Oh how she wished time would stand still so this moment wouldn’t end. She hadn’t felt this safe or loved in such a long time. And this was the first time Luke had ever told her he loved her. He’d shown her in so many ways during their relationship, but hearing it come from his mouth was extraordinary.
She opened her mouth to say she loved him too, but then closed it. Saying those three words was so life altering. She felt safer just to wait this out and see what happened. There was no sense in rushing headlong into this. It had been over two years since they’d been together! Surely there were things to figure out between them.
“I came here tonight to tell you that I plan on the two of us getting back together, Morgan. I want to get back to what we had. Only better this time.”
“Luke,” she said in a halting voice. “I don’t know what to say.” Her voice broke. She was so choked up with emotion. “I’ve missed you.” She’d never been very good at expressing her feelings to Luke. Why was it so hard to just tell him how she felt about him?
“Trust me, Morgan. I know this is coming at you hard and fast. But I promise you, I’m going to court you. I’m going to take this as slow as you need me to. I’m not going anywhere.”
Morgan felt a smile tugging at her lips. “I’ve always trusted you. Ever since we were little kids. Trusting myself has always been the hard part.”
A look of sympathy flared in his eyes. “Because of your father?”
Morgan nodded. “He did a lot of damage. I’m still sifting through it.” She didn’t talk often about the wounds her father had inflicted. His desertion had left her feeling not good enough. She bore the scars under a heavy coat of armor. Morgan still wrestled with the question of how could a man ever truly love her when her own father hadn’t?
“I understand what it’s like to have the past grab you by the throat. But you’re a strong woman, Morgan Lucas. Way stronger than you realize.”
Morgan felt like a bud blooming into a vibrant flower. Luke’s words gave her wings and made her feel like she could soar. He was always so encouraging and wise.
“I do think I’m a lot stronger now than I was before,” she acknowledged. Life had made her a little bit more courageous. “I like to think I navigate life much better now.”
“I really want to kiss you right now, but I’ve given you a lot to think about. I promise not to rush things between us, although I can’t help but think we need to make up for lost time.”
Morgan nodded. She wanted Luke to kiss her…badly. It had been something she’d dreamed about in the quiet hours between darkness and dawn when she’d felt restless and couldn’t sleep. Be patient, she reminded herself. Her heart was filled to almost overflowing with gratitude. God had made all of this possible. Despite all of her past mistakes, Luke loved her enough to give her a second chance.
Tonight was a new beginning filled with endless possibilities. Because of Luke’s relationship with Violet and her own missteps with Luke, she hadn’t dared to dream of this. Hope hung in the air like a free-floating kite.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” At this point, Luke was tugging so hard on her heart strings she would have agreed to almost anything.
“I’m not in this alone, am I? I’m not imagining your feelings for me? Because when I look into your eyes, all I see is our future. And I think you see it too.”
If she hadn’t already loved him madly, Morgan would have fallen for him right at this very moment. In true hero fashion, Luke was staking a claim and laying his heart on the line in the process. He was throwing down the gauntlet and asking her to be a part of the journey.
“We’re on the same page, Luke. I think you’ve always known my feelings, even when I’ve had trouble voicing them.”
He raised her hand and pressed a kiss on it. “I’ll just have to be the voice for the both of us, until you’re ready.”
“I’d appreciate that,” she murmured. “I’m so happy you came by here tonight.”
“I’m going to say goodnight now. We both have to get up early in the morning. I’ll be in touch soon…so we can go on our first date.”
She wrinkled her nose and chuckled. “First date? We’ve been on lots of dates.”
“This is a whole new chapter for us, Morgan. We’re starting from scratch. I think the past is very important, but it shouldn’t define this new chapter in our lives. The world is our oyster.”
As Luke bid her goodnight and began walking toward the end of her driveway where he’d parked his car, Morgan stood where he’d left her, watching his every move until he disappeared into the velvety night. A few seconds later she saw his headlights blink on, followed by the slight roar of his engine as he sped off.
