by Lacey Black
Finally, his perusal reaches my face and his eyes land on mine. I’m not prepared for the intensity in those green eyes. Ten years I’ve pictured those eyes, remembered the tenderness mixed with passion the night before I left Las Vegas. Now, there’s a hint of that passion I recall mixed with the shock of our situation.
“You work here?” he asks, those emerald orbs never wavering.
“Yes,” I whisper as he takes a step closer.
Luke invades my personal space with just one step of those long, lean legs. He’s every bit as tall as I remember, maybe more so now. His hair is kept short, but in the same stylish manner he always maintained. Paired with his hard build and he looks like he strutted off the pages of a magazine. Or at least stepped off the cover of a romance novel. You know what I’m talking about. The ones where the gorgeous guy wears dangerously low cut jeans that reveals the hint of that delicious V at his waist, his eight-pack on clear display, a leather jacket, and a pose that screams bad boy. That’s Luke Thomas.
After several seconds of uncomfortable silence, he finally speaks. “Do you want to grab a cup of coffee?”
I hesitate, but only because my mind is screaming yes, yes, yes, and my mouth isn’t able to formulate the words quite yet. “Okay,” I finally reply, sounding slightly breathy and nervous.
Luke turns and places his hand on my lower back. His touch scalds my skin, searing me through a layer of material as he guides me towards the elevator. We pass Tina who is blatantly watching our every move from the executive reception area. Her face is a mixture of surprise and fury as we make our way to the elevator door.
Since my brain isn’t functioning on all cylinders at the moment, and I can’t seem to make my shaky hands cooperate, Luke reaches forward and presses the down button. You know, for a smart girl, I sure am acting dumb. I can feel Tina’s eyes locked on my back, but I maintain my position and stare straight ahead. Warm breath caresses my face causing me to glance up at the man beside me. Air stalls in my lungs, refusing to move. He really is even more handsome than I remember. His boyish good lucks have transformed into a gorgeous man with high cheekbones and thick eyelashes that would make any woman weep.
And then there are the dimples. Even though I have yet to see them, I know they’re there, lurking just behind his perfect complexion and devilish grin. Those babies could disarm the entire state of Texas with just one flash. I’ve witnessed girls lose their minds over those beautiful dimples, me included. Though, I always kept my reaction hidden on the inside so that he could never see just how much they affected me.
Stepping inside the empty elevator car, I turn around, detaching his hand from my body. I’m finally able to take a deep breath again after breaking the contact and the spell he seems to have on me.
As we descend, I say, “There’s a little coffee shop down on the corner. I’d rather not go into the dining room here where everyone will be curiously lurking nearby. I hate how everyone seems to know everyone’s business here.”
“That’s fine. I’m good with that,” he says while taking out his cell phone. “I have to send a quick message to Blake and let him know that the situation has been taken care of.” His eyebrows crinkle together, as if remembering the entire ordeal upstairs in the conference room.
Retrieving my own phone, I prepare a quick message to Cassidy to let her know I was stepping out for a quick meeting. I decide to throw in another line that Mick might be calling to set up an appointment, and to put him off for as long as possible.
When the car reaches the ground floor, I send my text message as a warm hand rests on my lower back once more. I should move forward and break the connection, but if anything, my double-crossing body actually sways backwards into his touch as if it’s been incomplete without it all this time.
Stupid body.
We’re both quiet as we make our way down the block to the small coffee shop that specializes in both hot and cold overpriced caffeinated beverages. Every once in a while, I feel Luke’s arm graze against mine. Prickles of awareness shoot through me like fireworks, fraying my already over-stimulated nerve endings.
He reaches forward and pulls open the door, a soft bell signals our arrival. Still without saying a word, we step up to the counter and place our orders; a large black coffee for him and a non-fat caramel mocha for myself. As the barista makes our drinks, I steal a few sideways glances at the boy who stole my heart ten years ago. Time has done nothing but improve an already flawless exterior, even though his eyes appear a bit harder than before. He looks so much like his older brother, Blake, at this moment, with deep green eyes and short dark hair.
“Is this okay?” he asks, motioning for a quiet table in the back of the coffee shop.
“Sure.”
I can feel his eyes on me as I sit across from him, gently stirring a drink that doesn’t require stirring. For some reason, I feel the need to do something with my hands. Not to mention that my eyes are riveted to the insulated paper cup as if it were about to start to salsa dance.
“So,” Luke says before clearing his throat. “How long have you been back in Vegas?”
Finally glancing back up, I’m struck by the softness in those deep, soulful, green eyes. Where they were hard before, the lines have relaxed, his eyes almost carefree. I hold my breath, anticipating that sweet boyish grin to spread across his handsome face.
But it doesn’t come.
“Almost three years,” I reply, shifting in my seat. “I came back when my father passed away.”
“I heard about that. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I take a sip of my coffee. “Thank you. It wasn’t like we were close at that time. He had his life here, and I had mine.”
“But still, he was your father.”
“He was, even if he was absent most of my adult life.” I take another sip of sweetened goodness. “So how about you? What brought you to the hotel today? I’m still not quite sure why you were in the conference room with Mick.”
