by Hayleigh Sol
He reached for my hand, interlacing our fingers automatically. “Nah, I’ve eaten there a few times and we’re good. Besides, you look pretty enough for anywhere.”
The compliment warmed me from the inside out so, of course, I immediately deflected. “Aw, you say that to all the girls you run off the road on your bike.”
Luka laughed and shook his head. “There was only the one time, thankfully.”
“I don’t buy it. You and your brothers rode around like holy terrors. The original biker gang, am I right? Leaving chicks with broken hearts in every campground you claimed as your own.” He was amused at the description. “I always felt sorry for your sister, growing up with all those icky boys.”
“Ha, no need. Lena held her own just fine. She was more terrifying than we were.” He faked a shudder. “Still is, in fact.”
Where the three boys were tall like their father, Lena had inherited their mother’s petite stature and big personality. Surrounded by all that testosterone, it was no wonder she’d learned to hold her own and I was glad to hear she was still a force to be reckoned with. Which is exactly what I told Luka.
“She’s a force, alright. Trying to force me to take her recently divorced best friend out.”
“Oh”—I absolutely hated the idea—“and you’re not interested?”
He shuddered again. “God, no. She was a brat when we were kids and I haven’t seen much evidence that she’s improved with age. I don’t know why Lena’s foisting her on me, except that she thinks I’m lonely since Heather and I split up.”
“Are you?”
The wicked grin he sent my way was sexy as hell. “Not right now.”
Jesus, the man could start a wildfire with looks like that. I remembered what Smokey the Bear always said about preventing forest fires and downshifted conversational gears as I rolled down a window.
I asked Luka to fill me in on his family and he obliged, entertaining me with stories of his father’s retirement that lasted all of two weeks before he’d become the neighborhood handyman and his mother’s volunteer work that had revolutionized the local food bank. Alex was his usual jokester self, though his siblings now benefited from his pranks being played on his own kids—mostly. Lena and, surprisingly, Jakub were heavily involved in their respective kids’ school sports programs, a passion that had started as a dare between the competitive middle siblings.
“What about you? I can’t believe I haven’t asked, but there aren’t any little Lukas or Lukettes running around somewhere?”
“No, I’d like to be married before that happens. If it does. We never know what life will bring, right?”
Wasn’t that the truth. I’d certainly never expected to see Lukasz again.
The temperature was ideal for sitting on the deck outside the restaurant, the placid lake spread before us like glass. We ordered wine with dinner and conversation bounced between us like one of Emma’s ubiquitous tennis balls.
I told him about each of my best friends, how Em used to sleep with a tennis racket when it was new in a bonding ritual she’d convinced herself was necessary to play her best. A ritual I’d copied a few times with my new ballet shoes. I told him about Lisette mumbling anatomical terminology at sleepovers, her brain reviewing flashcards even as she slept.
Luka seemed genuinely interested in getting to know the women who were so important to me, who sometimes knew me better than I knew myself. Like when they’d insisted I take this vacation. I still wasn’t sure it was wise for me to be away from my business for two weeks, but even I recognized that I’d been burnt out and it had been affecting my health.
Funny, I hadn’t had any gastrointestinal issues the last couple of days. It was probably too soon to tell, though, if the vacation deserved the credit for that.
Over the murmur of conversations around us and the warm glow of the sun setting on the lake, Luka and I kept talking. We’d been together practically all day but it didn’t feel that way. There was plenty of laughter, as there’d always been with him; unlike when we were ten and seventeen, though, we covered the heavier stuff too.
He told me about a car accident Alex had been in a few years back that had nearly been fatal. Sitting in the hospital waiting room while his big brother was in surgery for endless hours was the most terrified he’d ever been in his life. It was also the only time he’d ever seen his mom fall apart. Alex had pulled through, obviously, but the trauma had been a wake–up call for the family. Though they’d always been close, everyone made a greater effort to stay in touch, to get together every couple of months after that.
I’d reached across the table to hold his hand during his story and he squeezed mine as I shared my secret fear that the extreme adventures Holly chased would one day lead to serious injury or even take her from us. Luka started to speak when our server came to the table with the check. I pulled out a credit card from my wallet, Luka waving it away as he placed his own in the folder.
“I got this; I’m the one who asked you out. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“Thank you for dinner, Luka. Next time is my turn, okay?”
One corner of his mouth lifted but he suppressed it in a way that made me curious.
“What?”
“You said ‘next time’.”
Shoot, I had implied we’d do this again, hadn’t I.
It just felt so good, so…right with Luka. I hadn’t had a first date this great in—God, maybe I’d never had such a great first date. That was depressing.
“No need to look so anxious, Maya. I was hoping there’d be a next time too.” We smiled at each other as we waited for his credit card to be returned. “Hey, how do you feel about a walk on the docks? We can check out all the boats fancier than mine.”
My phone, face down on the table and forgotten for the last hour or more—for most of the day, if I was honest—buzzed with an incoming call.
“Sorry, I should’ve silenced it. I’ve gotten so used to not having service here, I didn’t even think about it.” Reflexively, I glanced at the screen as I muted the vibrating that seemed louder than my actual ringtone.
