Chapter 74: Untitled Chapter

Lunch was a disaster. It was not the food. The waiter.

The guy couldn’t have been older than her. He was friendly and smiled easily. He talked to everyone, or at least Kendrix thought he did until she noticed he kept coming back to their table.

The first time she ignored it. The second time she laughed. The third time she thought it was funny. The fourth time he leaned on their table.

“You’re not from around here, ma’am.”

“No.”

He nodded. “I figured.”

“Was it the accent?”

He shook his head. “Uh, don’t think so.”

Kendrix burst out laughing while the waiter grinned. Across from her Roberto picked up his water and drank it slowly.

The waiter looked at him, then back at her. “You’re lucky.”

Kendrix blinked. “What?”

The waiter nodded toward Roberto. “Guys like that don’t usually look at people the way he looks at you.”

The words landed weird. Kendrix stared at the table while Roberto's gaze never left the glass of water. Neither of them said anything.

The waiter cleared his throat. “Um…I’ll grab the check.”

Then he left fast.

The rest of the afternoon felt different. Kendrix kept catching herself watching him. Roberto kept catching her doing it. And neither of them mentioned it.

By sunset they ended up near the water. Far enough from town that nobody bothered them. The ocean was huge and the waves kept hitting the rocks below.

For the first time all day neither of them talked. Kendrix pulled her knees up when the wind got cold. She could feel Roberto beside her.

After a while she asked again. The question she had been asking since morning.

“Why did you bring me here?”

Roberto didn’t answer right away. She thought he wouldn’t. Then he said it quietly.

“I don’t know.”

Kendrix frowned. “That’s a lie, you know.”

He let out a breath like he was tired of fighting himself. “Fine. I knew why.”

“Then tell me.”

His eyes stayed on the water. Not her. Which somehow made her believe him more. When he finally spoke his voice was lower. “I wanted a day with you.”

Everything inside her stalled.

A day with you. Not business. Not a meeting. Her.

Kendrix swallowed because her brain short-circuited. She couldn’t think of anything clever to say.

Roberto looked over then. He actually looked at her. The corner of his mouth lifted a little like he had already seen her reaction coming.

For once she couldn’t tease him. Couldn’t argue. So she did the only thing that felt right, she reached for his hand.

And when his fingers closed around hers right away, something settled between them. Close enough that she didn’t want to let go.

The sun had almost disappeared by the time Kendrix realized she was still holding his hand. Not accidentally. Not because she had forgotten. Because neither of them had let go.

The ocean stretched out in front of them and the waves kept hitting the rocks below in a steady rhythm.

For once, Kendrix's head wasn't crowded. That should have worried her. Instead it felt too nice.

After a while she leaned back on her hands and looked up at the darkening sky. "We should probably head back."

Roberto didn't answer right away. She turned toward him. He was watching the water, thinking.

"What?"

His gaze shifted to hers. "We don't have to."

Kendrix blinked. "What do you mean we don't have to?"

He paused, then said, "I booked a hotel."

Kendrix stared at him. "You what?"

"A hotel."

"Yeah… I heard that part."

Roberto looked suspiciously calm about this.

"When exactly did you do that?" She asked.

"Before we left."

For a second she just stared at him, then she chuckled.

"You planned an overnight trip?"

"Not really."

"But you booked a hotel before we even got here."

"Yes."

"And somehow that's different?"

His mouth twitched, barely.

Kendrix pointed at him. "You're ridiculous."

"I've been told that a lot of times."

"So you knew."

"Knew what?"

"That we'd stay."

He shrugged. "I hoped."

There it was again. That word. Hope. Every time Roberto accidentally admitted he had feelings, he looked annoyed afterward. Like the truth escaped without permission.

Kendrix

couldn't stop smiling. As much as she tried not to, she failed.

. .

The hotel sat near the edge of the water. Nothing flashy…just clean white walls and large windows overlooking the harbor.

The woman at reception handed Roberto a key card, then smiled at Kendrix. "Enjoy your stay."

Kendrix nearly choked. Roberto took the card and nodded curtly at her before walking off like nothing happened.

The room was bigger than necessary. A sitting area near the windows, a balcony overlooking the water, and a bed that immediately became impossible to look at normally.

Kendrix focused on the balcony instead. It was much safer. She walked outside and leaned against the railing while the harbor lights reflected across the water in small golden streaks. Behind her she heard Roberto moving around the room.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

She looked over her shoulder. "Always."

"That's concerning."

"You knew this when you brought me here."

A few minutes later room service arrived.

Dinner ended up spread across the coffee table. Not because they planned it. Because Kendrix kept stealing food off Roberto's plate until he finally slid the whole thing closer to her.

She looked up. "Did you just surrender?"

"I value peace."

"You've known me long enough to know that doesn't work."

"I was trying something new."

Kendrix grinned. The smile he gave back was small but genuine. And somehow that felt more intimate than half the things they'd done lately.

Later they ended up on opposite ends of the couch. A terrible movie played on television and neither of them was watching it. The plot made no sense, the acting was worse.

Halfway through, Kendrix threw a pillow at the screen. "This is awful."

Roberto didn't look away. "You picked it."

"I was lied to."

"You read the description."

"The description lied too." She pouted.

Roberto chuckled.

Kendrix glared at him. His smile faded. "What?"

"You do know you're supposed to do that more often."

"What?"

"You should smile often.”

She frowned. “Not again.”

She threw another pillow at him. This one hit. He caught it before it fell.

The movie continued and the room grew quieter and comfortable. The kind of quiet neither of them felt obligated to fill.

Kendrix curled deeper into the couch. Roberto sat beside her now. At some point the distance disappeared that neither of them remembered when.