“No, the smack was from when you treated my first love so badly he ended up dumping me.”
“Oh, yeah.” He snorted. “That guy in graduate school. You didn’t love that loser.”
She thought she had. For a few minutes, anyway. “You were so rude to Randy. Hardly gave him the time of day.”
“He wasn’t worthy of you.”
“He was a good guy with a bright future in microbiology.”
Luke laughed. “You two made perfect study partners. Didn’t mean you should marry him.”
Turned out, Luke was right. She and Randy had enjoyed each other’s company, but she’d never felt the sort of attraction she’d hoped for. The type of spark she’d felt lately.
Unable to deny Luke’s claim, she huffed.
“See, I know you well enough to know who’ll make you happy.”
She sat up and faced him. “Okay, Mr. Know It All. Just who will make me happy?”
On the other side of the boat, forearms resting on his thighs, he looked into her eyes. A few feet separated them, but she felt as if they were a mere breath apart as his gaze drilled into hers, sucking the air out of her lungs, making her face burn like the hot Georgia sun.
* * *
For as long as he could remember, Luke thought he’d known what was best for Darcy. Now he began to wonder. Could he be objective? “I think we’ll both know when you’ve found the right one.”
Looking away, Darcy ran her fingers through her hair, slicking the strands away from her face. “Ha! So are you going to give me final approval when you fall in love?”
“I already did that with Raquel. You gave your vote by backing away from me.” Which, at the time had left him confused, alone, hurting.
“Hey, I gave you room for what’s her name when you said you were in love.”
He couldn’t help but grin. Darcy never did want to say Raquel’s name and showed utter disgust every time she mentioned her. Whether she would admit it or not, Darcy, too, had gone into protect mode. She’d warned that Raquel would hurt him.
He’d actually dodged a big mistake. The worst part had been the fallout with Darcy.
“I still don’t get why what’s her name bothered you so much.” He grinned at using the nickname.
Darcy glanced away. “You really don’t get it, do you? Every time a girl would start to get serious or mention the word love, you’d freak and break up. But what’s her name,” she said with an arched brow and teasing smile, “was different. You broke the friend code. You brought Raquel into our relationship—on the picnic, inviting her to study with us, asking me to bring her home for the weekend. You obviously loved her, and for the first time ever, you didn’t need me.” She kept her tone light and playful, but he could see hurt in her eyes.
He crossed the boat to sit beside her, pushed her hair over her shoulder. “Seems like there may have been something deeper going on than simply breaking the friend code with Raquel.”
With a quiet laugh, she shook her head. “What if I told you I had a terrible crush on you?”
Her admission slammed into him, stealing away his breath. “A crush? On me?”
“Yep.” Looking relieved and terrified at the same time, Darcy scrunched up her nose and nodded. She cautiously watched him, as if observing every nuance of his reaction.
So many things in their past now made sense.
“Wow.” He shook his head. “Ironic, then, that what I thought was love for Raquel didn’t last past the first argument, which was over the fact that Raquel thought I loved you.”
She looked into his eyes. “Crazy, huh?”
“I wish you would have told me.”
She laughed and lifted her face to the sun, eyes closed. “Oh, yeah, that would have gone over really well. You would have tossed my broken heart aside along with all the others, and I would have lost my best friend.”
Based on his history, she was probably right. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
She reached for the bottle of sunscreen and flipped open the top. “I got over it. We were friends again before long.”
Yeah, they were, but it bothered him to know she’d hidden her feelings from him. Bothered him that she would hide anything from him.
“Come on. Let’s go back to the house.” He put on his sunglasses and went to the captain’s chair.
“Nothing like a little spilled guts to kill the fun of a day on the lake, huh?” She tilted her head and smiled at him letting him know she was okay.
“Yeah, this heart-to-heart has worn me out.” He laughed as the boat burst to life then guided them back to their little cove on the other side of the lake.
Once they pulled up to the dock, and he cut the engine, Darcy got up to gather her belongings. “I guess we’re even now.”
“How so?”
“You ran off Randy, and I ran off Raquel.”
“Sort of.” Luke had hurt Darcy, wanted her to better understand his breakup. “Only, Raquel didn’t break up with me.”
Darcy’s eyes widened, surprised with his admission. “She didn’t?”
“Once I realized I’d somehow messed up with you, I knew Raquel didn’t matter to me as much as you did. That was a big aha moment.”
“A tribute to our lifelong friendship.” She put a warm, soft hand on his arm. “Thank goodness we got back to normal.”
Normal? He hadn’t felt normal around her since he’d returned home and been blown away by this strange attraction. When he looked into her deep blue eyes now, something flared to life. He could almost imagine she felt something was different, too.
She reached around and grabbed her towel and bag. “I guess we’re done up here at the lake house. Time to go back to town.”
He tethered the boat, hopped out onto the dock and held out his hand to help her off the boat.
Darcy glanced from his hand to his face with a big smile. “No tricks? I don’t want to go back in that freezing water.”
