“Because you were trying to stay away from me, or because it happened at work?” I hated that I couldn’t tell what Luke was thinking. Did he want to be with me, too? Was I imagining our rekindled romance? Maybe Luke had just been looking for a quick fix in his office and now he was regretting his slip.
“Both, actually.” He twirled his scotch and took a drink. When he removed the glass from his lips, I recognized his teasing smile. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I regret it. Quite the opposite actually. But I shouldn’t have done it.”
“I don’t want to play these games anymore, Luke.” I waited for him to look me in the eye. “I want to be with you. Plain and simple, that’s what I want. If you aren’t willing to commit to that, then we need to move on.”
Luke reached across the table and took my hand. He laced our fingers together and said, “That’s all I want, Kasey. You’re all I want, all I’ll ever want.”
The waiter arrived to take our orders and the mood was effectively ruined. Luke politely sent him away. “What are you thinking?” he asked nervously.
It wasn’t very often that Luke Donovan sought someone else’s approval. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one completely flummoxed by our relationship. “I think I’m not hungry anymore.” I tilted my head and smiled slyly. “Not for food anyway.”
“So…” Luke started to return my smile.
“So it looks like you are getting out of buying me dinner yet again.” I gulped down the last swallow of my scotch. “Let’s go home.”
“Home,” he agreed, and was on his feet in an instant. He pulled out my chair for me and threw some money on the table before helping me into my coat. His hands lingered on my shoulders and then he brushed my hair to one side and kissed my neck. “Your place is closer,” he said.
“You want to go to my place?” I had never even invited Luke past my front door. His house was much nicer than my one-bedroom apartment. “I thought you wanted to go home?”
“I do want to go home. Home is wherever you are.” It would have been a very sweet moment if Luke’s phone hadn’t started buzzing. He glanced at it and frowned. “Sorry, love, but I need to take this.”
I was amazed at how smoothly he stopped being Luke and slipped into the role of Donovan, Maverick’s CEO.
“Hey, good to hear from you. Yeah, I spent some time on the files today, and my team has some ideas on how we can make this go away. Are you available to meet on Monday?” Luke frowned and squeezed my shoulder. “I’m actually at dinner right now.”
I saw his face darken at whatever was being said. “Yeah, okay. I’ll stop by. See you soon.”
“Excuse me?” I poked him in the stomach. “Who will you be seeing? I thought we had an agreement that we would be getting naked very soon.”
“We will. I promise.” Luke kissed the tip of my nose. “That was our baseball player. He’s at a bar close by with his buddies and he wants to introduce us. We could really use these clients, Kase.”
“Fine. I’ll keep it in my pants. For now.”
If I hadn’t been so distracted by my lust for Luke, I may have given a little more thought to the situation. And if I had done that, I may have predicted what was about to happen. But I never saw it coming.
I followed Luke into McClary’s Pub thinking only of one thing- leaving as quickly as possible. Luke headed straight to the bar while I excused myself to use the ladies’ room. The scotch from the restaurant had gone straight through me. By the time I found Luke, he was deep in conversation. His eyes were focused and his jaw clenched and unclenched as he listened to his companions. I recognized that look and knew that he was bothered by what they were saying.
I didn’t want Luke to be upset, but I had to admit that he looked even hotter when he was brooding. I was so busy thinking about Luke’s hotness that I didn’t pay attention to the guys around him. It was only when I got a few feet away that I finally noticed them and stopped dead in my tracks.
One of them noticed me and he flinched violently. Luke noticed his reaction and turned. “Kasey,” he started to smile, but then noticed my obvious distress. “What’s wrong?”
The room started to spin. I opened my mouth a few times, but no noise came out. My skin began to burn as if I was on fire and I thought I might throw up. Luke grabbed my arm and asked me again what was wrong. I saw his lips move, but his voice sounded far away. My chest tightened and I couldn’t breathe. I shook my head several times and yanked my arm away. My legs were shaky as I ran for the door and I only just made it outside before I collapsed to the ground.
