A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action

by LuAnn McLane

  “Why’d you get so quiet? Tell me more! Did Tammy like the cut you gave her?”

  “Yeah, she did. I added some layers and flipped it out on the ends. She really seemed to love it and got lots of compliments,” I tell her with a measure of pride.

  “Oh I’m so jealous!”

  “Yeah, right. You’re in Hawaii for two weeks with the man of your dreams. I’m the jealous one,” I tell her, and then want to bite my tongue since the man of my very own dreams is sitting right here next to me making for an awkward moment. I feel a blush creep up my neck but then I remember that he doesn’t really know how I feel, so my comment really didn’t matter . . . except to me.

  Maybe he should know flashes through my brain but I shake it off.

  “Speaking of the man of your dreams,” Jamie Lee says in a lower voice, “I think that driving all the way to Nashville, especially after a night of partyin’, goes way beyond friendship, Macy.”

  Turning toward the window I hiss, “Jamie Lee!” and then flick a nervous glance at Luke but he seems to be concentrating on the road. “Don’t go there.”

  “I’m just makin’ an observation. Promise me when you get back to your place you’ll invite him up and maybe kiss him or somethin’.”

  “Jamie Lee!” I hiss again.

  “Would you stop sayin’ my name like that? You sound like Mama,” she complains, but then gasps again. “My God, you already kissed him, didn’t you? I can tell!”

  “No!” I refute so sharply that Luke looks my way with raised eyebrows. I know it’s weird how she could guess such a thing with no real clues but that’s how we’ve always been. Mercy, I hope that Luke didn’t hear her!

  “Something wrong?” he asks.

  “I think she’s been hittin’ the Mai Tais a little hard, is all,” I whisper, cupping my hand over the phone.

  “Ohmigod, Macy,” Jamie Lee insists, so loudly that I’m sure Luke heard her this time. “Kiss him again. Make sure you slip him the tongue.”

  Pulling his eyes from the road Luke asks, “What did she say?”

  “Nothin’,” I assure him, and then lie, “Jamie Lee, you’re breakin’ up.”

  “I am not!” she says because I am such a bad liar.

  “Yep, you are,” I say faintly as though my voice is fading. “I’ll call you later.” I think about making static noises but that might be a bit over-the-top, so I simply flip the phone shut.

  “Why’d you tell her that? Did she somehow guess about the job offer? It’s freaky how you two have that connection.”

  I consider fibbing but he would most likely see right through me too. “No, but it’s likely that it would come up and the last thing I want to do is to put a damper on her honeymoon. Why upset her when it might not come to pass?”

  After patting my leg Luke says, “You’re a good friend, Macy. But I know my sister well enough to tell you that she would give you her blessing without hesitation. Not that she would want you to leave but she loves you enough to let you. This much I know for sure.” He glances over once again and then puts his hand back on the wheel. I get the feeling he wants to say more but falls silent.

  “I know,” I say quietly, and then sigh. “How can somethin’ this amazing be such a difficult decision?”

  “Because you care, Macy. For most people this would be a no-brainer. But not for you.”

  “Thank you, Luke,” I tell him, and God help me I want to lean over and kiss him for sayin’ such a nice thing. Okay, I want to kiss him regardless but this makes me want to even more. This of course upsets me further, so for the duration of the ride home I’m mostly silent. When I think about all that happened in the span of twenty-four hours I have to shake my head.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I guess I’m still tryin’ to wrap my brain around it all.”

  “What a difference a day makes, huh?” Luke observes as we pull up to the hardware store.

  “You were readin’ my mind.” I give him a small smile.

  “Thought so. Jamie Lee isn’t the only one who knows you well.”

  I widen my smile but his comment sounds like something a friend would say. I’m thinking that I put way too much stock into the kiss and should push it from my brain. Luke certainly seems to have. He puts the SUV in park, kills the engine, and then looks at me with his amazing eyes.

  Bedroom eyes.

  His mouth is so full and sexy, making me remember how much I enjoyed the kiss, even if it was nothing special to him.

