Page 45 of Vacation with the Ice Queen

Better to acknowledge that now than nurse foolish hopes.

The kettle whistled, its piercing shriek breaking her reverie. Lila poured steaming water over a ginger tea bag, watching the liquid darken as aroma filled the air. She had a full schedule today: Mr. Peterson's morning hike, Mrs. Abelman's meditation session, and paperwork for next week's retreat group. Real responsibilities that deserved her full attention, not this pointless circling around a kiss and shared intimacy that clearly meant more to her than it had to Serena.

The knock at her door startled her so badly she nearly dropped her mug.

No one from the staff visited her cottage this time of morning; everyone respected the unspoken boundaries between work and private space. For a wild moment, her heart leapt with the thought that perhaps Serena had changed her mind and had followed her home to continue their conversation.

But when she opened the door, it wasn't Serena standing on her small porch but Marcus, his usual easy smile replaced with uncharacteristic solemnity.

"Morning, sunshine," he said, though his expression didn't match the greeting. "Got a minute?"

Lila stepped back to let him in, a knot forming in her stomach at his serious tone. "What's wrong? Did something happen with the Peterson group?"

"No, nothing like that." Marcus entered, his tall frame making her cottage feel suddenly smaller. He glanced around, taking in the abandoned yoga mat, the half-drunk tea, the general disarray that spoke of her distracted state. "I just talked to Kai."

The knot in Lila's stomach tightened. "And?"

"And he mentioned seeing you and a certain CEO at the main pool last night." Marcus's voice held no judgment, just quiet concern. "Around midnight."

Heat climbed Lila's neck as she turned away, busying herself with straightening items on her counter that didn't need straightening. "We ran into each other. It's a small island."

"Uh-huh." Marcus leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms. "And did this accidental midnight meeting involve skinny dipping and fucking, or did Kai hallucinate that part?"

Lila's head snapped up, mortification flooding her. "He waswatchingus?"

"He was going on a walk after a meditation session." Marcus's voice softened. "Don't worry, he only told me because he was concerned. It won't go further."

Small mercies, but not enough to ease the horror of knowing their private moment had been observed. Lila sank onto a kitchen stool, covering her face with her hands. "God. This is so unprofessional."

The gentle pressure of Marcus's hand on her shoulder made her look up. His expression had shifted from concern to something closer to compassion. "Hey, I'm not here to judge. I just wanted to check if you're okay."

"I'm fine," she said automatically, then corrected herself with a sigh. "No, that's not true. I'm a mess."

Marcus pulled up the other stool, his lanky frame folding onto it as he studied her face. "What happened, Lila? And don't say 'nothing' because I know you better than that."

The simple kindness in his voice unraveled something in her. Words tumbled out—the midnight encounter, the kiss, this morning's retreat behind professional lines. Marcus listened without interruption, his expression cycling between surprise, concern, and occasional flashes of told-you-so that he was kind enough not to voice.

"So that's it," Lila finished, staring into her now-cold tea. "We're going back to being wellness coach and client. Like it never happened."

"Is that what you want?" Marcus asked carefully.

"It doesn't matter what I want. It's what makes sense." She traced the turtles on her mug with one finger. "She's leaving in eleven days. She has a company to run and a life that has nothing to do with island wellness retreats."

"And you're okay with that?"

Lila lifted her eyes to his skeptical face. "Does it matter if I'm okay with it? It's reality. We got caught up in a moment—moonlight, tropical island, proximity. Classic holiday fling fantasy except I actually live here and she's just passing through."

"That's not what I asked." Marcus leaned forward, hands clasped between his knees. "I asked if you're okay."

The distinction caught her off-guard. Was she okay? She'd spent so much energy analyzing the situation, the boundaries,and the practicalities that she hadn't really sat with the simpler question.

"No," she admitted quietly. "I'm not okay. I feel like I got a glimpse of something real with her, and now we're pretending it never happened. It's the right choice, but it still feels wrong."

Marcus nodded slowly. "Look, I'd be failing as your friend if I didn't point out the obvious pattern here. Brilliant, complicated woman with walls a mile high. Professional power imbalance. You giving more than you're getting."

"It's not like that this time," Lila protested, though the parallels with Sophie weren't entirely lost on her.

"Isn't it? You're already making excuses for her avoidance. Already accepting less than you want because it's 'what makes sense.'" He made air quotes with his fingers. "Tell me how that's different from what happened with Sophie."

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