That’ll be all for now.”
They sat at a small table, and Drew lifted one of his fritters, offering it to Lacey. She wrinkled her nose again and shook her head. “No, thank you.”
Drew laughed. “Hmm… I had you pegged as adventurous and ready to try new things, but I guess I was wrong.” He shrugged and popped the bite-size fritter into his mouth. “So good,” he said with an exaggerated moan.
Her eyes narrowed. “Peer pressure will get you nowhere.”
A deep chuckle rumbled out of him. “If you say so, but you don’t know what you’re missing. Plus, they’re an aphrodisiac.”
Lacey rolled her eyes before biting a piece of her chicken off the small wooden skewer. Mimicking his moan and not giving up the opportunity to tease him, she closed her eyes and licked her lips. When her lids opened, Drew was staring at her mouth with lustful eyes.
“Don’t do that unless you want to cut our shopping trip short and go back to the hotel,” Drew said before polishing off another fried morsel.
“Why? What would we do at the hotel?” She flashed him an innocent grin.