by Jami Wagner
She nods and then looks at me with her red-rimmed eyes. The devastation in her eyes makes my heart beat so hard, I feel like it’s about to jump up my throat.
“Brandy and I were the ones who broke into the bookstore,” she says, looking away once the words are out. “We didn’t think anyone was around and then you were there and we didn’t say anything.”
They did it and let people believe it was me?
“We thought,” Brandy begins, “that if the store was gone, Luke wouldn’t have so much to focus on and he could be our brother again.”
My hand covers my heart as I look at Luke. He still isn’t looking at me.
I know I should be upset, but it’s clear from everyone who knew Luke before his father passed away that he was a whole different person. His friends and family missed him. His family committed vandalism to get their brother back.
The tears start before I can control them.
“Excuse me,” I say, rising and turning for some other place to be right now.
“Bathroom is down the hall on the right,” their mother says.
I don’t waste time getting there. I’m just about to close the door and lock myself in when a hand pushes the door open. Luke forces his way in and shuts the door behind him.
“Sky, I am so sorry. So crazy sorry.” He kisses my forehead as I cry into his chest. He chants “I’m sorry” over and over as I hold on to him. He has nothing to be sorry for. I know he hates how he treated me. He’ll feel the guilt for a long time. But I’m not crying because of all that.
I’m crying because he has the family I’ve always wanted.
“And I’m so sorry I can’t seem to say anything other than ‘I’m sorry’ when things go wrong. I keep messing up, and I—”
“Luke,” I say, pulling away and sitting on the edge of the tub.
“Yes, anything. What can I do?” He kneels in front of me, clasping my hands in his.
“You’re not messing up, but we do need to pull ourselves together.”
“I know.”
“Every time you apologize, you do it because you think you did something wrong, and every time that happens, I think, ‘Did he do something wrong?’”
“I know.”
“Your family would do anything to have you in their lives, Luke. I’m right there with them, if we stop having our doubts.”
“Is that why you’re crying? Because you have doubts about us?” He swipes away a tear and kisses the spot where it fell.
I shake my head.
“I’m crying because my family hasn’t tried to reach out to me. Not once. I knew they wouldn’t, and I wanted to leave, but it still hurts, knowing they don’t care enough to even try.”
“Sky, I’ll never be able to make up for your family, but you have me now. I’ll do whatever it takes to show you that I’ll never leave you.”
Luke lips are soft and gentle when he kisses me. I pull him closer and he pushes my knees apart to lean between them and wrap his arms around my waist.
“I want very badly to keep kissing you, but I can smell that turkey. and I’m going to need all the energy I can get for the things I plan to do to you tonight.”
“Sounds like a perfect idea to me.”
With one more kiss, he takes my hand and pulls me to my feet. I stop by the mirror to fix my makeup.
“Should I have my mom ground my sisters?” he asks. “Or should we do something more extreme?”
I laugh.
“It’s time to let it go. Let’s just get back to us and being happy.”
He presses his lips to the top of my head. I can do that.”
His mother and sisters are waiting for us at the table when we return. I take the seat next to Shea. It’s clear she’s still upset.
“Thank you for telling me the truth,” I say to her and Brandy. “Now, who’s hungry?”
We each take turns loading our plates with turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, red-hot applesauce and so much more. I help his mother and sisters with the dishes after dinner, and before I know it, it’s close to midnight and time for us to leave.
My first real family Thanksgiving was a success.
Luke
I feel worse over the entire break-in thing. I mean, I should, definitely. But to Sky, she was just happy the truth was out. That was all she wanted. It never came up, and I’m glad it didn’t, but the second break-in wasn’t my sisters. It’s been a couple months so I think whoever was having their fun is done now. At least, I hope they are. I don’t like the idea of Sky living up there alone. Sharing that bit of information isn’t something I want to do. I don’t want to alarm her.
I lock the door to the bookstore and turn to face Sky. That moment she gives me a push. My back hits the door and my hands fly up like they always do when I feel the need to defend myself, except this time I don’t. Just when I am convinced she’s going to vent to me over everything that happened with my sisters, she doesn’t. Instead, she presses her lips against mine and rubs her body against me. With each stroke of her tongue, her body moves, touching me in a different place and sending a warm tingle throughout every inch of me.
I wrap my arms around her waist, forcing her body even closer than it already is. My hands slide over her hips and around to her ass. They grip tightly once before moving to the back of her thigh. I lift her, wrapping her legs around me. When I feel her heels lock in the dip of my back, I head for the steps.
Her hands are holding my face in place as she kisses me harder, more frantically. She nips at my bottom lip when I’m halfway up the steps, causing me to take the rest two at a time.
Her door is unlocked, and it slams against the back wall when I push it open. I don’t bother to close it since if anyone were to come through the door, they would have to pass through the store first. And I know that door is locked. No one should be bothering us tonight.
We let go of each other as I reach the bed, and she plops down onto the mattress. She laughs and starts stripping off her clothes. I do the same. The more skin she reveals, the more ready I am to explode. Once all our clothes are on the floor, I kneel onto the bed and crawl over her. I nudge one knee between hers and then the other. Then I press on them, opening her legs for me. She begins to push herself higher on the bed, but I grasp her hips and slide her down until she falls perfectly beneath me, my erection pressed against her warm center.
