Chapter Five

Lucas was really busting his butt, helping her set up for Trivia Night, which vindicated her opinion of him slightly. Just slightly.

She almost felt sorry for him. His dress shirt became untucked and wrinkled and there was even some perspiration lining his forehead. Looked like Mr. Know-It-All didn’t know everything after all—especially about organizing and running hotel events.

The guests already knew the drill and had filed in, sitting at the tables provided and forming teams. Elena glanced at the time. Right on schedule.

Lucas wiped his face with his forearm and walked up to her. “Are we done yet?”

“Afraid not.”

He blinked. “There’s more?”

She hid a smile. Lucas looked rumpled, and his eyes had glazed over. She hated to admit it, but she liked seeing him out of his element and off-balance like this. It reassured her that he was, in fact, human. “Yes. I’m afraid so. I still need to moderate the questions.”

He checked his watch. “But it’s seven o’clock. When do you get off?”

“Nine tonight. As a result, I don’t have to go into work tomorrow until noon.”

“Do you normally work those kind of hours?”

“Not typically. But I volunteered to help Kinsley out this week.” She shrugged. “I’ve been working a lot of extra hours since my breakup with Scott. It helps to keep busy.”

Not that she meant to share that particular information with him. Or anyone, for that matter.

His forehead wrinkled in a frown. “You shouldn’t just be holed up in this hotel, Elena…”

She held in a sigh. There Lucas went again, giving out more of his unasked-for advice about how she should be living her life. Little did he know that she hated going home every night to her empty apartment, hated that she had no life outside work, and hated, more than anything else, being alone.

“There are cookies over there that Chef Rick made,” she said, pointing. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and start serving them to the guests?”

He mock saluted her. “Aye aye, madam. And nice deflect, by the way.”

She rolled her eyes then went over to the microphone she had already set up. “Hello and welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to our third day of Christmas Trivia Night. I see a lot of return visitors from yesterday in our midst. Sorry to disappoint, but we don’t repeat questions here.”

There was a groan from the audience.

“I’m so glad you all could join us anyway,” she said brightly. “I see we have three teams even if they are a bit uneven. But if you’re okay with that then…”

An older woman, Mrs. Hawthorne, if she remembered, raised her hand. “We’ll take him for our team.”

Elena looked to where the woman was pointing and swallowed a giggle. Lucas stood frozen with a deer-in-the-headlights look in his eyes.

Oh, this should be good.

“How about it, Lucas?” Elena said with grin. “You up for some trivia tonight?”

Before Lucas could shake his head no, Mrs. Hawthorne was already up and out of her seat, pulling him to where her team was stationed. His searing gaze found hers from across the room and it pretty much emanated You-Owe-Me-Big-Time-For-This.

But Elena wasn’t worried. She felt he was just about starting to try to make up for what he’d done to her, and they were still far from being even. “Great. The teams are more balanced now.” She took the sheet of trivia questions from her bag of supplies. “Let’s start with an easy one. What is the most popular item to put on top of a Christmas tree?”

To her surprise, Lucas’s hand shot up first. “Um, okay, Mr. Albright, what’s your guess?”

He waggled his eyebrows at Mrs. Hawthorne then answered. “Angel.”

Elena looked at her answer sheet. Huh. He was right. She would have sworn the answer would be star. “Wow, that’s correct. Great job.” And lucky guess. “Team C, you’ve just gained a point.”

Mrs. Hawthorne and the rest of her team clapped. “I knew he’d be a ringer!” she shouted with delight.

And ringer Lucas indeed turned out to be.

After forty-five minutes of questions, Team C was ahead by ten points thanks to one I-need-to-work-on-my-Christmas-spirit Lucas Albright. Who knew? Elena had thought for sure the New York City playboy would be knee-deep in holiday misery by now and ready to run back to his swanky city apartment, considering the reaction he had to the Christmas events he’d seen when he’d first checked in. Instead, Lucas appeared to be in his element and enjoying himself. He was even double fisting two hot chocolates. With extra whipped cream! Oh, now really…

Elena glanced at the question sheet and found one that she was sure he’d have a tough time answering. Just to be fair to the other guests, of course. “Hey, everyone, since Team C is in the lead, how about we do one last question that will be worth ten whole points?”

There was nodding and a few “awesomes” that came from the other two teams, so she felt she was good to go. She licked her lips and then read. “What was the most popular toy of 1984?”

Elena couldn’t help it. Her gaze automatically landed on Lucas. His brow was furrowed, and he appeared to be thinking as his teammates looked to him for help in answering. He took a careful sip of his hot chocolate as if it might give him the answer. Ha! She had him. Finally.

A young boy from Team B raised his hand. “Rubik’s Cube?” he answered.

Elena snapped her fingers. “Oh, sorry, bud. Rubik’s Cube was popular in the 80’s, but that’s not the correct answer.”

Then all of a sudden Lucas got a gleam in his eyes as he gazed up at her, and Elena’s stomach dropped. Oh, no. He couldn’t know the answer. Could he?

He raised his hand, and she sighed. “Yes, Mr. Albright?”

His lips shifted into a devilish grin and that’s when she knew he had won before he even opened his mouth. “The Cabbage Patch doll,” he answered.

Elena had already peeked at the answer, so she didn’t need to glance down a second time. Instead, she nodded grimly, and Team C went wild just as Kinsley walked into the room.

“Congratulations Team C.” Elena’s voice was a dry monotone. Sorry. But it was kind of hard to muster enthusiasm when she was witnessing Lucas getting congratulatory handshakes and pats on the back from the competing guests. “Just hang on a few more minutes and you’ll be able to claim your prizes,” she told the winning team.