She looked over at her mother’s house. It was bathed in darkness. A soft light emanating from the upstairs window caught her attention. The slight movement of a curtain left her wondering if Mama hadn’t been watching her interlude with Luke. As an only child, Morgan had been protected and watched over by her mother since she was a baby. Although Pearl Lucas was warm and loving, she could also be fiercely protective of her daughter. She could only imagine her mother’s reaction when she discovered that she was involved with one of the heirs to the Duvall fortune. Something told Morgan that Mama had just stumbled upon her secret when she’d looked out of her bedroom window.
**
The drive home from Morgan’s cottage felt surreal to Luke. He’d done it! He’d taken a huge step in getting back together with Morgan. It didn’t matter to him that he’d worn his heart on his sleeve. There could be no doubt now in Morgan’s mind that he was in love with her. Head-over-heels, madly, passionately in love with her.
It had been one of his major regrets about their past relationship. He’d never told her that he loved her. And even though he’d been hoping to finally hear Morgan say those words back to him, he understood that she had to go at her own pace. It would make it all the sweeter when she finally said those words to him.
Dear Lord. Thank you for giving me the courage to speak my mind and go after what I want. For so long I’ve been burying my feelings and yearning to be with her. Now, I know it’s possible. It’s within reach.
Lord, please stay with me on this journey. I know Morgan loves me. I can see it in her eyes when she looks at me. I feel it when I hold her in my arms. But she’s still not ready. Grant me the patience to stay by her side and wait for her to feel safe enough to love me with all of her heart and soul.
“Loving someone does entail a lot of hard work. And faith. And prayer. It’s not all roses and moonlight.”
Pearl Lucas
Chapter Four
“Murphy’s Law in full effect,” Morgan grumbled as she shut the oven door with a bang. “Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Or something like that!” she muttered. She immediately felt badly about slamming the stove door. This vintage stove was precious to her. It wasn’t the stove’s fault that the quiches had burnt. Well, maybe it was a little bit the stove’s fault since something seemed to be a little hinky with it today. Ugh. Which meant that she would have to schedule an emergency service repair visit. Stoves and chefs and food went together like peanut butter, jelly and bread. It was near impossible to feed a resort full of hungry guests with a temperamental stove.
Note to self. Call a stove repair service. Immediately.
“Hey there, Morgan.” She whirled around at the sound of his voice. She’d know it anywhere. The rich timbre of Luke’s voice washed over her like a welcoming rain in summer. She’d been waiting the past few days to hear from him and it had been eating her up a little bit inside. As a result, all of her doubts had quickly risen to the surface.
He’d entered the kitchen soundlessly, and until he’d spoken, Morgan had been so wrapped up in her cooking issues that she had been oblivious.
He was standing a few feet away from her looking ruggedly handsome. The sight of him in her kitchen left her a little bit speechless. This was the second time in the
past few days that Luke had come to find her in her natural habitat. It brought her all the way back to when they were kids and she’d given him cupcakes after he’d defended her honor. There was no way of ignoring the way her pulse skittered at the sight of him.
For a moment she just wanted to savor him without uttering a single word. He appealed to her on every level. His lean, athletic build. The sandy blond hair and hazel eyes that seemed to change color every now and again. Some days they looked brown, while the very next day they appeared green.
Luke was wearing a pair of gray slacks and a white long-sleeved business shirt that could probably get messed up just by standing in a kitchen. He looked utterly gorgeous.
He’d shown up here in the middle of her crisis, which had to be a sign of something. Men like Luke always rode to the rescue and made things better, didn’t they? It was silly of her to think that Luke could fix the disastrous situation unfolding in her kitchen. She was a trained chef and she wasn’t even certain she could save the day at this point.
“How’s it going?” Luke asked.
Humph! She wasn’t sure he really wanted her to answer that particular question.