“Kasey.” Luke knelt on the ground next to me, his hand on my back. “What is going on with you?”
Now that I was outside, I was finally able to breathe again. I still felt weak and I wasn’t entirely sure I wouldn’t throw up, but at least now I could speak. Luke’s face was full of concern when I lifted my head. “Neil.” It was just one word, but it was all I had to say. He understood instantly.
“Neil Sanderson is that Neil?” His face grew hard and his eyes clouded over. “Your ex-boyfriend who almost killed you?”
I felt nauseous again and rested my head on my knees. I don’t know how it never occurred to me that Neil might be one of the athletes involved in the drug scandal. It was a huge coincidence, sure, but my life was full of unseemly coincidences.
“Kasey. I need you to focus.”
I lifted my head again and Luke leaned very close. “Be very clear with me, Kasey. I’m about to go in there and beat the shit out of that man, so I need to know I understood you correctly. Are you saying that Neil Sanderson is actually the Neil that put you in the hospital?”
“Yes. It’s him.”
Luke’s eyes flashed and his hands clenched into fists. “Shit,” he said. I could tell he was seconds away from rushing inside and connecting his fists with Neil’s face.
“Don’t.” I grabbed one of his hands and waited for him to unclench it. He didn’t come around easily.
“He deserves to pay for what he did to you, Kasey.” Luke finally took my hand in his. “I mean, look at you. Look at what he’s still doing to you.”
“I’m okay, Luke.” I tried to keep my voice strong and steady. Very carefully, Luke helped me to my feet. “It was just a shock, seeing him. But I really am okay.”
Luke used one hand to brush my hair away from my face, while his other hand still clung to mine. Anger burned in his eyes, but it was tempered by a softness that he reserved only for me. “I don’t think I can just walk away.”
“You can. I know you can.” I leaned into him until he wrapped his arms around me. His heart was still thudding violently, but his breathing had become more regular. “Let’s go home, Luke.”
“Kase!” Neil’s voice had the same impact as a bullet being fired from a gun. Luke’s arms tightened around me and his breathing escalated. “Kase, are you okay? I just want to talk.”
“Go away, Neil.” I twisted in Luke’s arms enough to look Neil in the eye. If Luke hadn’t been there, I would never have been so bold. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Kase. Please.” Neil had the nerve to smile at me. “It’s me. You know me. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Luke released his grip on me and put himself between me and Neil. “I suggest you leave now while you still can.”
“Easy, Donovan. This has nothing to do with you. This is between me and Kase.” Neil looked at me over Luke’s shoulder. “I thought you didn’t like the jealous type?”
“I don’t like the abusive type either, Neil.” I stepped out from behind Luke. While I appreciated him protecting me, I was finally ready to face Neil. “Go. Away. I have nothing else to say to you.”
“I don’t believe you.” I recognized the look in Neil’s face and it made my chest tighten. “We were together for months, Kase. I made one mistake. One. Whatever happened to second chances?”
“I don’t give second chances to people that punch me in the face.” From the corner of my eye, I not
iced that Luke had gone perfectly still.
“That’s an exaggeration.” Neil scoffed. “You always were a drama queen.”
“Well, I guess you taught me a lesson and I got what was coming to me.” I actually rolled my eyes. Neil didn’t scare me anymore. In fact, I pitied him. “You’re pathetic, Neil.”
“Good luck, Donovan.” Neil had turned back to Luke. “Maybe you’ll have better luck with the bitch.”
The next ten seconds moved in slow motion. I saw Luke flinch, and he sprang forward without even a second of hesitation. His fist landed solidly against Neil’s jaw, and his head snapped back. The sickening crack signaled that his jaw had been broken. Neil clutched his face with both hands and let out a tortured groan. Luke seized the front of Neil’s shirt and twisted it, drawing him forward. Very calmly, he said, “I’m giving you a pass this time. The next time I see you, I kill you. Consider this your second chance.”