“Wow,” Kinsley said, walking up to her, eyeing the laughter. “Trivia Night seems especially lively tonight.”

Elena stuffed the sheet of questions back into her bag. “Oh, yeah,” she muttered. “It’s been a real hoot and a half.” She then unceremoniously handed Kinsley the microphone and stormed over to Lucas.

Lucas stood waiting for her to approach with a mocking grin, eyes glittering. “You,” he chided lightly, “were trying to get me and my team to lose.”

Elena snorted. “I was not. I was—” Oh, heck with it. Why pretend otherwise? “Okay, just how did you know the answer to that last question?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “I have a toy manufacturer as a client, and I recently needed to study trends going back fifty years.”

Figures. “But what about all that other Christmas trivia you knew?”

“Did I ever mention I’m a trivia buff?”

She folded her arms and glared at him. “Funny, but no, you never mentioned that.”

“Oh. Well, I am. I’m also highly competitive if you haven’t noticed,” he said, cracking his knuckles.

She sighed. Why was she not surprised? Of course Mr. Know-It-All would have a fondness for trivia.

He gave her a sheepish grin. “Are you mad at me for not telling you this before?”

No. I’m mad at you for breaking up my engagement. She turned away, about to head to the refreshment table, but Lucas took hold of her arm.

“We still need to talk,” he reminded her.

Right. The real reason Lucas was even here at Trivia Night had completely slipped her mind. Might as well get it over with. The sooner Lucas got out whatever was on his mind, the sooner he’d be out of her hair and back in New York.

She gestured to the sitting area across the hall. “Five minutes,” she told him firmly.

He followed her and once she sat, he flopped down next to her, his long legs brushing hers. She didn’t like her space being invaded and shifted over, although there still wasn’t enough space between them for her comfort. Lucas was an imposing figure at well over six feet tall, and the heat she felt every time his body brushed up against hers was making her extra jittery. So she decided to stand and move to the chair farthest away from him.

“So what’s this position you want to tell me about?” she asked.

He scanned the hotel lobby then leaned in. “I saw one of your drawings. The Santa on the Jet Ski. It’s good.”

A little thrill that he had complimented her work was soon doused with anger when she realized what that meant. “How dare you go through my things,” she seethed.

“Easy does it.” He held up a hand. “I didn’t go through your belongings.”

“Oh, really? Then how would you have seen that picture? X-ray vision, Superman?”

“I found it on the floor back at the condo. It must have slipped out of your sketchbook. I’m sorry. I know it’s private, but you need to know you really do have talent.”

Her cheeks were on fire, and she had to look away. Hearing Lucas Albright say such nice things about her sketches was weakening her resolve to dislike him. Just a little bit. After all, he didn’t have to share that with her. “Thanks, but that’s just your opinion.”

“What if I told you that my boss happens to think you have talent as well?”

Elena stared at Lucas.

He cleared his throat. “And that we’d like to buy your drawings for an ad campaign we’re working on?”

She saw his lips move. Even heard the words come out of them as clear as day. But they just wouldn’t translate into anything that made sense. “Wait. Your company wants to buy my artwork?”

He nodded. “You’d be paid well, too. This is a great opportunity for you, Elena. Who knows where it could lead? Maybe a full-time job with us. Plus, on a personal level, it would mean a lot to me if you’d say yes.”

That last sentence snapped her back to reality. “Why would it mean a lot to you?”

He shifted, clearing his throat a few times. “I’m working on the ad campaign that wants to use your work.”

So, that’s why he was here in Cape Harmony. It had nothing to do with Christmas spirit. He needed her sketches. Fat chance.

She tapped a finger against her lips. “Let me get this straight. You want me to sign over the rights to my drawings in order for you to complete your ad campaign?”

He hesitated. “Well, yes, but I think it’s really the best thing you could do for your career and I—”

“No.”

“No?”

He looked so taken aback she wanted to laugh. Good. He didn’t know her as well as he thought. “Lucas, listen to yourself. You don’t even sound remorseful that you violated my privacy by showing my pictures to your boss. You had no right to do that without my permission.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. I know, but like I—”

“And not only that, but this is another example of you presuming to know what is best for me, my career, and my life. Well, you were wrong about Scott and me, and you’re wrong about this. I don’t care how important it is to you or your company. I won’t do it.” She stood, desperate to end this conversation, desperate for air.

He jumped up, too, his expression hardening. “Elena, you’re being stubborn. Besides, I helped you today, so how about helping me now? For old times’ sake. And helping yourself while you’re at it.”

“Yeah, see, that’s the thing. I have no desire to help you. I barely like you.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’ve made that more than clear, and I’m sure my pride is somewhere and hasn’t been completely decimated. But this goes beyond what I want.” He leaned so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. Her skin prickled. “Elena, despite what you feel about me, don’t be afraid to take a chance on your talent.”

“I—I’m not afraid.”

But in truth…she was. His proposition scared her. She’d only known working at the hotel ever since she was in high school. It was safe. She felt in control. And it was comforting, like a favorite sweater. Although…every once in a while that sweater felt tight.

“I have to go,” she said, finding it hard to take a breath.

He reached out, brushed his hand over hers. “Think about it, Elena. This could be your future.”

Future. She thought of Scott, her potential marriage to him, and the loneliness she’d been feeling ever since their breakup. The life she’d dreamed about didn’t involve hot shot ad campaigns in New York City. It involved staying in Cape Harmony—where she always felt secure and in control—so she ultimately shook her head. “I’m sorry, Lucas. It’s not the future I want.”