“Look away,” Kendra insisted. She rolled off the bed, her muscles instantly tense again, as she grabbed her bikini bottoms and pulled them on. Next, she pulled out her bikini top, which tied in a series of complicated bows behind her back. She managed to get most of them, but the tie that went directly across her back was in an odd position. She shouldn’t have even packed this suit. She hadn’t worn it before, and when she’d tried it on in the dressing room, Annalise had had to help her with the ties.
“Ready?” Lucas asked.
“No!” Kendra twisted to reach the final tie, but it was no use. Her arms didn’t bend that way. Already blushing, she gathered herself with a deep breath. “Lucas?”
“Yeah?”
“You can turn around.” Kendra turned toward him. “So, I’m having trouble with my swimsuit tie. Stupid bikini. Can you help?” She nodded to the back part, where she was holding the suit closed with her hands.
“Of course. Turn around.” There was something in his voice, something a little deeper than usual.
Kendra turned back to the wall, and a moment later, Lucas took the ties from her hands. His fingertips brushed the bare skin of her back, making her shiver, as he carefully did the final tie. He pulled it into a bow, and then he hesitated. One of his fingers brushed against Kendra’s shoulder blade, the touch so light that she was almost certain she’d imagined it. She could feel his warmth behind her and hear the soft sound of his breath. Warmth flooded her, and her knees felt weak. She wanted to lean back into his touch, but she stayed frozen in place, hardly daring to breathe.
Lucas pulled away.
“All done.”
“Thanks.” Kendra still felt a little weak and warm from his closeness. Or, more likely, from the warmth in the room and all those sweet-smelling oils.
They gathered up the clothes they’d shed before the massage and headed outside. Once again, Kendra tried not to look at Lucas’sbare chest, but she still managed to catch sight of his impossibly flat and well-muscled stomach. Did he live at the gym?
They followed the signs to the hot tub, which they had to themselves. Smiling awkwardly, they slid into the warm water. Kendra gathered her hair into a bun so that it wouldn’t get wet and found a spot on the opposite side of the tub from Lucas. Unlike during the massage, though, Kendra found that she was able to relax now. They could still hear the crash of the ocean and the twitter of birds in nearby trees over the whoosh of the tub’s jets. The water was warm and deep enough that she could comfortably sit submerged to her shoulders.
“I think we’ve learned a valuable lesson today,” Lucas said, lifting his arms from the water and resting them on the side of the tub.
“Oh?”
“Whatever we tell Susie that we want to do, it’ll backfire on us.”
Kendra laughed. “That’s true. When we tried to tell her we didn’t want to do any activities, she made us go kayaking. And when we said we wanted to do something relaxing, she made us get massages.”
“To be fair, I’m sure these would be fun things for most couples,” Lucas said, grinning. He traced his hand over the surface of the water, and Kendra shivered despite the water’s warmth as she remembered his fingertips brushing her back in much the same way. “She just doesn’t know that we’re not a couple.”
“True.” Kendra tilted her head back so that she could look up at the blue sky and the palm leaves overhead, instead of at Lucas. “But she keeps calling me Mrs. Moran, even though I’ve askedher not to, like I’m an old married lady or something. Even though I’m certain she’s my age.”
“How old are you?” Lucas asked.
“Hey, you should never ask a lady that.” She sat up, raising her eyebrows at him. “Especially not your wife.”
“My apologies.” Lucas grinned.
“But, if you must know, I’m twenty-seven. You?”
“Thirty,” Lucas replied. He was still lazily tracing the surface of the water with one hand.
“It’s strange that we don’t know these things about each other,” Kendra said.
“True. Usually, when I impersonate someone’s husband to get around a resort’s couples-only policy, I make sure to find out how old they are first.”
Kendra laughed. “Okay, fair enough. I guess there aren’t really any rules for this situation. It’s a little strange.”
“You can saythatagain.” Lucas smiled, his eyes crinkling. Kendra’s heart skipped a beat. “How often does this kind of thing happen?”
“About as often as a sleeping princess is awoken by true love’s first kiss, or a trickster helps someone weave straw into gold,” Kendra suggested. “In other words, never.”
“Fairy-tale references?” Lucas smiled. “Okay, I think I’m piecing together a picture of who you are.” He lifted his hand, holding up a finger. “One, you’re a wedding photographer.” He held up another finger. “Two, you like fairy tales. And three,” he said, holding up another finger, “I don’t really know what else to say,but I felt like I should say three things. Oh! I know. You like classical music.”
Kendra chuckled. “Who says I like fairy tales?”
