Lucas smiled and nodded at his employees before getting in the elevator and riding down to street level. He blinked against the warm early October sunshine. He hadn’t been outside in the daylight in a while, and it took him a few minutes to remember where he’d parked his car.
At home, Lucas entered his spacious, modern apartment, and he still felt hollow. He sank onto his couch. As he did so, he realized the reason why his success had fallen flat; something, or rather, someone, was missing. He wanted to run to Kendra, gather her in his arms, and share his success with her. Instead, he was sitting there alone.
He might as well go back to the office. Without Kendra, nothing in his life mattered as much as work, and even work didn’t feel as all-consuming as it used to. He rested his head in his hands. For the first time since getting back to LA and being pulled into the whirlwind of corporate damage control, he had enough time to reflect on the decisions he’d made. He wasn’t happy.
Of course, he’d had to come back to LA to save Omegron. But he could have talked to Kendra about how he really felt before leaving. He could have asked for her number. He could have made plans to see her in LA. But he hadn’t done any of that, and now, it was too late.
With a sigh, Lucas got to his feet and went into the kitchen. The fridge was almost completely empty, apart from a few beers, some American Coke, and a container of cheese slices. With a sigh, Lucas took the Coke can, opened it, and sipped. It didn’t taste as good as Mexican Coke, but it still brought back memories from Cabo. He left the can on the counter and went into the bedroom.
His suitcase sat on the floor by the bed where he’d left it. He’d planned to unpack once things calmed down, but in the last two weeks he’d barely even been back to the apartment, and then only to sleep. Now, Lucas unzipped the suitcase. There were the T-shirts and shorts he’d worn, the suit he’d had on when he met Kendra, and the swim trunks he’d worn on their many water-based adventures. There was his toiletry bag and his sparelaptop charger. Lucas put everything away, tossed the clothes in the washing machine, and went back to the suitcase. In the front compartment, he found a box of mints with only three left, which he put in his pocket, and his boarding pass from the flight to Cabo.
There was something else in there, though; he could feel the edge of something. He managed to snag it with a finger and carefully drew it out. His heart squeezed when he saw what it was. He’d stumbled upon the green, shell-woven gift-shop bracelet that Kendra had given him back at the resort. He’d taken it off on the flight back to LA and forgotten all about it.
Lucas ran the bracelet between his fingers as he sank slowly onto the bed. He’d known he’d made a mistake by not making plans to see Kendra again. But he’d had no idea how much it would hurt to see this bracelet, a reminder of the too-short time they’d spent together. He remembered her fingertips brushing his skin and her sweet, hopeful smile as she’d tied the bracelet around his wrist. He remembered how she’d looked like a mermaid when she’d dived under the water, her fins kicking and her hair streaming behind her. He remembered how it felt to hold her in his arms and kiss her until she was breathless. He remembered the way her green eyes flashed when she was excited about something.
He hadn’t just made a mistake when he’d left Cabo so suddenly. He’d cut out a woman who, even now, occupied his dreams and slipped into his thoughts in every waking moment. Without Kendra, his life was, and always would be, faded, the colors not as bright as they’d been when he was with her. His work would always feel hollow.
She wasn’t a distraction from real life. No, shewasreal life, pulling Lucas out of an endless spiral of worries about Omegron.Holding her hand, walking with her across the sand, sharing dessert and telling stories — that was real. More real than Omegron. More real than anything else. He wanted a future with her, even if it was difficult, even if it was scary. He wanted to go on more adventures with her. He wanted coffee dates and dancing evenings. He wanted long walks on the beach and lazy mornings eating breakfast in bed. He wanted a life with Kendra. Even though that now felt far out of his reach.
The realization punched Lucas in the gut. He’d thought he could slide back into his old life, even though he missed Kendra and thought about her constantly. But his old life of all-consuming work and little time for fun was like a tight, itchy sweater that had been through the dryer a few too many times. It didn’t fit anymore. He couldn’t go back to not caring.
In that moment, Lucas finally understood what mattered the most in his life. And he was going to get it — if it wasn’t too late.
He got to his feet, shoved the woven bracelet into his pocket, and went outside. He didn’t hesitate. He got into his car and headed straight for the Omegron offices. His path forward was finally clear. Now, more than ever before, he had work to do.
CHAPTER 22
KENDRA
“No more men!” Eva raised her mug.
“At least, no more commitment-phobic men,” Annalise amended, raising her mug as well.
Kendra was sitting with her three best friends in the private garden of a local artisanal coffee shop. They all held mugs of coffee, Kendra’s sweetened with milk and sugar as always, and there was a selection of pastries in the middle to be shared. The October day was the perfect temperature — in LA, October was one of Kendra’s favorite months — and a gentle, warm breeze blew across the table.
“How about this?” Kendra suggested, lifting her own mug. “No more arranged marriages.”
“I hear that.” Eva smiled at her, and they all sipped their coffee. It wasn’t the first time Kendra had seen her friends since getting back to LA. They’d met up at Kendra’s house the day after she’d returned. Jenny had brought two pints of ice cream, Annalise had brought wine, and Eva had brought pictures of Aaron and a ten-pack of scissors. She’d never liked Aaron, and Kendracouldn’t blame her, not after the way Aaron had run off. What her friends didn’t understand, and Kendra hadn’t told them, was that she wasn’t heartbroken over Aaron or the failed wedding. She was heartbroken over a different man entirely.
“So, have you heard from Aaron at all?” Jenny asked delicately as she tore off a bit of pistachio croissant from one of the shared plates.
“Actually, yes.” Kendra paused to sip her coffee, partially because she was thirsty and partially because her friends all leaning forward in unison made her smile. “He and I met up for coffee a few days ago.”
“Really?” Eva shook her head. “I can’t believe you saw that jerk.”
“You know, I don’t really blame him.” Kendra shrugged. “Neither of us wanted to get married. He was just brave enough to actually walk away. Sure, I would have appreciated it if he’d told me sooner, but still. All’s well that ends well.”
“But itdidn’tend well,” Annalise pointed out. “You had to go on your honeymoon all by yourself. That must have been awful.”
Kendra hesitated. She’d avoided telling her friends about Lucas. The thought of him was still too fresh, and her heart ached when she remembered the way he’d left. When her friends had asked about the honeymoon, she’d glossed things over.
“Actually…”
Again, all three friends leaned forward, and Kendra chuckled.
“Actually, I met someone there.”
“What?”
