Lucas cocked his head to one side. “What did you have in mind?”
Talk about a loaded question. If this had been some X-rated version of a nineties Disney Channel show, a tiny animated version of Paige would have appeared on her shoulder to whisper all manner of depraved suggestions. Scratch that, she thought. A tiny animated version of Sammy would have appeared, no doubt holding a martini glass and wearing his favorite Elton John bedazzled sunglasses. But this wasn’t Lizzie McGuire: The Sex-Drought Years, this was her very real, very boring life. So instead of suggesting any of the dirty thoughts that immediately came to mind—all of which involved far less clothing—she went with her original idea. “How about Twenty Questions: The Paige Parker Edition.”
He grinned. “I’m not familiar with that version.”
“It’s quite simple really. I ask you twenty questions.”
His head fell back on a laugh. “That’s not even close to the point of the game.”
He was right, but what fun would that be? “My version, remember?”
Lucas narrowed his eyes. “Okay, deal. On one condition. We each get ten questions.”
“You’re a tough negotiator, Mr. Croft, but you have a deal.”
“Ladies first.”
Not quite the “ladies first doesn’t only apply to doors” exception she’d been hoping for, but it was a good start.
She took a moment to consider her first question. There was so much she wanted to know about her mysterious host and his even more mysterious house, but she needed to tread lightly. This wasn’t a prospective client or vendor, and it certainly wasn’t someone she was interviewing for a job. If it were any of those, she’d have had no problem. But real life, personal interactions? Paige was more than a little rusty with those, and even if she wasn’t, the expression bull in a china shop came to mind. Last thing she wanted was to scare him away.
“So, what made you decide to live here?” she asked. It seemed like the perfect place to start, somewhat general but still on topic.
“You mean a sleepy little island with no cars?”
Paige nodded. Aurelia Island wasn’t exactly a hotbed of social activity.
“My parents bought a place here years ago.”
“Oh, so you grew up here?”
“No. I grew up in Pennsylvania. The home they bought here was meant to be for their retirement.” There was an unmistakable sadness in his voice.
“I take it that plan changed?” Paige didn’t want to pry, but the way he looked at her made her want to comfort him. It was a sorrow that made him look like a very young boy. Then again, Paige had once read that no matter how old you were when you lost your parents, you all at once felt like a vulnerable child. It was hard to imagine Lucas Croft feeling like that, but if the look in his eyes was any indication, the article she’d read was absolutely right.
Lucas nodded. “They were killed by a drunk driver.” He exhaled a heavy breath. “Classic story. Asshole has one too many, no one takes his keys, and he ends up crossing the line into oncoming traffic.” He drew one leg up to rest his elbow on his knee. “The officer on the scene said they didn’t suffer. The head-on collision killed them instantly.” His gaze was locked, unseeing, on the empty hearth in front of him. “I guess I should be grateful for that.”
“I’m so sorry.” The words alone seemed trite and inadequate, but she meant them. Hopefully that came across.
His eyes met hers, and in that moment, she knew he felt her sincerity. “Thank you.” He mustered half a smile. “Ironic, really. They buy a retirement dream home on an island without cars and end up killed by one before they could even move in.”
“Is that why you live here now?”
“Sort of.” Lucas reached for Michelangelo and began stroking his back. The tiny pup’s eyes closed almost instantly. “Soph had just graduated from college. She came down for a few weeks to clean the place out and ended up staying.”
“She was young to lose her parents. You both were.”
“She took it really hard,” he said, totally deflecting the second part of what Paige had said. “At first, I thought maybe she was hiding out here, you know? Like clinging to their memory or maybe avoiding drunk drivers by avoiding cars.” He gave a weak smile. “Maybe both, who knows? But she just sort of clicked here. The people, the pace. It was all perfect for her.”
“And you?”
He grimaced. “If you’d have told me when I was in college that I’d be living here now, I would have said you were crazy. But when Sophie called to tell us about this place… Well, it seemed like the perfect spot to raise a family.”
The use of the plural pronoun wasn’t lost on Paige, and her thoughts went immediately to the photograph of Lucas and his pregnant wife. Should she ask what happened to her, or was that too personal? She’d barely had a chance to consider the options before Lucas changed the subject.
“I’m starving.” He glanced at the grandfather clock as it struck noon in the hallway behind him.
“But what about my ten questions?” Paige asked.
“By my count, you have five left.” He stood up. “Four, if I count the one you just asked.”
Her mouth popped open. “That doesn’t count. I was only asking if we were going to finish.”
Lucas reached for Paige’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Relax, I’ll credit you back the point…I mean the question.”
She smiled to herself. Seemed she wasn’t the only one with a competitive streak.
“But first, I’m going to run and borrow some dog food from my neighbor. Then we’ll see about cashing in that rain check for mac and cheese.”
Chapter 10
Admittedly, Lucas wasn’t much of a cook, but he considered himself an expert when it came to mac and cheese. Sure, it was the powdered kind that could probably survive the apocalypse, but it was warm and tasty, and for a few months when she was two years old, it was all Maddie would eat. That, and these little baby-food chicken hot dogs, and even those were only acceptable if piled into some sort of modern-art display.
Paige seemed to enjoy it. In fact, she said it brought her back to her childhood. Although to be fair, that didn’t necessarily mean it was a positive memory. Either way, he was sure it hit the spot when all she’d had to eat in the past twenty-four hours was a granola bar and s’mores.
After lunch, Lucas washed the dishes while Paige dried them. He felt guilty about a guest doing household chores, but the more time they spent together, the less Paige Parker seemed like a paying guest and the more she felt like a—the word date came to mind, but he quickly dismissed it—friend? Yes, that’s it. And why wouldn’t she? Her stay had been far from customary, what with the storm and the puppies and then the power outage. It was normal for her to feel more like a friend than a customer after all they’d been through.