“Blake and I own Thomas Securities. The Diamond contracts our firm to provide security.”
“Wow, I had no clue that the entire time I was working here, it was your company who was onsite for security.” I offer a small grin, relaxing for the first time since I’ve found myself in Luke’s presence.
“Technically, we’ve only had this account for about nine months. We started the company about a year ago.” Luke’s cell phone starts to ring in his pocket. He takes it out, glances at the screen, and silences it. Whoever was calling can apparently wait.
“Small world.”
“That it is.” He takes a drink of his own coffee before setting it down and moving it aside. Luke leans forward, elbows resting on the table in a casual, yet predatory stance.
“So, Mick, huh? I have to admit, angel, I’m a little baffled by today’s discovery.” His eyes are intense again and cause me to squirm a bit in my seat.
“Yeah, that. What can I say? I was naive, grieving, and gullible. He was charming from the start and showered me with attention, something I had been lacking. I was working part time for a pharmaceutical company and full-time as a student. I was getting so close to my PhD when my father passed. Then,” I take a deep breath and look him in the eyes. “Then, everything changed.”
Luke gazes at me, the questions he wants answered reflecting in his eyes, but I continue before he can ask any of them. “I realized my mistake almost immediately and have been trying to rid myself of him for eight long months. He’s not making it easy on me, but I’m told this Thursday is the final appeal his lawyer can make. They’ve been grasping at straws, dragging it out as long as possible. I’m done. My lawyer is done. The judge is done. Thursday, the divorce will be final, and I’ll be able to breathe for the first time in several months.”
“But you work with him?” Luke asks, worrying his eyebrows together as if the thought of me working with Mick causes him distress, which is silly because we haven�
��t seen each other–or spoken, for that matter–in ten years.
“Yeah, well, I don’t have the authority to fire him. Mick worked alongside my father while he was alive, and he has Penny wrapped around his finger so she won’t fire him.”
“And Penny was your dad’s mistress?”
“Assistant slash mistress, yes. That’s who he left my mom for. They were married fairly quickly after the divorce.” Taking another drink of my cooling coffee, I turn the question and answer session back on him. “So, you work with your brother and own your own company. What else have you been up to in the last ten years, Luke Thomas?”
The corner of his lush mouth turns upward, the hint of a smile playing on his lips. Just as he opens his mouth to speak, his phone starts to ring again. Luke glances down and notices the name on the screen, and silences it once again. I almost miss the subtle shake of his head as he sets it back down on the table. It’s hard to get a read on him. Is he not taking the call because he doesn’t want me to overhear his conversation, or maybe something to do with work, and he’ll deal with it later?
He swings his attention fully back to me as he starts to respond. “I was in the FBI for five years. It wasn’t the right fit for Blake or me, long-term, so we left the Bureau for private security. The business is booming and doing very well.” The way his hands flex slightly and then ball into fists tells me there might be something more to that story.
“And? Are you married?” The word lodges in my throat painfully, like I swallowed a golf ball.
His eyes crinkle as he laughs. “Uh, no. Not married. Blake is, though. He has a two-year-old and another on the way.”
“Really?” I smile widely. “I’m having a hard time picturing Blake as a father.”
Luke laughs again. “Why? Because he used to pull your hair and put bugs down your shirt?”
“That was you, not Blake,” I remind him.
We both stare at each other for several tense moments, lost in memories of our childhood. “Yeah, I guess that was me,” he says softly, a fond smile spreading across his face. And there they are: the dimples.
“How’s twenty-nine treating you?” I ask through the smile still spread across my face. I’m not sure what made me think of that, other than the fact that I’ve never really forgotten it. Luke’s birthday is right after Christmas.
Surprise registers on his face. “You remember when my birthday is?”
Unable to formulate words, I just nod.
“So far, twenty-nine is exactly the same as twenty-eight.”
“I wouldn’t know,” I quip, hiding my grin.
“You will soon. May thirteenth will be here before we know it.” And now it’s my turn to show surprise. He remembers my birthday, too.
Luke’s phone rings a third time. This time, irritation clearly mars his handsome face as he grabs the device and slides his finger across the screen.
“Hey, can I talk to you in a little bit? I’m kinda busy right now,” he says as way of greeting. After several tense seconds where every plausible idea of who he’s speaking with on the other end flits through my mind, leaving me surprisingly unsettled when my brain keeps wondering if it’s a woman, he finally speaks again. “I promise. I’ll call you back as soon as I’m done.” Pause. “Yes, Mom, I’ll be there for dinner later.” Pause. “Fine. Bye.” Pause. “Love you, too.”
Luke drops his phone back on the table and exhales deeply. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it. That was your mom, huh?”
“Yeah.” That one word is terse and maybe a little vulgar, like a curse word spoken a little too loudly in church.
Clearly, it’s a subject that he’s not interested in discussing.
“Blake was always so serious and responsible. You were always a little more reckless and carefree, always teasing me,” I say, taking us back to our friendly conversation prior to his phone call.
