“Who actually listens to classical music?” He shook his head. “It’s something people say when they want to sound interesting.”
“Excuse me?” Kendra’s brows shot up. “Iactuallylisten to classical music.”
“What’s your favorite piece, then?”
“I like Vivaldi’sFour Seasons.”
Lucas stifled another snort, and Kendra glared at him.
“What now?”
“That’s a very basic piece for someone who’s supposedly a connoisseur of classical music.”
“Just because it’s well-known doesn’t mean it isn’t good.”
Their drinks arrived, and Kendra took a long sip of her margarita. Somehow, she managed to keep glaring at Lucas theentire time, and he realized that he needed to change course. He didn’t want to be friends with her, but they should at least be friendly if they were going to survive the next two weeks.
“Fine, maybe you’re one of those rare people who really does like classical music,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I’m more into classic rock myself.”
“Good for you,” Kendra muttered under her breath. Lucas took a sip of his wine, resisting the urge to chug it. This was going to be a long couple of weeks.
“Let’s talk about something else,” he suggested. “It’syourturn to suggest a topic.”
“All right.” She met his eyes across the table. “You said you were trying to disappear for a while. What are you disappearing from?”
“Whoa. I thought we agreed not to get to know each other,” Lucas said, sitting back in his chair.
“We did, but you know that I was supposed to get married, so I feel like I should know something about you in return.”
“Why?” Lucas shook his head. “We’re strangers lumped together by fate and resort policy. There’s no reason to know anything about each other beyond what’s necessary.”
“Fine.” Kendra sat back in her chair, folding her arms. “Then why are we even talking?”
“I have no idea.” Lucas gripped his wine glass a little too firmly. “Maybe we shouldn’t.”
“Hello.” The waiter, through a stroke of incredibly bad timing, appeared again with their food. “I have a ribeye steak for thegentleman, and vegetable fajitas for the lady.” He set the plates in front of them. “Be careful; the plates are hot.”
“Thank you.” Kendra smiled at the waiter, but it looked a little forced.
“Thanks,” Lucas agreed. Smiling, the waiter left, and they went back to glaring at each other.
“Why did you look at me funny when I ordered the ribeye?” Lucas asked, taking his fork and knife. “Are you a vegetarian or something?”
“No.” Kendra took a corn tortilla and began piling sizzling mushrooms and bell peppers into it. “I was supposed to eat almost that exact same meal today. That’s all.”
“At your wedding?”
She shrugged, adding a dollop of guacamole to her fajita. “Don’t pretend to be interested.”
“Sorry.” Lucas drew out the word to show how unsorry he was. Kendra was being completely unreasonable. The fact that she was supposed to be here with her husband was something he needed to know, whereas the fact that his company was falling apart was none of her business. And who actually listened to classical music for fun, anyway?
Maybe this woman does.Lucas glanced at her across the table. For all that he found Kendra annoying, she had her surprising moments, too. She could be funny when she wanted to be. And when he’d pulled her out of the ocean while kayaking, he’d felt protective of her in a way he hadn’t expected.
None of that meant that he wanted to get all touchy-feely with her, though. Or withanyone. He just needed to get throughthe next few weeks until he could go back to LA and repair Omegron’s damaged reputation.
“How is everything?” Susie appeared with a big smile, putting her hands on her hips and looking back and forth between them. “Is the food good?”
“It’s great, thanks,” Kendra said, smiling at her.
