Chapter 11
LUCAS
“And a complimentary dessert,” the waiter said, setting an enormous flan on the table between them.
“Thank you,” Lucas said automatically. He glanced over at Kendra, who grinned back at him.
Things had felt a little different between them since that morning.
They’d been joking around a little, even splashing each other in the pool, and it was exactly the distraction he’d needed from work.
There was another side to her from the stressed and rude woman he’d run into at the airport.
A fun, lighthearted side. A side that he appreciated.
And then there was that kiss. He hadn’t expected such a simple thing as a kiss to make his head spin the way it had.
Especially not a kiss with someone who’d mostly gotten on his nerves up until that point.
Yet he couldn’t get the feeling of Kendra’s lips on his out of his mind, and he found himself half-hoping that there would be another staged picture so they could do it again.
“This looks great,” Kendra said, sliding her spoon into her half of the flan. “But will it be as good as Mexican Coke? The jury is still out.”
Lucas smiled as he dug his spoon into the flan too. It was delicious — sweet with a hint of vanilla. He didn’t even mind that they were sharing one dessert, which was one of the most couple-y things he could imagine and something he’d always avoided in the past with women he’d actually been dating.
“I’d say it’s not quite as good,” Lucas said. “But that’s because Mexican Coke is so special. When I come home from my vacation house, I’ve been known to fly a few bottles back with me.”
“Can you do that?” Kendra asked, her eyebrows rising.
“Sure, but I don’t recommend it. Once, one of the bottles hit something, probably when it was being unloaded, and exploded all over my clothes.”
“The airline must have been furious.” Kendra giggled, her green eyes narrowing in humor.
“Well, it was on my private jet, so they were very understanding.” He winked, raising his spoon in a toast, and she giggled again.
“You have a private jet?”
“I do.”
“Come on.” She leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table, a nefarious glint in her eyes. “You have to tell me what it is you do that you can afford a vacation house in Cabo and a private jet. Or is this family money?”
Lucas hesitated. He’d gotten this far without sharing any personal details with Kendra, beyond admitting that he’d been born in Missouri, and he really didn’t want to get into the Omegron scandal now.
He hadn’t seen her spend much of any time on her phone since arriving, which explained why she might not know about it yet, despite his face being plastered all over the news. He wanted to keep it that way.
“I’m in the tech field,” he said vaguely.
“Hmm.” Kendra nodded slowly, her spoon in her mouth. “Let me guess… You’re one of those tech nerds who spends all his time coding?”
Lucas chuckled. “What gave it away?”
“Your lack of social skills, mostly,” Kendra said with a wink.
“Wow. Rude.” Lucas took another spoonful of the flan. “I don’t know what you do, either.”
“You’ll judge me.”
“Yeah, probably.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m a wedding photographer.”
Lucas chuckled. “Okay. I’m judging you a little bit.”
“It’s a great job, really.” Kendra sighed, setting her spoon down beside her plate. “Or it used to be. I guess I’m not so sure now.”
Lucas wanted to ask if her hesitation about her job came from her own wedding issues, but he remembered that she’d seemed upset when he’d mentioned her husband previously.
“I see,” he said instead.
“But I love photography.” She smiled. “I have since I was a child. And I wanted to be a wedding photographer ever since I was eight years old and took pictures of a family friend’s wedding on a disposable camera, and they turned out really nicely. Or I thought they did, anyway.”
“I haven’t seen you take any pictures on this trip,” Lucas pointed out.
“No. I don’t like taking pictures on my phone. I have my camera upstairs, but it seems silly to get it out right now.” She shrugged. “It’s fine.”
The atmosphere seemed a little more tense, though. Kendra rested her head in her hand and didn’t look at Lucas as much. Clearly, she wasn’t really interested in sharing about her life either, and she seemed to regret what she’d said. To Lucas’s surprise, he missed her banter and her smile.
They finished the flan, thanked their waiter, and headed upstairs. On the elevator, Lucas glanced over at her.
“What activities do you think they have planned for us tomorrow?” It was an attempt to bring back the easy conversation they’d shared over dinner, and it seemed to work, because Kendra cracked a smile.
“Maybe sensual pottery or something equally terrible.”
Lucas chuckled. “My money is definitely on sensual pottery. What is that, exactly?”
“I guess we’ll find out.” Kendra looked up at him, meeting his eyes, and they both laughed and looked away. The elevator dinged to show they’d reached their floor, and the doors whooshed open. They headed to their room, where Kendra swiped her key card for them to enter.
