Tropic heat flamingo isl.., p.1
Tropic Heat (Flamingo Island), page 1
TROPIC HEAT
C.A. King, USA Today Bestselling Author
Cover Design by:
Stellar Graphics
Editing by:
Karen Hrdlicka
This book is dedicated to all the romantics still waiting for their very own fantasy to come true and free them.
Look for other books by C.A. King, including:
The Portal Prophecies:
Book I – VI
Volume I & II
Tomoiya’s Story:
Book I: Escape to Darkness
Book II: Collecting Tears
Book III: Stalked
Surviving the Sins:
Books I-VIII
Flower Shields: A Four Horsemen Novel
Drawing Strength From Words: A Four Horsemen Novel
Hitting The High Note: A Four Horsemen Novel
When the Paint Dries: A Four Horsemen Novel
When Leaves Fall: A Different Point of View Story
Miracles Not Included
Do Not Open Until Halloween
Truly Unfortunate
Serendipity’s Debt
Hope After Death
From Alice To Malice
Tails Always Wins
Hang On To Your Shirt Tails
Cupid’s Connection
Doctor D’s Orderly Affair
And more...
This book is a work of fiction. Any historical references, real places, real events, or real persons names and/or persona are used fictitiously. All other events, places, names and happenings are from the author’s imagination and any similarities, whatsoever, with events both past and present, or persons living or dead, are purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by C.A. King
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author and/or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
Cover Design: Stellar Graphics
Kings Toe Publishing
kingstoepublishing@gmail.com
Hamilton, Ontario. Canada
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Author’s Message
About the Author
The date was set.
The planning lasted over a year.
The guests all arrived.
Too bad the bride never made it to the altar.
Left heartbroken and alone with a pair of expensive, non-refundable tickets to the exclusive and enticing Flamingo Island Resort, what was a jilted groom supposed to do?
Daniel’s best friend Joey knows: the best way to get over one woman is to get on top of, or under, another.
He might not be the type to hop from one relationship to another, but when all else fails, there will be a plethora of fancy drinks with little umbrellas to keep tears at bay and drown away sorrows.
Everything is set. There’s no turning back. The two of them are about to have the trip of a lifetime, just not the one either expected.
Chapter One
Daniel
The most embarrassing moment of one’s life was never set in stone. Incidents came and went, but there was always something worse lurking around the corner, waiting to pounce. This was one of those one-in-a-million, heat-pumping, sweat-dripping, collar-tightening moments; the sort anyone would have wished to escape from. That wasn’t happening though.
Someone needed to take responsibility when things fell apart. He’d been chosen for the part—left holding the bag, so to speak. That was the part forced upon him.
Two fingers attempted to loosen the hold his tie had on his neck. It was too strong, like a monstrous snake coiling around to suffocate its prey.
“Ahem.” He cleared his throat as quietly as possible. It was all he could do in the heat of the moment. His bone-dry mouth wasn’t going away on its own anytime soon.
A nervous gaze quickly darted to the gold watch on his wrist. She’d given it to him last Christmas. Now, it was doing an excellent job of keeping track of how late she was.
At some point he needed to accept the facts—to throw in the towel. There was no coming back from this fiasco.
“Well?” Joey whispered, rocking back and forth between his heels and toes.
“Five more minutes,” Daniel replied. “Give her five more minutes. She still could show up.” It probably wasn’t the time for the benefit of the doubt. Time was better spent composing himself for the actual announcement.
“Okay. Tsk.” Joey’s tongue clicked against the inside of his cheek. “It’s your funeral.”
“At least we are in an appropriate place for it,” Daniel scoffed. “What’s a little more heat gonna do?”
Under his suit jacket, his fancy dress shirt was already completely soaked. Even the stress sweat deodorant he bought specifically for this occasion was starting to fail; not that anyone was coming near enough to him to notice.
Why would they?
There was nothing to say. This was more awkward than having a stiffy on a beach full of beautiful girls. Yeah, that actually happened in his first year at college. The end result wasn’t a good one either. In fact, he ended up with a broken nose from a jealous boyfriend and several slaps across the face. Lesson learned: hand imprints weren’t just a thing in cartoons; they were very real, even on darker skin tones.
The elaborate double doors at the end of the red carpeted corridor slowly creaked open, a heavenly light, bright enough to blind, flowed in.
Divine intervention?
Was he saved?
No.
The emerging silhouette was more of a plump olive, rather than the angel he hoped for. His sister, with her bright-red hair, was b-lining straight for him, still wearing the ugly, chiffon, army-green bridesmaid’s dress Claire picked out.
“She’s nowhere,” his sister blurted out, panting heavily from the long trek. “Her phone number doesn’t work, it’s been disconnected, and her apartment is completely empty. Who can do that in one night?”
No one was the answer.
