by Leah Atwood
“No apologies needed.”
“I feel I owe you an explanation at least.” She took her hand away. “I’m not normally weird like that.”
“I’ve known you long enough to know that something out of the ordinary is going on.” He gave her that smile again, the one that made her puddle with its kindness. “Even if that’s how you usually act, then so what? You’re still you.”
“Are you always so accepting of people’s flaws?”
Luke laughed. “When you moved as often as I did growing up, you learn how to make friends with anyone.”
The saxophonist ended his song and took a break. Luke prompted them to move again.
“How often did you move?” Kate’s only knowledge of the military lifestyle was through Evan.
“Every year or two. We stayed in North Carolina for three years and that was our longest duty station.”
“My brother is stationed at New River, next to Camp Lejeune.”
“It’s been a while, but I’m very familiar with it. My dad was ground side on Lejeune.” Luke stopped in front of a red brick building. “We’re here.”
The restaurant’s name was painted in white letters on the large square mirror that took up a third of the building’s front. Textured “snow” was sprayed on the window’s corners and along the sides. Someone had painted an image of a rotund Santa with a slice of pizza held to his mouth.
Pressing a feather light touch to her back, Luke opened the door and guided her in. A sign in the front told them to sit anywhere. They chose a booth on the far wall that offered privacy, but still gave a view of the holiday scene outside.
“How come you’ve never mentioned your brother?” Luke asked after they’d placed an order for a medium pepperoni pie.
“I’m not sure.” She unwrapped her straw and stuck it inside her diet soda. “He’s five years younger than me, but we are very close. Have you seen the picture on my desk at work?”
He squinted his eyes and looked up. “Now that you mention it, yes. Is that Evan with you?”
“That was the day he left for boot camp.” Ice cubes clinked against her glass as she twirled the straw. “He deployed last May.”
“Afghanistan?”
Her head moved up and down once in slow motion. “I haven’t heard from him in a week, which is unusual.”
“He’s probably in the field.”
“That’s what Mom and Dad say.” Her palm splayed against her heart. “Have you ever felt in here that something’s wrong, an intuition that all is not well?”
“Yes." A few seconds passed before he spoke again. “You shouldn’t discount your gut, but I can tell you, as a military brat, that the mind does like to play tricks during deployments.”
“I hope that’s all it is.” His active listening without dismissal of her feelings bolstered her confidence to tell him more. “This Thanksgiving didn’t even feel like a holiday.”
“Because of Evan?”
Their waiter delivered their pizza to the table. Luke served a piece on each of their plates, then sprinkled crushed red pepper on top of his.
Kate added a dash of grated parmesan cheese to her slice. “Partially. It’s not the first one we’ve spent apart, but there’s a big difference between him being eleven hundred miles away and still in the same country versus seven thousand in a combat zone.”
“I’d have to agree.” Complete understanding reflected in Luke’s eyes.
“If I could just talk to him, I’d feel a lot better. To make the issue worse, my parents took a cruise and were gone for Thanksgiving.” She picked off a pepperoni and ate it. “They never go away, but someone gave them a free trip. Mom felt bad leaving me, but of course I told her and Dad to go. They’ve worked hard all their lives and deserved a nice trip.”
“But it made for a lonely holiday.” He bit into a corner of his pizza.
“Exactly. I know I’m fortunate to have my family around as much as I do, but this year, it seemed to hit all at once.” She drew in a breath. “That’s why I wasn’t myself earlier. When you told me about your dad being a Marine, it triggered the reminder of Evan.”
“Understandable. I still remember the first Thanksgiving I spent in Lafayette and knew no one. I’d just started at Sinclair, so I couldn’t even take time off to go home.” His mouth curled. “I ate pancakes for dinner.”
“That’s so sad.” Why does he keep causing these tugs on my heart?
“Sounds it, but, believe it or not, it turned out to be a good day. I met my neighbor, who was also new to town, and we watched football all day.”
