By the time Luke rapped on the window of my car, I was so excited to see him I was practically bouncing in my seat. I hurried out of the car and then he had his arms around me, holding me, kissing me. Even in one short week, I’d come to miss this. I’d missed him. So much.
We took his car, and while he drove, I kept sneaking glances at him. He’d obviously changed after his shift. He was wearing jeans and a gray hoodie. That probably just meant we were going some place casual. That was okay with me. He always found the best food whether the restaurant was plain or fancy.
Luke talked a little as he drove, and he sounded really tired. The extra hours he’d been putting in at the hotel had cut into his studying time, and he was worried that he’d done poorly on a recent test. I listened sympathetically and then started to share my news. I was excited about a new program I was instituting at my workplace, an advisory board made up of representatives from the residents. But I’d barely begun when Luke turned into a parking space. “We’re here.”
Looking up, I saw an unfamiliar building. “What’s this?”
“My buddy works here,” Luke said, gesturing toward an overhang with a place for cars to pull up in front of the entryway to a lobby. It was a hotel, a bit larger than Luke’s.
“And it has a restaurant?”
“No,” Luke said. “It’s not big enough for that. But Hank has a spare room we can use without the barracuda interrupting us.”
He got out of the car and opened my door. Wait, we weren’t going to dinner first? Disappointment flooded me. I’d been waiting all week to see him. To talk to him. But then I stood up, and I was in his embrace, his mouth was on mine. I closed my eyes as he plunged one hand into my hair. I melted against him. Suddenly, I wasn’t hungry any more, at least not for food.
“That was amazing,” I said, cradled in the crook of Luke’s arm. It was wonderful to be with him without someone constantly pounding on the door trying to get in.
“You were amazing,” Luke said, and I could hear the fatigue in his voice. He tilted his head down and kissed me on the forehead.
“I’m so glad you had time to get together tonight,” I said, and I felt Luke nod in agreement. “I just—I mean, I knew you were busy. But it was really hard not seeing you last week. I missed you. I missed talking to you in the evenings and eating with you at the end of your shift. I just missed… hanging out, you know? Even if we weren’t doing anything special. Do you think that now that the conference is over, and your test, too, do you think we could hang out a little more?”
Suddenly hesitant, I paused. Had he missed me, too? Or had he just missed this, the sex? “Luke?” I twisted around until I was laying on my side. Luke’s face was still. His ripped chest rose and fell in slow, deep breaths.
He was asleep.
Chapter 9
“MMM … PORK CHOPS,” I said, doing my best Homer Simpson imitation. It was five days later, and I was in the dining room, eating with one of the newest resident of Hampton Acres.
“Food’s not bad,” Mrs. Townsend admitted, taking a bite of her loaded baked potato.
“I told you,” I said. “What time do you play bridge today?”
“At two. And then again after dinner. But I still have time to beat you at gin if you’d like.”
I laughed. I’d known she’d like it here. “Maybe another day.”
“How’s Luke doing?” she said.
That made my smile fade. It was something I’d like to know, too. “He’s okay, I guess. Really busy with his classes.” I said this casually, but Mrs. T. knew me pretty well.
She gave me a sharp look. “What’s going on?”
Nothing. That was the honest answer. Pretty much nothing was going on between us. We’d spent the night together in that hotel a week ago. In the morning, we’d shared a quick breakfast before he drove me back to my car. We hadn’t really talked about much of anything. And this week, we’d exchanged a few texts. But things weren’t like they used to be.
And I was mad at him and mad at myself. This was why it was a bad idea to get involved with friends. Before, I had a wonderful friend in Luke. Someone to talk to. To laugh with. To share how my day went. Now I didn’t have any of that.
He’d texted last night. Late. At the end of his shift, asking if he could see me. At ten o’clock at night, he wanted to stop by? There was a name for that. A booty call. Just like last week And that wasn’t what I wanted. Sex with Luke was great, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted him. The guy I’d been friends with. The guy I’d looked forward to seeing all day. I wasn’t sure where that guy had gone, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to materialize at the end of a long day of classes and work. So I’d messaged him back that it wasn’t a good time.
“We’ve texted,” I finally answered. “He’s been spending a lot of time working. And studying. He has another big test.” But actually, that was supposed to have been a few days ago. “I mean … he had a big test.”
Mrs. T. didn’t say anything for a few minutes while we finished our meal. Finally, she said, “My money’s on the two of you making it work.”
“Thanks,” I said, and the unexpected understanding in her voice had me holding back tears. I wished I could feel as confident, but it was my old nightmare. I’d had a good friend, and I’d tried to upgrade him to a boyfriend. And now I didn’t have either one. Luke had been a pretty incredible friend, too.
“After all, you get things done. You got me here.”
That made me cheer up a little. After she’d agreed to help us out the day of Luke’s great escape, I’d called up my coworker and asked her to pull out all the stops for Mrs. T.’s visit.
It wouldn’t have worked without John. He’d driven Mrs. T. over, but then she’d refused to come in, saying she’d wait in the shuttle until it was safe to go back. John had thought quickly and told her that if she didn’t come in, I might get in trouble for sending out the shuttle, or possibly be fired. If Mrs. T. had been our secret agent that day, John had been the double agent. I owed them both.