  Maybe I need to make it special.

  I remember Jamie Lee’s suggestion to invite him up and all of a sudden I have the why-the-hell-not attitude. I know I’m bein’ wishy-washy but I mean really. Why the hell not? I decide to thank him first and then slide in an invitation for a glass of sweet tea on my back deck.

  “I’ll walk you up,” he offers, and I’m glad since it will give me a minute to muster up the courage to invite him in. He opens the SUV door for me and politely takes my duffel bag, easily hefting it from the backseat.

  When we reach the top of the landing, I smile when I notice that my petunias are once again perky. Gathering my courage because I’ve already decided that if I invite him in I will go for another kiss, I inhale deeply and then take the plunge. “Would you like to come in for a glass of sweet tea? I made a fresh pitcher this mornin’.”

  “That’d be nice. I’m parched.”

  “Good.” While I smile I nod rapidly until I realize that I must look like a Bobblehead but I’m suddenly nervous because of my going-after-another-kiss promise to myself. As I open my door I start having an internal argument, which is kind of silly because come on, whose going to win—me or myself? At that thought a silly little giggle bubbles up in my throat, so I do my usual cough to disguise it.

  “You okay?” Luke asks, and I jump at the sound of his voice even though I know he was behind me. I tend to do that when I’m thinking hard about something.

  “Sure,” I tell him with a wave of my hand.

  He nods but doesn’t look convinced. “Where do you want this bag?”

  “Oh, anywhere is fine,” I tell him as I open the kitchen cabinet for a couple of glasses. Because I’m so doggone short I have to stand on tiptoe especially since I’m in my flip-flops.

  “Need some help?” Luke asks just as I’m reaching up. Turning to answer, I somehow lose my balance, tipping both sideways and back against the counter. Luke’s hands reach out to steady me just as I grab his shoulders for balance . . .

  And suddenly we’re kissing.

  Not just a little brush against each other’s lips but a kiss like there’s no tomorrow, hungry, devouring, a delicious meeting of our mouths. Because he’s so tall I’m still on my toes, so he lifts me up and sets my butt on the countertop. Without really thinking, just reacting, I wrap my arms and legs around him without breaking the lock I have on his lips.

  Desire—warm, liquid, potent—has me melting against his chest. I’ve dreamed about a kiss like this from him but the reality is so much better. He threads his long fingers through my hair while sliding the tip of his hot tongue across my bottom lip before sucking the wet fullness into his mouth. He moans—no wait, that was me moaning—and then tilts my head to the side so he can begin a moist trail of kisses down my neck until he’s licking my rapidly beating pulse.

  While arching my back I slide my palms beneath his shirt, loving the feeling of his warm, silky skin beneath my hands. When he moans I get bolder and lightly rake my fingernails down his back before cupping his tight butt and squeezing. He sucks my earlobe into his mouth, making me want to rip his clothes off and make wild love to him right here and now.

  In fact, I think that’s an excellent idea.

  “My God, Macy, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what the hell got into me,” Luke says. He tries to back away but I’m still wrapped around him like a rubber band. Realizing that he wants some quick distance I unhook my arms and legs. As I suspected he takes a giant step backward and rakes his finge
rs through his hair while looking around the room at everything but me.

  “You don’t have to be sorry, Luke,” I assure him in a small voice. My heart of course has plummeted to my toes.

  “Yes, I do. You’re in the process of making some important decisions and I shouldn’t muddy the waters for you.” He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and then blows it out.

  Tell me that you don’t want me to go and I won’t. I don’t have the nerve to say this out loud but I’m hoping to use mental telepathy to get him to respond. When his eyes open wide he looks at me with a serious expression and for a moment I think that my intense brain waves might have zapped him.

  After another long moment Luke says, “I think that because we’ve been together almost nonstop during Jamie Lee’s wedding plans, I started to think of us as . . .” He hesitates as if embarrassed.

  “A couple?”

  He looks surprised at my observation but then nods. “Yeah.”