“Just like that?”
“I told you I learned to make friends easily. Call it a gift or whatever. What did you do?” Luke took another bite of his slice and chewed.
With every movement of his jaw, Kate couldn’t help noticing its strong angles. “Went to Oden Bridge and had Thanksgiving dinner at Gram’s house with Sophie.”
“At least you had your grandmother.”
Kate laughed. “Gram isn’t my grandmother, not officially though she’ll gladly claim anyone. She’s Bryce’s grandmother.”
“Bryce is Sophie’s husband, right?” Bypassing the pizza spatula, he grabbed another slice.
“Yes.”
“And Sophie’s your best friend, correct?”
“That’s right.”
His smile charmed her all the way down to her toes. “Just making sure I keep it all straight.”
Suppressing a sigh of relief, Kate was secretly glad when Luke didn’t try to pry any information about Bryce or turn star struck. She’d gone on a few dates that had become uncomfortable in a very short timeframe after the guy had found out her best friend’s husband was a celebrity. One date had even asked if she would pass a demo on to him.
Her answer had been a resounding no. Because of Sophie, she’d gotten to know Bryce and some of his friends in the last two and a half years, and she wouldn’t take advantage of that. To her, he was her best friend’s husband and not the top-of-the-charts country music star.
“I’m glad I was able to spend that time with her, but I still missed my family.” All her pepperonis were gone. She lifted the slice to her mouth, finally took a bite of her first piece.
“Are they home now?”
She nodded. “They came home Saturday night and are generously watching my dog while I’m here.”
Luke’s eyes widened, just enough to not be obvious. “I would have guessed you’re a cat person, not dog.”
“Neither, actually, but Jasper found me, and I couldn’t turn him away. He’s a black lab mix that showed up at my house all skin and bones. The next thing I knew, he’d become a permanent fixture.” She took her phone from her purse, pulled up a picture of Jasper and showed Luke. “This is him. He’s been mine for fourteen months now.”
“Cute.”
“I think so. He’s grown on me, and I kind of like the mutt now.” All right, I love the dog. He’s wormed his way into my heart.
“You are full of surprises. Anything else I should know?” He winked. “Any snake cages or guinea pigs hiding in your house?”
A giggle escaped. Really, Kate, a giggle? “No other creatures. What about you?”
His lips pursed, humor sparkling in his eyes. “A cat.”
“Seriously?”
“Similar story to yours, except my other neighbor left him behind, and Tag took up residence in my house through an opened window.”
“Tag’s the cat’s name?” The fact he had a cat, with an adorable name at that, added ten points of endearment.
Luke put up his hands. “The name came with him.”
The remainder of the meal passed in a similar fashion, light-hearted and enough of a distraction to keep her mind off Evan. After dinner, they’d braved the cold and strolled around the inner harbor. By the time Luke walked her to her hotel room door two hours later, a weight had lifted from her shoulders. For the first time in days she was happy, her natural smile in place.
&n
bsp; “Thanks for inviting me out tonight.” She leaned against the doorjamb, room key in hand.
“I’m glad you came. Spending time with you outside work was a nice change of pace.” His arms hung casually at his sides.
“We should do it again.” Where had that spurt of boldness come from?
“Definitely. Name the time and place and I’ll be there.”
Might as well make it count. “Breakfast in the morning, downstairs in the restaurant, say, six thirty?”
A lazy smile spread across his face. “It’s a date.”
Was it? Who was she to argue? “So it is.”
Lifting his arm, Luke gave her upper arm a brief squeeze. “Have a good night, Kate.”
“You too.”
As she watched him walk away for the second time that day, she realized that since they’d left for dinner, she hadn’t once been scared of letting him into her life.
And that gave her hope.
Chapter 3
Luke fastened the bottom button of his brown shirt and secured his leather belt. Sucking in a long breath, he tried not to think about the day ahead. Otherwise, he’d be antsier than a child in a candy store until it was time to pick up Kate.