“That water’s at least seventy degrees.”
“And my body is ninety-eight point six,” she said with a laugh.
He smiled at the priceless expression on her face. She was torn between fear of a frequent prank and trusting him. “No tricks,” he said.
As she reached for his hand, she stared into his eyes, watching for indications of his intent. At the last second, she snatched her arm back to her side. “Promise?”
With a laugh, he lunged for her, picked her up by the waist and then set her safely on the dock, leaving his hands in place. “Trust me now?”
“Not when it comes to lake water.” She chuckled. “But there’s still hope. You’ll have to prove yourself over time.”
She pulled away and tossed her tote bag over her shoulder. “I’m going to go shower and dress.”
“Meet me back at the fire pit. I have a surprise for you.”
He watched as she headed toward the path to the house, a friend who was so much more. And who had no idea how much he was beginning to care.
* * *
Darcy looked in the dresser mirror in the tiny upstairs bedroom she and Chloe still shared while at the lake as she thought of what Luke had said.
He’d broken up with Raquel. Not the other way around.
Wow. If she’d only known that back then…
Then what? She would have told him how she felt? No way.
Besides, she didn’t need to let her mind wander in those crazy directions.
Glancing around the room, she smiled at how much she loved this place. The furniture was sparse and utilitarian, pieces Noreen and Joan had picked up at yard sales through the years. They’d furnished the house on a shoestring budget, especially since the kids spent all their waking hours outdoors.
Today, Darcy had enjoyed taking her time getti
ng ready in the peaceful setting, time she couldn’t take on a normal workday. Today had been the perfect, relaxing getaway she’d needed.
She ran a brush through her hair and packed up her wet swimsuit and towel. Normally, she would hang her wet items and leave them for the next weekend trip. Since she and Luke were preparing for the auction winner, she tidied the room, tossed her bag in the car, then headed to the fire pit.
A small campfire crackled and popped as the logs shifted and settled. Sunlight, filtering through the tall pines, dappled Luke’s damp hair with light and shadows. When he spotted her, he smiled, totally relaxed and at home in another of the places they’d spent so much of their childhood and teen years.
“I still feel a little guilty,” she said. “Like we should be working, not playing.”
A bag of hot dogs and package of buns sat on top of a cooler next to Luke.
“What’s this?”
“A late lunch.”
Nearby, she discovered graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate bars. “Oh, and the makings for s’mores? What a nice surprise.”
He looked away. “Dad suggested it.” He spread the wood with a heavy stick to lower the flames and expose some embers.
Darcy sat on one of the logs that circled the area, skewered two long, thin sticks lengthwise with hot dogs, and then handed one to Luke.
He plopped down beside her and held the meat over the red-hot embers. As his hair dried, the slicked-back sections morphed into his regular unmanageable waves, falling across his brow.
“We’ve had some good times here,” he said, staring into the flames.
“We have.” Not counting the summer he’d gone head-over-heels over Chloe and had barely noticed Darcy was alive.
“This is my favorite place on earth.” He looked into her eyes, gently bumped her shoulder with his. “Only when you’re around, of course.”
“Of course.” She laughed and stared into the fire, her stomach a jumble of nerves for some reason.
When her hot dog started to blacken and bubble on one side, she turned it. Luke’s was doing the same, only he wasn’t actually paying attention. She reached out, took hold of his hand and turned it. “You’re burning.”
“You’ve always kept me on track.”
She grinned as she thought of the many times she’d forced him to study or helped him on projects. “It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.”
“Hey, be kind. I took up for you every now and then.” With a chuckle, he reached for a bun, nestled the hot dog inside, then slid out the roasting stick and set his food on a plate. Then he started the whole process over again with another one.
Her heart squeezed as she recalled the times when someone at school had made fun of her for being such a bookworm, and Luke had charged in to defend her. All it took was one word from big strong Luke Jordan to send them packing.
She leaned into one of those big strong shoulders, breathing in the scent of fresh shampoo with a touch of smoke. “By the way, I took your advice and urged that girl at Glenda’s to stand up to Mean Girl.”
“I’m glad.” He nodded as if approving.
She slipped her hot dog into a bun but set it on a plate. Yeah, she used to think of Luke as her knight in shining armor. Always present. Always looking out for her.
“You know, since your mom said you have no social life, maybe I’ve assumed too much,” he said. “Is there anyone I need to protect you from these days? Anyone been breaking your heart?”
No one but you, she wanted to say. She looked into his eyes and was transported right back to the old familiar ache, longing to push that now-dry hair off his forehead, longing to tell him she cared about him as much more than a friend. Only those longings weren’t merely a distant memory.
She had allowed herself to fall for him all over again. Would she never be able to get over Luke? If she couldn’t have him, would she never manage to have a future with any other man?
“Sorry,” she said. “No dragons for you to slay. There’s no man in my life right now.”
“No?” He slowly turned the stick, roasting another hot dog.