“Everything okay?” He must’ve picked something up from my expression, the concern clear in his voice.
“Oh, um yeah. It’s just Brad. Weird, he doesn’t really call, only texts. I mean, at least since we broke up—took a break—whatever.”
Why was I tripping over my words? Brad and I weren’t together; I didn’t have anything to feel guilty about.
“Do you need to answer?” There was something in his tone now, but I couldn’t name it. Probably annoyance over the idea of someone taking a call at the table; it was certainly a pet peeve of mine.
“No, no. Let’s go for that walk.” I smiled and stood. My phone, which I hadn’t turned over as I usually did—can’t be too careful with all these scanners and hackers around—lit up and drew my attention again. I frowned. Now Brad was texting.
Luka and I walked to the front of the restaurant and out the doors. “You can get back to your…to Brad, if you need to. I can wait for you over there.” He gestured to a bench at the top of the gangway that led down to the docks.
“Let me just make sure it’s not an emergency or something, okay?”
He nodded and stepped away as I read the messages from Brad.
Brad: Hey, give me a call when you can.
Brad: Got a couple of things to talk over before the week gets going.
Well, hell. That sounded kind of urgent. Like something we should discuss tonight and, perhaps more importantly, while I had cell service. My date was looking out over the lake, the lines and shadows of his profile striking in the soft hues of twilight.
Damn, I wanted to climb him like a tree.
Shaking my head to clear its lustful haze, I made a quick call to Brad. I could keep this short and get back to Luka. No problem.
The phone rang…and rang. Voicemail. I didn’t bother
leaving a message, knowing he wouldn’t check it. Instead, I sent a text asking what was up. Only a few minutes had passed since Brad’s call and texts. Why wasn’t he answering now?
Feeling ridiculous staring at the screen, waiting for his reply to arrive, I tucked the phone in a pocket—hands down, my favorite feature of this dress—and walked to the hunk waiting for me by the docks.
“Sorry about that.”
“Was it anything important?”
A combination head shake and shoulder shrug echoed my current state of befuddlement. “Don’t know, he didn’t answer but his texts made it sound like it was.”
Luka looked back out at the lake, pockets still hiding his hands. I wished he would reach for one of mine again.
“Do you two still talk a lot? I mean, you know, working together and all.”
Ohhh, was that where his altered mood was coming from? I guess I could see that. It would be pretty weird to be on a date with a woman as her ex–boyfriend was calling and texting.
“We do see each other a few times a week, text a bit, but only to discuss the business. Which he’s helping me out with, and only temporarily. I hope.” Luka met my eyes with a steady but unsettled gaze of his own. “I know the situation’s a little unusual but it’s the one I’m in right now. I need his help if I want to save my company.”
A faint frown flicked across his brow, there and gone almost as soon as it registered. “Alright, just wanted to make sure I’m not stepping on anyone’s toes.”
I smiled—reassuringly, I hoped—and shook my head. “No, I’m pretty sure Brad and I are done as a couple.” Wait, why had I said ‘pretty sure’? “Just working together for the time being.”
Luka may have picked up on the not–quite unambiguous word choice I was mentally kicking myself for. The smile that didn’t reach his eyes was a much dimmer version of his usual.
As the sky darkened, the lights lining the dock flickered on. We followed their haloed glow, our arms brushing intermittently as we navigated the worn slats of the gangway. Luka pointed out a couple of features on some of the boats, showing me a mountable grill he wanted to add to his and a canopy he’d tried that hadn’t weathered well. His knowledge and enthusiasm for this world was endearing.
One of the lights near the end of our walk was in need of replacement, its illumination reminding me of an old Jimmy Stewart movie I’d watched with my grandmother about a hundred times. I mentioned it to Luka, expecting that he wouldn’t have seen it.
“There’s a line where he says something about a light so dim you can’t even call it a light. ‘It’s a dark!’ Anyway, I love that movie.” Like the dork I was, I’d attempted a Jimmy Stewart impression—and failed miserably. Good thing I hadn’t demonstrated the bird–watching walk from the same film; I was embarrassingly good at that one.
Suddenly nervous, I was acutely aware that many women would consider this an incredibly romantic setting for a first kiss. Not that this was a first kiss for us. But it sure felt like that moment a million years ago.
Well, maybe not the first peck when we were ten, but the hormone–fueled one when we were reunited at seventeen. Picturing that suspended moment at Angel Falls, the way time drew out to a razor’s edge of before and after he’d finally pressed his lips to mine, sent a delicious little shiver down my spine.
“Are you cold?” Luka’s voice had a sexy rasp that clued me in to the fact that he might be contemplating a moonlit kiss too.
Automatically, I started to deny it, even though I was a bit chilled. Before I was able to wreck my own golden opportunity, he wrapped his arms around me and tucked my head under his chin. His hands rubbed my back as I snuggled into the lack of space between our bodies. It had been a long time since I’d been fully enveloped by a man like this and the sensation was as comforting as it was inflaming.
