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Although I wasn’t sure what to say, Caroline didn’t seem to mind and talked for a good few minutes about how delightful she thought the island and wedding had been. I knew she was saying it loud enough for Juno and many other guests to hear, and I was amused at the strange way to express some sort of gratitude for being there.
“What was your favorite part?” she asked me when she seemed to run out of anything else to say.
“Getting away for a few days. Work can be so demanding. It’s been wonderful to be away from it all and celebrate with friends.” I smiled, pretty sure I’d given the exact sort of reply Caroline had hoped for. Polite but not really meaningful.
It was only as I looked away and Caroline continued talking about how she liked to work but didn’t have a liking for jobs that I saw Lukas had come down as well and fallen in beside some of the men nearby. Our eyes met, and I knew he had heard my comment to her.
No doubt it had sounded like a dig at him, but after his attitude the night before, I wasn’t sure I cared if it hurt him. As soon as I had the thought, I realized it wasn’t true. I never liked hurting anyone. No matter what people had done to me, I didn’t want to hurt them.
I let Caroline take me further down the veranda and away from the house, deliberately avoiding looking at Lukas again, although I was always aware of where he was now.
After a couple more minutes, when we were most of the way down to the dock, Caroline seemed to notice I was distractedand looked around us as if trying to find the source. Although I hadn’t looked at him since the first time, her eyes settled on Lukas.
“What did you think of him?” she asked, at least lowering her voice. “Lukas is considered one of the most eligible bachelors we know. He’s not much for trusting anyone, though. Did he snub you, too?”
“I didn’t try and get him to take me seriously,” I lied, and I felt awful doing it, but I wasn’t going to admit to a virtual stranger that he had played me for a fool.
“Good for you. Although many women have gone after that money of his. And he’s said to be a dream in bed.”
Swallowing, I tried to think of a way to change the subject. This wasn’t helping me feel any better about what we had done together. Had I been just another conquest to him? I didn’t want to believe it, and I wasn’t sure I should trust gossip about him.
“Of course, a lot of his problems with women seem to be since his last big breakup. Everyone called him a gentleman before then.”
“He had a bad breakup?” I asked, unable to keep the eagerness from my tone. Caroline lit up as if she’d finally uncovered my interest, and I could have sworn out loud.
“Oh, this young floozy of a woman. Just wanted his money and the career he could offer her. Almost had it too. Tried to take his company and everything he’d built as if it were her own. None of us ever liked her.” She sighed dramatically and shook her head. I was pretty sure she also faked a tear or two.
It was the strangest reaction I’d ever seen, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. I didn’t get the impression that Caroline knew Lukas that well, so to cry for his heartbreak was baffling. It made me even more sure that I didn’t belong in this world. I didn’t know how Juno could stand it.
Nothing could have told me it was time to go home and leave these people behind more, but Caroline appeared to have no idea that she wasn’t making friends with me at all. She continued to talk as we walked onto the boat and told me all about her daddy’s yacht and how much bigger and newer it was and how she was looking forward to going on vacation on it.
Once again, I thought about asking Caroline what she did for a job, but I was getting the impression she didn’t have one and was still living off some sort of allowance from her parents.
Thankfully, when it came to our meal, which was eaten buffet-style wherever we wanted to sit on the boat, Caroline decided she had taken up enough of my time and thrust herself upon someone else. I found myself with Alma and Kai, both coming to sit on the deck chairs near me.
“While I love getting away to a beautiful place like this, nothing beats going home to your own bed,” Kai said as he leaned toward me, smiling and warmer than many of the others.
“Poor Kit here has a nine-hour flight to get home even after we’re back in the US,” Alma replied to her husband, demonstrating knowledge I didn’t think she had.
“You’re not staying in the US for a bit and making a vacation of it? Exploring New York?” Kai took a bite of his waffle and waited for my answer.
“No. Work won’t allow it,” I replied, only then noticing Lukas had sounded similar. Was I being as inflexible as he was?
I thought over the interactions with him again, neither Kai nor Alma saying anything as they left me to my thoughts and carried on eating. Had I made too many assumptions about Lukas that were negative? Assuming he might come to me or want me with him here? I hadn’t actually made the effort to offer or ask him to join me either.
Now, it was too late. I had screwed everything up. He was angry at me, and I didn’t really know why. All I knew was that he wasn’t what I wanted. Not really.
Alma chose that moment to ask me more about the work I had to get back to, and I talked to her about what I would be doing. Kai soon left us to it, adding that the band was working on a new album concept, and he wanted to run some ideas past Jack before the happy couple went on their honeymoon.
I grinned at the implication that even Jack couldn’t get away from his work for long. Maybe none of us could, and it was the new modern problem for couples. Who sacrificed their career progress for whom?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Three days after getting back, I was standing in the living room of the house I was designing and trying to figure out what wasn’t quite right yet. It wasn’t exactly wrong, but something was still off.
The client hadn’t seen it yet, and I didn’t plan on letting them see it until I had pinpointed what I didn’t like. For the first two days of work, I had been going through the motions, not sure how I wanted to handle anything and certainly not putting in enough effort to get this job done quickly.
I still couldn’t decide if I truly wanted the job with Sarai and Richard. Both of them were lovely people, but it was a lot to risk to leave my usual work area and go and cater to the even richer. The idea wouldn’t leave my brain, however.
