‘You said most of the time. I kind of get the impression you’ve not said everything you need to. Were you with Ryan when he died?’
His fingers clenched again, hiding themselves inside his fist. Abby wanted to pull the words back into her mouth. A dark and heavy cloud loomed over them. She knew the answer to that question without him even having to formulate a sentence.
‘I wasn’t allowed to be with Ryan. It was about the only time my parents did finally come home.’
Her mind tried to make sense of what he’d just said. ‘What do you mean, you weren’t allowed?’
She could see his heavy eyelids. She knew that behind them there were tears forming. Please don’t let me see him cry.
‘That’s when I had mumps. I couldn’t be near Ryan when he was immunocompromised. So I had to phone my mom and dad and ask them to come home.’ He ran his fingers through his hair. ‘They were their usual busy selves. I don’t think any of us realised just how sick Ryan actually was.’
Abby stretched her arms across the table and took both his hands again. He could see the pain in her eyes, the empathy from a mother who could find herself in that position too.
‘I hope you’re both hungry.’ Diego appeared, placing sizzling platters of chicken and beef on the table. Abby drew her hands back, fixing a smile on her face as he added the additional pots of guacamole, salsa, sour cream and cheese. The fajitas came in a covered dome to keep them warm. ‘Enjoy!’ he announced, oblivious to the tension at the table, as he retreated towards the kitchen.
She fixed her eyes on Luke as his eyes took in the spread on the table. Had he been about to say something else? What a terrible burden for a teenage boy, to feel as if he’d let his brother down when he’d needed him most.
She watched as he lifted one of the side plates and started to ladle food onto it. ‘You know it wasn’t your fault, right?’
He stopped, a spoonful of salsa between his plate and the serving dish.
‘You know that it wasn’t your fault you were sick? Anyone can get sick at any time.’
Luke set the spoon down on his plate. Abby had never seen his pale blue eyes so serious. ‘I know that the last time I saw my brother I promised him I would teach him how to play poker. I didn’t get the chance.’
‘But you were a teenager, Luke. You couldn’t have known how seriously ill he was.’
‘Actually, I could have. I was the one having all the conversations with the doctors. I was the one that saw him on a daily basis and could see the deterioration in his condition. You know what the first words my mother said to me were? Why didn’t you tell me he was so sick? From my mother!’
Abby took a deep breath. Luke had never really spoken about this before. And she didn’t want him to stop. This was good for him. This was good for them. The thought came out of nowhere. Why was she thinking about them? There was no them. There hadn’t been for five years.
‘Luke, your parents should never have left you in that position. As an adult, you must see that now? You must realise how unfair that was.’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t want to talk about it any more,’ he mumbled as he bent to spoon some of the chicken and salsa mixture into his mouth.
A smile crept across her face. In part, to welcome the light relief that was about to come. She watched as the realisation hit Luke as the taste receptors in his mouth went into overdrive. He started to choke and splutter, tears forming in his eyes and streaming down his cheeks.
She pulled his glass over and refilled it with icy water, pushing it towards him and folding her arms across her chest. ‘Hot enough for you, Mr Smarty Pants? I’ll have what she’s having.’
Luke covered his mouth with his napkin as he continued to choke, grabbing the glass and drinking thirstily. He thumped it back on the table and eyed her suspiciously. ‘You knew, didn’t you? You knew exactly how strong it was going to be?’
‘I did warn you my tastes have changed. Why do you think Diego brought us a pitcher of iced water?’
His brain went into overdrive. She’d just said it again, her tastes had changed. Did that mean him? ‘I just thought he was being polite. I didn’t think he was trying to set me on fire!’
‘Do you want me to ask him for something a little milder for you?’ The words were like a challenge being thrown down. ‘You were the one, after all, who used to say I didn’t have the palate for spicy food.’
‘No, of course not. This will be fine.’ The glint appeared back in his eyes. ‘I can out-eat you anywhere. I just need another pitcher of water.’
