Laughing, I rinsed the bowl and placed it in the dishwasher.
“You’ve got a pretty busy day with… How many events?”
“Three, but one of them, we set up on Friday, and I don’t need to be there for it. The other one is a birthday party, and my assistant Lynn is handling most of that since I wanted to really focus on Greg’s. I just need to swing by and make sure everything is right.”
He tilted his head and watched me as I poured a cup of coffee. “You really love your job, don’t you?”
Nodding, I replied, “I do. I’ve always loved planning parties.”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this before, but you’re damn good at it. I’ve been to a few city functions you helped organize, and every time, people have bragged about how good you are at your job. The city Christmas luncheon last year for the employees who were retiring was stunning.”
“You were there?” I asked before I took a sip of the hot coffee.
“I was. My former director retired last year. I saw you a few times at the beginning, walking around with a clipboard and a little headset.”
My face heated. “I don’t often stay at the events unless I’m asked to. At bigger events like that, they want to make sure someone is there in case something goes bad.”
Lucas turned and flipped another pancake, then started to take the bacon out of the frying pan. I made my way over to the scrambled eggs and tended to them.
“What are your favorite events?”
I exhaled. “Oh, man, that’s a hard one. I think engagements are right up there with holiday parties.”
“Which holiday?”
“Any!” I said with a giggle. “There is something about the holidays that I just love.”
“Favorite holiday?” he asked, setting a plate full of pancakes on the island bar, followed by the bacon. I scooped the eggs out of the pan into a bowl Lucas had handed me.
“Halloween has always been one of my favorites.”
“It’s that witch inside of you,” he said with a wink.
“Maybe! Christmas is my second favorite. Then I would have to say, St. Patrick’s Day.”
Lucas laughed. “Why?”
We both sat down and started to make our plates. “Hello! No one can throw a party like the Irish. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done a St. Patrick’s Day event and have nearly gotten trashed during it. They’re always so fun.”
He nodded. “I’ve been to some pretty fun parties. Okay, which one next? Valentine’s Day?”
Screwing up my face, I shook my head. “I can’t stand that holiday.”
Lucas’s eyes went wide. “Why not?”
I gave a half-shoulder shrug and prayed he didn’t see the lie on my face. My prayer, unfortunately, went unanswered.
“You’re lying. Tell me why you don’t like it.”
“It’s nothing, Lucas.”
He reached for my hand. “Please.”
I looked down at my plate of food and moved the eggs around with my fork. Not looking up at him, I spoke. “Our freshman year of high school, they had a sign-up to send a rose to your special valentine.”
“I remember that. It stopped after that year, though, and I never found out why.”
My eyes jerked up to look at him. “You didn’t know?”