“Look, can we start over?” he asked. “Just, you were hurting; I didn’t want to take advantage of that. We’re friends, right?”
“Friends don’t mess with other friend’s recipes.”
“Allison…” Luke’s voice was a low warning. Now wasn’t the time for teasing.
“Yes, we’re friends.” She frowned. “I don’t know how it happened, but somehow it did.” She crossed her arms under her chest, and her cleavage went into overdrive. “Are you saying you liked me too much to sleep with me? ’Cause something about that doesn’t sound right.”
He released a bark of shaky laughter. “No, and I’ll probably never be so noble again. But just let me have my moment of chivalry, okay?”
She nodded.
“Since you’re done being polite, I’m going to ask you again if you want me to move to the hotel.” Luke plucked a stray hair off her soft sweater. He didn’t let his fingers linger. “I won’t be offended if you want me out.” He wouldn’t be happy either. Allison’s house was comfortable, and he liked seeing her face right before he went to bed. But his presence had to be an imposition.
“No, it doesn’t make sense.” She stuck her hands in her back pockets. “You’re close to the restaurant this way. Besides, you don’t leave dirty dishes lying around, and you don’t complain when I use up all the hot water. You’re fine.”
Luke slung an arm around her shoulders and turned toward the bar. He sighed dramatically. “Okay, sweet cheeks. We’re going to have to work on your list of requirements. When you do find the guy you’re looking for, I want to make sure he’s good enough for you. He’s going to need to do a little more than dishes.”
“I can’t wait to hear what you think makes the perfect guy.” Allison smiled up at him, but the happiness didn’t reach her eyes.
Luke knew the feeling. He was thankful they’d made it back to their bitching and laughing. Thankful he hadn’t lost a friend.
But if circumstances were different, he knew Allison could mean much more to him than just a friend.
He didn’t know why that knowledge had to hurt so much.
* * * *
Allison put the clementine orange to her nose and breathed in the sharp citrus scent. The fruits were the perfect size to stick in her niece’s stockings. Allison bought a couple and promised Joseph she’d come back for more before Christmas. Joseph Warner owned several greenhouses, and had a spot at Pineville’s weekly farmers’ market. Each Thursday, the town square was filled with tables and booths of locals selling their wares, everything from fruits and vegetables, to honey and jams, to arts and crafts. During the winter, the market was about half the size as the rest of the year, and many of the produce booths were replaced with stalls selling hand-dyed yarns and freshly baked breads.
A huge blue spruce stood at the center of the farmer’s market. The fire department had installed the beast the day before. Mr. Jones and Officer Billy Smith had their work cut out for them if it was going to be decorated in time for the town’s annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony.
Luke strolled up to her, his arms weighted down with bags. He clutched a half-eaten roll in one hand. “You’ve got to taste this,” he said and held the untouched end up to her. “I was thinking it could make a good burger bun. Maybe you could serve a pub burger.”
She tried the pretzel roll, the salt exploding on her taste buds, followed by a mellow nutty flavor. “Messing with my recipes again, hot shot?”
He gave her an impish smile, one that did funny things to her insides. “Call it a collaboration.” He herded her to another booth. “You’re out of jam at home. Let’s get some.”
The world slowed down for a moment, just long enough for pain to lash her chest. Shopping with Luke, buying little things for the house together, was a sharp reminder of all she couldn’t have. Since their talk at the Pins ’N’ Pints, they’d fallen back into their usual camaraderie. It was comfortable, easy. And unsatisfying as hell. But she had to protect herself.
She kept her voice light. “I didn’t think the Institute of Culinary Education trained their chefs to make pub burgers. What are—”
Allison broke off with a horrified gasp and ducked behind Luke. Holding onto the back of his coat with one hand, she tried to tamp down her curls with the other, making sure they didn’t show over his shoulder.
He twisted, but she held firm. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked.
“Don’t move,” she snapped. “Slowly back up and let’s get out of here.”
