Luke greeted most of the people we passed by name and stopped twice to hold doors for people. The more time I spent with Luke, the more I remembered just how much I’d loved being around him in college. If I hadn’t been dating Eric at the time, I probably would’ve had a giant crush on Luke.
“You never did tell me why you broke up with your girlfriend in college,” I said.
“Sandy? I don’t know. We just grew apart, I guess.” He shrugged. “That was a long time ago. What made you even think of her?”
“I was just thinking about how surprising it is that you are still single.” I shot him a quick look. “Don’t panic. I’m not hitting on you, Cooper. I just think any girl would be lucky to be with a guy like you.”
“It sure sounds like you’re hitting on me, Scott.” Luke flashed his dimples at me. “I’m sure any of my ex-girlfriends would be glad to give you a list of reasons why I’m not as perfect as you think.”
I scoffed. “Please. I bet you’ve never been the dumpee. I’m positive you’ve always been the one that ended the relationship.” When Luke didn’t answer right away, I knew I was right. “You are such a heartbreaker, Lucas Cooper.”
“Come on. The Santa line isn’t terrible right now.” He put his hand on my lower back and guided me across the square.
“We’re not really doing this, are we?” I asked, horrified.
“How else are you going to get what you want for Christmas if you don’t ask Santa?” Luke wasn’t at all embarrassed that we were the only adults in line without children.
I laughed and decided to cooperate. “What is on your list for Christmas this year?” I asked him.
“I think I may already have everything I want,” he said, looking away. “I’m oddly quite happy with my life right now.”
“That must be nice,” I said quietly.
Luke turned his eyes back on me. They were even more intense than usual. “Give me a few weeks, Em. I made a promise to help you be happy again and I intend to keep that promise.”
“Santa is a good start,” I said, trying to look happier than I felt. I couldn’t tell Luke that on my first date with Eric, we’d ended up taking our picture with Santa. I knew that Luke would feel terrible if I told him, so I kept my mouth shut and forced a smile for the photographer when it was our turn.
Despite my best attempts to hide it, Luke sensed that I wasn’t having as much fun as I was pretending to have. “Hey, I’ve got a lot of stuff to take care of at the resort. Any chance you’d be willing to head back with me now and help out? I know you don’t technically start working for me until tomorrow.”
“Of course. I’d love to help.” I was glad that I didn’t have to be the one to suggest we leave the Winter Wonderland. “What do you need to do today?”
“Well, first we need to stop by the Miller Tree Farm and pick up a couple of Christmas trees. We’re hosting a wedding next weekend and they are really into the Christmas theme.” Luke gestured to his truck. “That’s why I brought my sweet ride.”
“And here I thought you brought the truck because it’s such a turn on for the ladies,” I teased.
“Well, it does have a roomy place to make out,” Luke said.
“Why do I get the feeling you speak from experience?” I joked.
Luke winked at me. “Even good guys choose rides that will help them score with the ladies.”
“I don’t believe you,” I said, laughing. “You can’t even say ‘score with the ladies’ and pull it off. Face it, Lucas. You are too sweet to be a player.”
“You’re really damaging my ego, Em.” Luke rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I guess we’ve pinpointed why I’m still single. I have no game.”
“That’s not what I said, Luke. You don’t need game because you’re already the perfect man.” I didn’t realize I was about to say those words and I felt my cheeks flush a little. “For some woman, that is.”
Luke was grinning as he turned the truck onto the tree farm. Just like everything else in Starlight, the tree farm was adorable. It was also crowded. It took us almost an hour to find two trees and get them safely loaded in the back of the truck. Then we headed up to the resort.
“Do you have a lot of events up here?” I asked as we hauled the first tree out of the truck bed.
“Not a lot. Just a few weddings and usually only around the holidays. Usually just locals or people familiar with the area that want a scenic atmosphere.” Luke somehow wrangled the tree all by himself as we headed toward a building I hadn’t seen until he told us that was where we were headed. “This building is perfect for larger gatherings, but I haven’t had the time to invest to turn it into a marketable venue.”
I rushed ahead to grab the door for him. While he worked to get the tree set up in front of a giant window that overlooked a frozen pond, I took a stroll around the room. It was large like Luke had said. Just a lot of beautiful wood and large windows that revealed beautiful scenery.
“This space is fantastic,” I said, sticking my head through a doorway. “Is this a kitchen?”
“In theory,” Luke said. “We don’t have a staff to dedicate to this place, but people who rent the venue are welcome to use it.”
“What’s up in the lofted space?” I asked.
Luke came over. He’d removed his coat and rolled up his sleeves. “Just a couple of large rooms that I’ve never figured out what to do with. My dad built this space and he never told anyone why. I’m not sure what he had planned for it.”
“You know, my former company used to rent spaces like this all the time for corporate retreats. You could make a killing renting this place to companies. They are always willing to pay a ton of money to be in the middle of nowhere.” I had been forced on several of those corporate retreats myself and this space was better than any of the others that I’d seen. “It wouldn’t take much. Just a little marketing.”