“Luke, you’re killing me here,” she says, her head digging into the pillows.
“Well, this would be the best way to die, wouldn’t it?”
She smirks, and her eyes go to my lips. Reaching up, she pulls me in for a kiss. With the first swoop of her tongue, I push into her. When she breaks the kiss to moan, I pull back.
Desperate eyes meet mine, and she kisses me again. This time it’s more rushed and each time our tongues collide, I thrust into her. When the pressure of her lips against mine becomes harder, so does my movement against her. When her hands start to roam over my back, her nails digging into my skin, I pick up the pace.
“Fuck,” I breathe, feeling the sensation for my own release building.
“Don’t stop,” she begs as she locks her legs around me. I reach between us and rub my finger over her as I pump. Harder and faster. One, two, three, and we come together.
As our heart rates return to a somewhat normal pace, I pull out of her and curl her into me. She rests her head on my bicep, brushing her lips against it after each breath. I kiss the back of her head.
I have the feeling we won’t be getting much sleep tonight. And I’ll be okay with having nothing ever again if it means I get to have Sky in my life. For the first time since my father’s death, I finally feel like everything in life is falling into place.
* * *
I feel when Sky’s breathing returns to normal while I feather kisses over her face, down her neck, and over her chest.
“I told the bank I wasn’t selling anymore,” I say when her bright eyes look up at me.
“You did
?”
“I want to make sure you know what you were getting into.”
“I’m fully aware of the choices I’ve been making, and I’m about 99 percent sure that you like them, too.”
Pushing me back, Sky climbs on top of me, kissing my neck.
“So now we just have to prove that we trust the other.”
I lift her chin so I can kiss her lips. “I believe in us. We can do it.”
When she goes in for another kiss, I, unfortunately, have to pull back.
“As much as I would enjoy continuing this, I have to get to campus to go over my schedule next semester with my advisor.” I need to sign up for art classes next semester. It’s time I get things back on track. And I want to make sure I’m signed up before all the spots are taken.
With a sigh, she falls back to her side of the bed.
“All right. I guess I did tell Mrs. Mulligan I would stop back by this afternoon since Tyler is going to be gone for a few days.”
“He still volunteers there too?”
“Yes, and you have nothing to worry about. He knows we’re together.”
“An exclusive relationship hasn’t stopped him before.” Although I hope he learned his lesson.
“Seriously?” she asks, rising from the bed and tugging on a pair of jeans.
“Yeah, he and Kelsey dated before she and Ethan got together.”
“Really?” Her eyes widen as she combs through her hair in the mirror and pulls it into a high ponytail. “This really is a small town, isn’t it?”
“Almost too small.”
Once we’re both dressed, we bundle up in our coats, as the weather is growing colder, and we head in the direction of the shelter and the college.
I graze my pinky against Sky’s as she locks our hands together. A breeze blows a plastic bag through the park, stealing my attention.
“I don’t like the idea that you were living out here,” I say, squeezing her hand.
“It wasn’t as bad as I’m sure it sounds.”
“You had no place to go … I just wish I’d known. Maybe I could have given you a job at the store or a place to live.”
“You would have done that for a girl you didn’t know?”
His lips pucker to the side before he answers. “I would have at least told Beth to do something about it.”
We both laugh.
“Beth would have been all over it. She would have never let me hear the end of it, either.”
“No, she wouldn’t have, but maybe we could have started dating sooner.”
“Or maybe, had you known, we’d never have dated,” she says.
She could be right. I like to think that the two of us would have gotten together no matter what happened in our lives, but I know that’s not true. I knew she hung out with our friends and I’d done nothing about it until I was forced.
“I’ll see you tonight?” I ask once we reach the shelter. I work tonight, but she doesn’t and I hope she is cool with me coming back to her place when I get off.
“Of course,” she says with a kiss. “We have to pick up where we just left off, remember?”
This time I pull her in for a deeper kiss, our tongues dancing together as we make out on the street outside the shelter where the town gossip queen is probably sitting inside watching us. I don’t care. Let her tell every person she knows. Sky is with me, and I’m the luckiest guy in the world.
Chapter Nineteen
Luke
I set the tray of White Russians on the counter and grab Beth’s attention to get the drinks her table ordered. With things with Sky are on the right track again, I actually feel less stressed. If I focus on one thing as a time, I’ll be fine even without selling the store. It will always be there. Skylar, though—I’ll find a way to show her how much she means to me.
The door opens as a new customer arrives, someone I don’t recognize. He stands tall and adjusts his tie as he surveys the bar. Another man, looking like his exact clone, walks in behind him. From the way he stops behind him, it’s clear that man number one calls the shots for this duo. His head turns slowly, and I can’t seem to find something, anything else to look at.
When his gaze finds me behind the bar, I swear it’s like the man grows another inch or two taller. His eyes narrow as they continue to focus on me. Clearly, my looking at him has pissed him off.
“Luke,” Beth nudges me. “Do you know who that is?”