“I knew you’d fit in here,” I said. “Just think, you could’ve moved in six weeks ago if you’d taken me up on my offer to tour the place earlier.”
“Yeah? And if I’d visited before that, would there also have been a tray of pastries, my favorite kind of tea, and a bridge game short a player about to start?”
Damn—I thought she’d chalked that up to coincidence. “Well, it got you to move in here, didn’t it?”
“No,” she said.
“Really? Then what made you change your mind about this place?”
Mrs. T. stood up and picked up her tray. “John,” she said. “He’s a cutie.” And then she winked and walked away.
That evening when I entered my new apartment, it finally felt like home. The furniture was all where I wanted it. I’d gotten my living room and kitchen unpacked, though the bedroom still needed a lot of work.
It was a little before nine. After changing into a t-shirt and jeans, I padded out to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and sighed. I’d unpacked all my pots and pans, but I hadn’t gotten into a cooking mood yet. Perhaps I’d been spoiled by all those nights of takeout. But I was trying not to think about that. Because it wasn’t the food I was missing. It was Luke.
A rather uninspiring container of raspberry yogurt looked to be my best bet. I grabbed it and closed the fridge. It snapped shut with an unusually loud bang. I stared at it stupidly for a moment, but when the sound came again, I realized it was the door. Nobody’d knocked on it since the movers left.
I hurried to the door but didn’t open it. Unlike the hotel, there wasn’t a peephole. “Who is it?”
“Got an order of Lithuanian food for Ms. Darcy Squires,” said a familiar voice. What on earth?
Shaking my head to clear away the confusion, I pulled the door open. And there he was, a smile on his face, looking as he did all those nights when he’d greeted me from the other side of the front desk. There was no difference except he had a l
arge, insulated bag slung over one arm.
“Hi,” I said, still shocked that Luke was here. He wore his white button-down dress shirt and black jeans and looked so good he nearly took my breath away. As I stood back to let him in, and managed to start breathing again, the aroma hit me—a pleasant but slightly unfamiliar smell. It brought to mind hearty food like meat, potatoes, and spices suitable for cold winter nights.
Luke looked extra tall standing in my living room holding the thick bag. “Nice place,” he said, looking around. And I thought so, too. It wasn’t decorated yet, but the living room was comfortable and cozy. “This is for you,” Luke said, and I took the heavy bag from him, bringing it into the kitchen.
Opening it, I saw several boxes with a handwritten sign on them: Liudvika’s Lithuanian Delights. “I thought you were kidding. Where on earth did you get that?”
“There’s a married couple up in tiny little Freemont, of all places. They immigrated here, and I’d heard that they sometimes cooked elaborate feasts for their neighbors. So I got in touch with them.”
“But that’s like a hundred miles away, isn’t it? You drove all that way?”
“Took a couple hours off of work. But finding good takeout is one of my superpowers. You said Lithuanian was what you wanted, so it’s my job to get it for you.” The twinkle in his eye sent delicious shivers radiating across my skin, but I couldn’t relax and enjoy his banter. Not until I knew what his being here meant. “Anyway, they gave me heating instructions. It shouldn’t take long.”
He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me to read while he set the containers on the counter.
“This isn’t in English,” I said, frowning at the unfamiliar characters.
“Shit, really?” Luke peered over my shoulder. He was so close I could feel the heat from his body.
“It’s okay. I think we can just put the food in a glass dish and stick it in the oven for a little while.”
“Good idea,” he said. Once it was in, I set the timer and turned to look at him. But then I didn’t know what to say. He watched me carefully, like he was assessing my mood. Finally, he sighed. “Let’s talk.”
Luke took my hand and led me to the living room. He sat on the sofa and patted the spot next to him, but I settled a foot or two away, sitting sideways so I could face him.
“You’re pissed I haven’t been around,” Luke said, immediately sending me into protest mode.
“I know you have your classes. And I know work’s been busy.”
“Okay, let me rephrase that.” His gaze was so intent, and his eyes seemed even bluer than the last time I’d seen him. “You’re hurt because I haven’t been around.”
I thought about that for a bit. It was one hundred percent true, but did I want to admit that to him? But at this point, I didn’t have much left to lose. “Yes,” I said simply.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know you’ve got a lot on your plate right now.”
“Yeah, I really do. That week after I got stuck in your room, I went to see a counselor at my college. Asked her if there was any way I could take an overload of classes next semester and graduate in May, not December. She said the only way to get approval for an overload was if I got a Grade Point Average of at least 3.75 this semester. So I studied my ass off for those tests, or at least I tried to, but then we had that conference and everything was batshit crazy at work. I was averaging less than four hours of sleep per night, and I was fucking exhausted.”
I reached over and took his hand, holding it tightly in mine as he continued. “I missed you so much, but it wasn’t until you turned me down last night that I realized what I’d done. That I’d abandoned you right at the beginning of our relationship. That’s the last thing I intended to do. I’m so sorry, Darcy.”
