It was all one big room with cedar floors and walls. There was no overhead lighting, only sconces set in the walls, and the floors were covered in mismatching rugs that gave the place a homey, inviting, comfortable feel. The bed was a four-poster king. Red velvet drapes hung from each corner, and the bed reminded me of something royalty might sleep in.
The fire crackled and snapped as the attendant got it lit. When he was done, he straightened, wiped his hands on his pants, and asked if we needed anything else.
“I don’t think so,” I said.
“Wine,” Lukas said.
The attendant nodded. “There is a room-service menu in the drawer of the nightstand. The kitchens and bar are open all night. Feel free to look through it and call to place an order. It usually takes about twenty to thirty minutes.”
“Perfect,” Lukas said.
The young man left and I warmed myself in front of the fire. “This isn’t what I expected.”
“No?” Lukas shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over the edge of the bed. “What did you expect?”
“I don’t know. A posh hotel somewhere. Something fancy and glamorous, like the Monroe.”
“I wanted to go somewhere nobody would stumble upon us.”
I turned my back to the fire. “Mission accomplished. It’s beautiful here. And so quiet.”
“It is quiet, isn’t it?”
There was no hum or roar of traffic outside our windows. Instead, there was the gentle rustle and scratch of tree branches scraping across the roof of the cabin. There was the steady crackle of the fire and, in the distance, the hushed roll of waves breaking against the bluff.
Lukas fetched the room-service menu from the nightstand drawer and dropped into one of the two chairs placed in front of the fireplace. Between them was a small table with nothing on it. I took the opposite chair and ran my hands over the armrests. The fabric was a deep burgundy velvet and it felt nice under my palms.
“What should we order?” Lukas mused, his eyes scanning the page.
“You pick.”
He didn’t hesitate. Within minutes, he’d placed an order to room service. While we waited, I stared into the fire and thought about his sister. What would Lisa think of us running away to steal some alone time together?
“Don’t over think this,” Lukas said, resting his head back against his chair. “We’re here and we’re going to enjoy ourselves, right?”
I nodded. “Right.”
We chatted aimlessly about things that didn’t matter until room service arrived. Lukas popped the bottle of red, and the first sip warmed my belly. The second and third were even more delicious, and soon, I was one glass of wine in with no food in my belly, so I dove into the crackers, jelly, pesto, and baked brie appetizer.
Lukas settled back in his chair with his wine in one hand. “You know, had you told me four weeks ago that I’d be dressing up as a clown for a charity, I’d have laughed in your face.”
“I wouldn’t have tried such a thing.”
He chuckled. “Well, I’m glad I did it. I’m glad I’ve done all of this.”
His words warmed my insides better than the wine. “Me too.”
“I never would have expected these feelings to emerge from our working together, Kayla. These weeks have been…” He paused, the glint of a smile reflecting in his eyes as he gazed into the fire. “They’ve been better than most of the ones that came before.”
At first, I thought he was talking about his feelings about me, and I almost told him I felt the same way, but he kept talking. The words poured out of him unabashed and I didn’t dare open my mouth for fear of him never being so open with me again.
“I swore I’d never go back to that state, you know,” he said, eyes still glued to the fire. “To being poor. I hoarded every dime I made, pinched every penny, and hustled to figure out how to collect the most interest. I figured if I could figure a way out of poverty, anyone else could too. I let that cloud my judgment. I fell so out of touch with reality, with who I was before the suits and the flashy cars.” His expression darkened and he sipped his wine. “Now I realize the deck is stacked against most people. The wealthy have all the advantages, including their privilege and naivety. I used to be one of those assholes. Selfish. Ignorant. Blind. Whether it was on purpose or by default of accumulating wealth, I still don’t know.”
“I don’t think you were ignorant, Lukas.”
His gaze slid to me. “I was. It’s okay. I accept it. I need to be better. To do better. You make that easy for me, Kayla. You’ve changed the game for me. Without you, I never would have realized that—” He broke off with a soft chuckle and shook his head.
“What?” I pleaded, reaching for him. “Tell me.”
“You helped me realize that being poor isn’t the worst thing in the world. Being lonely? Well, that might just be worse.”
He was right. Being lonely was worse. I would know. For all the work I did and all the people I helped day in and day out, I still went home to an empty apartment.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
I swallowed the tight lump building in my throat and willed myself to keep it together. “You have nothing to thank me for.”
He ignored me. “Thank you for helping me realize what a lonely life I was leading. Thank you for showing me the wall I’d put up and teaching me how to take it down.”
His words warmed me better than the fire ever could. I extracted myself from my chair and settled into his lap. Lukas wrapped his arms around me and I laid my cheek on his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair.
Finally, I was getting close to him. Finally, he was letting me in.
For the first time since meeting with Lukas in his conference room all those weeks