  “Me too. Except for you know, this part.” Hey, he admitted it, so I might as well too. Could this be going somewhere good? I hold my breath and wait.

  “But we’re not a couple. I need to remind myself of that and keep my nose out of your business. The truth is, Macy, I have no right to influence you one way or another with this opportunity. The decision is yours.” He looks down at the floor as if he doesn’t want to hear my answer.

  “Could we be a couple, Luke?”

  His dark head snaps up.

  “I’m surprised that I had the guts to say that out loud . . . but I did.” Although my heart beats fast and my cheeks feel warm, I bravely hold his gaze.

  For a long moment Luke remains silent. Finally, he swallows, takes a step forward, but then jams his hands in his pockets instead of taking me into his arms as I had hoped. “Macy, you know my track record with women.” Shaking his head, he laughs without humor.

  “I’d like to think I’m different.”

  “You are.” He takes another step closer and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. Truth is, I’ve been thinking of asking you out on a real date for a while now.”

  “Why haven’t you? You know what my answer would be.” When my voice cracks he closes his eyes and swallows.

  “Don’t you see? Even the thought of hurting you tears me up. And now with this job on the line . . . ahhh Macy, I can’t run the risk of holding you back.”

  “Life is full of risks. It’s about time I took one.”

  “Yeah, but I’m no good with long-term relationships.”

  “You were. This is because of that—that bitch who dumped you when your football career ended. You could never stay in a relationship after that for fear of getting your heart stomped on again. I get that even if you don’t. Damn, I’d like to pound her into the ground. She didn’t deserve you,” I tell him hotly.

  He smiles. “You’re somethin’ else, you know that?”

  “You mean that in a good way, right?”

  Luke laughs and then nods. “Definitely.”

  I hesitate to say this but if I’m putting it all on the line I might as well. “I know I’m not an arm-candy Barbie doll-type like you’ve always dated . . . but Luke, I’m a real woman and I’d treat you right.”

  I’d love you with all I got and then some.

  “I know that,” he says, but remains noncommittal.

  “I’m willing to give this a shot if you are. If it doesn’t work out I can deal. I’m a big girl now.”

  When Luke gives me a sad smile I know his answer isn’t going to be good. He cups my chin in his palm and says, “Ah, Macy . . . the timing is all wrong.” With a sigh he then says, “Keep this under your hat, but I have a couple of Division One schools after me to coach football. And even though I said that I shouldn’t influence you, I honest to goodness believe that you need to give this opportunity a shot.” Looking into my eyes he rubs the pad of his thumb over my cheek. “While I love coaching the Panthers, if I get a Division One offer, I’d be hard-pressed not to take it. And the school could be really far away.”

  My chest feels tight and my throat is clogging with emotion but I put on a brave face and say, “I understand. It just isn’t meant to be.”

  “Never say never,” he answers, and leans in to give me a tender kiss that breaks my heart. “Let’s get our lives in order and see where we go from there, okay?”

  I want to tell Luke that I’ll follow him to the ends of the earth but I don’t want him to think I’m some sort of psycho-chick, so I nod slowly. “You’re right.”

  “I should go.”

  Is it my imagination or does it seem as if he really doesn’t want to leave? It’s probably just wishful thinking on my part. I’m an expert at wishful thinking. “That would be best,” I force myself to say even though I want to throw myself into his arms.

  He pauses, making my heart leap, but then says, “Call me and let me know what you decide and if you need my help in any way, okay?”

  “Sure,” I tell him as we walk toward the door. He gives me a quick peck on the cheek before leaving. From behind the frilly curtain I watch him get into his SUV and start up the engine. When he doesn’t immediately pull away from the curb I think for a heart-stopping moment that he might come back . . . but he doesn’t.

  With a long sigh that ends in a hiccupping sob I flip down onto the sofa and rest my head in my hands. Wow, how did my simple life suddenly get so complicated?

