Chapter 26 : The Talk

**Cat POV Stripping off my wet clothes, I kicked them into a pile in the corner of the bathroom. It was a nice bathroom with white-tiled walls. There was a porcelain clawfoot tub and a stand-up shower with tiled walls and a nice glass door. The shower had a bench and everything. The bathroom also had a marble top vanity with an above-counter sink and a large round mirror. I caught my reflection as the shower water warmed up. My cheeks were still flushed. How stupid was I to stand there and watch Luke taking his shirt off after I'd just yelled at him for being a cheater? Shaking my head, I slipped into the steaming water. I might have been in the tropics, but even warm air against wet clothes and wet skin felt freezing. My skin felt a little tight from the drying salt, so I quickly washed myself off and then took my time to lather up and rinse my hair. Now I was wondering if I'd be able to have an adult conversation with Luke. He always had a way of turning things around on me. I wasn't sure there was anything he could say about Victoria that would make me feel better. Luke hadn't known about my situation with my ex and his sister when we'd slept together. I couldn't hold that against him. But he had still cheated on his girlfriend and even after knowing about my relationship problems, he hadn't even mentioned her. It felt sneaky and sleazy all over. When I got out of the shower, I wrapped myself in a big comfy robe and checked my phone. There was a message from Luke. *I'm clean and dry. Come on over when you're ready* I tapped my fingers on the marble vanity top thinking of how I should reply to Luke. A solo conversation with him might sound good in theory, but there was no guarantee we wouldn't argue again. There had to be a way that I could talk to Luke but not be alone with him. Jason had invited us to a little get-together. That could be a good venue for an adult conversation. *Jason and Johanna invited me to an evening get-together. I invited them here. They should be by soon.* I brushed my hair and found a comfortable, casual outfit to change into. Something that was the right weight for a tropical night by the ocean. When my phone buzzed again, I grabbed it. *I'd rather talk about Victoria in private. Not many people know about my personal life.* Thinking, I tapped the corner of my phone against my lips. If I forced Luke to talk about his personal life around other people, we probably wouldn't reach any kind of understanding. He probably wouldn't even open up in the slightest. *I'll be right over.* Quickly, I texted Jason to let him know they couldn't meet at my place. I told him I hoped we could meet up later but not to expect me. There was no way to know how long or short this conversation was going to be. I headed next door where Luke was waiting by the front door of his cabin, leaning casually against one of the pillars. "Come on in," he said, motioning to the door with his arm. I kept my eyes down as I walked by him and went into his cabin. It was a similar layout and design as mine, but there were some differences in the furniture and color scheme. "Are all of these the same?" I asked, defaulting to a work topic to avoid awkwardness. "These are the highest end ones. There are some that are a little smaller and not quite as luxurious. There are others that have smaller beds or multiple bedrooms," he explained. "Nice," I muttered, nodding. "Have a seat in the living room. I just uncorked a bottle of wine. Want a glass?" Luke disappeared into the kitchen, and I heard some clinking glasses. "Um… sure," I said, taking a seat on the comfortable couch. Luke returned with two glasses of wine. He handed me one and then seated himself in an adjacent chair. He took a long sip of wine and looked at me seriously. "Are you okay with having a private conversation? This isn't the kind of information I want aired." "I understand," I said, nodding. I set my wine aside without taking a sip. "You know, what I said before; your relationship with Victoria isn't my business." "We work together, and she is also involved in the company. I believe that makes it your business," Luke offered. "Oh." I looked down at my lap. I hadn't realized that Victoria was working with Luke, too. "Victoria's father owns the development property here. He and I are working on a deal so I can buy the land. Until then, I'm sort of stuck with her," he explained. "Stuck with?