“It’s not every day I meet a woman as talented as she is beautiful and caring.” He was laying it on thick, but I did the usual flirty giggle in response.
“Well it’s not every day I meet a man so generous with his compliments, sugar.” Okay, and maybe my southern charm came out a little.
“Did you grow up down south?”
“Georgia, born and bred.”
“I spent my undergrad summers volunteering in Atlanta.”
“It’s a wonderful town.”
“What brought you here to Maine?”
“Just wanted a change of pace.” The answer I’d given out hundreds of times before rolled off my tongue easily enough but after the events of this week, after my face and business was splashed all over the internet, something inside me shuddered.
But Lucas was being sweet, so I decided to put those thoughts away for later. He led me out onto the back deck where fairy lights had been strewn all over. Fire bowls dotted the grass and groups sat around them on chairs Sam had made out of driftwood and teak. It was a beautiful night.
We stood next to the railing and I listened as he told me about his summers in Atlanta. He was charming and fun to flirt with. I could admit that, even if he wasn’t the man I wanted.
Wait, what? The man I wanted? I was not supposed to admit that, even to just myself. I shook my head to clear it and laughed at one of Lucas’s jokes, hitting the right combination of interested but still aloof. Lucas slid in closer to me and made a show of admiring my dress by sliding his finger along the strap at my shoulder, not exactly in a seductive way, but flirtatious all the same.
“You really are the most beautiful woman here.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.”
“I do.” He looked down at me with that satisfied smile he had from earlier and part of the mystique faded. I wasn’t into cocky. Theo was cocky. Okay, I wasn’t into Lucas’s brand of cocky.
A shiver went down my spine then and I looked up. Theo was standing across the massive deck but he might have been only inches away for how strongly I felt his energy. He was watching us, and if looks could kill, Lucas was a dead man. A pleasing jolt of something I couldn’t identify shot through me. Was he jealous? Did I want him to be?
But then my mind flashed back to his words as he stood in my kitchen, backing away from me. This was all so confusing. I didn’t like it. I liked not losing myself to my emotions, being grounded and strong. These feelings were too much, too baffling, like I was stuck on one of the floating docks in the harbor. I craved solid ground but all I felt was wobbly and unsure.
It didn’t matter anyway, because as Lucas was starting another story about his volunteer work, the Barbie arrived back at Theo’s side and practically hung herself around his neck. I downed the rest of the drink I was holding in one gulp.
“Can I get you another?” Lucas asked, pointing to my cup with his beer bottle.
“Please.” I glanced over at the other couple and noticed the blonde whispering something in Theo’s ear. I refused to let my mind ponder just what she was saying.
“You know what?” I stood up from my leaning position on the railing. “I’ll come with you.”
I let Lucas put his arm around my shoulders as he led me through the crowd and inside the glass doors.