I inhaled his scent, the natural, unadulterated essence of Lukasz. My nose brushed the smooth skin of his neck and I imagined I could spend hours kissing him just there. His hands had stilled but he didn’t release me. I was a heartbeat away from placing my lips on that hypnotizing expanse of warm skin when he pulled back, staring into my eyes with an expression so serious, so focused, that I felt my knees wobble.
The kiss was inevitable and I welcomed it. I wanted it, needed it. Needed to know if it felt the same to kiss him now as it had before. My pounding heart hinted it would be even better. Bigger. More.
A buzzing from my pocket had me gasping in shock when his lips were still inches away from their target. The moment shattered into a thousand pieces. I fumbled for the cock–blocking—vagina–blocking?—device as Luka stepped back, clearing his throat.
“Sorry, I’m so sorry. I thought I’d silenced it, I swear.” Brad’s name was on the screen again.
Jesus, it was like he knew I was on a date and was deliberately sabotaging me.
“That him again?” Luka didn’t have to specify who ‘him’ was. His tone conveyed his disappointment, or maybe it was his frustration. My skin crawled with the sensation that I’d killed my chances with the irresistibly sexy man in front of me.
I peeked at the screen again, as if I didn’t already know the text was from Brad. “Yes,” I whispered, ashamed and frustrated myself. “But he’s just saying we can talk tomorrow.” As a peace–offering, it fell short of the mark.
“We should probably head back anyway.”
“Okay.”
What else could I say? It was a cardinal rule of first dates to avoid talking about your ex and here I’d brought mine along with us.
The drive around the lake was nearly silent, a sharp contrast to the hopeful anticipation I’d felt on our way to dinner with Luka holding my hand and smiling at me. Neither was happening now.
Every conversation starter I came up with seemed inane. After that breathless interlude on the dock, commenting on the fine weather or the quality of the meal—which I didn’t even remember now—would’ve been idiotic. As I stewed in my own disappointment, I asked how I could’ve handled tonight differently. There was no point in explaining again that Brad and I were just working together; I’d already told Luka that. Either he believed me or he didn’t.
In fact—I felt my defensive hackles rising as the silence dragged on—maybe I should be annoyed with him for doubting me. For pulling back from that kiss after a full day of flirting. I’d obviously been receptive. Hell, I’d practically licked the man’s neck. If anyone was tossing out mixed signals, it was he.
By the time we got to the campground, I had my door open before he’d come to a complete stop. “Thank you for dinner, I had a nice time.”
At least I did until you acted like a jealous weenie.
“Maya—”
“Goodnight, Luka.” I closed the door and headed straight for my massive tent, telling myself this was probably for the best. Really, I should be focusing on my business and my future. Not some fleeting flirtation with the grown–up version of the boy I’d fallen hard for at seventeen.
Chapter 16
Another night of tossing and turning, this time not the fault of the air mattress—not entirely, anyway—led to a morning of debating with myself over whether or not I should attempt apologizing to Luka once more. Having our date and almost kiss interrupted by my ex was…unfortunate.
But, I stood by my resolve from last night to use this vacation for its intended purpose. As a chance to clear my head and make plans for the future of Green for Green. Not, though my friends would bemoan the choice, as a chance for a rebound hookup with a former lover.
Was a guy you’d slept with only the one time considered a “lover”? It felt overly sophisticated to think of him that way. Something I certainly had never claimed to be. Come to think of it, would he be considered a “rebound” if I slept with him way before Brad even entered the picture?
Ultimately, I decided to cruise by his c
ampsite and test the post smoochus–interruptus waters in a friendly way. Maybe offer to make it up to him with… Crap, what did I have to offer?
Besides that, you campground hussy.
Being around Luka without visualizing him shirtless—probably pantsless, too, if I was being honest—was going to prove challenging. I could handle it. The challenge. Not the man.
Lord, what’s gotten into me? First I wanted to climb him like a tree, now I wanted to ride him like a bicycle. Was I feeling extra frisky after the unsatisfying end to a day of flirting with Luka or had the fresh mountain air gotten to me?
That was a thing, right? Fresh air was supposed to make you horny.
Or was it hungry?
I blamed the squirrels.
I’d been minding my own business—well, brooding over the previous night—when a series of excited chittering broke out nearby. What started as innocent play between a couple of my bushy–tailed buddies, complete with racing around, up and down tree trunks, and alarmingly close to camp, had rapidly morphed into WWE–worthy leaping takedowns.
Mom would’ve freaked out if she’d seen the attacks. She’d insist the squirrels were rabid, just as she’d predicted. I started to wonder myself if there was more fight than play in their activities.
Until…I got the sense that something had shifted.
Yep, one squirrel had definitely mounted the other. And the little dude was really going to town.
Why did animal sex always look so violent?
Not to mention woefully unsatisfying for the female squirrel. Although, that was rather presumptuous of me. Were there gay squirrels?
Whatever their romantic preferences, the mystical mating dance ended abruptly and each of the participants darted off in opposite directions. No postcoital snuggle. Not even an offer to share nuts at a later date.