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "Victoria and I dated a while ago. It… didn't work out. We were on and off for a while, but my parents really like her. For the business connections," he went on. "So, you're just with her until the business deal is finalized? That isn't much better. You're just using her," I pointed out. I crossed my legs and arms, glaring at Luke. Luke chuckled and shrugged one arm, sipping his wine again. "We also broke up a while ago. I haven't told my parents because we are waiting until the deal with her father is finalized before announcing the breakup." "Wait, so she knows you broke up with her? Then why was she creeping around your house? Why did she tell me she was dating you?" I asked, creasing my brow. Somehow, his story didn't completely add up. "She came by my house?" Luke asked, looking genuinely surprised. "Yes. She was looking for you, and she wasn't very nice," I told him. Luke sighed and leaned back on his chair. "That sounds about right. Anyway, since we do have to work together until the deal with her father is official, I didn't want to deal with my parents berating me with all the reasons they think I should be with her." "I'm not sure if that makes me feel better. But you weren't with her when we…" Luke shook his head. "No. It was over long before that, and she knows. It, no matter what she might've told you." I nodded slowly and picked up my wine, taking a sip. Luke smirked at me. Knock. Knock. "Oh, did you tell Jason and Johanna to meet us here?" I asked when the door opened. "Nope. I did order something special for us," he told me. A cart rolled into the living room, and a nicely dressed waiter came in. The cart was covered in trays with shiny covers over them. "What is all this?" I asked, sitting up and uncrossing my legs. "A sampling of all the finest dishes we have here at the resort," Luke explained. "I thought you'd want to get a feel for it." "Wow," I muttered. I stood up as the waiter uncovered each dish. Most of them, I didn't even recognize. There was a dish with a tropical fish, head and all, covered in thinly sliced vegetables that decorated it like scales. There was a tropical fruit salad, and half a dozen other dishes I had no idea how to describe. "Dig in. This is dinner," Luke said. He tipped the server, and we were left alone again. "This is your way of asking me to dinner?" I asked, arching my eyebrow. Luke chuckled and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it is. So, are you going to stay?" My eyes raked over the delicious-looking meals laid out. My stomach gurgled, and I was practically salivating. "Okay, fine, I'll stay. But only because all of these look so delicious," I said. We sat down together, and Luke started filling a plate for me. "How do you like the resort so far?" he asked, handing me a full plate. "It is amazing. I've never been able to imagine this kind of luxury. It isn't like I grew up with yearly vacations to the tropics," I said. The tropical fish practically melted in my mouth and I moaned as I tasted its complex flavor. "I didn't either. Well, I visited various tropical places, but they weren't vacations. They weren't really homes, either," Luke said, refilling his own wine. "You didn't have a home growing up?" I asked, looking over his deep, pensive features. "My parents kept me on the move. I never settled in one place for very long. I've visited almost every country in the world at least once, lived in all the major countries for a few months, but I can't remember having a 'home,'" he explained. "That sounds… well, I always thought travel was romantic in some way. Your experience sounds lonely," I admitted, pushing some food around on my plate with my fork. "My parents wanted me to experience as much as possible and learn as much as possible. They didn't think I could do that from one single school. I traveled to learn about different cultures, technologies, fields of study. It was a lot of work," he added. "That's why you bought yourself a house in your own development, to have a home?" I asked. Luke shrugged, popping something from his plate into his mouth. He closed his eyes, smiling at whatever he was eating. "More or less," he said. "You know, my bungalow in the suburbs with Aaron was supposed to be my home," I admitted softly. I stared at my half-eaten dinner. "You didn't have a home before that?" Luke asked, looking at me with soft eyes. I smiled weakly. "After my dad died, well, things at home changed. My mom had a lot of boyfriends, and they didn't really appreciate her young daughter hanging around. I was stuck in my room or had to go out and find ways to entertain myself." "That also sounds lonely," Luke muttered. I took a gulp of my wine and nodded. "It was sometimes. It made me long for a real home. Mine was taken from me by my own mother. Then my fiance destroyed the home I was ready to build with him…" "Okay, okay, this conversation is getting depressing. Can we talk about something fun, like all the great things we're going to see here on the island?" he asked. I giggled and finished my wine. I handed my glass over to Luke, and he filled it up again. "What kind of things?" I asked. "Oh, some things I'm sure you'll love. Like the colonial buildings, some that are still well-preserved," Luke said temptingly. We started talking about colonial architecture of all things, laughing and enjoying the wine. I was actually starting to have a good time. The door to Luke's villa opened again. "Jason, Johanna, come finish this wine with us," I called, thinking it could be them. No one else was staying in the cabins at the resort. Luke and I immediately stopped laughing when Victoria walked into the living room, her high heels clicking on the floor.