40-Love - Olivia Dade Page 0,65

I retired, but rather inconvenient at the moment.”

Karo’s lips parted, and she didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Her study of him sharpened.

“You know,” she said slowly, “that may be the most personal information I’ve ever gotten from you. It’s definitely the first time you’ve talked about your past on the Tour.”

That couldn’t be true. Could it?

When he thought back, though, he couldn’t remember a conversation with Karo about anything of actual import. Just interludes of flirting and innuendo and small talk as a prelude to sex.

“I’m sorry.” What else could he say, really? At the time, he hadn’t had more to offer, and she’d never given any indication she actually wanted more. And now there was no room in his head or his bed—maybe not even in his heart—for anyone but Tess.

Oddly enough, it hadn’t hurt to talk about his past. Hadn’t left him uncomfortably exposed or tempted to deploy flirtation as a distraction.

Huh.

“No need to be sorry.” Karo smiled at him, the expression seemingly sincere. “I’m just…startled, I guess. If I’d met the man who talked to me on that overlook, or the man who’s currently shopping for cramp-relief supplies in booty form, before this trip—”

When she gave a little shake of her head, loose tendrils of hair danced around her face. “Well, I might have played things a bit differently. That’s all.” Her bright smile dimmed a bit. “But that never would have happened, right? No matter how long you and I were involved. Because she’s the reason you’ve finally opened up.”

The conversation had turned from ill-timed to uncomfortable. “I don’t know what to say, Karo.”

“You don’t have to say anything, Lucas. You haven’t done anything wrong.” She glanced toward the treatment rooms. “I’m due for a Kirsch-cherry blossom scrub, so I’d better go. Take care of yourself and your Tess.”

“I will. Thank you again, Karo.” He pressed his lips together, holding his hands awkwardly at his sides. Under normal circumstances, he’d hug her before she left, but…

Before he could make up his mind, she was already gliding away, graceful as ever despite the oversized slippers.

“One more thing, Lucas,” she tossed over her shoulder, her smile restored to its normal wattage. “In Tess’s position, I live by one simple motto: When in doubt, eat chocolate.”

He saluted her with a package of booties, and then she was gone.

Beside the register, there was a basket of giant Toblerone bars. He bought two. One for Tess. One to hold behind the counter for Karo as an additional silent apology, even though she’d said apologies weren’t necessary.

Admitting it, even in his own thoughts, made him wince.

It was harsh. It was also true.

Karo was right. One hundred percent correct.

Even if the two of them had conducted their idle, monthly affair for another decade, he would never have let down his guard for her. Because she wasn’t Tess. And Tess, as he was beginning to discover, was at the center of everything for him.

Absolutely everything. Which was, to be frank, absolutely terrifying.

When in doubt, eat chocolate.

Before he left the spa, he bought one of those Toblerone bars for himself too.

Eighteen

Tess stared down at the booties in her lap. “So these are, uh, supposed to keep my feet warm?”

In her peripheral vision, she could have sworn Lucas’s dimples appeared for a fleeting moment. But when she looked directly at him, he was staring at her solemnly.

He inclined his head. “Yes. Just like it says on the package.”

“And you got me two sets?”

“Evidently.”

Don’t say what the fuck. Don’t say what the fuck.

She offered him a weak smile. “Um, thank you so much.”

“You’re more than welcome,” he told her graciously.

Another smile, this one hopefully more convincing. “They’re very pretty. Very fuzzy. Very…warm-looking.”

As soon as she and Belle had returned to the hotel from a day spent outdoors, they’d lowered their room temperature to sixty degrees and turned the fan on full blast. Then they’d decided to flip a coin to determine who got first shower.

Poor Belle. She’d never suspected treachery, although she should have. Once she’d turned away to find a coin in her wallet, Tess had dashed into the bathroom, locked the door, and flipped on the shower.

Belle might never forgive her—even through a closed door and over the sound of water, Tess had distinctly heard the words dracarys and queen of the ashes—but so be it. She had her period, and thus deserved first crack at the bathroom. That was just basic justice, or maybe an unquestionable scientific fact.

Either way, she’d shamelessly reveled