“I guess it’s a good thing that I’ve recently hired a talented woman to take over marketing for the resort,” Luke touched my arm. “Come on. Let’s get the other tree inside before you start calling up corporate America.”
Getting the trees set up was only the first item in a long list of tasks that Luke needed to complete. He told me repeatedly that he would drive me home whenever I wanted to leave, but I was enjoying feeling productive.
“Is this how you spend every Sunday?” I asked when we had moved on to unboxing the most recent shipment at the store.
“Minus the breakfast with an old friend,” Luke said. “We’ve doubled our business at the resort since I took it over, but that’s meant a lot of extra hours to keep up with the increase. I’ve been trying to hire additional staff, but not many people are interested in seasonal work right now.”
“The corporate business wouldn’t just be seasonal, you know.” I moved a box of hats onto a shelf and made a note on the ledger.
Luke glanced at me. “You’ve already thought this through? Draw up a business proposal and I’ll take a look at it. If it makes sense from a financial standpoint, your job responsibilities might be expanded.”
“Sounds like you and I might be spending a lot of time together,” I said coyly. “Are you sure you can handle that?”
“Being with you?” Luke looked away. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”
I stared at him, but he stubbornly kept his eyes on his inventory list. I tried to determine whether he was teasing, but I didn’t see any trace of a smile. “I’m not the same girl I was in college, Luke. You might not like this version of me.”
Luke looked over and smiled. “That’s not possible, Em. Every version of you is amazing. Even the one that puked all over me at that party sophomore year.”
“Oh god. I had completely forgotten about that.” I buried my face in my hands as Luke laughed. “I can’t believe I threw up on my boss.”
“Your boss? What about your poor friend?” Luke said.
“You were very sweet to me that night,” I said, remembering
how he’d walked me home. “I had a lot to drink.”
“I’d never seen you drink that much,” he said, eyeing me hesitantly. “Do you remember what you told me when I helped you to bed?”
I cringed. “I don’t even remember you being in my dorm room.”
“I’m not surprised.” Luke put down his clipboard. “I asked you why you decided to drink so much since it was so out of character for you and you told me that you thought Eric might be cheating on you.”
“Really?” I stared hard at him. “I don’t remember any of that.”
“I figured you didn’t.” Luke frowned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring him up again.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I smiled. “Eric was a big part of my life for a long time. It’s hard not to talk about him. I can’t believe that I thought he was cheating on me back then, though. I don’t remember that.”
Luke gave me a long look. “Please don’t be offended by this, but I think your brain is trying to protect you. I think it’s keeping you from the painful memories of Eric so that you can have a more idealized version of him to mourn. It’s hard to mourn someone that spent a lot of time hurting you.”
“You sound like you speak from experience,” I said quietly.
“Let’s just say my dad wasn’t the hero everyone tries to pretend that he was.” Luke reached for his clipboard. “We’re almost done in here. I should take you home. You’ve already helped me more than was necessary.”
“I owe you,” I said.
“Owe me? For what?”
“For giving me a chance to find myself and expecting nothing in return,” I said, touching his arm. “You really are the best person I’ve ever known, Luke.”
“That’s an impossible standard to live up to,” he said, looking at where my hand was touching him. “I don’t want to let you down.”
I shook my head. “You won’t, Luke. You’ve never let me down. You are the one person I’ve always been able to count on. I just can’t understand why you’ve always been so good to me.”
“You can’t?” Luke looked surprised.
“No. I mean, you treat me better than Eric ever did. You offered me a job and a house when I hadn’t even talked to you in eighteen months.” I tilted my head, studying him. “What did I do to deserve a friend like you?”
“Honestly, Em? I think I need this friendship even more than you.” He shrugged. “When you called and said you wanted to move here, I felt like I’d just been handed this amazing gift. I hadn’t even realized how lonely I was until I saw you standing in the Welcome Center, smiling at me with that killer smile of yours.”
I blushed. “You’ve been lonely?”
“Yeah, I have.” He glanced at my hand again, as if he couldn’t believe that I was touching him. “It’s so good to have you here, Emery. It’s good to have a friend.”
When he smiled at me, I felt an unexpected surge of affection. Luke was glad to have me as a friend, but I felt like I’d found something more with him. It was something I hadn’t felt in a long time and it scared me. I looked away quickly, hopefully before Luke could see in my eyes what I was feeling in my heart. I had a giant crush on Lucas Cooper.
CHAPTER FOUR
Those new feelings for Luke were both surprising and concerning. I hadn’t moved to Starlight to find a new romance. In fact, that was the last thing I wanted. I needed to fix the broken parts of me before I even thought about letting someone else inside. Fortunately, my new job was keeping me so busy that I didn’t have time to dwell on my feelings for Luke.
My primary responsibility was running the main resort shop. Between staff management, inventory orders, and financial obligations, my days were incredibly full. Once I finished up with those tasks, I was spending any free time working on my business plan for the corporate marketing angle. Luke and I spent quite a bit of time working together as he taught me the ins and outs of the job and we ate lunch together every day in his office while talking about his plans for the business.