Luke shoved Neil away and turned to me. “Let’s go home, Kasey.”
Thirty minute later, Luke and I were in my apartment, trying to forget about Neil. I watched Luke nervously as he meandered around my place, looking at pictures and pulling down books from their shelves. While Luke snooped, I poured us both a drink and wrapped some ice in a towel.
“Get over here,” I said when I saw him reach for my high school yearbook. Luke debated his next step, but ultimately met me in the kitchen. He reached for a glass with his good hand and took a grateful sip.
“Give me your hand, Rocky,” I said.
The knuckles on his right hand were bruised and raw. I kissed each one and then placed the ice over them. “Totally worth it,” Luke said when he saw my pained expression. I didn’t like the idea of Luke hurting because of me. He kissed my forehead. “I love your place.”
I looked around my small, but cozy, apartment. “It’s no Donovan mansion or mountain house, but it’s home.”
“It is,” Luke agreed. “Thank you for letting me in.”
I wondered if Luke had intended the double meaning behind his words. I hadn’t just let him into my apartment- I was also letting him into my life. I had nothing left to hide.
“I couldn’t very well leave you out in the cold after you defended my honor in such a manly way.” The scotch burned on the way down, but it also warmed me. I look another sip. “That wasn’t exactly how I saw the night ending.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I could tell that Luke was trying his best not to look uncomfortable. He had made it clear exactly what he thought of Neil, and now he was trying to be sympathetic to my feelings. He was kind of perfect.
“I’d rather not talk at all, actually.” I smiled. “I think we can use our mouths in more productive ways.”
Luke chuckled. “Fair enough. I’m open to suggestions.”
“First, I’m going to suggest you follow me to the bedroom…” I yelped as he scooped me into his arms.
“I’m going to suggest that you get used to having me in your home because I don’t plan on leaving at all this weekend.” He leaned down and kissed me eagerly.
“I’m sure we’ll find a way to pass the time,” I replied before getting lost in his eyes.
In the middle of the night, I lay next to him in bed, both of us wide-awake. I leaned over him, my hair trailing over his face as I kissed him softly on the lips, slowly grappling with the idea that this wonderful man was mine.
“What’s wrong?” Luke asked as he brushed my hair out of my eyes.
“Nothing.” But that wasn’t entirely true. “I’m sorry I’ve been so impossible.”
Luke stroked my hair all the way down my back. “What do you mean? You haven’t been impossible.”
“Yes, I have. I pushed you away so many times.” I sighed and pressed my cheek to his chest, calmed by the steady beating of his heart. “I just wasn’t ready yet.”
“Ready for what?” Luke’s voice sounded hollow with my ear pressed to his chest.
“For you, I guess.” I lifted my head and thought about how to explain it so that he could understand. “Before I met Neil, I believed in love. Even after losing my parents and then my fiancé, I still believed that I would find love someday. I didn’t even love Neil, but after what happened with him, I started second-guessing everything. I stopped believing in the possibility of love, and I hated him for that. I wanted to be able to believe again, but I didn’t think it would ever happen. And then you came along…”
“And I rocked your world?” His lips curled into a dazzling smile and I nodded. That was putting it mildly, actually. “Welcome to the club, kid. The man that I am today, everything I’ve done in the last few years, is because of you.”
“What? How?” I stared dubiously at him.
“After that night we spent together, I started second guessing everything. I remembered the look you gave me when I said that I was working at my father’s firm after all the terrible shit he put me through. You expected more from me. You made me change my life.” Luke stroked my cheek. “I wanted to be the kind of man that deserved to be with a woman like you.”
I kissed his bruised knuckles again and leaned into his hand when he cupped it around my cheek. “Are you really mine?” I whispered, still disbelieving.
“Forever and always,” he said definitively. “You’re my home, Kasey. The only place I ever want to be.”