“I’m up to my neck in it.” Of all the times for Luke to visit her in the kitchen! It was utter chaos in here. Henry was out sick, the stove was acting up and lunch was supposed to be ready in an hour and a half for a full house of guests.
“What’s the problem?”
She whirled around and faced him. She blew hair from in front of her eyes. “What’s the problem? The stupid stove malfunctioned and my quiches burnt to a crisp. And my sous-chef Henry called in sick this morning. Seems he has food poisoning.”
“From here?” Luke asked, eyes bulging.
She gave him the death stare. “No, of course not.” Morgan huffed. “Seems his girlfriend cooked pork chops last night. No doubt she undercooked them. Long story short, Henry has been in the ER all night and he isn’t coming in today or tomorrow.”
Luke’s eyes grew wider. “Wow. That’s a tough break. How did you manage breakfast?” Luke sounded perplexed.
“On a wing and a prayer. I wasn’t able to do omelets on demand which has proven to be quite popular, so I decided to do French toast with blueberry compote, scrambled eggs, hash browns and an assortment of yogurts and granola.”
“Something tells me it was amazing,” Luke said.
“They seemed happy with it, but lunch is bearing down on me and I’ve fallen behind on my quiches.” She sniffled, not wanting to give in to tears of frustration but sensing she was close to a meltdown. She cared too much for Luke to have him see her fall apart over her job.
“Hey,” Luke said in a tender tone, “it’s going to be all right.”
She sniffled again. “I’m sorry if I sound like I’m whining.”
“Don’t apologize.” He looked around the kitchen. “Frankly, I’m impressed that you’re still standing. What I know about cooking could fit on a postage stamp. But if you want some back up, I’m here to help.”
Morgan began giggling. The idea of Luke putting an apron on and cooking in her kitchen was a hilarious thought. She knew he didn’t know a pot from a baking sheet.
“Thanks for making me laugh. I really better get back to it.” She let out a groan as she checked her watch. “I’m drowning here.”
“Don’t you need help?” Luke asked, his handsome face appearing somber.
“Yes,” she admitted, fighting back tears. “I can’t fall on my sword after only a few days. I’m still trying to prove myself and showcase my culinary skills. I don’t want to let the girls or the guests down.”
Luke rolled up his sleeves. “Okay. Luke Duvall reporting for duty. Tell me what to do.”
“What? Are you serious? Don’t you have to get back to Duvall?”
“I’m a senior executive,” Luke said with a wink. “I can make my own hours.”
“Oh bless you, Luke,” Morgan said, throwing herself against his chest and wrapping her arms around him. All of the stress and strain she’d been feeling suddenly evaporated. With Luke at her side helping, Morgan knew she could complete the lunch service. He might not know how to cook, but he was the smartest man she’d ever known.
She felt Luke’s arms cradling her back and she paused for a moment to enjoy the sensation of being held in his arms. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of him—woodsy, earthy tones that reminded her of the great outdoors.
Morgan slowly pulled away from the embrace. If she lingered against his chest for a single moment more, she just might be tempted to stay there forever. Or do something bold and unpredictable like kissing him on his perfectly-shaped lips.
They locked gazes for a moment. Morgan studied the golden flecks in Luke’s hazel eyes. Did he know how badly she wanted to kiss him? Did he feel the same way? He seemed to be trying to read something in the depths of her eyes. Maybe the truth was they were both trying to figure out where things stood between them. In Morgan’s mind, Violet had been an obstacle. But now that Violet and Luke had broken up, there really wasn’t any impediment to them being together.
“This kitchen holds a special place in my heart.”
Morgan swallowed. For a single second she’d wondered if Luke had been able to read her thoughts about kissing him.
“It does?” She croaked out the words.
He nodded, a hint of a smile playing around his lips. “That day you gave me the cupcakes was the moment I realized what you meant to me. Before that day I knew you made me feel a special kind of way, but I hadn’t connected the dots. I was only eleven or so.”