Abby gave a smile and signalled to Diego. ‘Then let the challenge begin.’
CHAPTER SIX
WHEN they got home a very excitable Reuben had crept back out of bed.
Lucy gave a shake of her head. ‘I’m sorry, Abby, but he seems to be full of energy tonight.’
Abby smiled. ‘Don’t worry, Lucy. Thanks for looking after him.’
It took almost an hour to persuade him to get back under the covers. Abby had to read him four stories before he finally nodded off.
By the time she got downstairs Luke had lit the fire in the front room and opened a bottle of wine. Abby slumped down into the nearest armchair and they sat for a few moments in silence, watching the flickering flames.
She took a sip of her wine and studied him carefully. He could still pass for a male model with his surfer-boy looks. There might be a few more lines around his eyes and on his forehead but they didn’t detract from his good looks, only added character. She lifted her hand to her face. Did the lines around her eyes add character? Or only make her look older than her thirty years?
She remembered the way that all the females in the hospital where they’d been interns together had flocked around him, batting their eyelids and reapplying their lipstick. And he hadn’t shown the slightest bit of interest. In fact, he’d made a point of introducing his girlfriend Abby to them all.
Loyalty had always been Luke’s strong point—that and a few other things that took place behind closed doors. She felt the colour rushing into her face at the memories that flooded her mind.
‘Penny for your thoughts?’
‘What?’ Abby gulped. The last thing she wanted to do was share those kinds of thoughts with him.
‘You looked lost in your thoughts. What’s up? Are you tired?’
She leaned back a little further into her chair, hoping he wouldn’t notice her reddening cheeks. ‘It’s certainly been a big day. It’s not every day your ex turns up with the First Lady in tow.’
He smiled and nodded slowly. ‘I decided to make an entrance.’
‘You certainly did.’
Luke set his glass down on the table next to him. ‘I honestly nearly died of shock when I saw you sitting there, with your feet on the desk. Good shock, that is. If ever anybody could get me out of a pickle …’
He left the words hanging in the air as he threw a cheeky grin at her.
‘I kept expecting someone to jump out from behind a set of curtains with a camera and shout, ‘Fooled you’!’
Luke heaved a huge sigh. ‘You’ve no idea how much I wish that had happened.’ He pointed to a pile of stuff in the corner. ‘What’s with the old DVDs and romance novels? I didn’t know you were into that.’
‘They’re for Jennifer Taylor.’
‘What?’ Luke had just taken another sip of his wine, which he spluttered down the front of his shirt.
‘She asked me for them earlier, she’s bored out of her mind.
I meant to take them along to her …’ she glanced at her watch ‘…but time’s just gotten away from me.’
‘I’ll take them for you.’ He looked outside at the inky-dark night. ‘I wouldn’t want you walking along that path at this time of night.’
‘Which is exactly what I have to do when I’m on call. You don’t have to protect me, Luke, I’m a big girl now.’
‘I know that.’ Something flickered across his mind. ‘What happens to Reuben wh
en you’re on call?’
‘Lucy comes and stays overnight. She uses one of the guest bedrooms.’
He nodded thoughtfully. She’d really thought of everything.
Something twisted inside him again. Why? Reuben just reminded him so much of Ryan. Even some of his little mannerisms had seemed so familiar this evening when he’d been watching him. The way he’d played with that little spiky bit of hair at the front of his head, and the way he’d been so meticulous about lining up his soldiers in a particular order.
So many coincidences, all wrapped up in one little boy.
One little boy that Luke wished was his.
There. He’d thought it. Why was he even thinking like this?
He was hopeless around kids. He’d never really taken the time to get to know any. He wouldn’t have a clue how to interact with a child.
Another thought flickered through his head. Was it just the physical similarities? Was it the white-blond hair and blue eyes that was drawing him to Reuben? Was he looking for something he’d lost? A replacement for his brother?
It sent a shiver down his spine.
