“We wouldn’t want that.” He skimmed his lips along her neck, lingering on the spot below her ear before straightening up and stepping to her side. “Okay, what can I do to help?”
“Stop distractin’ me, and set the table.”
He laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”
He found two matching place settings and had everything set by the time the food was ready. “This looks good, Taylin,” Luke said as he helped her move the food to the table.
“I hope it tastes good.” She looked up at him and smiled. “We need to go shoppin’ some time to get a few spices every Southern kitchen needs to have.”
Her suggestion was completely ordinary, yet at the same time monumental. Luke stared at her and swallowed back a rush of emotions that hit him so hard he felt like a boat about to be swamped. He loved this woman and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He didn’t want her going home at the end of the night and he wanted to wake up every morning with her beside him.
“What?” she said in a soft voice.
Luke wanted to ask her to marry him right there over fried fish and hushpuppies, but he’d watched enough chick flicks with Taylin over the past two weeks to know women liked romance. And proposing right now, especially without a ring, would not be very romantic.
“Nothing,” he said with a smile. “I just think you’re amazing, and I love you.”
Her blue eyes darkened as a smile softened her lips. “I love you, too, Luke McKay. Don’t you ever forget it.”
Chapter 21
Taylin stared at the email from the Vital First Breath foundation, not sure if she wanted to open it. In the midst of falling head-over-heels in love, she’d completely forgotten about the application for the international neonatal resuscitation program she’d sent in long before Luke McKay came into her life.
Placing a shaking hand against her churning abdomen, her gut told her that she’d been accepted. The problem was she didn’t want to go anymore. Everything had changed, and she was almost positive Luke would ask her to marry him sometime soon.
Something significant had shifted in their relationship a few nights ago when Luke had told her he loved her. Part of her had worried that he would change his mind and tell her that they needed to slow things down, but that hadn’t happened. They grew closer each time they were together.
Glancing at the clock, she knew she needed to open the email now or it would have to wait until she got home. She was supposed to be at Luke’s in an hour to help him hand out candy for the trick-or-treaters that would canvas his neighborhood tonight.
Knowing she wouldn’t be able to enjoy herself, she double clicked on the email and scanned the contents. She’d been accepted. But the time frame was much sooner than she’d planned on. Several openings were available now and they wanted her to begin training the week before Thanksgiving for one week in California. And then she needed to be prepared to leave for Nepal the first week in January, committing to stay for at least six months with an option to extend for a year.
A year. A whole year without Luke. Without her family.
None of her siblings knew she’d sent in an application. They would be completely shocked and Ashlee would probably never speak to her again.
Taking in a shaky breath, she read through the rest of the email and saw that they needed an answer as soon as possible. They had a long waiting list of alternates and would need to notify them as soon as possible.
Taylin bit down on her bottom lip, part of her wishing she’d never sent in the application. She hadn’t planned on meeting Luke. Hadn’t planned on falling in love with him. Sighing, she marked the message as unread and then flagged it for easy access. This wasn’t a decision she could make without first talking to Luke.
“Tay,” Ashlee called out from their adjoining bathroom. “I need help with my hair.”
Grateful for the distraction, she got up from her desk and opened the door.
“Oh, Ash,” Taylin said, staring at the vision before her. “You look so beautiful.”
Ashlee grinned and turned side-to-side so the full skirt of her Cinderella costume swished around her ankles. “Do you really think so?”
Dressed in a glimmering replica of the blue Cinderella dress from the latest movie released the year before, Ashlee looked more the part of the famous princess than the actress that had played her. Her sister’s eyes were the same ocean blue color as the dress, just like Cinderella’s had been in the animated version made in the 1950s.
“Yes!” Taylin stepped forward and hugged her sister. “You look amazing.”
“Thanks, but I need help with my hair.” She pointed to the open laptop on the countertop, showing a picture of the current Cinderella frozen on the screen. “I can’t get the top part to look right.”
“Let me see what I can do.” Taylin studied the picture for a few seconds and then did her best to mimic the simple style. Ashlee’s hair was longer, coming all the way down her back, but the tight ringlets shortened it a few inches. “Who’s your date again?” Taylin asked.
“Grayson.”
Taylin’s eyes opened wide. “I thought you broke up with him.”
A dreamy look came into Ashlee’s eyes. “I did, but he’s been callin’ me the past couple of weeks and telling me how much he wants to see me again.” She shrugged her shoulders. “He said he won’t rush me and we can take things as slow as I want.”
“Does he know he’s taking Cinderella to the ball tonight?”
Ashlee giggled. “Yeah, that’s how I know he really likes me. He’s dressin’ up like Prince Charming.” She wiggled her eyebrows in the mirror. “I can hardly wait to see him in those tight, baseball-like pants.”
Taylin laughed, wishing she’d thought about getting Luke a costume like that. Of course, he’d be wearing fitted jeans tonight so she wouldn’t complain.
“All done.” She patted her sister’s hair like their mother had done when they were little. “What do you think?”
“Perfect.” Ashlee preened in front of the mirror and winked at Taylin. “You’d think you were the beauty school dropout instead of me.”
