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Henry walked in on the other side and pulled the door open for me and Lukas to go inside.
“We’ve got the usual table,” Sarai said, calling over my shoulder so Lukas would know where he was leading. I didn’t know if that was the table we were at the last time, so I let Lukas guide me.
He gently slipped an arm around my back and steered me toward a table near the back corner where there would be enough space for all of us, and we would be out of the way.
It wasn’t where I had been the last time, but this seemed like it would be better for us all. Lukas gave me no choice but to sit next to him. He pulled out a chair for me and then immediately sat down beside me. To my surprise, Henry kept up his role offitting in on the other, which left me sandwiched between the two of them.
I tried not to panic as it appeared as if none of the others were going to sit with us, all of them delayed by something near the bar. I didn’t want to spend the evening sandwiched between Lukas and his PA with no one else to talk to. I might want to get to know Lukas a lot more, but I didn’t want it to be quite like this.
Thankfully, they came to sit with us a short while later, and I had Sarai opposite me, at least.
“How long are you going to be here for?” Lukas asked me as soon as we had ordered our food and drinks and had a moment to talk.
“I don’t know yet. At least until the project is close to finished. After I’ve done the designs, I could possibly leave before the final hut is completely sorted, just leave the required furniture and accessories to match the other huts in the same area.” I shrugged, not sure when that was likely to be at all.
Sarai had bought an open plane ticket for me, and I knew she had said I could be where I was staying as long as needed.
“You make it sound as if you want to leave as soon as possible,” Sarai added, frowning.
“Oh, not at all. But you don’t want to pay me or put me up longer than you need. I’m not going to overstay my welcome.”
Sarai reached out and put her hand on my arm. “You are far too sweet to ever outstay your welcome. Honestly, you’ve already done such a good job that you’re welcome to stay in any of our centers whenever you wish. You’re part of the family now.”
I smiled, acknowledging the sincerity in her words but not feeling as if I entirely belonged. She was very comfortable in a world like this, but other than her and Lukas, I hadn’t made that many friends or felt at ease. Then again, I’d only been on site a few days. Being liked by her felt good, and Lukas nodded along.
“You definitely shouldn’t rush off,” Lukas said, bringing my attention back to him. “There’s so much of the city and state you haven’t seen. You should stick around for at least a few days after the project is done. We should all go on a road trip or something as a reward for all the hard work and enjoy ourselves.”
The offer was one I wasn’t sure I could trust, but I nodded and enthused along with everyone else. Sarai immediately latched onto the idea, and within ten minutes, she had decided on a weeklong trip for us all after the majority of the project was done and even began picking out locations.
Although it passed the time and kept the conversation flowing, I couldn’t help but feel anxious about it. Sarai was already assuming that Lukas and I were a couple, and the more she implied the two of us would be traveling and sharing a room together, the more worried I got about it. Yet no matter what she said, Lukas didn’t seem to correct her, and neither did I.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Once the topic of conversation moved on from the road trip, it devolved into smaller conversations, and George pulled Lukas into talking with him about some of the changes to the build. That left me to talk to Henry.
“I’ve been hearing lots of good things about you,” Henry said as soon as he’d finished eating. “Lukas said you made the wedding trip on the island bearable, and given he doesn’t like being cooped up with people like that, that’s saying something.”
I fought between wanting to frown or smile at the description of events from Henry’s point of view. It sounded both positive and negative to me.
“He didn’t seem as if he hated being there.” I shifted slightly to give Henry more of my attention, even though Lukas was right beside me and could probably hear us.
Henry chuckled. “Of course not. He had you to talk to. Let’s face it, going to weddings when you don’t have a date can be rough. Meeting someone in a similar line of work with similar interests is about the best result anyone could hope for. You’re like a fairytale ending waiting to happen.”
I blushed, not sure I agreed.
“What’s a fairytale ending waiting to happen?” Lukas asked, talking over my shoulder to Henry as George said goodbye and left.
It gave me just enough time to acknowledge the man leaving before I found myself sitting between two men talking about me. As if one wasn’t bad enough!
“I was telling Kit here that she rescued you. That you’re a typical alpha male who doesn’t like going to this sort of things alone.”
“You make me sound like a cad who can’t be seen in public without a pretty woman on his arm.” Although Lukas could have sounded angry about this, he was surprisingly calm, almost as if he knew Henry was being ridiculous.
“Well, if the boot fits…” Henry winked at me and chuckled again when Lukas folded his arms. He sort of pouted, and even I giggled at the mock annoyance and grumpy expression.
Eventually, Lukas shook his head and relaxed again. “No, I wasn’t too bothered by going to the wedding, but Henry has one thing right. Having you there made it a lot better than I’d expected it to be.”
“You made it a lot better for me, too,” I replied without thinking.