Then there was the ALL. He’d been there and done that before. There was no way on this earth that he wanted to go through any of that again. He already lost someone who was infinitely precious to him, he just couldn’t even contemplate allowing himself to be in that position again.
But what about Abby? The feelings that were resurfacing were making Luke feel alive again for the first time in five years. Did he really want to let her slip through his fingers a second time?
In the space of one day a whole host of possibilities and complications lay in front of him. Things that he’d pushed from his mind for so long. Abby made him happy. She was the key component here. He didn’t care about the distance between Washington and Pelican Cove. He cared about what was right in front of him.
But Abby was a package deal. She came with Reuben. And all of this, all of this wasn’t about them. It was something that ran much deeper.
This was about finally letting himself think about being a father, something he’d never allowed himself to consider. Something he’d pushed right to the back recesses of his mind, somewhere dark and bleak where things never emerged from.
Now possibilities were floating around in his mind. Tiny, persistent ideas that bounced around, spiralling into something else entirely. Abby had said if she met someone she might have children, or she might adopt again. Would she be happy never to have children of her own?
‘Luke? Luke?’
Her voice cut through his thoughts, channelling him back to the present day and time. ‘Sorry, what is it?’
‘You were lost in a world of your own. I was asking you if you’d brought some scrubs from the hospital to wear tonight.’
He laughed as he remembered her earlier comment about not wearing his ‘normal nightwear’, which in fact was nothing. ‘Don’t worry, your son’s innocence is safe with me.’ He had a twinkle in his eye that she hadn’t seen in a long time and it caught her unawares.
Under the flickering firelight Luke’s hair stood out and his pale blue eyes captured her gaze and held it, making her breath catch in her throat.
This could be so easy. It would be so simple to step forward into his arms and then step back five years in time. She could almost hear her heart beating against her chest and a low, unfamiliar feeling between her legs. It had been so long since she’d slept with someone. In fact, it had been five long years.
Tears sprang to her eyes in recognition of the thought. Five long years since she’d felt his skin against hers, felt his lips on her throat, her shoulders, her breasts …
She’d been asked out loads of times, on rare occasions she’d agreed to a date and maybe even a kiss. But that had been it. No one had ever lit the flame inside her like Luke had. No one had ever made her want to throw off her clothes and run naked down a beach like Luke had. No one had ever made her want to squeeze into the smallest on-call room in the hospital and barricade the door like Luke had.
Then he was there, right in front of her, kneeling on the floor in her house, taking the wine glass out of her hand. It was almost like a dream. Almost like a fantasy.
‘I miss you, Abby.’
‘I’ve missed you too Luke.’
He ran his hand down her arm, lifting her hand and placing it on his chest. She could feel his beating heart under her fingertips and the rise and fall of his warm chest. After five years Luke was back, right where she’d always wanted him.
She shifted forwards in the chair, her knees naturally easing to the floor in front of him. His hand reached up, catching the side of her face and pulling her towards him. And he kissed her. Slowly and gently, as she felt his heartbeat quicken under her palm.
She wanted to touch him. She wanted to feel his skin on hers, so with trembling hands she started to undo the buttons on his shirt, slowly at first, never moving her lips from his, then tugged at them in frustration as they halted her progress. His kiss had deepened, his tongue easing its way into her mouth. His hands slid under her light cardigan and she lifted her arms upwards as he pulled it off in one seamless movement.
His hand stroked across her face as he pulled backwards to watch her in the flickering firelight. ‘You’re so beautiful, Abby,’ he whispered as he ran his fingers along her jaw line and down the delicate skin on her throat. She caught her breath. She knew what was coming next.
His hands met at her breastbone then separated outwards towards her aching nipples. He brushed against them, making her feel as if they were on fire. A smile danced across his lips. ‘So what would you like me to do, Abby?’
