Chapter 14
KENDRA
Kendra bent her knees, concentrating all her energy on keeping her balance.
Her arms windmilled, but only once, before she steadied herself.
Carefully, she adjusted her front foot on the board before finally lifting her gaze to the horizon, as the instructor had told her to.
She saw the beach rushing toward her, the resort in the distance, and the blue sky overhead.
She saw the board beneath her bare feet and the wave she was riding on.
And, to the left, she saw Lucas toppling headfirst into the ocean.
Kendra twisted her head to check on him, but even the small movement was enough that she lost her balance and fell into the water too. When she popped up, she and Lucas were only a few feet apart.
“How are you doing that?” Lucas called to her over the sound of the surf.
“Doing what?” Kendra asked, grinning.
“Not falling off right away! No matter what I do, I can’t stay up on the board for more than ten seconds.”
“Maybe you should try kneeling again,” Kendra suggested. “Like the little kids do. Come on, let’s swim back out.”
She was having so much fun that she could hardly believe it. She climbed back onto her board and paddled out. Lucas followed on his own board, muttering something under his breath about useless sports.
Today’s honeymoon fun included a surfing lesson. Kendra had expected it to be as frustrating as the kayaking, but she hadn’t expected to enjoy feeling the wind whoosh by or the focus of balancing. She actually enjoyed surfing a lot. She should have tried it sooner.
They reached the right spot in the ocean and turned around to try another wave. They’d had two hours of instruction previously, but the instructor was now on the beach with the next couple while they played around and tested their skills.
“I knew you were a California surfer girl,” Lucas said as he positioned his board. “Are you sure this is the first time you’ve done this?”
“I’m sure!” Kendra looked over her shoulder to try to find her next wave. “I swam a lot, but I honestly never tried surfing.”
“I think this whole thing was an elaborate con to show me up in a water sport after the kayaking fiasco,” Lucas joked.
“You caught me!” Kendra spotted the next wave and began paddling.
As it caught her board, she managed to pop up onto her feet.
This time, she was able to stand up without windmilling her arms, even once.
Her breath caught as she almost slipped, but she stayed up.
A quick glance back showed that Lucas hadn’t managed to catch this wave.
Kendra rode the wave almost all the way to shore before a surge knocked her down.
She came up in the shallows, grinning, and paddled back toward Lucas.
He’d managed to catch a wave in her absence, but the moment he popped up, his arms windmilled, and he slipped backward and fell back into the wave with a splash. Kendra paddled over.
“Are you all right?” she asked when his head reappeared above the water.
“Yes, but I think I’m done.” He smiled at her, shaking his wet hair. “This is harder than kayaking for me.”
“Sure, because you don’t have a paddle you can throw into the water for me to chase after,” Kendra said.
“Hey!” He splashed her. “Are you coming in with me or staying out?”
Kendra considered. Her legs and arms were getting tired, and she was thirsty, but she was having a lot of fun surfing, and it was hard to stop. Still, the prospect of hanging out with Lucas on the beach was more appealing.
“I’ll come with you.”
They paddled to shore, where they returned the boards to the surf shack and flopped down on the sand.
They were close enough to the water that the waves almost reached their outstretched feet.
Kendra absentmindedly sketched patterns in the sand with the tip of her finger — a heart, a smiley face, a star.
“I know you grew up in LA,” Lucas said. “Somehow without surfing. But were you an only child or do you have siblings?”
“I’m an only child,” Kendra said. She sketched a curlicue with her fingertip, the sand warm and a little damp. “And you?”
“I’m an only child too.” Lucas paused. “These are definitely things we should know about each other, or people will never believe we’re married.”
“True.” Kendra paused. “Tell me some more things, then. Where did you go to college?”
“UCLA.”
“No kidding!” Kendra sat up straighter. “Me too! But I guess we wouldn’t have been there at the same time.”
“No, I went to college when I was seventeen and graduated in three years, so I don’t think we had any overlap.”
“Still.” Kendra smiled and leaned back on her elbows. “Blue and gold forever!”
“Blue and gold forever,” Lucas repeated. “Did you like it there?”
“Oh, yes. It was great.” Kendra smiled. “I wonder what would have happened if we’d met there.”
As soon as she asked the question, she regretted it. After all, the only reason she and Lucas were even talking was that she’d been left at the altar and had run into Lucas at the airport. In any other situation, they wouldn’t have exchanged more than a few words.
“You know, I totally would have hit on you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Lucas grinned. “You’re gorgeous and funny. Maybe that’s the story of how we met and got married. You know, the story we can tell if anyone asks.”
“Right, so we met in college, dated for some years, and now got married and are here,” Kendra filled in.
“Exactly.”
“What was our wedding like?”
“You’re the wedding photographer. You tell me.”
Kendra’s first thought was of the elaborate fairy-tale wedding she’d planned for herself and Aaron, but to her surprise, it didn’t sound as amazing as it had before. Instead, she pictured something else.
“It was just us and our closest friends and family,” she said.
