Lucas was not a people person. That much had always been obvious. But it wasn't until the second day of their beach getaway, when Valentina tried to gently nudge him into striking up a casual conversation with literally anyone else on the beach, that she realized just how stubbornly resistant he was to the entire concept of socializing.

The sun was out in full force again, the salty air warmer than yesterday, the ocean gentler as it lapped against the shore. Val had woken up first, her limbs ...