She sighed. Might as well tell him the thoughts she’d been having. “I suspect God intends for me to remain single.”
“Now why would you think something like that?”
“I don’t know. I’ve had a feeling, like I need to quit dreaming of Prince Charming sweeping me off my feet and learn to be content with my life.”
“Maybe God is leading you to be content right before he’s going to bring some amazing guy into your life. Could even be Bryan.”
She looked over at Luke, his profile strong and serious as he focused his attention on putting the second hot dog in a bun. No smile lines. No teasing.
“I doubt that,” she said. “Which is why I’m eager to pay off my loans now that Mom is dating. I need to be prepared to move out quickly, need to be financially independent.”
“What you need to do is quit that extra job so you have time to live your life. Time to meet someone nice who deserves you.” The sadness in his eyes touched her deeply. He couldn’t mean those words, not the way he was looking at her.
Without hesitation, she reached out and, like a dozen girls before her, pushed the wayward hair back from his brow. She was as big a sucker as the rest of them. But if this would be her only chance, why not take it?
Surprise flashed in his eyes, and she felt the recent sense of awareness sizzle between them. Yet he didn’t move away or even comment.
“I imagine you’ll settle in Nashville,” she said, “meet Miss Right, get married and have two-point-five kids and a minivan.” She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “I wonder how it’ll affect our friendship, once there’s a Mrs. Luke Jordan?”
He laid his cheek against the top of her head. “I can’t imagine that. I’ve never been able to see anyone in that role.”
“Even with the many women you’ve dated?”
“Not one.”
She pulled away from him, tempted by his strong shoulder, not wanting to get too cozy. “Aren’t we a pair? Neither of us sees a future with marriage and happily ever after.”
Brushing her hair over her shoulder, he ran his fingers through the long strands, raising chill bumps along her arm.
“You’re a great catch, Darcy. Some guy will be lucky to get you.” His gaze dipped to her lips, and she realized this was no food-on-her-chin alert. This was the real thing.
He hesitated, as if he expected her to laugh in his face or pull away. She simply swallowed past the big knot of fear, and yes, joy, clogging her throat. When she didn’t flee, his hand cupped the back of her head and drew her closer.
Right before their lips touched, he looked into her eyes with a flash of uncertainty.
She didn’t move. Just held her breath.
Warm, full lips touched hers, tentatively at first. Soft lips she’d merely dreamed about. She placed her hand on his chest, felt the wild beat of his heart.
He pulled her closer, and like a match to tinder, deepened the kiss, plunging his hands into her hair.
Closer, she wanted to be closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tightly, joyous.
He groaned, pulled away slightly and rested his forehead against hers. “Darcy,” he whispered, his voice full of the longing she felt. Then he cupped her face in his hands and tilted his head, bringing her lips to his once again.
This was what she’d been waiting for since the age of fifteen. She poured a decade of longing into a kiss so perfect that she never wanted it to end.
Without warning, he jerked away, gasping for breath. He stood, jamming both hands into his hair, pushing it back from his face. “What in the world have we done?”
She remained rooted to the log, her heart breaking i
nto tiny jagged pieces she knew she’d be unable to put back together.
“That was a huge mistake.” He picked up their plates and shoved them into a trash bag. “I mean, we have a friendship to protect. And goals that take us in different directions. We can’t let ourselves be sidetracked.”
She nodded, unable to speak. What could she say after he’d called their kiss a huge mistake? Tell him that had been the best moment of her life?
How pathetic. Don’t sit here like a bump on a log. The irony of the thought nearly forced out a hysterical laugh, yet tears stung her nose.
She would. Not. Cry.
Luke lifted the lid to the cooler and dumped everything inside—chocolate bars, graham crackers and a bag of marshmallows.
Anger and humiliation drove her to her feet.
He looked at her, finally, his expression pleading with her to understand. “We can’t make the same mistake our parents are making.”
Obviously, a kiss had nearly ruined everything with Luke. She couldn’t imagine a future without his friendship. “Remember Chloe,” she said through an aching throat.
With his hands stuffed in his pockets, he stood there and nodded. “Yeah. That’s right. Like I told Dad, you can’t let romance mess up a friendship. Especially not one that only comes along once in a lifetime.”
Without another word, they locked up the house and loaded the car, then drove back to Appleton in silence. As the scenery whizzed by, thoughts of their first and only kiss flashed through Darcy’s mind.
How could a kiss that wonderful be wrong?
Of course, he was right. Yet it didn’t make it any easier to let go of a longtime dream.
Chapter Eight
When Luke pulled into his driveway, he didn’t know how he’d managed to drive home. The whole trip was a blur. Between reliving the kiss and watching Darcy in his peripheral vision, he’d barely concentrated on the road.
He put the car in Park and cut the engine. He had to acknowledge her. Had to act as normal as possible. She was the only person besides his mother and grandmother he’d ever been able to depend on, who would stick by his side no matter what, success or failure.
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