Luke looked up at the nurse in scrubs. “Yes?”
“Sam is in recovery. The doctor would like to talk to you and your brother.”
Luke glanced over to where Brady had been. His laptop was back in its case, but Brady wasn’t there.
“Sorry, had to use the bathroom.” Brady came down the hall toward them. “Everything okay?”
“Sam’s out and in recovery.” Luke took a deep breath. A lot of things still could go wrong, but the worst part was over.
After another hour, Luke had all the post-op information and had talked to Sam briefly. On the way home, he and Brady talked about the surgery and what they needed to do to prepare for Sam’s homecoming in a few days.
When Luke pulled the car up to Maggie and Brady’s house, Brady turned to him.
“Do you want to come in for a little bit? Maybe for some dinner? Maggie’s a great cook.”
Luke looked past Brady to the lights in the old Victorian’s windows. He could see Maggie and Amber heading to the door to greet Brady. “Nah, you go ahead. It’s been a long day. You’ll need to start packing for your trip.”
“You sure?” Brady wasn’t just being nice. He was sincere, but Luke wasn’t in the mood for company.
“Yeah, we’ll see each other tomorrow.”
“’Night.” Brady got out and without a backward glance walked into his family’s arms.
Luke remembered what that felt like. To hug someone who cared more about what you were feeling than their own agenda.
It had been a long time since he’d felt that way. Dating in med school had been hard. He’d dated other med students mostly and everyone was mainly concerned about their grades and their shifts. No one really worried about anyone except themselves.
He didn’t have what Brady had. Someone who would welcome him with open arms. His gaze went to the direction of Penny’s house. It was only a block away.
* * *
Penny stared at the inventory screen of the online auction. It had a few good pieces that would look wonderful in What Goes Around Comes Around. A pair of gilded-and-silvered metal vases from nineteenth-century France and a seventeenth-century Italian writing desk had captured her attention. Although they were a bit ornate for her local customers, the tourists loved finding these types of treasures in her little shop.
Most of her inventory consisted of American furniture, artwork and tableware. But she loved to have a few older pieces from across the ocean for interest. People would come in to look at the vases and notice a set of silver or glassware that their grandma had and buy that instead.
She put in her bids and stretched. Flicker perked up at her feet and looked at her hopefully with his giant brown eyes.
“No, I’m not taking you for a walk, you overgrown mop.”
Flicker wagged his tail, knocking it against the table leg.
“If I’d known you were going to weigh almost as much as me, I would have let Brady take you back to the farm.” When Brady had shown up with a surprise dog for Amber, Maggie had blown a gasket. Penny had stepped in and offered to keep the puppy. At the time, it had seemed easy and Amber loved the dog. Having never had a puppy before, Penny had been in for a treat.
The dog looked up at her with utter devotion. Penny couldn’t resist an answering smile.
“Go back to sleep and maybe later we’ll get a quick walk.”
Flicker jumped up and headed to the door.
“Not now.” Why did she say the word walk? “Flicker.”
The dog growled and then barked.
“What’s—”
Someone knocked on the door. Most likely Amber or Maggie. They’d spent the afternoon together working on a new scrapbook for Amber. Penny shut her laptop.
When she opened the door, she didn’t see anyone for a moment.
“Hey.”
She jumped and looked to her right. Luke stood in the shadows. “You startled me.”
“Sorry about that.”
Flicker rushed out the door and sniffed at Luke. Luke rubbed the dog’s head, and the poor thing turned to putty in his hand. