“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 againtonight. 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.
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 focuson 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 shewasaround 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. Tooconfusing. 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.
