Chapter 12
KENDRA
Kendra woke early the next morning to warm sunlight streaming across her face. She glanced over at Lucas’s side of the bed, where he was still sleeping soundly. As quietly as she could, she slipped out of the bed and into the bathroom to get dressed and brush her teeth.
She didn’t want to think about the night before.
She couldn’t believe she’d almost cried in front of Lucas, who was basically a stranger.
And the worst part was that she hadn’t even been upset because she missed Aaron or wished she was married.
Instead, she’d almost burst into tears because she’d barely thought about her former fiancé all day.
She’d almost forgotten that she was supposed to be getting married.
Worst of all, it was all because she’d actually had fun with Lucas.
What kind of person forgot that she was supposed to have been married just because she had fun with a handsome stranger?
Well, she had had enough of pretending to be married to Lucas.
It was confusing, especially since he’d kissed her for the picture and acted like her friend.
She was done. This “honeymoon” had been a good distraction from real life, but it was time to focus on the real world again.
No more kissing for pictures. No more romantic boat rides or kayaking catastrophes. She would put an end to this.
Kendra changed into a swimsuit, grabbed her beach towel, and padded downstairs.
It was just after six a.m., still early enough that only a few hotel staff members were up.
She followed the paths to one of the pools, which overlooked the beach and was surrounded by empty lounge chairs and swaying palm trees.
After setting her towel on one of the lounge chairs, she dove into the pool and swam its length, her strokes firm and strong.
She loved to swim, no matter what Lucas thought, and she was pretty good at it.
Especially when frustration and confusion fueled her kicks and pulls.
The cool water and the exercise cleared her head.
It was silly to try to be around Lucas all the time.
Even newlyweds needed a break from each other.
Right? And when she was around Lucas, she would remember that they weren’t really friends.
She couldn’t forget that she was supposed to be married to another man.
Most importantly, she wouldn’t let herself get caught up in pretending that Lucas was her husband.
What was Aaron doing now? Kendra flipped at the end of the pool, kicked hard off the wall, and began a lap of breaststroke on the way back.
Did he regret not marrying her? Was his family as upset with him as hers would be with her?
The thought of her parents’ disappointment made Kendra’s stomach clench.
And her friends would look at her with pitying gazes, especially Eva, who’d been clear from the beginning that she didn’t think Kendra should marry Aaron.
This was such a mess. And now, the honeymoon Kendra had hoped would be an escape from the realities of her broken engagement was turning into something confusing.
Too confusing. She’d thought that by not checking her phone, she could avoid complicated feelings, but she hadn’t counted on running into Lucas.
Kendra did a few more laps before pulling herself out of the pool.
Water cascaded from her hair and limbs onto the pool tiles.
She padded over to the chair where she’d left her towel and wrapped it around herself before heading upstairs.
By now, a few guests were awake, but they seemed too sleepy to notice the soaking-wet, solo guest traipsing through their midst. When she got to the suite, Lucas was awake and sitting on the loveseat with his phone again.
He looked up at her as she stepped through the door, wrapped in her towel.
For a moment, his eyes flickered with amusement, and she thought he was going to make a comment about how this was the second time in as many days that he’d seen her in a towel.
Instead, he looked back at his phone. He must feel tense after last night, too.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.” Kendra crossed toward the bedroom. “I’ll take a shower and then we can go for breakfast.”
“Okay.”
She took a quick shower and changed into a green sundress with white polka dots. In the mirror, she gave herself a stern expression. She would remember that she and Lucas weren’t really a couple.
When she got back outside, Lucas was still on his phone.
“Ready?”
He looked up, setting his phone on the side of the chair. “Yep.”
It was a far cry from the joking conversations they’d had yesterday, and from the hostility of the first day. Now they really felt like what they were: two strangers on a honeymoon together.
Downstairs, Kendra got a plate of fruit and a cinnamon roll at the buffet. With her free hand, she poured a cup of coffee with plenty of milk and sugar, just the way she liked it. There was even a little shaker of cinnamon to sprinkle on top, which she hadn’t noticed before.
