“You picked a fairy-tale metaphor,” Lucas pointed out. “Or would that be more of a simile?”
“I’m not sure.” Kendra was getting warm, so she sat up and lifted her arms out of the water. “But you’re right. I do like fairy tales. So, what conclusion have you drawn from my job and two of my interests?”
“I get the feeling you’re a romantic,” Lucas said. “Am I right?”
Kendra blushed. “A little bit.” That was a bald-faced lie. Shelovedrom-coms and romance novels, books of fairy tales with gold print on the covers, and classical compositions that made her feel like she was dancing at a ball with a handsome prince. And she’d planned the most magical fairy-tale wedding she could have imagined, which should have been deeply romantic. Of course, though, it had ended in disaster — exactly what happened every time Kendra let herself lean into her romantic side. “But maybe I don’t want to be a romantic anymore.”
“Why?” Lucas asked.
Kendra shrugged. “You know… I was supposed to be married, and I’m not.” She didn’t want to explain the whole situation, but that should be enough for Lucas to understand the problem with romantic daydreams. Real life never matched up, and Kendra always got hurt. The same thing had happened with the kid who’d asked her to marry him in kindergarten during first recess but had ended up married to Isobel Perez by lunchtime. And the same thing had happened in high school when Kendra had arrived at prom, all dressed up, and was never asked to dance.And again in college, when her one semi-serious boyfriend had flirted with all her friends and then dumped her the night before summer break.
“The guy you were supposed to marry wasn’t the right guy, then,” Lucas said.
“Maybe there aren’t any ‘right guys,’” Kendra countered. “Maybe being romantic means getting your heart broken.”
Lucas smiled. “Normally, I’d agree with you. I’m probably the least romantic guy in the world. When James Bond falls in love in movies, I fast-forward. And when my acquaintances get married, I usually send a gift and skip the wedding. But you shouldn’t let one nonexistent wedding stop you from believing in love.” He was looking at her, his fingers still tracing the surface of the water, his expression serious. It made Kendra’s heart race, which wasn’t right.
“Wow. Lucas.” Kendra met his eyes across the hot tub. “That was surprisingly deep for a Missouri farm boy.” The joke broke the tension between them, and Lucas laughed.
“I told you I was from Missouri, but who said I was a farm boy?”
“Idid — but I’m not wrong, am I?”
“I’ll have you know that I lived in a town, not on a farm,” Lucas said.
“Well, did you see a cow every day?”
“Not every day.”
“But often?”
“The neighbors did have cows, so yes, I suppose I saw them fairly often.”
“Then you were a farm boy. Simple.” Kendra smiled at him.
“And let me guess — you were one of those California surfer girls who boys like me were always warned about.”
“I was not a surfer.” Kendra chuckled. “Surprisingly, I managed to grow up in SoCal without ever setting foot on a surfboard. I have to know, though. What exactly did they warn you about?”
“Well.” Lucas leaned a little closer, as though letting her in on a secret. “They told me that you California surfer girls would ambush us on airplanes and take us away to fancy resorts.”
“In that case, I guess ‘they’ were right.”
“Sorry to interrupt.” They both looked up, surprised to see Cara standing beside the tub. “But your hour is up. You’re welcome to stay longer, but we also have you booked for lunch in about half an hour.”
“Oh! Thank you.” Kendra glanced at Lucas. To her surprise, she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay here, with him, in the hot tub, joking around and finally getting to know a little more about him. But of course they should leave. Just that morning, she’d reminded herself to keep her distance from Lucas, and already she was here in a hot tub with him, talking about romance and joking about their home states.
“Of course. We’ll get out,” she added quickly.
“Yes, of course,” Lucas echoed. They got out of the water, took their towels and clothes and headed inside to shower. They went separate ways at the end of the hall, Kendra to the women’s changing room and Lucas to the men’s. Inside, she went straight to the shower and turned the water on. If she were a differentperson, she might have turned the water cold in hopes of shocking her system, but she didn’t like cold water.
Instead, she let the warm shower beat down on her head and shoulders. That morning, she’d decided not to let herself forget the real world while she was here. But maybe that had been the wrong decision. After all, the real world hadn’t been kind to her lately. Maybe it was okay to just have fun, tease Lucas, and pretend that she was a different person. Just for a few more days. She wouldn’t let herself imagine they were falling in love, but she could let herself be friends with him.
Then, hopefully, she’d feel strong enough to go back to LA and face her parents’ disappointment and her friends’ pity.
CHAPTER 13
LUCAS