“We got married on a cliff by the ocean at sunset, then danced all night. Our reception area was decorated with fairy lights and jasmine flowers.” It was all too easy to imagine Lucas scooping her into his arms and kissing her softly as their loved ones erupted in cheers.
Kendra could almost feel his hands on her hips and his lips on hers.
“That sounds beautiful,” Lucas said. “And then we flew off to our honeymoon.”
“Exactly.”
“And after this, we’ll go back to LA, I guess, and buy a nice downtown condo.”
“Or a beautiful house right on the beach,” Kendra countered.
“Sure. And we’ll adopt a dog.”
“Or a cat.”
Lucas chuckled. “Even in our pretend world, it isn’t easy for us to be married, is it?”
“Not at all.” Kendra grinned at him, but in truth, it wasn’t as hard for her to pretend to be married to him anymore.
Talking and spending time with him made being married feel less and less like a charade.
She could almost imagine that they really had met in college, married in a simple sunset ceremony, and planned a life together.
Which was ridiculous, because she was supposed to be married to another man right now.
Yet she felt something for Lucas. When he was near her, it was as if they were connected by invisible threads.
She was aware of each of his movements and of his presence, even if she wasn’t looking at him.
She found him funny and interesting. He made her heart race and her knees weak in a way that Aaron never had.
Soon, it would be time to go back to LA and her real life. She would have to face the consequences of the failed wedding. But for now, all she wanted was to imagine for a little longer that she and Lucas were really husband and wife.
“Maybe we can compromise,” she suggested. “How about we get a hamster? Or a fish?”
“Or…” Lucas’s eyes flashed with humor. “A snake.”
“No way.” Kendra shook her head firmly. “No snakes.”
“Why not? They’re cute.”
“What?” She scooted away from him. “I can’t believe I ever married you.”
“Time to go back to Divorce Beach, then.”
They shared a smile. “Isn’t it convenient that there’s a beach for everything?”
“Absolutely.” Lucas leaned back in the sand, forming a pillow with his hands. He was still shirtless from their surfing, and his muscles rippled beneath his tanned skin.
“Okay, I have to ask.” Kendra propped herself up on her elbows. “How often do you go to the gym?”
Lucas chuckled. “I do work out regularly. I run and lift weights. It helps keep my mind sharp, so I work better and feel better.”
“Of course you do.” Kendra laughed as she flopped on her back in the sand. It was warm beneath her bare skin. “I do yoga regularly, but I almost never run or lift weights.” She turned her head to look at Lucas. “Are you one of those guys who runs on the beach?”
“Sometimes, but more often, I run on the treadmill in my home gym.” Lucas turned his head to look at her. “It saves time.”
“So that you can work more,” Kendra filled in.
“Exactly.”
“Do you ever think it would be worth working a little less so that you could enjoy life a little more?”
“Hey, I like my work.” Lucas leaned his head back, so Kendra did the same. She gazed up at the blue sky, which was studded with a few stray clouds. She wanted to ask more about what he did, but Lucas always seemed hesitant to talk about work, so she didn’t.
“Should we go back to the room so you can check your phone, then?” Kendra asked.
“Nah,” Lucas answered easily. “I’m enjoying myself. And I still need to recover from surfing. Why would anyone do a sport that involves hurling yourself across the ocean on a wooden board?”
“Let me guess.” Kendra smiled up at the sky. “You’re also not a fan of skiing.”
“I’ve never been, actually.”
“Really?” Kendra rolled onto her side to look at him. A few grains of sand clung to her back, so she brushed them away with one hand. “That’s hard to believe.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Guys who have vacation houses and private jets tend to go skiing at least sometimes.”
“Not me. I’m a mystery.” He winked. “Do you ski?”
“I went with my parents a few times when I was a kid, but I haven’t been much as an adult. To be honest, I prefer the sun and sand to snow.”
“So do I,” Lucas agreed. “That’s why I love LA. Missouri has very cold winters, and I really don’t miss them.”
“I bet.” Kendra rolled onto her back again. “Anyway, there’s no city better than LA.”
“Spoken like a true California surfer girl.”
She laughed. “After today, you can call me that if you want, Missouri farm boy.”
They lay on the beach a little longer, side by side, talking about surfing and teasing each other.
Lucas was less of a mystery now. Kendra knew where he was from, that he was an only child, and the kinds of things he liked to do.
There was still a big piece missing, though: the event, whatever it was, that had brought him to Mexico.
She was more and more certain that it had something to do with his job.
After all, Lucas clearly loved his work, but he avoided going into details with her. There must be a reason for that.
Kendra was curious, but she wouldn’t push him.
It was enough, for now, that they were talking and laughing and mostly getting along with each other.
It was enough that, when she looked at him, her heart fluttered in her chest like a butterfly trying to break free.
Kendra had never met anyone who made her feel quite like this, so she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
She wasn’t going to worry about returning to LA and her life.
She wasn’t going to worry about Lucas keeping something major secret.
She was just going to enjoy a little flirting and all the activities of her pretend honeymoon.