by Levine, Nina
I step inside expecting him to move so I can pass him, but he doesn’t, and I end up in his arms. He embraces me while shuffling me to the side. Backing me up against the wall with one arm around me, he closes the door with the other.
“Hi,” he says in a low rumble. He lets me go, only to place both hands on the wall either side of my body, effectively trapping me.
His face is so close to mine, and his scent is all over me. Unable to form a coherent thought, I say the first thing that comes to mind. “Uh, where’s Sean?” Because surely he should be here right now rescuing me.
Luke’s lips curl into a sexy grin.
Oh, no.
That’s not fair.
That sexy look needs to go.
“He’s at my mum’s tonight. A sleepover with Grandma. And Paris is out, so we have the place to ourselves.”
Jesus, why did I not ask all these questions before I came?
Mental note—know Luke’s family’s schedule better than they do.
I give Luke what I hope is a dirty look. “You need to take a step back there, buddy. This kind of move goes against our whole friend’s only thing we’ve got going on.”
His eyes search mine, and he doesn’t move. I endure a good ten minutes of hell before he finally steps back. Oh, okay, so it’s more like thirty seconds, but honestly, does the man not understand the word ‘friends’?
Pushing his fingers through his hair, he says, “I’m dying here, Callie.” He reaches for my top and grips the bottom of it. “And I know it’s not fair to you for me to say that because it’s my fault we’re stuck in this friend zone, but I want you to know how much I want you.”
“I’m dying, too. But as much as I’d like to forget we agreed to this, I can’t.”
“I know. And I won’t ever pressure you for sex, but surely friends can kiss?”
I lift a brow. “I’ve never had a friend that I’ve kissed before.”
“Didn’t your mum ever tell you it’s good to try new things?” His eyes just won’t let me go, and his grip on my top has tightened.
Two can play this game. “No, my mum always told me to perfect something. I think I should work on perfecting my current behaviour.”
He smirks. “Well, you know, the only way to master a new skill is to push yourself. The harder something is that you keep practicing, the better you’ll get. I can help you with that.”
“I personally think it’s better not to work with those you know. Too many possibilities for problems to occur. Perhaps I need to find someone else to practice with.”
His eyes flare, and he lets my top go so he can pull my body to his. I quickly try to press my hands against his chest to push away, but his hold is so tight I can barely wiggle. “You never need to find someone new,” he growls. “Ever,” he adds with force.
Oh my.
I like this Luke. All growly and fierce. My lady bits really like this Luke. That growl hit all the right spots. But damn, now I want that kiss as much as he does.
This complicated dating thing is the devil. I’ve never been so conflicted over something in my life.
“How about you feed me and we can go from there?” I suggest. I just need a moment to unscramble myself.
He doesn’t let me go straight away. But then he drops his arms and nods. “Okay, baby.”
He’s called me that twice now and each time it unleashed a whole new wave of longing through me. He has this low, gravelly way of wrapping his lips around that word that I like. And the fact he doesn’t say it all the time makes it feel special.
I follow him into the kitchen and now that I’m not trapped in Luke’s scent, I smell the dinner he’s cooked. “You made homemade pizza?” I ask as I watch him open the oven.
Eyeing me, he says, “Yeah. You like pizza, right?”
I can’t contain my excitement. “It’s only one of my favourite meals.”
He lifts the pizza from the oven and places it on a board. “I made half and half because I wasn’t sure if you were a meat lover or not.”
The pizza has my complete attention. It’s huge. He’s made half meatlover and half supreme. I’m practically drooling here. Shifting my gaze back to his, I say, “I love it all. I’ll pretty much eat any pizza.”
He jerks his chin at the fridge. “Do you wanna get some drinks out while I get this ready? There’s some Vodka Cruisers in the door.”
I watch as he starts slicing the pizza. My heart suddenly feels like it might burst out of my chest. This man. Who would have ever thought Luke and I could get along so well?
