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Maybe it had all been a dream—or a nightmare.
Because I clearly wasn’t ready to admit to Lucas I had feelings for him that went way beyond the friend level. And always, always had. I wasn’t ready to shake the core of our friendship, to find out that I was like the sister he never had…and watch our friendship evaporate in front of my eyes.
No, thank you.
I may have given up on one thing in my life, my dream career, but I wasn’t willing to let go of the best and most steady thing in my life…my friendship with Lucas.
He took a turn off, and we bopped along the road that was clearly in need of a bit of a repair. I opened my tote bag, taking out a granola bar and ripping into it, taking a bite. I’d blanked out during the meeting yesterday with Dominique so I wasn’t too sure of what the plans for the day really were. The boat was tomorrow, which maybe was the best thing. Despite my best acting, my stomach was still not a hundred percent. If I could get more coffee in my system, I was sure I’d be fine within an hour or two.
Lucas parked off to the side. “I’ll do a coffee run. We have about an hour ’til we meet Dominique.”
“We could have made coffee at home.”
“Beat the traffic.” He grinned easily. “I’ll be back.”
I sighed as he got out of the Jeep and headed into the coffee shop off to the side. I pulled the visor down and looked at my reflection. Even though I hadn’t been completely wide awake, I’d put in just a teeny bit more effort that morning with the make-up. Eyeliner and a brighter eye shadow. A touch of setting spray in the hopes it would last more than an hour…and that I wouldn’t end up looking like a raccoon by mid-afternoon.
The door opening made me jump, and I shoved the visor back up to see Lucas sliding into the driving seat.
“Two large coffees…” He held the tray out. “And a muffin. I figured it was light enough and we could share it.”
“Sounds good.” I reached for the coffee, opened the top, and took a drink. Perfect.
I could feel my senses coming back to life already. I sank against the seat and looked at early morning Willemstad around us. Lucas drank his coffee beside me, splitting the muffin in two and holding it out to me.
***
We met Dominique in the parking lot near the middle of Willemstad. She greeted us each with a quick hug, although Lucas’ seemed to linger just a second longer. Although maybe I was just being nitpicky.
“I thought we’d go to the Old Market, try some local food for lunch?” She looked at Lucas for approval, which I guess made sense: he was the one who’d hired her.
“Sounds great.”
I nodded, patted my purse with my camera in it. I could take a few pictures on the way, and food sounded good. That granola bar and half of a muffin weren’t going to last me all that long.
We climbed into the large white van with the tour company name on the side, and I buckled in as she started the engine and air conditioning roared to life. It wasn’t that far of a drive, and soon, we were inside the old market, full of stalls lined up of various open-air kitchens and souvenir stands in between. Wooden picnic tables were out for people to sit and eat at, a few already occupied by families and people, some of whom were clearly fellow tourists.
Dominique smiled.
“Lots of great local food as well as some tourist favorites.” She motioned to the building. “We’ll talk a walk around first, then eat…don’t be afraid to try something new.”
I followed along as she walked us down the row of stalls, highlighting various specialties and stopping to talk to a few of the owners who offered samples and histories of some of their items. Lucas smiled at me as we started to order various food from the different kitchens, loading our shared tray as we went down the row then headed back to a spot to eat before it got too crowded.
Dominique disappeared to get a few more things, and I sat there, taking the food off the tray, trying to remember what everything was. A lot of local cuisine. Lucas and I were going to share everything just in case. I had to admit I could be a bit of a picky eater at times.
He sat across from me, dipping a spoon into one of the soups. The place was getting louder as more people arrived and their chattering voices blended together around us.
“You should go check the souvenirs later…” he commented, taking another spoonful of the soup.
I nodded, digging into my chicken entrée. The spices were amazing. I wasn’t going to share this one, best friend or no. I pulled it closer to me. “I need to get something for Marnie and Jimmy. What about you?”
“I’ll find something for my mom.” He leaned forward, taking a piece of the chicken right off my plate. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment, his eyes lighting up. “That’s really good.”
He pulled the plate closer to himself.
“Isn’t it?” I said, pulling the plate back towards me with a small smile.
“We’ll take some back with us,” he said with a nod as he stole one more piece.
