Chapter 21
Kayla hadn’t been idle during her trip to Jolsa for the divorce. In between everything, she carved out time to sketch a rough layout for the renovation of Luke’s three–story villa in Evening Breeze.
The concept was clean and elegant without losing warmth. It aligned with popular aesthetics while still maintaining Kayla’s signature style.
When Luke saw it, he didn’t say much. He just gave her a thumbs–up emoji.
He really was true to his word. From the start, he said he had no preferences, and he meant it. Still, Kayla thought that wasn’t how things should be.
A house was meant to be lived in, and only when the owner was personally involved did it start to mean something. That was how cold steel and concrète became a home.
So, after returning to Astra, Kayla tried several times to meet with Luke in person. But every time she asked, he’d say he was busy. If she pressed further, he’d just say, “It’s your call. However you design it is fine.”
Eventually, he even had someone deliver the villa keys and entry cards to her studio.
Left with no choice, Kayla could only rely on her impressions of Luke to guess what he might like, reworking draft after draft to get the details just right. A week after returning from Jolsa, word finally got out that Kayla was officially divorced. Laura, predictably, showed up at her door to introduce her to a new prospect.
What followed was two hours of coaxing, lecturing, and emotional blackmail. Kayla figured if she said no one more time, she’d be accused of being an ungrateful, heartless disgrace to the family.
She didn’t even get a WhatsApp contact–just an address. Laura said there was no need for a code word or secret signal.
“You’ll know who it is, Just look around the cafe. The most handsome guy there? That’s your date.”
Kayla had only agreed on the condition that the man knew she was divorced. She wasn’t jumping into a new relationship anytime soon, but if they were going to sit down for a blind date, they at least needed to be honest about where they stood.
She showed up at the appointed time and place. It was a vintage–style cafe with a rustic, old–school charm. She scanned the room–no ridiculously handsome guy stood out. But to her surprise, she did spot Luke, the guy she’d tried to meet up with several times without success.
What a coincidence.
With a smile plastered across her face, Kayla walked right up to Luke. “Mr. Kingston, what are the odds?”
Luke had been glued to his phone, but as soon as he heard her voice, he looked up. There wasn’t a flicker of surprise on his face–he simply called her name out loud and clear.
“Hey, Kayla.”
“You really are hard to track down. I’ve been trying to reach you, and here you are, just sitting here.”
Kayla glanced around the cafe. It wasn’t very crowded, and including Luke, there were only four men in sight.
One was a middle–aged guy with a receding hairline and glasses, another was chatting with his girlfriend, and the third had more makeup on than she did.
If she were to rank by looks, Luke was the clear winner.
After figuring her blind date had bailed, Kayla casually sat down across from Luke.
“Are you waiting on someone? While you’ve got a minute, let’s go over the design plan,” she said.
As she spoke, Kayla pulled her iPad out of her bag, opened the design, and slid it across the table to him.
“Mr. Kingston, do you have any thoughts on the color scheme for the bedroom? If this place is meant to be a marital home, it’s usually best to run it by your fiancee. Women tend to care more about the colors in a house.”
Kayla was pretty sure she sounded completely professional, but Luke didn’t say a word.
“Mr. Kingston?” She looked up, and their eyes met. Kayla’s patience started to wear thin–she was out here trying to do her job, and Luke was just staring at her?
“Mr. Kingston, this is your house, and I take my job seriously. Since you’ve hired me, I feel like it’s my responsibility to—”
Suddenly, Luke cut her off. “Kayla, who were you supposed to meet here?”
“What?” Kayla blinked, thrown off by the question. It felt like they were having two completely different conversations.
“Does it really matter who I was meeting?” she asked.
“Yeah.” Luke nodded seriously. “It matters.”
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