“I can’t not move and back up at the same time.”
“Don’t be a wiseass. You know what I mean.” She slid her hands down and under his coat and gripped the back of his jeans. The flannel of his shirt was soft and warm against her fingers. Tugging at his waistband, she slowly shuffled backward, taking a quick peek around his arm.
“Do you see that woman over there?” she asked. “The one in the pantsuit and red coat?”
“Uh…” Luke swiveled his head from left to right. “Yeah. Who is she?”
“My sister, Camilla.”
He stopped moving. “Why are you hiding from your sister?”
“I just don’t want her seeing me.” She tugged harder at his waistband. He rocked back an inch but stood firm. “Especially not with you.”
He tensed. “Why the hell not? What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing’s wrong with you.” She tugged again. No effect. Maybe if she grabbed his underwear and pulled… “Can we please leave?”
“Not until you tell me why you don’t want me to meet your sister. If you don’t, I can always call her over to see if she knows the answer.” Luke cranked his head to look back at her with one gimlet eye.
Allison tried to stay strong but crumbled under his accusing glare. She huffed. “Fine. She thinks we’re living together.”
“We are living together.” He twisted in her grip, and faced her fully. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he squeezed. “What’s really going on here?”
Well, damn. This was going to be embarrassing on so many levels. That she had to make up a relationship with someone to get her family’s approval was bad enough. Having him know that she’d picked him as the man for the fictional job would only seal her humiliation.
She darted another glance around his shoulder. Cam was pointing at a loaf of bread three booths down. Allison sighed. Having her sister discover the truth like this would be worse. She scuffed the toe of her boot in the snow. “I promise I’ll tell you everything. Can we just get out of here first?”
Taking her hand, he tugged her out of the town square and down Second Street, where her car was parked. He pulled her in front of the passenger side door and raised a hand, palm up. “Give me the keys. I’ll drive; you talk.”
With a scowl, she slapped the key ring into his hand, hoping the jagged teeth would bite into his palm. The wool gloves he wore took the brunt of the attack. He smiled, unlocked the car, and held the door open. She climbed in, grumbling under her breath, and slid the seatbelt on as Luke walked to the driver’s side.
“Well?” He pulled onto the street, tapping his fingers along the steering wheel. “Spill it.”
“You already know my family thinks I’m the black sheep because I’m not married and have no kids.” Allison shifted. She didn’t know the last time she’d traveled in the passenger seat of her car. Everything looked different from there.
Luke arched one perfectly groomed eyebrow. “And that explains everything how?”
She looked out the window. A giant inflatable snowman on a front lawn swayed in the breeze. “My baby sister’s pregnant. And I’m thrilled for her, really. But when my mother said she should just be thankful she had two daughters with happy families, like there was nothing about me she could be thankful for, I sort of told a fib.”
“A fib?” Luke tilted his head and paused.
/>
“Fine. A big fat lie. I’m a big fat liar—is that what you want to hear?” Her stomach tightened until it felt like a hard block of ice. “I told my family I was living with a man to show them I was in a serious relationship. And because you are living with me right now, I sort of told them that the man I was in a serious, committed relationship with was you. Are you happy now?” She sank into her seat and stared out the windshield.
She didn’t see his smile but could hear it in his voice. “So you told your family that we’re living together and what? You plan to keep your serious boyfriend hidden away, never to meet them? Don’t they want to check me out?”
“Of course they want to meet you. They invited you over to Sunday brunch.” She chewed on a fingernail. “I just haven’t decided whether I’ll tell them that our relationship is over already or that you just couldn’t make it to brunch and then have us break up later.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that yet.” His delighted grin should have warned her. He looked like a little boy about to put cherry bombs down a toilet.
“Why’s that?”
He placed a hand above her knee and squeezed. She shivered, both in dread over his next words, and from the shock of his touch. Tingles zipped up her thigh and settled low.