  Deep down I know that Luke is right. It would be crazy to start a relationship under these circumstances. But then my old insecurities rear their ugly heads . . . Maybe the kiss was a moment of insanity on his part and he was letting me down easy? After all, I’m not anything like the women he’s dated. He’s also right that I should seize this opportunity and hit the ground running. Who knows if something as amazing as this job will basically fall into my lap ever again? Or his?

  Yes, before I can give my heart to anyone fully, even Luke, I have to feel good about myself in my own right. With that thought in mind I pick up the phone to dial Tammy Turner’s number and tell her that I’ll take the job.

  “Hello?” My eyes pop open wide when a masculine voice answers. Okay, I swear I clicked on Tammy’s number in my phone book but obviously I must have hit Luke’s number instead . . .

  “Macy?” His voice is gruff . . . sexy.

  Holy crap, what do I say?

  “Um, Luke I . . .” Think, Macy . . . think of something clever, pithy, no . . . sexy. Yeah, sexy.

  “Yes?”

  “I’m . . . um sorry. I dialed your number by mistake.” Well, that answer sucked. I shake my head up at the ceiling.

  “No, it wasn’t a mistake.”

  “It . . .” I sit up straight and swallow. Wait a minute . . . what? My heart feels as if it’s in my throat but I manage to finish with a breathless, “wasn’t?”

  “I hope not because I’ve been driving around aimlessly but I suddenly found myself on your doorstep.”

  “Oh . . . like you’re here?”

  “Yes. What do you want me to do? Leave or stay?”

  11

  Just Breathe

  I’m stunned for about the millionth time that day, so it takes me a second before my inner voice shouts, Duh, you big dummy. Ask the man in!

  “What the hell am I doing?” Luke sighs into the phone, and I imagine him running his fingers through his hair . . . and then imagine myself running my fingers through his hair. “I should go.”

  “No!” I squeak in a goofy voice born of desperation, and scramble from the sofa. Skidding to the door like Kramer on Seinfeld, I manage to yank it open. For a second we simply stand there and blink at each other.

  Finally he says, “I’ve been thinking. You’ve got to take the job, Macy.”

  My heart sinks. So he came back to tell me that? “I know. And you might be moving away.”

  “Yeah.” Luke shakes his head. “Plus I suck at relationships.”

  “Because you were hurt!”

  “But I don’
t want to end up hurting you.”

  “That’s silly.”

  He shrugs. “It’s true.”

  “Yeah well, how about this. I feel like you’re out of my league.”

  His brows draw together. “Now that’s ridiculous.”

  I shrug, thinking that if we’re getting it all out on the table I might as well be totally honest. “I’m overweight and you’re gorgeous.”

  He steps into the apartment. “That’s absurd. No wait . . . that’s crazy.”

  “Which one?”

  “Both.”

  We stand there for a long torturous moment, gazing at each other. The sexual tension hanging in the air is as thick and sweet as molasses on a warm buttermilk biscuit.

  After inhaling a deep breath Luke says, “Ahhh, Macy.” With closed eyes he shakes his head but fails to finish his thought.

  “Luke . . . please, just say what’s on your mind. Get it all out. You might as well . . .”

  Luke opens his eyes and says, “This is going to sound stupid.”

  “Just say it.”

  “No.”

  I fist my hands in his shirt and gaze up at him. “You want me to say something stupid first to make you feel better?”

  Luke grins at me and says, “Yeah, okay.”

  I wasn’t expecting him to say Yeah. I search my brain for something stupid to say—usually not such a difficult task for me—but when I open my mouth Luke puts a finger to my lips.

  “I was just teasing,” he says, but then his grin fades. “All right, here goes. Right now I feel as if I’m in the pocket getting ready to throw a Hail Mary into the end zone to win the game. My heart is pounding because I know I’m risking an interception. But releasing the ball also means the chance for a touchdown pass.” He looks down at me with serious blue eyes. “I’m excited . . .”

  “But scared?”

  “Yeah.” He appears embarrassed but relieved to admit it.

  I tug on his shirt, pulling him closer. “Luke. Throw the damned ball.”