Squish. She wanted to be wrong, but Julia couldn’t help the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach warning her that something about this whole thing with Luke was still off. Maybe that had more to do with her than with him. Even if it turned out he was as real as it gets and was not lying to her, she was lying to him. Or, if not lying, then withholding relevant information. And wasn’t that also a form of lying? If she was being honest, yes, it was—which meant she’d been lying to him as well.

Julia could come clean right now, tell him about TrendList, explain how she was the one here to do a story on the resort—and oh, by the way, she’d been letting her friend pretend to play that role—but something held her back. Maybe it was because she sensed Luke was still holding something back, too.

Or maybe it was because she feared that none of it mattered anyway. She’d known, going in, that this whole thing was supposed to be a fantasy. No matter what she might be feeling right now, in less than two days she’d be back in Chicago, and who knows what would happen then? She should just embrace the moment and have fun.

Deciding to do just that, Julia did what she’d meant to do a few minutes ago, before everything went off the rails. She got on her tiptoes and kissed Luke.

“Are we okay?” Luke asked.

“Okay.” She nodded, warmth stealing through her again as she recalled the last time he’d asked her that question. She was okay for now, and she convinced herself that was enough. Decision made, Julia led Luke back through the crowd of people, over to where she’d been sitting with her friends. Kat was absent but Andie was still there, bobbing a soccer ball on her knee. “What’d I miss?”

“What’d I miss?” Andie shot back. “I’d say I wasn’t spying on you, but I totally was. What was going on with you two and the GM?”

Julia hesitated, not sure what to say. It wasn’t exactly her secret to tell.

“Oh, you mean my sister?” Luke asked.

Well, that took care of that.

“The game master is your sister?” Andie asked. She dropped the soccer ball and it went rolling.

Stretching one long leg out, Luke stopped the ball’s progress. He handed it back to Andie, glancing around. “I’d prefer you keep this information to yourself, if that’s all right.”

“Sure.” Andie bounced the ball on her knee again. “It’s none of my business.” She stopped, dark eyes sharp and unyielding, as she added, “Just don’t hurt my friend.”

In the awkward silence that followed, Kat returned, accompanied by Zach. “Look who I found!” she declared.