Sunkissed Serendipity

Chapter 65

Julian

Isla and I split up at the gift shop. I go in there just to look, but then I find something that catches my eye. My eyes widen when I look at the silver bracelet, which has a small heart in the center. It was so pretty, but that's not why it caught my eye. There was an initial in there, and it just happened to be mine. I flip the bracelet over, and just underneath the pendent is the phrase "I love you." It's engraved in such tiny handwriting, but it was so perfect.

"You should get it for Isla," I hear from beside me, and I turn to look at my brother. He gives me a quirk of an eyebrow. "That's the kind of gift you give to girls you like, right?"

I feel suddenly shy at his words but then say, "Yeah."

"Then get it," he says, and right then, Isla turns the corner. She grins at me, holding up two caps, and says, "I found matching ones for us." Before she can get closer, I yank the bracelet off the rack and palm it up. She walks in front of me, standing up with her top toes as she places the cap on my head. She places hers on top of hers and then says, "They're pretty cool, huh?"

"Very," I say, being honest about how the soft blue cap looked. In the center, there were pink flowers and, in cursive, the name of the town we were in. It was perfect. She pulls the cap down to her head and says, "It's so pretty. I'm getting it for us."

"I'll—"

"I'll get it," she says, and before I can argue, she reaches forward and pulls my cap off my head. When I go to fix my hair, she is already heading to the counter with a pep in her step. I sigh as I follow after her and watch as she pays. After grabbing the bag, she turns to me. "You're buying something?"

"Something I found for my parents," I say quickly, and she nods. Stepping away, she says, "I'll be with them then."

I nod and watch as she walks out of the shop. Placing the bracelet on the counter, I look at the cashier. "How much is this?"

The lady looks down at the bracelet, and I know it should cost more, but she only says, "Ten dollars."

"You're uh—" I start, but she only takes the bracelet. Jack speaks from beside me: "You lied to Isla."

I give him a look. "What? I'm not sure when I'm going to give it to her.

"I got it," he says, and I'm grateful that he understood me. After paying, I take the bracelet and stuff it in my pocket. When we get outside, Isla is waiting for my parents. She gives me a kiss, noticing my empty hands, and says, "You didn't get it?"

"No," I lie, but then say, "Okay, ice cream?"

"Ice cream," Jack agrees, and we all head to the shop we had earlier.

•

When we get back to our hotel room, we all change into our pajamas. Once we take a seat on the bed, Isla says, "It's still early. Want to watch a movie?"

"Yeah, sure," I say, to which Jack follows up by saying that he wanted to choose the movie. Lucky for us, he chose a family comedy. "So," Isla says from her bed. "You're not going to come here so we can cuddle?"

"I'd love—"

"Nope," Jack says beside me. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he says, "Sorry, Isla. You'll have to go an hour without being next to your boyfriend."

Isla sighs, a frown on her face, as she settles into her pillow. "Well, I guess until tomorrow then."

"Until tomorrow," I say to her, catching her eyes even from where Jack was sitting in between us, blocking my view. I settle into my pillow and focus on the movie. Once the movie is done, Jack heads to the bathroom. After he is out, he gets in bed again. This time he settles under the blanket and says, "I'm heading to sleep."