“What are they looking at?” Luke said, scowling. “You haven’t told anyone, have you?”
“No, of course not.” A small lie considering she’d told Christie. But then Christie’s knowing didn’t count. “I told them we’re friends.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Friends are allowed to have lunch together, Luke.”
He didn’t say anything to that, only commenting, “I thought you could choose where we went.”
The offer surprised her considering how much control he liked to exert over what he did. “Okay. Well, what do you think about lunch in Albert Park?”
“But there aren’t any cafes in Albert Park.”
“I’m not talking about a café. We could buy some sandwiches and sit on the grass.”
Luke blinked. “Sit? On the grass?”
No wonder he seemed horrified. Lolling around on the grass catching a few rays wasn’t exactly Luke’s style. Marisa grinned, then threaded her arm through his. She was being naughty, but then sometimes Luke could use a little naughty. “Yeah, come on. You’re not scared of a little grass, are you?”
Luke frowned. “Certainly not.”
They bought sandwiches and hot chocolates to go at a nearby sandwich bar, then made their way up to Albert Park, a large green space in the middle of city. It was dotted with huge old pohutukawa trees, fountains, and artworks, and due to its proximity to both the university and the central business district, it tended to be full of a mix of students and businesspeople, sitting on benches or lying on the grass.
Marisa found her and Luke a nice spot near one of the trees, and was about to flop down on the ground when Luke said, “Wait. What about a bench?”
“I thought you weren’t scared of a bit of grass.”
“I’m not. But you’ll get stains on your pretty dress.”
She glanced down at herself and the white cotton sundress she’d put on that morning. It was true: white didn’t really mix well with sitting on the ground. Touched that he’d thought about her and also that he liked her dress, she said, “I guess we could find a bench.”
“No, you wanted the grass.” He stood for a minute, brow creased. Then abruptly he took off his suit jacket and spread it out on the ground. “There. You can sit on that.”
She stared at him. Surely he didn’t mean that? She knew how important having his jacket all in order was to him, because every day when he came home from work, the first thing he did was take off his suit and hang it up so it remained perfectly pressed. He was a tidy kind of guy and she respected that, even if she didn’t understand it.
“But…it’ll get dirty.”
“I’ll get it dry-cleaned afterward.” And when she hesitated, he gestured toward it again. “Go on, sit.”
So she did, tucking up her dress around her, watching from underneath her lashes as Luke, after hesitating, pulled at his trousers and sat next to her, legs outstretched in front of him.
Strange man. He could be so detached sometimes and yet he was capable of caring. And of being quite romantic.
Not that she wanted romance, of course. She had sex, and that was enough. She didn’t need romance, too.
“So,” she said, getting out her lettuce and tomato sandwich. “What’s with the lunch thing?”
“I thought we should talk.” Luke fastidiously folded the paper bag around his ham roll.
“Uh-huh. About what? The baby?”
“Actually I thought we should talk about ourselves. Get to know each other a little better. We’re going to be bringing up a child together and yet we know next to nothing about each other.”
“Au contraire. I know you don’t like Volvos, you enjoy having sex on car bonnets, and you like driving fast. How am I doing so far?”
His dark brows drew together. “I don’t mean those kinds of things. I mean your hopes and your dreams. What you want for the future.”
“Sounds like a job interview. Shall I tell you what my biggest weaknesses are and where I see myself in ten years’ time, too?”
Luke regarded her for a long moment. “Why do you do that all the time? Make things into a joke?”
Oh hell. Marisa looked away, uncomfortable. He always seemed to notice when she tried to deflect things and he always called her on it. “I don’t mean to. I…” She stopped, trying to figure out why she was so uneasy. “Is this because you want to know about me or only because I happen to be the mother of your child and it seems appropriate?”
The frown on his face didn’t lift, and he was obviously giving her question consideration. “Both, I think.”