Chapter 22 : A Family Vacation

**Cat POV "So, you ready for the big trip?" Jason asked as he handed me a blueprint of the house with my modifications and his notes. The foundation has been poured, and the structure was beginning to take shape. "How did you hear about that?" I asked, my cheeks warming as I kept my eyes on the blueprints. Jason and I had both been on site every day, monitoring the development construction. "When the architect I'm working with daily leaves the country for a while, I do get a memo," Jason teased, winking at me. "Besides, I'm coming along too." I bit my lower lip and kept scanning the blueprint. I'd memorized the blueprint already, but I didn't want to look into Jason's deep, soulful brown eyes. He was so friendly and goofy and always admitted when he was awkward. I liked that about him. "Well, I've never had the chance to go out of the country," I admitted with a shrug. I handed the blueprints back to Jason. "This looks good." "Come on, let's take a lunch break. We've been working like this all morning," Jason said. "This is the third day in a row that we've had lunch together. Are you sure it is a good idea?" I asked. I didn't want Jason to get the wrong idea. We had a really good working relationship, and I didn't want that to change, especially because things with Luke had been cold. "We are working together every day. Is it so weird to have lunch together? It saves time. We work, then eat, then go straight back to work," he said. I shrugged. "Okay, well I can whip us up something at the guest house." "Nah, I took care of it today," Jason grinned. He grabbed a cooler and popped the top. There were a couple of sodas, Italian sandwiches, and bags of chips inside. "Wow, that looks like quite the feast," I said, giggling. "If you like this, wait until you see the chocolate chip cookie I brought for dessert," Jason said, chuckling. We sat down on a bench at the construction site, one that was usually used for construction workers who needed water breaks. The rest of the crew had already gone to lunch, too. "Have you been to the Caribbean site?" I asked, munching on my Italian. "Not yet. I'm technically not needed down there until the building begins, but Mr. Carter wants me to see the site in advance," Jason explained. "So, why am I needed down there?" I asked. I opened my bag of chips. "You're not just the structural engineer. You're the lead architect. Mr. Carter is going to want your opinion on the building site. You'll need to see the lighting, the layout, everything," he told me. Nodding, I glanced at the partially-built house. Luke had taken all of my design alterations into consideration. He'd adjusted the way a lot of the newer houses were being built to align with my suggestions. "You know, not that I mind talking about work while we're on a lunch break, but do you ever talk about anything else?" Jason asked playfully. I sighed and shook my head. "This job is pretty much all I have right now." "This looks like a cozy arrangement," Luke's voice sounded behind us. I swallowed my half-chewed chips, scraping the sides of my throat, as I twisted on the bench to see him. "What are you doing here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Then I realized how stupid I sounded. Of course he had every right to be here. "Checking on our progress," Luke said shortly. He walked around the bench and kept his back to us as he examined the drying concrete foundations. "We were just taking a quick lunch break, Luke," Jason said. He wiped his hands on a napkin and stood up, approaching Luke. "Which is perfectly acceptable and doesn't require an explanation," Luke replied in that same cold, professional demeanor. I sighed and finished my soda before joining Luke and Jason. "The foundations are all modified according to my suggestions," I offered. Luke nodded but wouldn't even look at me. He glanced at Jason instead. "I'll make sure everything goes smoothly while we're gone," Jason said. Again, Luke nodded. "Good. I'll be keeping an eye on things around here." Luke glanced at me quickly, both eyebrows raised. I looked away. There was a lot more innuendo in there than he was letting on. ** Jason drove us to the airport the morning we were to fly to the Caribbean. "You seem nervous," Jason said. I wrung my hands in my lap, Was I nervous about being on a plane with Luke for hours? "I think nervous is an understatement," I muttered, looking out the car window. Jason sighed. "I don't know what is going on between you and Mr. Carter. Just know, he is professional, and this is all business." "Right," I said, trying to convince myself. Luke and I hadn't been on friendly terms since I told him this was just a professional arrangement. It was what I wanted, but I didn't want this entire trip to be weird. "I'm sure it will be fine. Just growing pains of starting a new job, you know?" I asked. "Yeah, I know," Jason agreed, chuckling. He pulled into the airport, parked, and after some asking around, a mini bus drove us to the tarmac where Luke was waiting in the shade of a hangar. He was wearing shorts and a tropical shirt with sunglasses. I rolled my eyes. "Definitely all business." "Our transportation," Luke said, greeting us with a grin. He nodded to the massive plane that was being serviced close by. "We're taking that?