Lunch

It took a long time for both Lucas and Maya to calm down their thumping hearts and finally fall asleep, so they both ended up sleeping in the next day. By the time they woke up, it was already midday.

Maya opened a small gap in her door and peeked outside to see if the man was awake. After what happened the previous night, she didn't know how to face him. This man was her potential future brother-in-law and she was originally meant to act as her sister and get this man to fall in love with her, but why did it seem like this man had developed feelings for the real her instead? 

Was the man just teasing her like he always did? Was she just imagining things? Why was she slightly hopeful that his feelings were real?

Just as she was wondering this, she saw the man's bedroom door open slowly. A moment later, Lucas stepped out in a pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt. His hair was a little out of place but not messy. For some reason, Maya felt herself holding her breath. Perhaps, subconsciously she didn't want to be discovered gawking at him like she had never seen a man before.

Because the curtains were still drawn, the suite was still slightly dark so Lucas did not spot the woman. He walked over to the window, threw open the curtains, and looked out at the Las Vegas Strip. The midday sun shone into the suite, lighting up the man's handsome face and Maya felt her body warm up a little.

Maya finally breathed out. Was it the sun that made her feel warm? Or was it the man?

At that moment, she noticed the man's lips curve upwards slightly. In a deep, charming voice, he asked, "You must be hungry. You look like you're drooling..." He had spotted her.

Maya quickly jumped in surprise and reached for her mouth. It was dry. What was he talking about?

That was when she realized the man was teasing her and she had fallen for his trick. 

Trying to remain composed, she opened the door, walked over to the man's side, and also looked out the window. "The weather's good today. Can we go out for lunch?

"The Strip looks busy. It should be fine for us to leave the suite during the day, right?"

Maya did not hear the conversation between Lucas and Officer Grant the previous night, so she had no idea how much danger they were potentially in.

Lucas looked at the woman. He knew she was getting a little restless. After all, they had not left the suite since the previous day. Looking outside, he thought of something and his lips curved slightly. With a nod, he said, "Let's leave the suite for lunch. I know of a great restaurant nearby."

Maya looked at the man excitedly. "Really?" She didn't expect him to agree.

Quickly running to the bathroom, she yelled back in anticipation, "I'll just freshen up."

...

As they headed into the hotel elevator, Maya looked at Lucas and asked, "What kind of restaurant are we going to? Is it far from here? What are we eating?"

Although it had only been one day, it felt like forever since she left the hotel suite, so she was excited. Moreover, the last few times that Lucas took her somewhere, he had impressed her with the places he chose, so she was interested to see what he had planned.

However, Lucas simply smiled and replied, "It's not far from here at all."

The elevator door opened and Maya followed the man out. Las Vegas was an entertainment paradise and there were plenty of world-class restaurants along The Strip. When she originally booked her plane ticket out of Vegas, she actually felt it was quite a shame that she didn't get to explore more of the culinary scene. Now that she had been unexpectedly held back in this city, the only consolation was the opportunity to experience what she could have missed.

Lucas walked through the lobby of the hotel towards the spinning doors of the exit. He secretly snuck a smile and led the woman into the spinning door.

But...just as the door opened up to the outside world and Maya got ready to step out, Lucas suddenly grabbed her hand, pulled her back in and spun the door back to the lobby. They did a full circle and returned back to where they started...

Maya looked at the man in confusion. Why did he pull her back into the hotel?

With a smirk, Lucas led the woman down a corridor on the right side of the reception desk and pulled her into a golden elevator. This elevator was separate from the elevator used to access the hotel rooms and suites, and it only serviced one floor, so it didn't take long before it arrived at its destination and Lucas dragged her back out.

In front of them was a pair of large glass doors that seemed to open onto a balcony. Still holding onto Maya's hand, Lucas pushed open the glass doors and turned left.

Maya wanted to complain. Where was this man taking her? But when she saw the scene in front of her, she immediately opened her mouth in awe and smiled.

They were standing in an outdoor courtyard/balcony of some sort and there were beautiful lush green vines hanging from the roof. Underneath the vines, the floor was covered in fake turf and there were white tables, white chairs, a few cabanas, and even picnic rugs.

The beautiful scent from an outdoor kitchen located in the middle of the courtyard wafted into her nose and she naturally licked her lips. It smelled delicious. She glanced around at the guests that were already seated and saw that some of them had food in front of them, and they all looked beautifully presented.

They were inside the hotel's restaurant. Who knew this paradise existed up here?

Against the wall of the hotel, there was a bar, and on the edge of the courtyard, there was an infinity pool that appeared to drop off the side of the hotel. Maya looked out at the view. They appeared to be roughly 15 floors up and she could see the mountains in the distance.

This place was amazing.

But...she still felt a little cheated. Looking at the man and pouting her lips, she said, "I thought we were leaving the hotel for lunch..."

Lucas shook his head, "I told you we were leaving the suite for lunch. Not the hotel."

Maya rolled her eyes at the cheeky man. But as she looked away, she couldn't help but sneakily smile. Although he had tricked her, this restaurant was more amazing than she had imagined.