Luke wanted to do something special for Julia. The thought kept popping up in his mind, making it impossible to concentrate on anything else. Frankly, he was finding it impossible to focus on anything that wasn’t Julia. He thought about her constantly.
He woke up on Thursday still thinking about her, and decided to try clearing his head by making some progress on the game engine he was developing for his potential start-up, but all morning he kept catching himself staring off into space. He’d be running through some new code, data streams flowing by, and his mind would shift to Julia—her hair, her smell, how her hazel eyes shifted color when in sunlight or shadow. He’d shake himself and get back to work, only to recall her laugh and how, when she smiled at him, he felt like it was Christmas and his birthday at the same time.
Waving the white flag, Luke gave up trying to get any work done and went in search of his sister. Maybe Pen could knock some sense into him. And if not, at least he could pick her brain about ideas on what to do for Julia.
But when he got to the control room, Luke was surprised to discover the door wouldn’t open, which was odd, considering his key card was coded for access to all the resort’s offices. He tried again and realized the system was working fine; the problem was that the physical lock had been bolted from the inside. He jiggled the handle. “Pen?”
He knocked. “Penelope, are you in there?” Luke glanced around the hall. He doubted he’d run into anyone from the sim in this part of the hotel, but he really should be more careful. He’d been so busy enjoying his time with Julia, he’d all but forgotten there was any reason to be a part of the game other than being with her.
Hell, he’d all but forgotten it was a game.
Rustling sounds and incoherent chatter from inside the control room brought his attention back to the door. Luke thought he heard the lower timbre of a familiar male voice. “Jay?” He knocked again. “Open up. I’m locked out.”
Scuffling noises. Was that a giggle? Now Luke was getting irritated. His sister and best friend were screwing with him. He knocked harder. “Cut it out, you two.”
He pressed his ear to the door. More whispers and rustling sounds. And then the click of the dead bolt being unlatched. The door swung open. Penelope stood there, Jay directly behind her. Luke crossed his arms and glared at his sister and best friend. “I know what’s going on here.”
“You do?” Jay asked.
A signal passed between his sister and best friend and Luke wondered if their behavior had something to do with that secret project for Mrs. W. they’d been hinting at.
“Luke…” Penelope stepped aside as he marched into the room. “We can explain—”
“I get that you two are mad at me for ditching you,” he cut her off. “But locking me out?” He closed the door and shook his head. “I thought we were a team.”
Penelope’s cheeks flushed, and Luke felt bad for going on the offensive. Whatever was happening, she was doing her job, the one he’d asked her to do. He sighed. “I know you wanted me to let you handle this on your own, but I still should have been here for you.”
“It’s okay—”
“No. It’s not okay.” He cut her off again. “I’ve been gallivanting around the past few days, completely ignoring you and abandoning my responsibilities.”
Jay snorted and Luke paused. “What’s so funny?”
“I’ve never known you to go ‘gallivanting around’ before,” his friend teased. “And what responsibilities? Pen’s got everything under control. She’s a great GM.” Jay put an arm around Penelope’s shoulder. “No offense, but honestly, I think she makes a better game master than you.”
“Whenever someone says, ‘No offense,’ it’s almost guaranteed to signify they are about to cause offense,” Luke harrumphed. “In this case, however, I am not offended.” He turned to his sister, offering her an apologetic smile. “Jay’s right. You are a better GM.” Penelope’s eyes widened in surprise, as if she couldn’t believe he’d ever admit to such a thing, and Luke felt like an even bigger jerk. “You’re a natural at this.”
“You really mean that, don’t you?”
Her bewildered smile made his heart ache. Luke was struck by the sudden realization that he rarely complimented his sister. Or anyone, for that matter. Like developing a program or integrating software, he tended to focus on problems that needed to be fixed. If things were working well, they didn’t need his attention. “I do. You’re more personable. Attentive. The way you spend time with the players and interact with them.”
“You’re spending plenty of time with one player … very attentive.” His sister’s grin turned sly. “And there has been lots of interaction.”
Now Luke was flushing with guilt.
Jay cleared his throat. “I uh, need to go check the hotel email server.” Arm still around Penelope, he gave her a quick hug before releasing her. “Go easy on him.” With a nod to Luke, he made his escape.
