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It was true enough, but he frowned as if this wasn’t the right answer. “You should sit up a little straighter. It accentuates that curvy figure of yours.”
I blinked, so surprised by his words that I found myself doing as he said and straightening a bit. His eyes roamed down me, lingering as they did.
“Much better. You have a natural beauty. And an eye for detail and beauty in constructed and man-made materials that go well together.”
“Thank you. From what I’ve seen of your houses, the same could be said about you.” I decided to throw the same compliment back and see how he reacted. It wasn’t even close to a lie. The houses he’d designed that Juno had shown me were stunning, but I got the impression that it was partially because of the amount of money and the quality of the building materials.
“Money can buy or make many forms of beauty, but nothing beats that which nature gives.” I expected him to motion to the surroundings, but again, he stared at me.
I found myself blushing and looking away. If nothing else, Lukas could say the right things to a woman when she least expected them. Could I really trust him, though?
CHAPTER NINE
Eating with Lukas was another slightly awkward event, at least at first. As soon as Lukas started talking about his dining experiences in other countries, I relaxed.
“Have you traveled much?” he asked when he finished talking about a Japanese dish he still wasn’t sure was truly edible.
I shook my head, not sure how to point out that I had been far too poor to do so for most of my life without making it obvious.
“I’ve been so busy with work, and my family is close. I want to travel more, though. Work with people in more places. Whatever will give me the opportunity to experience more.”
“You should stop by Chicago sometime. I could show you around.”
Although I nodded and smiled in acceptance of this offer, I knew that there was a good chance it was just politeness and not a serious offer in any way.
As soon as we had eaten, he sat back, his gaze still fixed on me. “What do you like to do outside of work?”
“It’s not much of a hobby, but I’m actually very much into cooking, experimenting and playing with flavors. I’m not very good, but I enjoy the process.”
While I talked, he nodded in all the right places and listened, his attention refreshing, although I quickly felt like I was waffling at him. How did I know if I had said too much or not?
Before I could think of anything else to add, Lukas reached forward, picked up the napkin I hadn’t used yet, and gently wiped some sauce off my cheek. As his fingers brushed against my skin, it was as if I had been touched by electricity, tingles radiating across my skin.
For several seconds, I was frozen on the spot, and I lost my train of thought entirely. This wasn’t the chaos of breakfast at all.
“I hope that wasn’t too forward of me,” he said, his gaze still not leaving me.
I still didn’t respond.
“Cooking is one of my favorite pastimes, too. There’s something soothing about the process of turning different ingredients into something new.”
“It’s creativity expressed in another way,” I replied, surprised that a man like him did any of his own cooking. He hadn’t shown much interest in the menu or in sampling while on the island. But he did know the owners of one of the best pizza places on the planet.
“All creativity has a beauty to it, and I think it should all be encouraged.” Lukas made a statement I couldn’t disagree with, but it still seemed to kill the conversation, bringing about more awkwardness. The waitstaff took our empty plates and topped up our glasses, barely relieving the growing tension.
Think, girl. Think. I needed to break the ice, and I was pretty sure it was my turn to try and generate the conversation again. Why was talking to people I liked so hard?
“Do you read?” I asked, and I immediately thought it sounded stupid.
“Actually, I do. Very much so. I find it’s the perfect activity right before bed.” Lukas smiled as if I’d just discovered a terrible secret about him, but instead of being ashamed of it, he was sort of proud but still a little embarrassed.
For the next twenty minutes, we talked about books, discovering both of us liked similar genres and soon moving on to the subject of Juno’s stories. He’d already read a lot of her books.
It felt like time flew as we went over characters we liked and why. His favorite book wasAnimal Farm,and mine wasJane Eyre. Not very similar, but it was fun to talk about them, and the time slipped by. Before we knew it, more of the guests were awake, and we were no longer alone.
As soon as other people came out onto the terrace for breakfast, Lukas excused himself and went to talk to some of them briefly. He hadn’t talked to them for a long time before Juno arrived. Jack had gone somewhere else with his best man to get ready for the wedding, allowing her to be at breakfast with us.
I wasn’t sure what to say when she came to sit beside me and steal the seat Lukas had been in, but he came over and offered it to her anyway.