Morgan blushed. “I had a crush on you too, in case you didn’t notice.”
“Now you tell me,” Luke said in a teasing voice. His eyes gleamed. “I thought you were just being sweet. I would have done back flips on Savannah House’s lawn if I’d known that back then.”
“It felt a little bit cliché since I’m guessing loads of Callie’s friends had crushes on you. I know I wasn’t the only one.”
Luke shrugged. “There was only one I ever wanted to like me.” He stepped closer to Morgan so that only mere inches stood between them. “And it was you, Morgan. Always you.”
“I never once thought you had feelings for me back when we were kids. I just thought you were the gallant type who liked playing the hero.”
“I would have waged wars for you,” he said, reaching out and tenderly touching her cheek. “I would have fought the devil himself to keep you safe. I still would.”
“You’ve always been my hero,” Morgan whispered as she looked up into Luke’s soulful eyes.
“Morgan. I know we don’t have a moment to spare, but there’s something I really need to do right about now.” Morgan watched with her heart in her throat as Luke dipped his head down and placed a kiss on her all-too-eager lips. Her pulse quickened as she raised her hands to Luke’s shoulders and leaned in to the kiss. Luke’s lips were warm and inviting as they moved over hers. His lips tasted like cinnamon and sugar.
Oh how she’d ached to feel his lips on hers again. And after all this time, it felt like coming home.
As the kiss ended, Luke leaned back in and pressed his forehead against hers. For a few moments they stood like that, forehead to forehead.
“Now, let’s get down to business. Time’s a wasting,” Luke said as he pulled away.
Morgan clapped her hands together. “I like your style, Duvall. Let’s get this thing going.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I don’t have enough time to cook more quiches to replace the burnt ones, so the quiches that didn’t burn are going to be cut up into smaller portions. I’m going to make some salmon croquettes on the stove here. I’d already made up the patties for tomorrow, but now they’re on today’s menu. I can whip up a dill sauce to go with it. I’ve already set the oven for the green beans. So if you could get out a tray and put the green beans in there, then put them in the oven that would be fantastic. Then if you could check on the c
hicken stew in the crock pot, that would be a big help. All that will leave is the salad which just needs to be put into individual serving bowls. And thankfully I baked some chocolate chips cookies this morning. We can lay them out in baskets for each table.”
Despite her earlier panic, Morgan knew she had this. With a pair of extra hands to help out, she didn’t feel so out-of-sorts.
“Whatever you say,” Luke told her. “I’m your very underqualified sous-chef this afternoon. Your wish is my command.”
“Things are about to get crazy in here, but I just want to let you know I’m thankful for your help.” A sudden wave of shyness passed over her. She looked down for a moment in order to gather her thoughts. It was so much easier to think when soulful hazel eyes weren’t boring a hole straight through her. She swung her gaze back up to meet Luke’s eyes. “Truth to be told, I’m just very grateful for you in general.”
The tender, easy smile that broke out on Luke’s face quickly made its way to the very center of her soul. She needed to give back to him—in words and deeds and affection. Because even though she still hadn’t gathered the courage to tell him that she loved him, she wanted to show him that she did.
“Let’s do this!” she said. She would have to focus on her work instead of on the one man on the face of the earth who could distract her from the mission at hand.
**
Once all the guests had been served lunch and the dishes and remnants from the meal were cleared, Luke and Morgan headed back toward the kitchen.
“Take a seat. You’ve earned it.” Morgan motioned toward the butcher block table. “We pulled it off. And judging by all the comments, the meal is a success.”
“I’ve never seen so many happy guests in my life.” Luke sank down into a chair, letting out a sigh as he did so. Morgan’s job wasn’t easy. He’d been on the go ever since stepping foot inside her kitchen. And she’d done the bulk of the work. The whole time he’d been praying everything went smoothly and that he didn’t disappoint Morgan.
For Love Alone (Secrets of Savannah Book 4) Page 6