In the ten days since the conference ended, and he’d returned to Lafayette, he’d spent time with her on seven of them. Four lunches together at work, three dinner dates—two on the same days they’d shared their lunch hour, the annual Christmas party at the Cajundome last night, and then their date today. Outside their work environment, they’d clicked and their friendship deepened rapidly after their pizza outing.
So had his romantic inclinations toward her. She wasn’t perfect, didn’t fit the role in which he’d previously imagined her. There were walls she’d erected, so well disguised behind a gorgeous smile and sparkling eyes that he’d never noticed. The perfectly placed life she’d portrayed had chinks, fears that gripped her and kept people at a distance. He didn’t understand them yet, but he wanted to.
Because, despite her flaws, Kate was an amazing person. She was loyal, fun, stylish, kind and respectful. The better he knew her, the more he could imagine a future with her, and he wanted to be that person in whom she confided, told her fears. That she’d even let her guard down around him, allowed him to see her limitations, meant a lot to him.
Tag rubbed against his leg, reminding him with a meow that his bowl was empty. Luke went to the kitchen of his rented townhome and dumped a can of wet cat food into the fish-shaped bowl. His sister had bought the bowl when she’d visited two months ago—he’d been fine using the repurposed tray of a microwave dinner.
He grabbed his wallet from the counter and slid it into his rear pocket. His jacket was draped over a chair at the dining table, and he reached for it but opted not to wear it. The temperature was a brisk forty-nine degrees now, but would warm to the high-sixties by midday. December in south Louisiana was more like early fall for most of the country.
Surveying the ground level of his house, he searched for any last-minute issues to be corrected. The furniture was dust free, dishes done, counters decluttered. He wanted it to look its best when they came back later. Luke’s gaze traveled to the cleared corner of his living room. For the first time since he’d moved out of his parents’ home eleven years ago at the age of eighteen, he would have a Christmas tree.
At least his first that required more than a twenty-five unit string of lights or was taller than a foot. Since he lived alone and the only visitors he’d ever had were other bachelors, he didn’t see the point of decorating. Kate, on the other hand, had different ideas. When she suggested he should have his own tree, he hadn’t been able to resist turning it into another date. Last night he’d researched live tree farms and found one thirty minutes away.
He left his townhouse, locking the door on his way out. Kate lived across town, near the mall, and the drive to her house took him ten minutes. She was already outside when he pulled into her driveway that was lined with three-foot-tall candy canes.
“What do you think?” she asked after he’d stepped out from his car.
“It’s…” He paused, taking in the myriad of outdoor decorations. On one side of the yard were animated deer grazing the grass and two angels made from the same metal composition. The left side of the yard displayed a crèche with the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, wise men, and shepherds. Pine garland wrapped her porch rail and a matching wreath hung from the door. “Festive.”
“A little much, I know.” Kate’s laugh jingled bells in his heart. “I started collecting them my freshman year of college and add a piece or two every year.”
“It looks great, really. What’s this year’s new item?” He took a second look, making a quiet guess of the sheep near the nativity.
“Haven’t got it yet.” A wink his way landed at his heart. “I thought I could look today when we go to Hobby Lobby for your decorations.”
“I get final say on my ornaments.” As much as he adored Kate, with her flair for style, he’d probably come home with decorations in non-traditional colors if the decision were left to her.
“I know.” She flashed him a brilliant smile.
His stomach flipped, and he knew he’d be coming home with purple ornaments if that’s what she liked. “Ready?”
She nodded and walked to the passenger door that he’d already opened for her. Once she was in and buckled, he closed the door and walked to his side.
“Play whatever you want on the radio.” His hands remained steady on the wheel as he maneuvered onto the road, fighting the influx of vehicles clogging the streets around the mall for holiday shopping.