Ten minutes later, we’re sitting at the table laughing over what I’ve told him about my day at work. One of the guys I work with says the dumbest things, and I’ve recounted the stupidest thing that came out of his mouth today.
“I know it’s not quite what you wish you were doing, but are you liking the job okay?” Luke asks as he wipes some pizza sauce from the side of my mouth. He's made the best pizza I think I’ve ever tasted; I ate so fast I made a mess of my face.
“I don’t mind it. I just need to suck it up with these functions they want me to cover. One of the reporters stopped by my desk to say hi, and she asked me to help her out with some research on a story, so at least I’ll get to do some interesting work as well.”
“That’s go—” A sound from out the front interrupts us. Luke’s head turns towards the front door before looking back my way. “Was that a knock?”
I nod. “I think so.”
He pushes his chair back. “I won’t be long.”
I happily devour another slice of pizza while he’s gone. Muffled voices filter down the hallway, and I make out a woman’s voice. I then hear Luke say, “I’ll just grab it for you.” A moment later, he comes back and searches in one of the kitchen drawers for something.
When a woman joins him, I watch in fascination as her eyes bulge at the sight of me. “Hi,” she says. “Luke didn’t tell me he had a guest, sorry.”
“No worries,” I say as I go back for another piece of pizza. This will be my fourth piece, and I give zero fucks about that. And I’m fairly sure I’ll be begging Luke to make this again very soon. To hell with the extra yoga I’ll have to do.
I watch Luke and the woman interact. She looks to be about his age. Actually, no, on closer inspection she looks older. It’s the lines around her eyes that make me think this. She’s carrying some extra weight. Not much, but enough that she has a muffin top. I only notice that because she’s wearing the tightest jeans known to mankind and a matching ill-fitting V-neck tee. Her cleavage is spilling all over the place. And now that I notice it, she’s pushing that cleavage towards Luke.
I sit up straighter when I realise this woman has a thing for him. However, I know I have nothing to worry about because my man is oblivious to it all. He’s simply intent on getting whatever it is she wants.
Men can be so blind sometimes.
She slinks up against him, her eyes all flirty. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” she says to him while doing her best to rub those big-ass boobs all over him.
Vomit.
She is shameless, and I instantly dislike her.
“Sorry,” he mutters. “Alanis, this is Callie. Callie, Alanis.”
Alanis leaves him and makes her way to where I’m sitting at the table beyond the breakfast bar. Her gaze takes in the pizza before meeting mine again. I don’t like the glint I see there. I’ve only just met this woman, but I’m certain she’s a scheming bitch.
When she opens her mouth and directs her venom at me, I know I’m 100 percent right. “He makes the best pizza, doesn’t he, sweetie?” Her brows lift. “I see you’re enjoying it. From experience, I can tell you that you’ll need to add some cardio to your schedule after tonight. You don’t want that top to be any tighter than it already is.”
That bitch.
Her freaking top is tighter than mine.
I smile sweetly at her. “Oh, I think Luke might like it if my top gets a littl
e tighter. I think I’ll skip that cardio, but thanks for the advice. Us girls have to stick together, right?”
Darkness briefly slashes across her face. She recovers quickly, though. “We sure do, sweetie.” With that, she turns and walks back to where Luke’s watching me with a strange look. She rubs her hand down his arm and says, “Honey, do you want me to look after Sean any days next week? Now that Rod and I are back home, I’m free whenever you need me.” The fact she has a man of her own but is still flirting with mine, does not surprise me.
“Thanks. I should be okay, though. I think I’ve sorted my staff out at work a—”
I cut in. “And he’s got me now.”
Luke’s eyes meet mine, and he hits me with a million-dollar smile. “And I’ve got Callie and Paris,” he says.
Alanis waves her hand around in the air. “Pfft, you can never have enough babysitters. I’ll check in on you in a couple of days.” She then kisses him on the cheek before adding, “It was so good to see you. And thanks for signing that document for me.”