Pen settled into one of the office chairs and spun it around. “How’s the plan going?” She steepled her fingers under her chin and studied him. “You know, the plan to play a part in the game so you could keep a close eye on the reviewer?”
“I know what plan you’re referring to,” Luke grumbled. He collapsed onto the seat next to hers, aware that his sister’s shrewd gaze was eating up every bit of his discomfort with a spoon. Comprehension dawned, and he turned to look at her. “You knew, didn’t you?”
“What?” Penelope didn’t play coy for long. “That you were head over heels attracted to the girl from the beach and desperate to find an excuse to spend time with her?” She nodded, smug. “Yeah. I knew.”
He scowled at his sister, not a fan of how she’d phrased the situation but not really able to find fault with her summary, either.
“Relax.” She grinned. “It’s nice to see you focus on somebody else instead of me for a change.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She ignored his question, adding, “And it’s really nice to see you show an interest in someone.” Her face softened. “You like Meg, don’t you?”
“You mean Julia?” Luke asked, a tickle of pleasure flashing through him at the simple joy of saying her name. “Yeah.”
“You’ve dropped the use of her character name? That’s unlike you.” Penelope cocked her head. “How did you know?”
“Her real name?” Luke shrugged, avoiding his sister’s gaze. “She told me.”
“No.” Pen waved an annoyed hand, dismissing that topic. “How did you know you liked her?”
Luke jerked his head up, bemused. He’d not been expecting that question. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking.”
“I saw you kissing her,” Pen admitted. “On the beach.”
“When?”
She shot him a look. “There was more than once?”
Luke sidestepped the question. “Was it during the sandcastle competition?” he asked, gut clenching. If she’d caught what they’d been doing yesterday, she would have seen a bit more than kissing …
Pen shook her head. “That was Wednesday. I’m talking about Tuesday. After the paintball game. Jay and I walked down to get some ice cream and, well…”
“Ah.” Julia had smiled up at him as he’d reached for her, his shoes getting soaked by the waves. But he hadn’t cared; he was too busy kissing her sweet mouth, savoring the lingering taste of chocolate. Luke shook himself. Was he about to get a lecture from his baby sister? He probably deserved it. When he met her eyes, however, it wasn’t censure he saw in her face but curiosity.
“How did you know?” she asked again.
“How did I know what?”
“How did you know the time was right? To kiss her.”
Now he was flushing for a different reason. His sister was in her midtwenties, a college graduate, for heaven’s sake. As much as he didn’t want to think about it (and he really, really didn’t want to think about it), surely she had been kissed before …
As if reading his mind, Penelope blurted, “I’ve kissed plenty of guys.”
Plenty?
“But none of them meant anything to me. It was just for fun.”
Luke’s throat constricted, but he tried to play it cool. “There’s nothing wrong with having a little bit of fun.” He almost managed to avoid emphasizing the words little bit. Almost.
“I know.” Her tone told him she didn’t need and wasn’t looking for his approval. “But Julia’s different. You’ve only known her a few days, but I can tell she means something to you.”
“Yeah, her friend’s review could really help boost the success of this resort.”
Penelope narrowed her gaze, lips pursed. “My concerns about that statement aside, we’ve already established the flimsiness of that excuse. You like her, Luke.”
“Yes. I like her. I admit it.”
“No, you like her like her.”
“What is this, the third grade?”
“Ha. I don’t think you knew what a girl was in third grade, let alone liked one.”
“I knew you. And I even liked you.”
“I don’t count. When you were in third grade, I was like three years old. Besides, we’ve been over this. You’re my brother. You have to like me.”
“I have to love you. I don’t always have to like you.”
“Don’t try and derail me from my point with your pedantic nit-picking.”
“There’s a point to this?” Luke wondered, knowing the question was just going to egg her on.
“Yes, if you’ll shut up long enough for me to get to it.” Penelope tugged on her hair, a sure sign she was agitated.
Luke decided to keep his mouth shut and let his sister finish.
“Kissing someone you don’t really care about is a completely different thing than kissing someone you…” she hesitated, pulling on her hair again, “have feelings for.”
Luke stared at his sister. Was this a specific question about specific feelings she had for a specific someone? Who?
