Some Kind of Wonderful: A Holiday Novella (The Cupcake Lovers)
Page 8
She sounded somewhere between hurt and outraged. Luke knew the feeling. “I had you tracked, which I wouldn’t have done if you had had the decency to say good-bye.”
Gaze averted, she sipped her beer then ordered another shot. “I felt awful about hurting Sam. Plus I was compromising the success of the Cupcake Lover’s recipe book by refusing to participate in any publicity.”
“So you ran away?”
“I didn’t think I’d be missed.”
What the freaking hell? “Are you that insecure or that oblivious?”
“People come and go all the time, Luke.”
“You’re missing the point, Rae.” He nabbed her wrist as she reached for the salt shaker. Her pulse raced beneath his thumb. His own heart bucked. He’d always had a talent for reading and finessing women. He had no clue how to handle Rae. Did she have the tolerance to withstand a third shot? He didn’t want to take the chance. He grabbed her shooter and downed the Cuervo himself. “Why don’t we sit at one of those tables and talk?”
“Why aren’t you on your way to the airport?”
“Why won’t you tell me why you paid for a false identity?
She glanced away, picked at the label on the beer bottle. “I needed to be someone else for a while.”
“Why?”
“It’s personal.”
One thing hadn’t changed. Reagan Devereaux was every bit as aloof as Rachel Lacey. Luke wanted to shake the crap out of her. Kissing her came to mind, too. He’d never been so angry and turned on at the same time. He told himself it was because she was smoking hot and he’d been celibate for weeks. Aching to jump her bones was natural. It wasn’t because he was jonesing to re-create the magic he’d felt the one and only time they’d locked lips. Who needed that kind of misery? Having a thing for a woman beyond his reach. A woman of privileged birth. A woman who’d earned a master’s degree. A woman worth a freaking million!
Hit the road, Monroe.
He wasn’t getting the answers he wanted so why was he wasting his time? As it was he’d be lucky if he got home before Christmas morning. Part of him had been desperate to see for himself that Rae was okay. She was more than okay. Except for her obsessive lying and the tension between her and her mom and that dickhead Geoffrey Stein. Every family had drama, right? The Monroes certainly had their fair share. More often than not, Luke played mediator. He should be home making peace, not here waging war. Besides, reasoning with this woman was a losing battle.
Luke reached down for his backpack and when he straightened the infuriating enigma was finishing off another shot.
For the love of …
He couldn’t leave Rae in this bar. What if she drank herself under the table? What if one of the several men watching took advantage?
“Do you think your mom and Stein left the house yet?”
“I’m sure of it. God forbid they miss a moment of the party.”
“Then come on. I’ll drop you home before I head to the airport.”
“I’m not going home.” She flashed a key card. “I’m staying here tonight.”
“Then I’ll walk you to your room.”
“Not necessary.” She stood, swaying a little on those sexy four-inch heels.
Luke groaned. “Humor me.”
* * *
She wasn’t drunk, but she was buzzed. The longer Luke had sat next to Rae, the more she’d wanted to numb her senses. He made her ache for Sugar Creek and the simple life she’d created there. She missed her friends in the Cupcake Lovers. She missed the children she’d bonded with through Sugar Tots. She mourned the fact that she’d probably never find the kind of love that existed between Chloe and Dev, Rocky and Jayce, Monica and Leo. She’d had the misfortune of falling for Luke Monroe who clearly thought the worst of her and who wasn’t at all who she’d built him up to be.
He expected her to spill her guts, to share her most intimate problems as though he were her friend. A friend wouldn’t make her feel like the most selfish person on earth. Christmas Eve, her birthday, was always difficult. Luke had made it intolerable.
To make matters worse, all she could think about was their one spontaneous kiss and what might have happened if they hadn’t been interrupted. Luke’s presence rekindled the burning desires she’d worked weeks to snuff.
“This is it.” The number on the door was a little fuzzy, but she heard a click when she swiped the key card and the handle moved, so good. This was good. She’d found her room. He could go and maybe she’d be able to breathe. She turned to say good-bye, only her heel caught in the carpet and she teetered and knocked into the hard chest of Luke.
Tall, sexy, handsome-as-sin Luke.
He steadied her and … bam.
Don’t miss the Cupcake Lovers complete series from Beth Ciotta
Fool for Love
The Trouble with Love
Anything But Love
Available from St. Martin’s Paperbacks
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Storytelling comes naturally to award-winning author Beth Ciotta. Dubbed "fun and sexy" by Publisher’s Weekly, Beth specializes in writing Romantic Comedy with a Twist of Suspense and is published in contemporary, historical, and paranormal romantic fiction. "I can’t think of anything more fulfilling than writing stories where everyone (except the villain, of course) gets a happy ending!"
Beth lives in NJ with her husband, two zany dogs, and a crazy cat. A retired professional performer, Beth now pours her artistic passion into her writing.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
“Some Kind of Wonderful” copyright © 2013 by Beth Ciotta.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover digital illustration © by shutterstock
Author photo © Steve Ciotta
eISBN 978-1-4668-4710-1
First eBook Edition: October 2013