She was probably thinking they made a much better photo now, lying so close and gazing into each other’s eyes. But all Lucas could think about was what her sun-warmed lips would taste like. The wedding kiss seemed like a distant memory and Kate had been shell-shocked. What would a slow, lingering kiss feel like here on the beach, under the sun with the salted breeze stroking their skin?

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Because I want to pull you in my arms and give that man a lensful. “We’re honeymooners, remember?”

She pulled her lip between her teeth. “Oh. Right. And we just had our first tiff. Maybe we should kiss and make up.”

With the sun shining into her face, the flecks in her eyes danced. “It’s a thought,” he said.

“Okay, go ahead.” She tilted toward him. Her eyes skimmed his face and fell on his lips.

He grinned, leaning over her until his shadow blocked the sun from her face. “I have permission now, huh?”

She touched his jaw. “What?”

“Are you sure it’s on the list for today?” he teased.

She twitched her eyebrow. “You sure know how to ruin the mood.” Was her voice a little breathy?

“There was a mood?” Before she could answer, he closed the space between them and kissed her slowly, reveling in the way she reciprocated. His hand settled on her side where her silky bathing suit clung to the curve of her waist.

For a moment he let himself forget she was only responding for the camera. He remembered every time he’d seen her leaving her office, every time he watched her walk down the sidewalk, hair swishing with each step. Every time she knocked on his shop door late at night to complain about the noise.

All those times I wanted to grab her and kiss the living daylights out of her.

Kate pulled away from him, breaking his thoughts. “There. He should’ve gotten plenty of good photos.”

The cold wave of her words doused the mood. Trying for nonchalance, he turned onto his back and closed his eyes, hoping she couldn’t see his heart thundering against his chest wall. He’d wanted the kiss to be more than show. He wanted it to be real.

You got yourself into this, man.

“Is he still there?” she asked.

They’d only started playing the game, and already he’d tired of it. “I don’t know.” And he wasn’t going to look.

“I guess we shouldn’t look.”

He felt her hand, delicate against his own.

She’s just pretending. Don’t forget that.

“Let’s talk about your parents. I need to know anything that will help me understand their problems.”