Chapter 1

“Hurry up, Gia!” Emmie called impatiently as she stood on the balcony inhaling the damp, tangy sea air. The cobalt blue waters reflected a calm that was a contrast to the activity on the beach below. People milled about, children squealed in delight, music thumped lightly from somewhere in the distance, and Emmie was eager to immerse herself in melee. She huffed at the silence her exclamation was granted and turned on her heel making her way back into the suite she was sharing with her cousin. “Gianna! I swear! It’s a beach, not a fashion show!” She stood directly outside the bathroom door, hands on her hips and one foot tapping an irritated cadence.

“I’m comin’. I swear, you think the beach is gonna up and disappear if we don’t get out there this very moment,” Gia huffed while checking the straps on her maroon barely-there bikini, yanking down the front. “Damn, I just had to inherit Nana’s boobs.” She quickly lathered on suntan lotion, not that she needed it with her complexion, but it was a habit instilled by her Aunt Regina. Casting one last look in the mirror, her long raven hair pulled back in a Mets baseball cap, one that drove her aunt nuts, then sliding into her sandals. “Okay, I’m set. Let’s hit the beach. Hopefully there’s some hot guys out there to oogle at.” Gia grinned, waggling her eyebrows, then grabbed her beach bag and started towards the sliding glass door that lead to the fun and sun that only a beach could offer.

Emmie grumbled under her breath as she grabbed her beach towel, hastily tying it around her waist and skipping down the steps behind Gia to catch up. “Hot guys, hot guys...you have a one track mind, Gia.” She laughed, only slightly perturbed at Gia’s constant search for Mr. Right, or Mr. Right Now, or Mr. Hey It’s 3am, You’ll Do! “Whatever you do, just keep your conquests in YOUR room, mmkay? The last thing I wanna see is some 30-something desperate old man milling around our suite with his family jewels janglin’ in the wind!” She stifled a giggle remembering one such time.

Gia rolled her eyes, finding a nice spot on the soft, hot sand and spreading out her beach towel. “I have you know, older men know how to rock in bed.” Kicking off her sandals, she sat down on the cotton towel, leaning back on her hands to gaze at the view . “Em, darlin’, when the right one comes a-knockin’, you should be a-rockin’.“ She winked at her cousin, reaching up to slide her sunglasses up further on her nose.

“God, Gia, you’re such a dork!” Emmie groaned while spreading out her towel. Shading her eyes from the sun, she turned herself around, giving the beach’s occupants a good long look before joining Gia on the sand. “I dunno, you may be outta luck this time, girl. Unless you’re into gramps over there?” She nodded her head toward a man with wildly tousled gray hair, a bit wide in the middle, sporting various tattoos, and sucking down a sweating bottle of brew. “Prince charming at his finest!” she teased.

Gia glanced over and huffed. “The day is still young yet; the hot ones come out later to party. Haven’t you learned anything I taught you yet?“

“Yeah, never trust a penis-bearing human,” Emmie quipped.

Gia rolled her eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, I never taught you that! Anything with a penis is good. Well, almost.” She paused to gaze at the older gentleman and snickered. “Even I have some standards.”

“Slut!”

“Prude!”

Both girls fell silent for no more than a second before bursting into gales of giggles, then settling back calmly in the sand.

After a few moments of silence, Gia spoke. “You hear that?“ The only sound was the pounding of the waves crashing into the shore and the squawking of a few seagulls.

“Mmm hmm!” Emmie answered, and sighed contentedly. “Peace and quiet!” She rolled onto her side, propping her head on her hand. “Can you imagine what she’d say right now?” She laughed, then raised the pitch of her voice to match her mother’s nasally tone. “Emmilia! Make sure you have your sunblock on! And for goodness sakes, don’t go out without your makeup! What if the Montgomerys would see you like that?! You look so plain!”

Gia snorted. “Or: Gia, straighten your skirt, it’s way too wrinkly! Where did you get those...jeans? They are old and holey!” She leaned up on her elbows. “You know, I can never figure out why Aunt Regina won’t call me by my whole name like you.“ Her eyes lit up. “That’s right, I’m Italian. She despises my name.”

Emmie scoffed. “Yeah, ‘cause Emmilia is just SO Anglo-Saxon,” she said sarcastically.

“I don’t get it. I mean, it’s not like there aren’t any rich Italians, for fuck’s sake. I am proud of my heritage, so no offense, Em dear, but fuck your mother and her ideals,” Gia answered back with a defiant tone.

“She despised your father, Gia, she just tends to take it out on...well...” She shrugged. Emmie really didn’t know why her Mother seemed to hate anything that reminded her of Gia’s father. She just assumed it was his heritage. What else could it be? “No need to get your panties in a twist at me over it.”

“I just don’t get why she hated my father so much. From what Nana said, he was a sweet, kind, loving man. But that was her son, so I guess she would think that. I just don’t remember either of them, Em.“ Gia sighed. “I wish I could.“

Emmie shrugged again, at a loss for what to say. She didn’t remember her Aunt and Uncle either, so she really was no help. “Mom says he held her back, Aunt Robyn, your mom. I guess ‘cause they... “ She stopped, then shook her head. “Look, I just wanna relax, Gia. Can’t we just forget they all exist? At least while we’re here?” she almost whined. She knew Gia thought she had it bad, the way she was always being picked apart about insignificant little things, but being the perfect little princess wasn’t exactly a treat either! Emmie was so tired of worrying about impressing people! So she was pretty, so what! So she was beyond rich--again, so what! It was more of a curse than a blessing, in her opinion!

Gia sighed. “I’m sorry. Yeah, that’s what we’re here for. That, and find some hot action, or a party.“ Gia knew it wasn’t easy for Emmie being her mom’s own live Barbie doll, but just once she would’ve loved to hear something positive about her parents, which was one reason she always loved when Nana came to visit . Gia could be herself, not some primped-up Barbie hoping to snare the Prince of England. Okay, she was exaggerating a bit there, but that’s what she felt like. “No more talk of home. Cross my heart.“ she made a criss-cross over her heart.

Emmie shot her a stern stare. “Pinky promise?” She held out her pinky, waiting expectantly for Gia’s response.

Gia raised up from her elbows, intertwining her pinky with Em’s and, with a nod, answered, “Pinky promise.“

The girls smiled at each other, then laid back, letting the sounds of the ocean lull them into relaxation.