Those jumbled thoughts faded away as the truth of her words crystallized. Pen was right. Kissing Julia had been different. Not that he’d kissed a lot of girls, but he’d had the occasional girlfriend. Nothing serious. As Pen had said, just for fun. He never really felt like he had time. His focus had always been more on his sister, on making sure she was doing well and had everything she needed. Besides, based on his parents’ track record, Luke hadn’t been in a hurry for a relationship of his own.
“You’re right. But it’s not that Julia is different from other girls…” He paused, searching for the right words. “It’s that my feelings for her are different. Something about her and me together and the way she makes me feel.” Luke shifted on his seat. “I’m not sure I can explain it.”
“Try.”
“Some people might think this conversation between siblings is odd, you know.”
“We’re not ‘some people.’” Penelope scooted her chair closer to his. “Stop stalling.”
His sister was right. They’d been through so much together, shared so much. Besides, Luke thought with a pang, it wasn’t like Pen was going to ever have a talk like this with their mother or something. That would require too much time and effort on Mom’s part.
He pushed the negative thoughts aside. He was still digesting what Julia had said about breaking up being better than staying together, still needed to unpack how that affected his opinion regarding his parents’ relationship.
That was another way being with Julia was different. That day on the beach, when Penelope had seen them kissing, he’d told her things he’d never shared with anyone. Luke focused on that. On how he’d felt in that moment, when the urge to kiss Julia had been so strong. He hadn’t cared about anything else.
“Kissing Julia is like…” He tried to think of a way to put it in words for his sister that wouldn’t be too embarrassing for either of them. “Like hearing music.”
“What, like a choir of heavenly angels?” Pen wondered.
“Um, no.”
“Violins?”
“Nope.”
“Then what did you hear?”
“Spandau Ballet.”
“Ah, so something classical.”
“Not ballet like Swan Lake.” Luke shook his head. “Spandau Ballet is an eighties band.”
“Your geezer tunes. Why am I not surprised.” Penelope rolled her eyes, voice teasing. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but … what song?”
“‘True.’ That’s the name of the song,” he clarified, before she could make another snarky comment. Although, he had to admit, her teasing helped make this conversation seem a little more normal and a little less weird.
“The title has potential, but I don’t know it.”
“And now I’m not surprised.”
“Sing it for me.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Fine. I’ll look it up.” His sister swiveled on her chair and began typing. “Why that song in particular?”
“I’m not really sure.” Luke shrugged. “We started kissing and it sort of came over me.” He bit his lip, struggling to define how it felt. “It wasn’t the words playing in my head, exactly, so much as it was the music was moving all through me—like the sound was flowing through my veins. And it heightened this feeling that everything was … right.” He shook his head. “This is stupid.”
“No. Luke, no.” Pen grabbed his hand. “It’s actually the most perfect description of a kiss I’ve ever heard.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” She paused, the teasing glint returning to her eye. “I’m not sure about the Spandex Ballet—”
“Spandau,” he corrected.
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes again. But then she smiled at him, all hint of teasing gone. “It’s beautiful, Luke.” Her voice was low and raw and sincere. “Thank you for telling me.”
“I want to do something special for her,” he admitted in a rush. “Something that shows her, in some way, how I feel.”
“I think the answer to that is obvious, brother dear.”
“What do you mean, obvious? I’ve been racking my brain for more than a day trying to come up with something.” He grinned sheepishly. “It’s actually one of the reasons I came looking for you.”
“I’m flattered. And I’m also happy to help.” Her mouth quirked. “You really can’t think of anything?”
He shook his head.
“Even after the conversation we just had?” She looked at him like he was an idiot.
“Penelope,” he barked. “Just tell me.”
Rather than respond immediately, his sister reached for a file. She flipped it open and began shuffling the papers. “Aha.” She smacked a page on the desk in front of him.
Luke glanced at the paper and realized it was Julia’s itinerary.
“There’s your answer,” Pen said, tapping at a spot on the page.
Luke squinted. It was the bonus activity Julia had selected. For her personalized experience, Julia had picked karaoke serenade. His stomach flipped as he recalled the conversation at the breakfast table that morning, how the thought of singing to someone had made him nauseous even then. “No.”
“Luke, you have to.”
“No way.”
“It’s too perfect,” Penelope insisted, mouth set in a stubborn line. “You already know what song to sing and everything.”
He shook his head. But even as he refused, he knew his sister was right.
“Fine,” he groaned. “But I think I’m going to need a drink first.” He groaned again. “Maybe two.”