“Sweet cheeks, your serious boyfriend wouldn’t miss brunch for the world.” Luke wiggled his eyebrows. “You can tell your parents that you will definitely be plus one this Sunday.”
Chapter Eleven
Luke barked out a laugh at the look of horror on Allison’s face. He didn’t understand why she was so worried. He was housebroken. Besides, parents loved him, especially the mothers.
She’d been so generous with him, giving a virtual stranger a job and a roof over his head. Anything he could do to make her life easier, he would. And if getting her family off her back was what she needed, then that was what he’d do.
“Don’t look so scared. It’s not like I’ve never met a woman’s family before.” He’d never met Laurie’s, but Luke figured that was because her parents resided somewhere in hell.
Allison turned onto her hip, facing him. “Have you ever been in a serious relationship?”
“Define serious?”
She pursed her lips. “Longer than two months with the intent to see if it led anywhere.”
“Yes to the two-month requirement. No to the intent.” He took the turn onto Allison’s street, and the wheels slid on a patch of black ice. Luke jerked the car back onto its side of the road. “When’s the last time you had the tires checked?”
She ignored the question. “Why haven’t you ever wanted to go long term?”
Scratching his jaw, Luke thought about it. “I guess I’ve always been too busy. You know how much work it takes to launch a restaurant, make it the best you can. And there’s always one more thing to do.” He glanced at her. “After Le Cygne becomes established, I want to open sister restaurants. Maybe expand to the Vegas market.”
“You’re ambitious.” She settled back in her seat. “I get it.”
Luke pulled into her driveway and cut the ignition. The sudden silence was stark.
He’d always thought he was ambitious. As a twenty-year-old punk, he’d told his parents he was going to have a culinary empire before he turned forty. They hadn’t been thrilled with his choice of colleges, and he’d felt the need to talk big. And at the time he’d meant it.
If he got sued, he wouldn’t be able to keep one restaurant solvent, much less an empire. The thought didn’t bother him as much as it should.
“Have any women met your family?” Allison asked. Condensation crept up the windows, and she drew patterns in the glass next to her.
“Only my high school prom date. I didn’t bring anyone home from college, and my parents died a year later.”
Allison rested a hand on his arm. Her pea coat fell open, and the faded black t-shirt she wore underneath clung to her breasts.
Swallowing, he forced his gaze to stay on her face. It didn’t help. Her wide brown eyes brimmed with sympathy, and her plump lips put dirty thoughts in his head. Allison was the perfect pairing of naughty and nice. A sexy body combined with a sweet heart. The ultimate package.
“I’m sorry.” She leaned closer across the armrest. “How did it happen?”
“Car accident. Someone cut us off on the freeway.” He rubbed his chest. “All I got were some cuts and bruises and a broken nose. They were both killed instantly.”
“Jesus.” She skimmed her hand down his arm and tangled her fingers with his. “Do you have any sisters or brothers?”
He stared at their joined hands. The black wool of his gloves interwoven with the cranberry leather of her own. Something about the sight stole his breath. He shook his head. “Just me.” He cleared his throat. He needed to change the conversation. “Let’s go for a ride on my bike.”
“A motorcycle ride?” She peered out the windshield. “In the winter? We’ll freeze.”
Pushing out the door, he circled the car and tugged her from her seat. “I rode here from Chicago. I thawed just fine.”
“So you’re not denying you froze.” Allison shook her head and pulled their bags from the car. She marched up her front steps and unlocked her door.
Luke followed her in. “It’s not that bad. Just go put on some more layers, and you’ll be fine.”
Allison glanced up her staircase, biting her lip. “I should really get back to The Pantry…”
Luke grinned. He knew he had her. “Come on. Jenny’s the shift manager. Kurt and Delilah have the kitchen covered. There’s more to life than just work, Allison. Have a little fun.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You should be wearing a red leather outfit. With horns and a pitchfork.” Her lips twisted in a wry smile. “You’re the devil on my shoulder leading me astray.”