The woman has no shame. Kissing a man in front of his woman is not okay.
After she leaves, Luke joins me again. He’s frowning. “Did something just happen there that I missed?”
I want to laugh. “Uh, yes. Your friend just tried to stake her claim on you.”
“Alanis? She’s married.”
I press my lips together and shake my head. “She might be married, but she’s got the hots for you, buddy. And where the hell is her wedding ring?” There was no ring on her finger. I checked.
“She doesn’t wear it. Something about skin allergies.”
“How do you know her?”
“She was Jolene’s best friend for years. She and Jolene used to do everything together. They were both pregnant at the same time, too, but Alanis’s baby died of SIDS. She adores Sean and spends a lot of time with him. I would have been lost without her after Jolene went to prison.”
Oh, God.
This woman is a permanent fixture in Luke’s life.
“They’re not friends anymore?”
“No. Alanis was actually the one who found the physical evidence that Jolene committed the murder.”
I frown. “How?”
“She was babysitting Sean one day when she discovered a box full of evidence. Stuff like maps of the area where the murder took place, a brochure of the motel where it happened, receipts for the motel room and rope…” His voice falters at that, but he continues. “Printed research on how to kill… Fuck, sorry, talking about this makes me—”
I place my hand on his arm. “It’s okay. You don’t need to go back over it all.” I decide to give this woman another chance. If she means this much to Luke, she mustn’t be as bad as I think. First impressions are often wrong. “It sounds like you’ve got a good friend there.”
His eyes find mine. “Yeah.” His voice is croaky, and I can see how much this is affecting him.
I lose myself in the moment and bend forward. Brushing my lips across his, I murmur, “I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all this.”
He reaches out and slides his hand around my neck. Holding me so I can’t move my lips away from his, he rasps, “Life’s getting better every day, Callie. You’ve given me that.”
His lips find mine again in a slow-burn kiss that morphs into desperate need. It’s not long before I’m straddling him with my arms around his neck while we kiss as if we’ve never kissed in our life. As if we’re fighting to experience every amazing feeling a kiss can give, all in this one moment.
When he finally pulls away, breathless, I instantly miss his touch. Resting his forehead against mine, he mutters, “Sorry about that. Momentary lapse…”
We sit like this for a long while, both of us struggling to recover our breaths. We’re also both having trouble letting each other go. Our bodies are still pressed hard against each other, and our arms are still around the other.
“I don’t want to move,” I whisper.
“I don’t want you to, either.” His eyes find mine and hold on just as tight as his arms.
I bite my lip. “Are you any closer to the divorce?” I ask hesitantly. I don’t want to nag him about this. And yet, I really want it to hurry up.
His eyes leave mine, and he looks down for a moment. “I think so.” He gives me his eyes again, but only for a quick second before he looks down again. He then stands while still holding me. Placing me down, he says, “I’ll know more soon.”
As I watch him begin to clear the table, I can’t help but feel like he just fobbed me off. It was like he was trying to avoid that whole conversation.
And not in a good way.
It was as if he wasn’t telling me something.
15
Callie
“Hey, kitty,” I say as I bend to pat Mariah the next afternoon. She rubs up against my leg and meows loudly. As I try to move around her so I can unlock my front door, she keeps getting in my way. Laughing, I bend down and scoop her up. Patting her, I say, “I’m sorry I’m late tonight. I got stuck at stupid work and then in traffic. But I’m here now, and if you just let me go inside, I promise to bring your food out.”
She purrs in my arms while I take the opportunity to unlock the door. Placing her back down, I say, “I’ll be back soon.”
My cat, Jasper, meets me on the other side of the door, as keen for food as Mariah. After I give him some attention, I run for the bathroom. I drank a lot of water today, and the traffic was a bitch, and then there was a car accident that held me up. My trip home took an extra hour and a half and to say I’m desperate for the bathroom doesn’t even cover it.