“No,” I answer, thankful she was able to draw my focus to something else. I ask the man in front of me if he needs another beer, and he nods. I turn to pull a bottle from the fridge, and the feeling that this stranger in the bar is watching me never leaves. I twist the cap off harder than needed and set it on the counter. Beer sloshes over the top. I’m about to apologize for spilling the customer’s drink, but the man isn’t sitting there anymore. He’s been replaced by the man who is clearly here for me. I just don’t know why.
“Be a doll and take this disgusting drink out of my face and deliver it to the unwashed man who has moved seats.” He directs his request toward Beth. She huffs.
I toss my towel to the counter behind me and cross my arms. Who the fuck is this jackass?
“Can I help you with something?” I ask. Beth takes the beer. I keep my eye on her as she walks around the side of the bar. The guy here who walked in with shit for brains isn’t sitting, and if he so much as thinks about messing with Beth, I’ll be over this counter top so fast he won’t even have a chance to blink.
Beth sets the drink down and moves on to take another table’s order. She glances at me, and I nod. I can handle this jackass.
“I’ll take a scotch, neat.”
I lean back, folding my arms in front of me.
“I asked if there was something I could help you with. Making you a drink isn’t an option.”
“But this is a bar, yes? And that is what you do here, yes?”
“Not for people like you.”
“Is that so? I would imagine that when a man like me walks in here, clearly with money and ready to spend it, everyone in this place would beg to wait on me.”
“You’re mistaken.”
“Am I, Luke?”
I try to remain calm. How the fuck does this dickweed know who I am? But I’m pretty sure that the moment my jaw ticks and a satisfied grin hits his face, I’m reacting exactly as he planned.
“If I’m not mistaken, you need money. You need a great deal of money, actually.”
His left brow raises, waiting for my response. I don’t bite.
“All right, I see how it is. I am a businessman willing to make a deal with you. This deal will provide you, your mother, and your sisters with enough money that you can all go back to the happy family you were before such tragedy found you. Enough money that you can make all your dreams come true, Luke—you can keep the bookstore and paint and even travel to all those places you’ve wanted to see. I can give you all that.”
He leans back as if everything he just said has won me over. He’s wrong. I don’t care how much money this guy has; whatever he is offering, I don’t want it. What I do want is for him to forget he knows anything about my family.
“That offer sounds great and all, but I’ll pass. You can see yourself out.” I walk away, ready to be done with this conversation. An alarm system would be a good investment for my mom and sisters.
A closed fist slams down on the counter, stopping me and gaining the attention of the entire bar. Conner excuses himself from the customer he is speaking with, and out of the corner of my eye I see Beth grab Abby’s arms, stalling her from coming this direction. I hold my hand up, stopping Conner too. I can handle this guy, and based on what he knows about me, the fewer people I bring into this, the better. I have nothing to hide, but did my father?
“You will take my offer,” he seethes.
“It’s time for you to leave,” I say in a low voice.
“I’m not leaving this town without my fiancé. She will come home with me, and yo
u are going to make that happen.”
“Sorry, pal, but I don’t know anything about a fiancé. You must have the wrong guy.”
“Unless Skylar Atwood is fucking another man besides you, I’m talking to exactly who I need to be talking to.”
He knows Sky? Is he saying she’s his fiancé?
“Oh, she never told you. She’s engaged. To me. The name’s Mack, Mack Johnson.”
I take a deep breath and feel my teeth grind together.
“She may be sleeping with you now, but the next bed she’s going to be in is mine, and—”
He doesn’t have a chance to finish whatever it is he was going to say. His fancy suit is curling into my grip as I launch myself over the counter and drag him to the door. He’s tripping the entire way, yelling for someone to “pull this trash off him.” The moment he’s through the door, my fist is up and ready for contact, but someone grabs me and a fist slams into the side of my face. Two arms grip me, holding my hands behind my back. Mack pushes himself off the ground and stands in front of me.
“You fucking bastard.” He punches me, once, twice in the face and a third time in the gut. “You will make sure Skylar returns home with me. I don’t give a fuck how you end it with her, but I will go home with my family. Either you take me up on my end and she goes willingly, or we do it my way, a not-so-willing way. Make the right choice. For her. Do you hear me?”
I’m breathing hard, and with each breath my chest feels like it’s going to explode.
“Hey!” Conner yells, sprinting through the door and standing between me and Mack. “Get the fuck out of here!” he yells. The man behind me lets go, and he and his boss walk away. I hear the faint sound of a laugh before he closes the driver’s door to a black Lincoln Town Car. Conner grabs my wrist before I can take another step.
“What in the hell was that?” he asks.
“Nothing,” I answer, coughing.
“That was definitely not nothing,” he says, pointing to the spot where Mack’s car just disappeared from.
I fucking know that, but what can I tell him? I don’t know what he wants me to say. Clearly, I don’t know as much as I should about Sky’s past, and it doesn’t even matter. She’s in danger with that guy sticking around. This shit doesn’t happen in real life. The girl I’m seeing was engaged to that guy. Truth or not, there’s no fucking way I can let her leave with him. I don’t want to imagine how he treats her.