“I only tease those I like,” he says with a wink, and I swear my stomach drops to my toes. What is it about Luke Thomas that always causes the teenage schoolgirl in me to come out?
Before I realize it, both of our coffees are gone and my watch indicates it’s been an hour since I left the hotel. Since I had already taken a lunch, I’m technically on the clock. “I should go.”
Luke stands up at the same time I do. “Would it be okay if I called you sometime? You know, to catch up more?”
My heart beat kicks up and starts tap dancing in my chest. “Sure. That would be nice.” He’s only being friendly, Sidney. Don’t get all worked up over him wanting to call you.
Besides, he probably won’t.
Digging in my purse, I produce a business card with my fancy schmancy title, direct line, as well as cell phone. Unfortunately, unpredictable hours and phone calls come with the elaborate title I was given, and it never fails that brides call at all hours as their wedding day reaches the final countdown. When I hand him the card, I notice a slight tremble to my hand, and pray to God he doesn’t notice it.
Of course, being the stellar former FBI agent that I’m sure he was, I can tell instantly that he notices it. As he reaches for the card, his fingers wraps around mine, warm and coarse. It’s the first physical contact I’ve had with Luke in ten long years, and his touch is every bit as potent as I remember.
An unexpected gasp slips from my lips as my eyes clash once more with his. We’re lost in another world, no one else exists; not in the coffee shop, not in Las Vegas, and not in the entire state of Nevada. It’s just us.
Him and I.
With our fingers still touching, Luke moves forward and places a gentle kiss on my cheek. Hot breath sweeps across my face as his warm, wet lips leave my skin tingling with familiarity and arousal. My entire body craves more. More contact. More kisses. More, more, more.
Instead, I take a step back and break the contact of our hands. My entire body mourns the loss of his touch, but it’s necessary before I get myself worked up all over again over Luke Thomas. If I let myself, I’m liable to get lost in those green eyes and amazing kisses, just like I did when we were younger.
Hell, who am I kidding? I pretty sure I’m already gone.
“I’ll walk you back to the hotel,” he says as he places his hand on my lower back.
“You don’t have to.”
“Maybe not, but my truck is there, and since we’re heading to the same place, I’ll walk you.” Again with that cocky, devilish smirk.
The walk back to The Diamond mirrors our walk earlier. We’re both quiet, lost in our own thoughts, as we approach the revolving doors that lead to the main entrance. “Thank you so much for the coffee. It was good to catch up,” I say.
Just before I can turn and head through the doorway, Luke grabs my arm. I’m engulfed in his warmth, nuzzled against the rock hard plains of his chest and arms, before I even realize what’s happening.
A hug.
Luke is hugging me.
And not just any hug. We’re talking the top of the line, the Joe DiMaggio, best of the best kind of hugs. The kind that kindles to life a fire of lust and spreads warmth clear down to your toes. A hug so wonderful that chocolate fudge, chocolate cake, and chocolate ice cream all pale in comparison.
The best hug in the history of all hugs.
Ever.
But before I can dwell on the fact that I’m wrapped up in Luke’s capable arms, he pulls back and gives me that boy-next-door smile that I didn’t even realize I was still missing until just now. My heart slams around in my chest like a bumper car, and something meaningful bubbles to the surface, threatening to spill over. Friendship. I still care greatly for Luke, even after a ten-year absence.
“I’m going to call you because I want to see you again.”
I’m relieved by his words, grateful that he’s interested in spending a little more time together. Back on his graduation night, we barely scratched the surface of whatever was sparking to life between us. Sure, I told myse
lf it was just one friend doing something for another.
But that wasn’t it at all.
I wanted my first time to be with Luke, not only because he was my best friend and I cared for him, but also because I had deeper feelings for him. It took me months to get over the loss of losing him in my life, and even longer to get over his blatant dismissal of our friendship.
“I don’t usually do much besides work, so get a hold of me sometime when your schedule allows,” I say casually, still reeling from his body pressed so tightly against mine.
Luke nods before taking a step back. As I reach for the door, I hear him holler my name. “I’m glad you’re back home,” he says. Another potent smile crests his lips, and it’s deadly. He’s sex personified with a killer smile.
As I throw him a casual wave over my shoulder and slip back inside the confines of the air-conditioned building, I’m all too familiar with the shaky legs and rapidly beating heart that is triggered by spending time with Luke. I endured an entire childhood worth of those kinds of reactions. It all started when I was twelve and he helped pull gravel out of my hands and knees after I wrecked my bike, and I realized then what it really felt like to have a crush.
But did I ever really crush on Luke?
Yes and no.
My feelings for him were always deeper, truer. There was always something there, budding just below the surface, waiting to break through and grow. Our time was cut short then, but now? Now, I don’t know. It couldn’t come at a worse time.
I just don’t know what to make of Luke’s reappearance in my life.
Chapter Six – Thomas, Table for Two
Luke
“Luke, did you hear anything I’ve said?”
I glance up to find four sets of eyes staring back at me. Blake’s and Carly’s both reflect humor, Dad’s shows a bit of confusion, but my mom’s are burning with indignation mixed with concern.