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Luke nodded. "I'm going to go down and make sure my bags are loaded. There are some fragile items in there," Jason said with a chuckle. "Oh, let me take those, too." He grabbed my larger suitcase and headed towards the plane. As he walked away, I opened my mouth to protest, but he was already gone. Great. Now I was alone with Luke with no excuse to leave. "Why do we need such a huge plane?" I asked, crossing my arms and trying to dispel the awkward silence. "Sorry if my giant jet intimidates you," he said, chuckling. I almost rolled my eyes. We're documenting this trip for investors. That means some extra people. There is going to be a photographer on board and Johanna, my assistant, is coming with us," he explained. Finally, Luke turned to me, eyeing my outfit and the single bag I had at my side. "Have you ever flown before?" he asked, teasingly. "Not in a plane like that," I said, scoffing. "Come on, I'll load up my bags," Luke said. He put his own bag on his shoulder. A patent leather, very nice-looking weekend bag. I followed Luke to the plane, and a man stood at the stairs, guiding us inside. Jason hung out of the door and waved to us. "Come on, before all the good seats are taken," he said, laughing as he went back inside. Despite the way Luke was dressed, I was really looking forward to having several days of work in another country where I couldn't be bothered by my mother and my personal problems. "You look like you're excited about this. It is just a work trip, you know," Luke pointed out. "I am looking forward to this," I confirmed with a nod. "Several days of nothing but work. That is exactly what I need to clear my head." "Right… Cat, there is something I need to tell you," Luke said, his voice slow. I looked at him suspiciously. "What is it?" "My parents decided the island would be the perfect place for Aaron and Fiona to get married, a romantic tropical getaway or something like that," he said, rolling his eyes. "And it was the only one of our venues that wasn't fully booked on such short notice." "W-wait… you're saying that your entire family is also coming? And they're getting married while we're there?" I asked, creasing my brow. Luke took a deep breath and let out a long, slow sigh. "Yes. I should have told you sooner, I know that," he said, looking down. I crossed my arms and glared at Luke. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" "You haven't been that willing to talk to me," he pointed out, shrugging. Swallowing, I wrapped my arms around myself. "Why are you telling me now?" "I know how awkward this situation could be for you. There's a lot of work to do, and we will still be doing that, but the wedding just happens to coincide with the dates we'll be there. If you're not okay with that, we can reschedule the work trip," he offered. I glanced from side to side. How was it that Aaron was still finding a way to ruin my life? This was supposed to be a WORK trip. This was supposed to be about WORK. Somehow, it had become about Aaron, Fiona, and Luke's family. I chewed the inside of my cheek. Going to the Caribbean and working on this new project was supposed to be a big move for me. It was supposed to be career-defining. There was no way I was going to let Aaron ruin that for me. "It is fine," I ground out through clenched teeth. "Are you sure?" Luke asked, creasing his brow. I nodded. "This is a big business deal. If I postpone, we will be set back weeks, possibly months." "That's true. But I'm your boss, and I'm giving you the option to back out. There is still plenty here to do with the current development," he offered. "Luke, I'm going. This is about work for me," I insisted, crossing my arms. "That's what I wanted to hear," Luke said, smirking. We boarded the plane. Unlike commercial flights, this plane was not packed full of tiny seats with limited legroom. There were some large, plush, couch-like seats around the perimeter of half the cabin. At the front of the cabin was a bar and the center walk was lit up with blue LEDs. "Whoa," I muttered, staring at the luxurious plane. "Get used to it. As my chief architect, you'll travel like this a lot," Luke teased. Bzz. Bzz. "I've got to get this. Make yourself comfortable," he said, ducking back out of the plane. After getting my bag tucked away, I sat down on the plush seat, waiting patiently for Luke to return. It was almost as relaxing as a La-Z-Boy chair! I sank into the comfortable seat and sighed. Jason had his eyes on his phone, his thumbs tapping on the screen. When Luke reappeared, his face was stony and serious. "What is it?" I asked. "Slight change of plans, I'm afraid," he said, pointing to the nearest window. I pushed the visor up and glanced outside. Another car was pulling up to the plane. It came to a stop and Aaron, Fiona, and Luke's parents stepped out. "Apparently, their plane won't be ready in time, so they are coming with us," Luke said. I froze.