Everyone around him knew it too—his family—is friends—even the priest presiding over the ceremony. He’d been fidgeting for sometime and had, in the past few minutes, begun exuding a rather intimidating evil gaze. Who knew why? The man was getting paid whether he married anyone or not. Still, the old man was the deciding factor. There was no reason to make him stand there any longer.
It was time to throw in the towel. It was time to admit the facts. He’d been jilted—stranded at the altar. That wasn’t even the worst of it: his bride, Claire never planned on showing up in the first place.
They’d agreed to split the workload for their wedding day preparations straight down the middle. She sent out invitations for her side. He handled his own. The groom’s pews were completely filled, while not a single soul sat on the bride’s. The flowers were also noticeably missing. There wasn’t even anyone to play music on the organ. Every task she’d agreed to handle simply wasn’t completed. Six months of intense planning and it was all for naught. The wedding was a sham—a big fat fake lie.
Why?
“Ahem,” the priest cleared his throat.
Daniel inhaled deeply. He’d almost forgotten, lost in a sea of thought. Hands clasping together tightly with a loud clap he rectified the situation. It was time to wear the big-boy pants.
“Sorry, everyone,” he said with as confident a smile as possible. “It appears there won’t be a wedding today. While there isn’t going to be a celebration, feel free to come to the reception. I’d rather not waste all the food.” He offered his hand to the priest, shaking and sliding a tip between the grip.
Gaze averted to the ground, he briskly walked down the aisle, keeping his eyes dry. Several flashes went off.
He’d hired the photographer. No pictures meant no payment. Still, it took a special sort of cruelty to document a man’s greatest failure. Arms instinctively went up, covering all face shots. After a few drinks, maybe he’d let them capture his pathetic side. He’d ordered the alcohol, so he knew there’d be plenty of that to go around.
“Hey,” Joey called out, breaking out a light job to catch up. “Where are you off to?”
“The dinner,” he replied, shrugging. “I might as well. At least I already know all my favourite foods will be there.”
Joey’s hand came down hard on his back. “That’s the spirit. I was wondering...” Teeth grated over his bottom lip. “...about the honeymoon.”
One brow arched, his head slowly turning, gazes meeting. “What?” Sure Joey was the travel agent who booked the trip, but that was a low blow, especially for a friend. “I don’t have a bride to take with me.”
“I know. I know.” Both of Joey’s hands raised, taking a defensive position between them. “Hear me out, okay? This is a bad time and I feel for you... I really do.”
“But...”
Joey’s head tilted to one side then back again. “But... the tickets are nonrefundable.”
“Right,” he sighed. Of course they were. No one in their right mind considered the
“There’s a better way,” Joey said, brow waggling suggestively. “Take the trip and I’ll go with you. There’s no sense wasting all that money and trust me bro, you could use a few days away from scrutinizing eyes and pity sympathizers.”
“I don’t know,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m really not feeling it, you know? Flamingo Island is a party resort. I’m not sure I’d be in the mood for fun.”
Joey tossed an arm over his shoulders. “You need this! I mean; the best way to get over one woman is to get under another.” Joey nodded with a confident smirk. “Get back on that saddle. Show the horse who’s boss.”
Daniel’s frown deepened. Was it really that easy? He was about to marry Claire—devoting the rest of his life to her. How was he supposed to simply forget how much he loved her?
He glanced over at his best man. On the other hand, blowing off steam wasn’t a bad idea, even if his plans weren’t inclusive of other women. Besides, if he held out much longer, the cheesier lines like ‘there’s plenty of fish in the sea. Let’s reel a few in.’ were bound to start spewing from Joey’s mouth.
“Fine,” he conceded with a sigh. “Let’s go.”
“Yeah!” Joey exclaimed with a fist pump. “Flamingo Island... here we come.”
Chapter Two
Daniel
His eyes opened, meeting the snoring face of his best friend, Joey, instead of the beautiful bride who was supposed to be snuggled up beside him.
How did it come to this?
There were questions—a lot of them, and no answers in sight. He hadn’t heard from Claire since the day before they were supposed to take their vows. Nobody he knew had. She simply vanished into thin air. Runaway brides existed, but they tended to still have a presence after the fact. This was more than a simple case of cold feet.
He slid out of the bed.
At least Joey was finally getting some sleep. The two day cruise had been plagued with motion sickness. It was bad enough his friend was already a travel agent who was afraid of flying. Now, the poor guy knew the open seas weren’t his thing either. There was still a ride from the port to the island after they docked too.
He moved to the balcony, watching the sun slowly wake the ocean from a deep blue slumber. It was a sight to see. The quickly approaching land was equally stunning. Too bad Claire wasn’t there to share the sight with him. She would have loved it.
“Hey,” Joey said, in a hoarse voice. The guy was on death’s door, or at least looked as if he was, complete with sunken eyes and a greying of his skin. “What are you doing out here?”