Kate played with the controls until Brenda Lee’s “Jingle Bell Rock” came through the speakers.
She’d tuned in to the only station in the area that played Christmas songs twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. “Of course.”
“Sing with me.” Leaning over, she poked him in the shoulder, and then danced her pointer fingers to the song’s beat.
He shook his head. “No one wants to hear me sing.”
“I do.”
Just his luck, “Jingle Bell Rock” faded out, and Bryce Landry’s version of “Run, Run, Rudolph” came on. Luke’s eyes remained on the road, but he felt Kate’s expectant stare. Acquiescing, he sang the first few lines.
“Was that so bad?” The teasing lilt of her voice made it worth it.
“Not really.” To his surprise, he found himself singing the rest of the song. And the next. Kate had the effect on him, drew the playfulness out of his reserved demeanor.
“You don’t like for the attention to be on you, do you?” Twisting in her seat, Kate looked at him.
“Not at all.” He steered into the parking lot of the tree farm. “Guess I had enough of it growing up, always standing in front of the class, being introduced as the new kid every time we moved. I made friends easily enough, but I hated the process.”
“Is it safe to assume you’ll never run off, chasing dreams of being a superstar?”
“Probably the safest assumption you’ll ever make.” He laughed heartily, then sobered. “I’m just an accountant, Kate. There’s not much exciting in my life, but it’s who I am. I crave steadiness and routine, it’s what I need to thrive.”
Taunts from an ex-girlfriend played in his memory. Too boring. Too predictable. Too blah.
He shifted into ‘park’, killed the ignition. Afraid he’d said too much, he didn’t look Kate’s way until her hand covered his. “You’re not just an accountant. You’re kind and considerate, with a subtle sense of humor. You’re compassionate and dedicated. Plus you’re dependable and reliable. There’s a lot to be said for that.”
His eyes rolled. “You make me sound like a bore.”
“I don’t find anything about you boring.” She dropped a kiss on his cheek and hopped out her side of the car.
Startled, he didn’t move at first. He caught his hand before it touched the spot on his cheek she�
��d touched, but he was glad he’d taken the time to shave that morning. A smile curled his lips as he exited his car.
Emboldened by her kiss, he reached for her hand. She willingly offered it and their fingers locked, slowly and deliberately. Their eyes met, acknowledging they’d crossed a line into a different relationship, something more than friends. Giving her a gentle tug, he drew her closer to him.
“What do we do now, Ms. Christmas Spirit?” In all his life, he’d never cut down a tree. His family had always bought one from a stand outside the grocery store or from a civic organization fundraiser.
She laughed at the moniker he’d given her. “First we find a tree and tag it. Then we rent a saw or have one of the staff cut it for us.”
“I don’t think so.” His brows lifted, and he gave her a resolute smile. “If we’re getting a real tree, we’re going the distance and knocking it down ourselves.”
“All right. Let’s go find a tree.” She pulled him past a small red outbuilding where people lined up with their trees, waiting for them to be trimmed and baled.
Past the structure was another building, a few feet longer and wider than the previous. Pine boughs hung from the roof’s perimeter and sprigs of mistletoe decorated the speakers which were secured at each corner of the building. The cozy scent of mulled cider combined with the music of upbeat Christmas favorites lent a festive air to the farm and they hadn’t even reached the trees yet.
Luke stopped walking and looked behind him. “Shouldn’t we rent the saw before searching for the tree so we don’t backtrack?”
“Good point.”
They turned around, returning to the red building. Reluctantly, he let go of Kate to hand over a few dollars in exchange for the tool. Once again on their way, they walked a quarter mile path that led to row upon row of trees.
These conifers were a variation of cypress, Carolina Sapphire the farm’s website had said, and they looked much different than the firs his parents had bought. One tree caught his eye, and he pointed it out to Kate. They ambled closer to examine it. Luke reached out and touched it, surprised by how soft the silvery-blue foliage was, not prickly at all.