Lucas made a beeline for his phone next to the loveseat, while Kendra went into the bedroom. He barely had time to unlock his phone before she reappeared in the doorway.
“Lucas?” Her cheeks were that adorable pink that they got when she was flustered, and she was already fiddling with her hands. “Um…”
“What’s up?” He set his phone down and stood, but she blocked the doorway by spreading her arms wide and stepping in front of him.
“Before you go in, please know that I didn’t do this.” Her cheeks were still very pink.
“Okay…” Lucas couldn’t hide his smile. “I’m really curious now.”
She hung her head and stepped out of the way so that he could see into the bedroom.
It was filled with at least two dozen tapered candles that gave off a soft, warm light.
Roses stood in vases on every surface. The bed curtains had been tied up, and the bed itself was strewn with rose petals, some of which formed the shape of a heart.
Lucas began to laugh, but when he caught sight of Kendra, she was looking down with red cheeks and fiddling with her hands again. She didn’t seem amused.
“Let’s clean this up, huh?” Lucas flipped on the lights, then went around the room, blowing out candles. After a moment, he heard the rustle of a plastic bag and saw Kendra scooping rose petals off the bed by the armful.
“I can’t believe this,” Kendra muttered as she tossed another round of petals into the bag. “I’m going to smell like roses all night.”
“You already smell like roses,” Lucas said. There was a pause, and he glanced over at Kendra, who had frozen with an armful of flower petals and a confused look. For a moment, Lucas was sure he’d put his foot in his mouth somehow, but then her expression cleared.
“No, I smell like jasmine. That’s from my perfume.”
“Right. I have to admit, I’m no expert on flowers.”
Kendra tossed a handful of petals at him. “Clearly.”
Lucas turned back to the dresser and began gathering up the candles. “So, did you order this as a special surprise for the guy you were supposed to marry?” His back was to Kendra. “Or do you think he did this for you? You know, as a way to spice up the honeymoon.”
There was a pause, and Lucas turned back. To his shock and horror, tears glistened in Kendra’s eyes, and her hands were balled into fists. She’d let the bag of petals fall to the floor.
“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand,” she said, her words catching. Lucas’s heart sank. He’d only meant to tease her, like they’d been doing since that afternoon, but clearly he’d actually hurt her feelings. He swallowed an instinctive apology.
“You’re right,” he said instead. “I don’t understand.”
“I’ll clean this up.” Her hands were still in tight fists, and her eyes were glistening.
“Kendra—” He had no idea how to comfort a crying woman, or one who was on the verge of tears, but he felt he should try. Even though they weren’t friends. Even though he barely knew anything about her. “I shouldn’t—”
“Just go.” She turned away, picking up the bag from the floor and angrily scooping petals into it.
So, Lucas left the candles on the dresser and went out into the sitting area.
Grabbing his phone, he escaped to the balcony, where he sat in the cool air and stared out into the distance.
In the daytime, he’d have a beautiful view over the resort and the ocean, but now he could see only a few lights below and the dark expanse of the water. Overhead, the stars glittered.
He couldn’t enjoy the beautiful view, though, because he’d been an idiot.
Not just by bringing up Kendra’s missing husband, but by allowing himself to joke with her in the first place.
This was a reminder that they weren’t actually dating or friends or anything.
They were just strangers who needed to keep to themselves and do their best to survive the rest of their stay here.
Lucas sat on the balcony for a long time.
His stomach hurt with regret when he remembered Kendra’s teary face.
But what had he really been expecting? Just because they joked around didn’t mean that he was anyone other than Lucas Chambers, workaholic CEO of Omegron who prioritized his career over everything.
And it didn’t mean that she was anyone other than a stranger who’d run into him at the airport.
He needed to remember that.
Hoping to think of something else, he checked the news and read a few more articles and posts about Omegron.
It did a good job of distracting him from Kendra.
Finally, at around midnight, he slipped inside.
The lights were already out, and the bedroom had been reset to its normal look.
The only sign of the romantic setup was a few plastic bags on the floor by the door.
He quickly changed in the bathroom and climbed into bed as silently as he could.
The last thing he wanted was to talk to Kendra again tonight.
He wouldn’t know what to say, and he knew he’d make things worse.
And anyway, he reminded himself yet again, he shouldn’t be worrying about making things better for her at all. He should be focused on himself and his company — and nothing, and no one, else.