“Watching,” he replied. “We’ll be off this ship in a few hours.” He glanced over at his friend. “Are you going to make it?”
“Not sure,” he answered. “I’ll let you know when I know.”
Luckily, Joey survived long enough to walk on land once more, immediately falling to his knees, lips pressing against the paved surface beneath him. “Muah! Sweet land. Oh, how I have missed you.”
“Get up,” Daniel said, lips trying unsuccessfully not to move. Unfortunately a ventriloquist he was not. His head turned away, one hand gallantly extending to help his friend stand. “People are looking at us.” They weren’t just staring; they were snapping pictures and videos, all the while cooing about it being a public engagement. Within the hour the scene would be trending on social media.
Joey accepted his hand, jumping to his feet as if nothing happened. “Smile.” One hand slapped hard around his shoulders, squeezing, while the other made a peace sign.
“What are you doing?!” Daniel exclaimed, hating the attention. This wasn’t how he wanted people to see him after being dumped. People would get the wrong idea, maybe even think he was to blame for Claire running away.
“Having fun,” Joey answered.
His nose crinkled. “They think we are a couple.”
“So?” Joey shrugged. “Who cares? I certainly don’t, and you shouldn’t either. People are always going to have their own opinions. It’s not as if you can change the way they think.” He held up a single finger. “That means there’s no sense worrying about it. Let them have their senseless point of views. They’ll forget all about us soon enough. If there is one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that there is always something bigger for people to gossip come down the pipe.”
Most of the time Joey was cheesy as heck. Every now and then, however, he came up with some profound statements.
“Okay,” Daniel agreed. “But let’s get going.” If he’d timed things right there wasn’t much leeway for dillydallying. The ferry over to the island was making its voyage within the hour and there was quite a wait for the next one if they missed it. He glanced at his wrist, but it was her face that stared back at him instead of the watch’s.
“Ugh.” Joey tossed his bags to the side, lunging to a nearby garbage can. “What is this magic? Blech! I’m on dry ground but I still feel the waves.”
“Ha!” Daniel covered his mouth, instantly snapping out of the Claire-illusion. He truly felt for his friend, but it was funny to watch. “You finally got your sea legs.”
“Sea legs?” Joey glanced up for a second before turning back to dry heave again. “What are those? And when do they go away?”
“Your body is trying to balance,” he explained. “Your legs became accustomed to the pattern of the waves and your body made adjustments. Now, back on dry land, you don’t need those changes. It feels funny being normal again. The sensation won’t stick around long... like the ferry. If we are going to catch it, we have to hustle.”
“More boats?” Joey complained. “I’m not sure I can take it.”
“It’s a short trip to the island,” Daniel said. “After that, you can fall face first in the sand if you want to.”
“Or a woman’s big breasts.” A silly grin crossed his lips. “What I’d give for an unfortunate accident like that.”
“You have issues,” Daniel said, carrying both of their bags. “Has anyone ever told you that?”
All the time,” Joey admitted. “It wouldn’t be a proper day, if I didn’t offend someone. That’s part of my charm.” He covered his mouth. At this point there wasn’t anything in his stomach to vomit. It was merely a reflex making him unable to stop heaving. “I swear I’m never taking a cruise again.”
“Heard.” Daniel smiled. What travel agent couldn’t fly or step on a boat? “You chose the wrong profession, my friend.”
“I’m good at selling tickets to other people,” he argued. “I just can’t take the trips myself, that’s all. One doesn’t affect the other.”
“I hope you never need to go on one of those development trips for your company,” Daniel said. “That might hinder your career.” He doubled his pace.
“Wait!” Joey cried, reaching out toward his friend’s back. His grip tightened on air. “They have those? You’re kidding, right?”
Chapter Three
Sara
There was already a hazy film rising off the ocean surface, regardless of the hour. It was still mid-morning by her standards. That was too early. Heat needed to book an appointment for late afternoon and then vacate the premises by dusk. Sweat was unbecoming of a lady, at least one looking for a romp in the sheets. Normally, she wasn’t so lady-like, nor was she the sort to worry about it. Hard work always resulted in soaked clothing.
Her jaw dropped in time with her luggage hitting the ground. Flamingo Island was exactly as it sounded. A perplexed grin crept over her lips: perhaps the theme was taken a wee bit too far. The eye candy wandering about was a perk though. That never got old.
She pulled her sunglasses down, giving a quick once-over to a handsome man in his late twenties to early thirties strolling by. Muscles glistened under a plain white tank top. If the rest of the men vacationing on the island looked like him, she was all in for a little tropical romance.
She pivoted, turning back to the line she was standing in. The front desk actually was less busy than anticipated. She was next. “Sara Marshall,” she said after being waved over by one of the staff. “I have a reservation for ten days.”