Luke was my home, too. He was my family, my best friend, my everything. Now that I had Luke, nothing else in the world mattered. I just wanted to be with him, forever and always.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Monday started off normally enough. Luke and I had spent our entire weekend in my bed, alternating between making love and sleeping. We had a meeting together bright and early to discuss the drug scandal.
After a lot of debate, I convinced Luke to take the case. I didn’t want to deal with Neil, and I didn’t want Luke to kill him, but Maverick could use the paycheck and the prestige that would come from representing a handful of famous baseball players. He put Dan in charge of the whole thing, selling it as a great learning opportunity, but really I knew that he wanted no part of making Neil look good.
I stayed behind after the meeting to talk to Luke, and when I finally left the conference room a few minutes after everyone else, I ran right into Dan who had been lingering in the hall.
“So it’s true then?” he asked with a smirk.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dan. More information please.” I kept walking because I had to be in another meeting in less than five minutes. Dan was more than willing to hurry along behind me.
“You and Donovan. Bumpin’ uglies.” Dan smacked into me when I pulled up short.
“What did you say?” I sputtered.
Dan enunciated very slowly. “You are screwing the boss. Everyone knows.”
My mouth dropped open. I knew that Rachel had learned the truth and that if she went forward with her lawsuit there was a good chance the truth would get out. But I hadn’t been expecting it to happen so soon. I wasn’t ready to face the music.
“I’m late.” I said, hastily adding, “For a meeting. I’m late for a meeting.”
I knew that my face was a brilliant shade of red as I stepped into the meeting room. Several of my colleagues were already gathered around the table and they all stopped talking abruptly when I entered. It only took one guess to figure out what they had been discussing.
After the meeting, one of the female attorneys on the legal team cornered me in the ladies’ room. “Nice work,” she said with a wink.
“Sorry?” I kept my head down as I lathered soap on my hands, hoping she would take a hint and go away.
“Donovan. He’s damn fine. And rich. You played that well.” She smiled at me when I glanced up at the mirror. “People are talking, but don’t listen to them. They’re just jealous.”
I got several judgmental looks on the way to my office and even heard someone mutter slut. The moment I had been dreading had officially arrived. I had two
choices- I could hide in my office all day and avoid my phone and email, or I could suck it up and act like it didn’t bother me. I had made my own bed, so to speak, and now I had to lay in it.
The day only got worse. Everywhere I turned, I interrupted hastily whispered conversations that ended abruptly upon my appearance. By the end of the day, I went home without even checking to see what Luke wanted to do for the evening. Hiding in my apartment for a couple of years seemed like the best idea.
He showed up a couple hours later. I had already changed into his University of Chicago t-shirt and a pair of baggy sweatpants. Certainly not my best look, but at least I was comfortable.
“What’s wrong?” he asked the second he saw my face. I was ashamed to admit that I had been crying for the last hour, but my swollen eyes gave me away.
“Cat’s out of the bag,” I said, stepping back to let him in. I had an open bottle of wine waiting for me in the living room and I headed there without giving Luke a proper greeting. “I’m the office slut. Just like I predicted.”
“What do you mean? How did people find out?” Luke stripped off his coat and threw it over a chair.
I flopped onto the couch and took a big gulp of wine. “Dan. He’s friends with Rachel and he has a big mouth.”
“Shit, Kasey.” Luke sat next to me and gave me a long look. “Was it terrible for you?”
I shrugged and took another drink. “I survived.”
“What can I do?” He looked so desperate to help but there was nothing he could do. This was the path we had chosen- the path I had chosen.
I put down the wine bottle now that it was empty and thought for a second. Eventually, I just shook my head. “Hold me?” It was the only thing I could think of that would make things better.
Luke slid over until he could put his arms around me. As I snuggled close to him and burrowed into his arms, I was able to forget for a minute about the name-calling and hateful looks. All that mattered was that I still had Luke and somehow I knew we would find a way to make it work.
About that Night Page 12