“Do I look okay?” Taylin asked. If Luke was going to be a cowboy, she was dressing up like a cowgirl… a cowgirl princess, matching shirt and pants and all.
“You look hot.” Ashlee leaned over and unbuttoned one more of the buttons on the sparkly turquoise shirt Taylin wore. “There, that’s better.”
Taylin glanced down and left the button undone since her womanly assets were still appropriately covered.
“Girls,” their mother called out. “I want to get pictures of y’all before you leave.”
“Coming,” Taylin said, adding the finishing touch to her costume by wearing a white cowgirl hat with rhinestones.
They both descended the stairs and posed for pictures. Their dad grumbled about the pains of having beautiful daughters to worry about. He didn’t care if they were twelve or twenty-four. Ashlee and Taylin would always be his baby girls.
Luke was the first one to arrive. After shaking her dad’s hand and getting a hug from Taylin’s mother, he complimented Ashlee on her dress, but he only had eyes for Taylin.
“You look s… so… nice,” Luke said, the tips of his ears turning red. Taylin was fairly certain he was going to say something else, but with her father just warming up to Luke, she didn’t want to ask him about it.
Taylin’s mother held up the camera. “Y’all stand over by the fireplace.”
Luke didn’t seem to mind and slipped an arm around Taylin’s waist. She leaned in close, catching the scent of his spicy cologne. She had to use self-control not to bury her face against his neck to get a lungful of the tantalizing smell that was all Luke.
“Okay, now y’all turn and look at each other.”
“No kissing,” Charles said, making his wife roll her eyes.
“Goodness, Charles, you couldn’t keep your hands off of me when we were dating.”
Taylin laughed at the look of em
barrassment on her father’s face, especially since he didn’t deny it.
“Daddy!” Ashlee said. “Were you a make out?”
“No, your mother was,” he said dryly.
Taylin’s mom laughed and instructed Luke and Taylin to look at one another.
“Sorry,” Taylin whispered.
“Don’t apologize. You haven’t met my parents yet.”
A flash of warmth filled her chest as she gazed up at Luke. He’d just implied she would meet his parents. The thought thrilled her. This was it. She’d finally met the man she was going to marry. She knew it with everything in her and she was sure it had to be reflected in her eyes.
Despite her father’s warning, she rose up on her toes and kissed Luke on the mouth.
“Perfect!” Taylin’s mom declared.
The doorbell chimed, and Ashlee’s date arrived. He took one look at Ashlee and was rendered speechless. He stared at her for at least thirty seconds without saying a word.
“He’s got it bad,” Luke whispered in Taylin’s ear.
Taylin agreed and wondered if she and her sister would get their wish for a double wedding after all.
Once Taylin’s mother got pictures of Ashlee and Grayson, she had both couples pose for a group shot. Finally done with the photo shoot, they all walked out together.
“Y’all should come out to Luke’s house after the dance,” Taylin said. “We’re making caramel popcorn and watching Harry Potter movies.”
“I wouldn’t mind skipping the dance altogether,” Grayson said. When Ashlee looked like she was going to complain, Grayson pulled her close and said in a low voice, “But there’s no way I’m missing the opportunity to hold you close all night long.”
“I guess that’s a no,” Ashlee said on a sigh.
“It’s a maybe,” Grayson said. “Snuggling on a couch sounds pretty good too.”
“How long have they been dating?” Luke asked once they were in his car.
“This is their first date.”
He shot her a look of disbelief, making her laugh. “It’s their first date since they broke up last month, but seriously, they only went out for about two weeks before Ashlee called it off.”
“Why?” Luke waited for a group of early trick-or-treaters before he pulled out onto the road.
“Ashlee has been in love with my brother’s best friend ever since I can remember.”
“I take it he doesn’t feel the same way?”
“I don’t know. Their age difference is pretty significant. When Beau left six years ago after joining the Army, Ashlee had just barely turned eighteen. Beau’s ten years older and sees Ashlee as a little sister. I think he’ll always see her that way.”
Luke didn’t say anything right away, and Taylin could tell he was thinking hard about something the way his jaw clenched so tightly.
“I keep forgetting you’re only twenty-four,” he said, keeping his gaze straight ahead.
“Does that matter to you?” she asked, knowing it must by the way he was acting.
“I’m thirty-one, Taylin. Seven years older than you.”
“I can do the math,” she teased, hoping to get him to smile.
He didn’t.
“You’re not that much older, Luke. My daddy’s six years older than my mama. It’s not that big of a deal.”
He stopped at a red light and looked over at her. “It is if you haven’t had a chance to do everything you want to before you get married.”
Taylin tried not to smile, especially since Luke looked so grim, but they were finally talking about marriage. Finally.
“Getting married doesn’t mean I’ll be giving up my life. I’ll just have someone to share it with.”
“But what about going abroad?”
Taylin was almost one hundred percent sure she was going to decline the offer to go to Nepal, but the way Luke acted, she knew now wasn’t the time. He needed to get over this hurdle of their age difference and him feeling as if he was robbing her of her future.
He was her future.