On the way back to the table, Kendra spotted Susie buttering a piece of toast at the buffet and hurried over to her, her plate and mug carefully balanced in her hands.
“Good morning!” Susie beamed at her. “How was your evening?”
“Great.” Kendra bit her lip. “Um, I was wondering… could we cool it on the activities a little? My husband and I are looking for something a little more relaxed, if you know what I mean.”
Susie beamed. “I know exactly what you mean!”
Kendra’s brow furrowed. She wasn’t so sure that Susie did know. “Like, some time to relax by the pool, maybe. That kind of thing.”
“Definitely! Can do.” Susie flipped her ponytail. “Enjoy your breakfast, and I’ll get something set up.”
“There’s really no need to set anything up,” Kendra emphasized. “We can just have a relaxed day.”
“Exactly!” Susie winked like they were sharing a secret. “It’ll be a very relaxed day.”
“Um, okay. Thanks.” Kendra nodded at her, though she was still suspicious, and went to join Lucas at their table.
“What was that about?” he asked. So far, he had no food, only a large mug of black coffee, which he sipped.
“I just told Susie again that we can back off from the activities and do something relaxing today.”
“Great. What did she say?”
Kendra shrugged. “She seemed to be agreeing with me, but you never know with Susie.”
“True.” Lucas reached for his coffee again. “For all we know, ‘relaxing’ for her could mean wrestling crocodiles or participating in an international cheerleading competition or something.”
Despite herself, Kendra smiled. “I really hope not.”
They ate their breakfast, mostly in silence. As Kendra was finishing the last bite of her cinnamon roll, Susie practically skipped over to their table. Her blond ponytail bounced with each step.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
Kendra and Lucas exchanged a glance. “I suppose we are,” Kendra said.
“Then follow me! Oh, but grab your swimwear first.”
“Swimwear?” Kendra asked Lucas in a low voice as they got to their feet. “That seems like a good sign, right?”
“I think so. Although I imagine one would also wear swimsuits for crocodile wrestling.”
“Do you think so? I’d imagine there’s a special suit.” Kendra winced internally. She’d just decided to keep her distance from Lucas, but she was immediately joking around with him again.
They went upstairs to get their swimsuits.
Kendra elected not to wear the same one she’d swum in that morning, even though it was her favorite, because it was still wet.
Instead, she grabbed a new purple bikini she’d bought for this trip and followed Lucas back downstairs.
They met Susie in the lobby, where she led them across the resort to a building they hadn’t seen yet.
It had large floor-to-ceiling windows and several dipping pools outside.
Susie led them through a pair of wide teak double doors into the foyer, which smelled like incense.
“I have Mr. Chambers and Mrs. Moran here!” Susie said.
“Great.” The receptionist smiled at them. “Have a seat, and your masseuse will come to get you shortly.”
Kendra’s eyes widened, but Susie was already waving and heading off to wherever she went when she wasn’t with them.
“A massage?” Lucas asked under his breath.
“I guess so. I should have seen this coming.” Kendra twisted her hands together. Her request for a “relaxing” activity was clearly backfiring on her. She didn’t want to have a massage with Lucas, and she definitely got the feeling that this was going to be a couple’s massage.
“It’s fine.” Lucas sat back, crossing one ankle over the other knee. “It should be fun. Or relaxing. Or something.”
“Or something,” Kendra repeated under her breath as she sat back too.
In hopes of distracting herself from her mistake and from the man next to her, she looked around.
Now that they were sitting inside, the incense smell was strong enough to tickle her nose.
All the furniture was dark teak, and calming sitar music played somewhere in the background.
Perhaps it should have been relaxing, but sitting next to Lucas put Kendra on edge.
“Mrs. Moran, Mr. Chambers?” A pretty young woman with cornrows and hoop earrings greeted them with a smile from the hallway. “I’m Cara. Please, follow me.”
Exchanging a glance, Kendra and Lucas got to their feet and followed her.
They entered a room with a sliding wall that opened directly onto the ocean.
They could hear the waves crashing and smell the bright, salty scent of the water, which was better than the incense.
Kendra barely noticed any of that, though.
Her eyes fell on the two massage tables waiting next to each other.