When I enter my kitchen a few minutes later, I grab the cat food and notice my phone on the kitchen counter. “There it is,” I mutter. I forgot it this morning.
After I’ve fed the cats and given them some time, I swipe my phone off the counter.
Holy shit.
There are eight missed calls from Luke.
I don’t bother listening to his voice messages; I call him straight away.
“Callie,” he clips when he answers.
He’s pissed off.
“I’m so sorry, Luke. I left my phone at home. You should have called me at work.”
“I did.”
“Oh. They never told me.”
He’s silent for a beat before he says, “You’re okay?” He’s so gruff with me that annoyance creeps up my spine.
“Yes, I’m fine. What’s up?” I go for casual, hoping he’ll calm down.
“Nothing’s up,” he snaps. “Except for the fact I’ve just spent the last few hours wondering if you were okay. I would have appreciated a phone call.”
“I’m sorry, Luke, I didn’t know you’d called. I don’t like the tone you’re taking. Do you think you could untwist your balls for long enough to give me a chance to explain?”
He doesn’t say anything, but I hear the long breath he blows out. “Sorry.” He pauses. When he speaks again, his voice has softened a fraction. Only a fraction. “I’ve been going out of my mind worrying that you’d had a car accident on the way home. I was just about to come over to your place to see if you were there.”
“I’m here, and I’m okay, so you can stop worrying now. I’m sorry you were so concerned.”
He calms right down then. “Fuck, you shouldn’t be apologising. I’m the one who lost it… Can I come over a little later tonight?”
“Yes,” I agree before we end the call.
There’s a nervous knot in my tummy. I’m going to ask him again about his divorce, because I’ve been turning it over and over in my mind today, and I’m convinced he’s keeping something from me.
By the time Luke arrives just after ten, the nervous knot in my stomach has intensified.
He steps through my front door, and I’m so worked up that I hardly even take in how amazing he looks tonight. All I can focus on is getting my feelings off my chest.
“Do you want a drink? I just made a tea,” I s
ay. My voice is way off, and it comes out weird.
He frowns. “Are you upset with me? I’m sorry I was such a bastard to you earlier.”
My heart speeds up. God, I hate this kind of thing. But I need to tell him what I’m feeling. “I’m not upset with you over that. There’s something else we need to discuss, though.”
He nods. “Okay.”
I take a deep breath. “Yesterday when I asked you about your divorce, you went funny on me. I just want to know what that was about. I’m not nagging, I promise. I’m just confused and—”
He presses his finger gently to my lips. “Shhh… I’ll explain.” He might be saying that he’ll explain, but the expression on his face makes it clear this is the last thing he wants to do.
“Oh, God, Luke… What?”
He takes hold of my hands. “Let’s sit down and I’ll tell you what’s going on.”
Now that I know there’s something, I’m not sure I actually want to know. I think it would have been better staying in my cocoon of oblivion.
He leads me to the couch and settles me before sitting next to me. Raking his fingers through his hair, he says, “The divorce has been stalled because the police got involved. They think Jolene committed another murder before she killed her mother, and they asked me to get some information from her. I’ve spent the last month getting this information for them.” He stops talking for a beat. The way he’s now watching me as if he’s unsure how I’ll take all this makes me feel like an important piece of the puzzle is about to be revealed. “In order to do that, I’ve had to spend time at the prison with Jolene, letting her believe I wanted to put our marriage back together.”
My mind runs in a million different directions. But first and foremost, all I can think is how hard the past month must have been for Luke. I reach for his hand. “I’m so sorry.”
Lines etch his forehead as he frowns. “Why are you sorry?”
“Because after everything you’ve had to go through over the last two years, you now have to do this. I can’t even imagine what it takes to go into that prison and do what you’re doing. I’m not sure I would have said yes to the police if it were me. Not after all the hell she’s already put you through.”