“The light’s green,” she said, buying some time about how to answer him without alarming him. She decided to stick as close to the truth as possible. “I’m not sure I want to do that anymore.”
“Because of me?” His words were as tight as the grip he had on the steering wheel.
“If I said yes, will it make you turn around and take me home?”
He glanced over at her, a slight smile creasing his lips. “Maybe.”
“Then no.”
He laughed, breaking some of the tension. Letting out a long breath, he reached over to take her hand. “I love you, Taylin. I’m not sure I can give you up now that I have you.”
It felt like her heart stopped for several beats before it started up again, thudding so loudly she was sure it was audible. “I love you, too.” She squeezed his fingers. “And I don’t want to give you up, either.”
The tension in his jaw gave way to another smile as he cut her another quick glance. “By the way, did I tell you how much I like your costume?”
“Yes, I believe you said I look soooo nice.”
His grin widened, and he winked at her. “I decided at the last second that telling you how sexy you look might not impress your parents, especially your dad.”
“Probably a good call.” Her daddy hated it when boys referred to girls as sexy or hot. “But thank you. I wasn’t sure if you were into rodeo queens or not.”
“I am now.”
His low voice made her insides feel all fluttery. She would’ve kissed him if he hadn’t been driving.
Turning onto his street, Luke slowed down as he entered his neighborhood. Trick-or-treaters were already out. “I hope I bought enough candy,” Luke said. “I wasn’t sure how many kids to expect.”
“If you run out we’ll just turn off the porch light.”
“Good idea.” He pulled into his driveway and glanced over at her. “Am I safe to park out here?”
“Probably, but I’d park in the garage just in case there are a few teenagers with a dozen eggs.”
“I don’t get that kind of vandalism,” Luke said as he waited for the garage door to lift. “The worst thing I ever did was toilet paper my girlfriend’s house, and the only reason I got in trouble was because I used my mom’s supply of good toilet paper instead of buying the cheap stuff.”
Taylin laughed, despite the flash of envy she felt curl inside her stomach. She didn’t like hearing about the other girls in Luke’s life. It was stupid because of course he’d dated. He had even been married. She hated that thought even more.
“My daddy tolerated it when our house got toilet papered, unless it rained. Then I had to warn the guy who did it not to come around for a while.”
“Yeah, you never can quite get all of the toilet paper gone if that happens.” He cut the engine. “No wonder Lisa’s dad never liked me.”
The jealousy was back, which was stupid because Taylin had had her share of boyfriends. Why did his past relationships bug her so much? Or was it just his ex-wife that bugged her so much?
As Luke came around to open her door, it occurred to her that she had no idea what his ex-wife looked like. She desperately wanted to ask him to show her a picture of Vivian, but didn’t dare. Luke still harbored a lot of anger towards his ex and Taylin didn’t want to ruin their time together.
All at once, something she’d learned in a psych class at Mercer flashed in her head. The professor had said that the intensity with which you hate someone is proportionately related to how much you once loved that person.
Luke opened her door, and Taylin quickly tamped down her irrational thoughts. She had to accept that he’d loved someone else before her, enough to marry that someone. He’d also continued to forgive that someone, even though she’d cheated on him multiple times.
“Please tell me you bought the good candy,” Taylin said as they went inside his house. “I really need sugar right now.”
“What constitutes goo
d candy?” Luke sounded amused as he followed her into the kitchen. “I thought candy was candy.”
“Nope.” She spotted the gigantic bag of candy on the bar and grabbed it, tempted to rip it open with her teeth. “You bought the good stuff,” she said, digging in and coming back with two of her favorite candy bars.
“Hey, those are my favorite too.” He tried to snatch one of the chocolate covered almond and coconut bars out of her hand. “You have to share.”
For some reason, knowing that they loved the same candy bar made Taylin feel better, helping her to push his ex-wife out of her mind.
“All right.” Instead of handing over one of the delicious treats, she tore off the wrapper, took a bite, and then held up the rest of it in front of his mouth. “I’ll share.”
His eyes darkened as he allowed her to feed him the other half of the miniature chocolate bar. Her fingers tingled as they brushed against his lips, and suddenly, the need for a kiss superseded her craving for sugar. She rose up on her toes and kissed him. His mouth was sweeter than the entire bag of candy and tasted even better.
The doorbell chimed, and Taylin started to pull back.
“Can’t we ignore it?” Luke murmured against her mouth.
She wanted to, but then she thought about some little kid standing on the porch waiting for the door to open. “No. Think about your niece.”
That did the trick. He let her go and smiled. “You don’t fight very fair, do you?”
“Nope.” She emptied some of the candy into the bowl Luke had sitting out on the counter and hurried to answer the door when it chimed again.
“Trick-or-treat!” chorused Spiderman and Queen Elsa.
Taylin recognized Luke’s neighbors right away. “Y’all look so good you better pick two.”
Jillian and Christopher grinned and dug into the bowl.
“What do y’all say to Miss Taylin?” their grandmother asked.
“Thank you,” they said at the same time.
“Hey, Miss Iris.” Taylin held up the bowl. “You better take a few too.”
Just a Kiss in the Moonlight: Georgia Moon Romance Book 2 Page 21