He was patient and encouraging as I slowly learned how to do my new job. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor and friend. At the end of our first week, Luke insisted on taking me out for a drink to celebrate. It was our first time away from the office all week and he was determined for us to talk about anything but work.
“You always said you were going to travel after graduation,” Luke said after bringing two beers to our table. “Where’d you end up going?”
“Chicago,” I said with a grimace. “Eric wasn’t a big fan of travel. But I did get my wish eventually. As I moved up the ladder at work, I started traveling a lot. I spent more time in hotel beds than I did in my own bed the last couple of years.”
“Sounds like one of those be careful what you wish for stories,” Luke said, taking a sip of his beer. “Still, it must have been nice to see some of the world. I’ve been stuck here in Starlight since graduation.”
“When did you decide that you were going to stay in Starlight?” I asked. “When you moved back here after graduation, you said it was just temporary.”
“I thought it was,” he admitted. “But after a few months, I realized that I like doing this. I like being my own boss and working at a place that has so much history for my family.”
“You’re good at it,” I said. “Your employees love working for you.”
He winked at me. “Are you trying to say that you love having me as your boss?”
“I’m serious, Luke. It’s pretty impressive what you’ve managed to do here.”
“Thanks.” He smirked at me. “I think you’ll come to find that there are a lot of things about me that are impressive.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. It was the flirtiest thing that Luke had said to me since we’d started working together. “Like what things, Lucas?” I said, reaching for my beer.
“I think I’d rather have you find out naturally than list them out now.” Luke seemed surprisingly tense. He was usually relaxed when we were together at work, so this was a new side of him that I wasn’t used to seeing.
“Is everything okay?” I asked. “You seem kind of tense.”
“Everything is fine,” he said with a smile. “I’m just a little worried about the logistics for the wedding tomorrow. My assistant, Elise, was supposed to be there to take care of it, but she’s come down with the flu.”
“Well, is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Tomorrow is Saturday, Em. It’s your day off.”
“I don’t have anything else to do. I’m happy to help if I won’t be in your way.” I shrugged. “You’d be doing me a favor. I’ll just be sitting around the house feeling sorry for myself if you say no.”
“I’d love to have your help. Thank you,” Luke said. “We aren’t supposed to be talking about work.”
“I don’t mind. It’s nice to actually like talking about my job.” I grimaced when I thought about my old career. “What else would you prefer to talk about?”
“Let’s talk about your favorite things about me instead,” he said with a grin that was much more relaxed.
I smiled overly-sweetly. “What will we do after those thirty seconds?”
“Funny.” His smile was the perfect combination of playful and tender.
“I like your smile,” I said, feeling bold. “And your eyes. I like the way you laugh at your own jokes, even when they are terrible. I like the way you run ahead to open doors for people and the way you sing along with the holiday music in the shop.”
The way that he stared at me after that made me worry that I had gone too far. He had just been joking, after all, and I definitely had not been.
“Thank you,” he said. After a pause, he added, “I like everything about you.”
“Please. You’re just saying that because you can’t come up with anything specific,” I teased.
“I like the way you play with the ends of your hair when you are uncomfortable.” He pointedly looked at where my h
and was twisting a strand of hair. “I like the way you bite your lip when you’re thinking and the way you always remember random facts about people you’ve barely met. I like how you look just as beautiful when you’re hauling Christmas trees as you do when you’re smiling flirtatiously at me over a beer.” And then, just when I thought he couldn’t get any sweeter, he nearly ruined it by adding, “I like how you clearly can’t take your eyes off me right now.”
“Such a charmer,” I said quietly, feeling a little breathless.
Luke chuckled and looked away. “Now that I’ve properly embarrassed you, it’s only fair to return the favor.” He pushed back his chair and held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s dance.”
“Dance?” I glanced nervously across the bar. Unlike the bar that Luke had taken me to when I first arrived, this bar was packed. In addition to the bar area, the back of the bar had a large, empty floor meant for dancing. A lot of people were unwinding after a day of skiing, dancing in perfect synchronization to a song I’d never heard. “I don’t know how to dance to this.”
Luke grinned. “Neither do I. That’s what makes it fun.”
I couldn’t resist his grin. With a sigh, I took his outstretched hand and let him lead me to the dance floor. We joined the back of the dancers, watching their moves for a few seconds before attempting to join in. I had never attempted line dancing, and it was quickly apparent that I never should again. Luke was only slightly less terrible than me.
“Two steps, then you kick,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s right.”
We ended up colliding into each other before breaking down in laughter. It took us three songs but eventually, we were able to keep up for at least part of the dance. When they finally switched to a slow song, I was relieved.
“That was a nightmare,” I said, stepping easily into Luke’s arms. My arms went around his neck, his around my lower back. We swayed slowly, bodies pressing gently against each other.
Home with You (Starlight Valley Book 3) Page 3
