A Word of Praise
Chapter 29

Chris knew his friends were holding back a laugh about his current situation. Right after she left, he explained everything to the two unsupportive asses in front of him. From the ring theft to the kiss the night before. He didn't plan to spill the whole thing, but Luke was sort of a master in reading people and knew he was trying to bullshit his way out right from the beginning.

"Just say it already, I'm an idiot." He was feeling the judgmental stares and knew they would criticize his decision to bring her to his home.

"You are, but not for the reason you think."

"Oh yeah? Then why?"

"You can't expect to put yourself through four days of forced cohabitation with a woman like that and come out unharmed." Who uses 'forced cohabitation to describe a holiday trip? Well, Luke.

"I don't think she'll steal anything from the island; it was very specific..."

"Jesus, get your head out of your ass! She's not a thief, that's not what we are talking about!" Marcus intervened. Apparently, the two of them were ganging up against him. Great. "Then what the hell do you mean?"

"Let me put it in simple terms so you can understand." Luke was always an arrogant jackass. But a damn good friend, most of the time. "She's beautiful."

"And hot." Marcus felt the need to contribute "And a damn good artist. If I'm not mistaken, she was able to get your fucking soul turned on last night. I swear I never saw you like that." "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Chris, you'll fall for that girl," Luke stated.

"I will most certainly not. You haven't properly met her yet; she is a pain in the ass. I swear to you, it seems like her number one hobby is to get under my skin."

His so-called friends shared a knowing look that only served to annoy Chris even further. And they were wrong.

"She's a thief. Don't you have opinions on that?"

"Man, get over the thief thing. She gave it back, didn't she? And you sent her to jail for something that costs you what? A week's work?" Marcus had a point; she did give it back rather quickly. And a night in a holding cell was more than enough punishment for that if he was being completely honest.

Then Luke murmured something too low to be heard but sounded a lot like 'it'll be hers soon anyway'. Chris wouldn't dignify him with an answer.

From all the bullshit his friends said, they got one thing right. She was hot. And after their kiss, he was definitely willing to look past the downsides of turning their relationship physical. Shit, he almost needed it. But she was ghosting him since it happened, so he'd have to change her mind.

"It's time to go get Amanda, she's preparing for landing," Luke interrupted his train of thought.

"Marcus, why don't you go with Luke?"

"Nah, I'm good. I don't want to experience their two-days-apart reunion."

"You bet you don't," Luke answered.

So he wouldn't have the privacy to go after Kiara at the moment. But it was fine, he had time. After all, she was trapped on an island with him.

When Chris heard the front door opening, he assumed Kiara was returning from her morning walk with Batman. It's been almost three hours since they left, and he was getting impatient.

"Finally!" He stood to get the door, but much to his dismay it was just Luke and Amanda.

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"Not happy to see me, Chris?" The brunette looked over her sunglasses with an amused expression.

"Sorry Mands! Come in, welcome"

"She's not back yet?" Luke questioned, holding his girlfriend's bag.

"No. Have you seen her outside?"

"Nope"

He began to worry that maybe she got lost or something else happened. It was a big island, and a lot could happen in three hours. But Batman was a smart boy, he knew his way back from pretty much anywhere. Unless... Chris climbed the stairs in a rush and opened the door to his room to replace his dog sleeping on his gigantic bed and Kiara laying on top of him playing on her phone.

"What the fuck, Kiara?" She turned to the door to look at him and smiled. That sly devil had the nerve to smile, after deliberately avoiding him for hours. He was positive she used the side stairs she discovered the night before and probably gave Batman a treat so he wouldn't bark. Crafty vixen.

"I'm chilling out with Batman."

"I can see that. When did you come back?"

"Not long ago. Did Luke's girlfriend arrive yet?"

"Yes, but..."

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"Then can we have lunch already? I'm starving."

"You ate less than three hours ago!" She couldn't possibly be playing the hungry card to avoid their conversation, could she?

"I talked to Gloria about having a barbecue. She said you used to do it a lot and I'm craving a nice steak."

It had been a while since he had a barbecue. God, he missed running the grill and having lunch dragging way into the afternoon over beer and music... That was low. She couldn't have known he missed it, but it was low anyway. He couldn't even remain angry with her now that his mind was somewhere else.

"Fine. Let's head down to get things started. But don't think I don't know what you are doing." He gave her a stern look and she had the guts to tilt her head, playing innocent.

They went downstairs with Batman on their tail. It wouldn't be a proper barbecue without the dog getting the occasional leftover. It was almost noon, so they had to get things started if they wanted to eat before one.

When they reached the living room, Marcus was the only one there. Luke was probably getting Amanda settled in their room. If he knew them well enough, it would probably take a long while for them to come down again. "Dickhead, it's barbecue day!" He shouted from across the hall.

"Fucking awesome! I'll start on the drinks."

"I'll help, I make a sick Moscow mule!" Kiara announced. How long did she plan on avoiding him? Not for long, if he had a say in it.