“Guess that depends,” he hedged, still watching her. “Will you go golfing with me the next time I ask?”
“No way,” she laughed. “You want to go golfing with a girl? Call that girl who was just draping herself on your front porch earlier and go on an actual date.”
Mike let out a slow breath. “She was hot. Maybe if she’s around in a few months…”
“Yeah. I’ll pray for that,” Kris drawled. “Until then, how about those clubs?”
“Use them. You know where they are, right?”
“Yeah.”
Perfect. Kris had her own set of clubs for the night. That gave her leverage with Caleb, which was something she was growing short on. The more money he spent on her, the more he acted like he owned her. The more she kept his wallet in his pocket, the easier it was to put him off at the end of the night. And she needed Caleb to keep his paws off for just a few more days.
Then it would be game on.
“Sure you don’t want to break up with him tonight?” Mike offered. “Luke’s coming home tomorrow, and we both know how well he’ll take the news of your new fling with Caleb.”
It was pathetic that the mere mention of Mike’s best friend had Kris feeling a little jittery. Less than seventeen hours and Luke would be home. Not that she was counting down.
“He can deal,” she said, suddenly not knowing where to look or where to put her hands. She grabbed another ball and tossed it at the hoop. Air ball. “He always has before.”
“Yeah, but you’ve never dated his arch enemy from high school before either. We both know he’s going to be pissed that you’re kissing the enemy.”
Kris rolled her eyes, hoping that her forced laugh sounded natural. “Whatever. It’s just kissing, bro. Luke will get over it.” Or at least that was Kris’s biggest fear—that Luke would get over it. Because after years of trying to make Luke jealous—of trying to get him to step in and take notice—Luke never had. Not once. And if he didn’t do so with Caleb, then that meant only one thing.
He didn’t care. And if Luke didn’t care about Kris any more than the average friend, then…
Then what?
It wasn’t something she had time to consider at the moment. Caleb would be picking her up in fifteen minutes, and the guy was never late.
“Thanks for the clubs.”
“Just don’t throw them into a lake,” Mike said, pulling his headphones back up into place.
The imagery got a smile out of her. “I’ll do my best. Have fun working into the night, weirdo.”
Mike rolled his eyes and sent her a distracted wave before turning his focus back to the screen.
Chapter 3
Sensing a drop in altitude, Rori glanced out the plane window as was rewarded with the top view of mountain ranges as far as she could see. It was nice to know that her new fiancé, Luke, hadn’t lied about wilderness access when he talked her into visiting his home.
Her fiancé.
Rori wasn’t sure which was the bigger surprise, that Luke had asked her to marry him, or that she’d agreed. Two weeks ago, they hadn’t even known the other was alive. And now? There was a wedding to plan.
Next to her, Luke was peering out the first-class window. “Home, sweet home.”
Rori studied the man who had impulsively dropped to one knee in the Chiang Mai airport. Luke Foster. The guy was pretty much an open book with the guile of a puppy and the bank account of a tycoon. A man who routinely flew business class then spent half the time on the plane peering out the window like a kid who had never flown before. Luke was a rare combination to find in a man, and very refreshing one. But that wasn’t the only reason she’d said yes when he’d proposed.
The world Rori had been raised in was ruled by propriety and protocol, while Luke was so blessedly… unrefined. From his loud, chatty mouth down to his Nikes, Luke was a hybrid between what Rori wanted for herself and what her mother wanted for her. So of course she had to jump on the chance to see what could be between them. The fact that he had just saved her the six figures she’d been about to pay out in order to be matched up with someone just like him only sweetened the pot. Clearly their “chance” meeting in Thailand had been fate.