Still clutching his hand, I focused on one thing he’d said. Not that he missed me. Not sorry. But relationship. Did he truly want one? I had to know. “Do you want a relationship, Luke? It’s okay if you don’t. I—I mean, we didn’t talk about anything before we jumped into the physical stuff in my room. If you don’t, I understand.”
“I don’t think you do,” Luke said, and he picked up my other hand, so that our arms made a circle. “You’re the most amazing girl I’ve ever met. You’re smart, and funny, and I loved hanging out with you all those nights. You have to know that,” he said, and for a long moment, I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. A tear drifted down my cheek as I listened to him.
“You have no idea how put together you are, Darcy. The work you do at that retirement center—you’re only twenty-five and you have a career. You have two degrees. You’re doing what you want to be doing. That’s why I talked to the counselor. I want that for myself. To have my degree and to get a position I’m passionate about. Because that’s the kind of man you deserve.”
Did he really think that? Didn’t he know that the guy I fell for was the night manager at a cheap hotel with a horrific boss? I wanted Luke for who he was when we were together, not who he could be when we were apart. Haltingly, I tried to explain this to him until he jumped in.
“But I’m ready, Darcy. Ready to be done with school and start a real career. Ready to have a real life—one with you in it. And I know I fucked things up with you, but these past two weeks, I’ve just been barely keeping my head above water. It was the most insanely busy period of my life. But I should have talked with you about it. Told you more about what was going on, so that you knew why I was being so distant.”
His blue eyes examined me intently. “I’m so sorry I did that to you. You probably thought I was just after one thing.”
I looked down at our joined hands. His gaze was just too intense. Finally, I nodded. “Last week, at your friend’s hotel, that was … that felt like …”
“Like a booty call?”
“Yeah.”
“I know I fucked that up. I was just so exhausted, and then you were there, and you looked so damn beautiful in your purple dress. And you smelled incredible … I was just so glad to see you. I’d missed you, and then I was kissing you, and, well, I guess I completely skipped over the talking part.”
“Yeah, you did.” I said, and now I looked up at him. “But the other part was pretty hot.”
“It was. But that’s not what I want. I mean, well, yeah, it is what I want… but only if it comes with the whole package. You. Me. Dating. Dining together. Talking together. And then having wildly inventive sex.”
A laugh slipped out of me at that last phrase. “You do have a way with words,” I said, and one corner of his mouth curved upward in a half-smile. “But you know, it wasn’t just your classes or your schedule. Before, I was staying right there in your hotel. We saw each other every night. Of course things are going to be different now that I’m not there all the time. It’s going to take some effort for us to make this work. If you truly want to, I mean. Are you sure, Luke? You have a lot going on right now.”
“I’m positive. I want you, Darcy. I want a relationship with you. No matter how busy it gets. I’ll do better, now that midterms are over. I promise. Will you give me another chance?”
“Of course,” I said, and now I could feel more tears rolling down my face. “This is what I want—I just wasn’t sure you did, too.”
“I do,” he said, and he gathered me up in his arms, pulling me onto his lap. When his head tilted down, I closed my eyes. His lips met mine with sweet pressure. I wrapped my arms around his neck and sank against his body. Relief filled me. He wanted this. He wanted to be with me. As more than friends.
One kind of tension melted out of me while another kind built up. Our kiss deepened as he stroked my back, my hair. I could feel his hardness under my legs, and I wiggled around until I was straddling him.
But then a beeping came from the kitchen. The food was done heating.
Luke trailed his tongue over my bottom lip, pulled away slightly, and then kissed the corner of my mouth. “Feel better?” he murmured, and I
knew he wasn’t just referring to physical sensations.
“Yes,” I breathed back.
He released my hands and stood up. “Ready to try Lithuanian cuisine?”
“Sure,” I said, though it was hard to make my brain—and my hormones—return to such a mundane subject as food. Still, he had gone through so much trouble. “Seriously, did you really just find some random Lithuanian couple and get them to cook for us? How on earth did you do that?”
“I could tell you, but then you’d know too many of my superpowers,” he said with a smirk.
I laughed. He was still staring at me with a smug expression, but then that dissolved into a genuine smile. “That’s a bad thing?” I asked. “Are you afraid I’ll go all fangirl over your powers?”
Now it was his turn to laugh. “Wouldn’t want that to happen,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Or maybe I do.”
“Do what?”
“Do want you to go all fangirl, all crazy about me.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because I’m pretty damn crazy about you,” he said, and his mouth descended again. My heart soared as I met him halfway. I’d missed him so much. He was so funny, so kind, so much fun to be with. And now I knew that he’d missed me, too. It really seemed that this could work if we were both willing to try hard. That we could have a real relationship. It was all beginning to be pretty damn perfect, except …
“You know … we could put those dishes in the fridge. How do you feel about cold Lithuanian food?” I asked, unable to take my hands off him, but not wanting to dismiss his thoughtful gesture.
“It’s my favorite kind,” he said, and he kissed me again.
Hours later, we found out that Lithuanian takeout made a damn good midnight snack.
Tempting: A Cinderella Billionaire Story Page 36