He slid the straps on her summer dress down over her shoulders. She inhaled sharply as he bent his head down lower, releasing the clip on her bra and catching her nipple in his teeth. Abby could feel the throb between her legs. His tongue danced over her nipple. ‘This?’ he asked, his pale blue eyes glinting wickedly.
‘Oh, yes,’ she whispered. Her hands reached around his back and pulled him even closer. This was meant to be a kiss. This was meant to be just an I’ve-missed-you kiss. But she wanted so much more.
Luke lifted the scatter cushions from the chair she’d been sitting on and placed them on the rug beneath them. He laid her down gently as he positioned himself above her. This was what he’d wanted from the moment he’d seen her that morning. He bent his head and blew on her nipples, causing her to arch her back towards him. ‘Oh, Luke,’ she moaned.
He slid his hand under her dress, pushing aside her panties and plunging his finger into the wet moistness. She lifted her hips towards him, urging him to plunge deeper. ‘These clothes have got to go, Abby,’ he said, as in one movement he reached up his hands and yanked down her panties, pulling them over her slim legs and feet. She wiggled her way out of her dress and threw it onto the nearby sofa.
She tugged at the belt on his trousers. ‘You’re right, these clothes have definitely got to go.’
It only took a few seconds to undo his belt and reveal the white shorts she’d admired earlier. Even in the dim light, they couldn’t possibly conceal, or contain, his stiff erection. She ran her fingers along the length, smiling as she heard his sharp intake of breath. She wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering in his ear, ‘I guess all the clothes should really go—no matter how nice they are.’ Her hands slid down his back, cupping his buttocks. Her legs had naturally separated, allowing him to fit between them. All he had to do was …
‘Wait a minute!’ Abby leapt upwards. ‘Condoms, we need condoms.’ She barely noticed the surprise on his face as her naked body ran out the door and up the stairs.
Luke was frozen. Why would she need condoms? After all, he couldn’t make her pregnant, could he? What else did she need protection against?
He lay on his side, in front of the fire, his head leaning on his hand. Abby dashed back into the room at top speed, clutching a box in her hands. She stood in front of him, completely naked, biting her
bottom lip. ‘I think they might be out of date,’ she mumbled.
His eyes drifted up and down the length of her body. Her creamy skin illuminated by the dancing firelight. She was still perfection. In his previous visions, Abby had always reminded him of Rapunzel with her long flowing locks. But the new, shorter, edgier hairstyle suited her. It revealed more of her body, in particular her luscious full breasts and flaring hips. His eyes fell even lower, to the blonde triangle of hair.
‘Come here.’ His voice was deep, husky.
She walked towards him and knelt down, the box still in her hand.
He took it, an amused gleam in his eye, and glanced at the date. ‘I guess they’re not going to be much use.’
Somehow, the fact that Abby had a box of out-of-date condoms sent good sensations running through him. He bent forward, taking one of her nipples into his mouth and gently teasing it with his teeth. ‘So it’s been a long time, then, Abby?’
She nodded wordlessly. Her mind was too engrossed by his actions to formulate a response.
‘Would it help if I told you it had been a long time for me too?’
Her eyes widened. He remembered her questions about ‘Luscious Lisa’ earlier. Did she think he’d slept with her? He closed his hands around the box before tossing it carelessly to one side. ‘You’re safe, Abby. I’m safe. Now let’s see what we can do about making up for the last five years.’ He rolled onto his back, pulling her above him. ‘I think the lady should be in control,’ he teased huskily.
‘I think I can do that.’ She poised above him, hovering over his thick length, then bent forward, her hair brushing over his chest as she kissed him thoroughly, before lowering herself gently down on him.
The sensation was immediate. Fullness. A feeling that spread through her whole body, like a pulsating heat generating outwards. It felt like coming home.
But Luke wasn’t finished with her yet. He started to move, rhythmically, playing a tune that he hadn’t played in years. He knew exactly where to touch her, where to stroke and how to take her right to the edge. And so he did. Again. And again. And again.
The Boy Who Made Them Love Again Page 9