“The leading-astray part comes later.” He took the bags from her arms. “This is just a bike ride.”
The corners of her eyes crinkled. “Let’s do it.”
“Great.” Excitement thrummed in Luke’s chest. He felt like a teenager about to pick up his first date. “Now go get changed. I’ll put these things away.”
She took the stairs two at a time, and Luke didn’t even try to keep his eyes off her ass. He’d been an idiot. Why had he put the brakes on before? Trying to be noble? That hadn’t made Allison feel any better, and it had only given him a raging case of blue balls. They were both mature adults. There was no reason they couldn’t handle a relationship while he was in Pineville.
It would be more than a fling. Allison could never be just that. But there was no rule that said good friends couldn’t get even friendlier.
He left the bags on the kitchen counter, pulled a hoodie on, and placed his jacket over it. He wrapped a scarf around his neck and pulled the hat Allison had given him down over his ears.
Allison came back down the stairs, tugging on a pair of gloves. A bulky sweater and jacket tried to mask her curves, but on every step, there was a soft jiggle at her breasts. Luke’s gaze tracked down her legs to a pair of nubby, shin-high boots with fleece lining the insides. He smiled. She couldn’t have picked a less sexy outfit if she’d tried. But she was still the hottest woman in town.
He swung the door open with a melodramatic flourish. “After you.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t sound foreboding, at all.” But if she was nervous, she didn’t show it. She hopped down her porch steps and opened her garage door. She clapped her hands together as she waited for Luke.
There had been just enough space in her garage for Luke to cram his bike in. He rolled it from its place next to a leaning stack of napkin boxes. Allison’s garage did double duty as storage for her restaurant. He checked his bike over and added organizing that mess to his list. After he did some painting touch-ups around her house.
Leaning down, he unlatched hi
s helmet and settled it over her head. Wisps of blond hair clung to her cheeks, and she brushed them back as best she could. He bit the finger of a glove and pulled it off so he could fasten the chin strap. He let his fingers brush her jaw and neck more than was strictly necessary. She was just so damn soft. He couldn’t even imagine what other parts of her would feel like.
Tugging up the collar to her jacket, he pulled and tucked her scarf until it was positioned to block the most wind.
“Wait.” She looked on the other side of the bike. “Where’s your helmet?”
He jerked his chin to her head. “It’s never looked better.”
“But you need one, too.” A little furrow creased the skin between her eyebrows.
“Michigan doesn’t have a mandatory helmet law.” He put a finger over her mouth when she opened it to protest. “You’re protected, and I’ll be fine.” Throwing his leg over the seat, he settled in and started the engine. It roared to life between his legs. “Get on,” he yelled over the throttle.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, she swung her leg over the seat. She slid forward until she was plastered against his back. “You’d better not kill me. I will be one bitchy ghost haunting your ass.”
He laughed. “I don’t doubt it.” He reached back and flipped the plastic visor down on her helmet. “Hang on,” he yelled and opened the throttle. His bike rocketed forward.
With a muffled shriek, Allison wrapped her arms around his waist, holding tight.
Just the reaction he’d been looking for. Luke found a winding two-lane road, and settled in to enjoy the ride. He had 100 HP between his legs, and Allison wrapped around him like a vine. Life was pretty damn perfect.
* * * *
Allison eased her death grip around Luke. The biting wind attacked every open patch of skin and battered its way under her scarf. But the cold and the ride were exhilarating. Her heart thumped as he took a tight turn. She whooped as they passed a slow-moving Prius. “Faster!” she hollered.
He must have heard her. The vibrations between her legs jumped to a roar, and she was forced back an inch. Digging her hands under his jacket, she grabbed his hips and snuggled back close. The road winded through patches of forest and meadow. Black-and-white Holsteins flicked their tails as they whipped past. Orchards with white-dusted gnarled limbs surrounded them on both sides of the road. The sun was shining. And Luke Hamilton was wedged between her legs.
The Christmas Wedding Swap Page 14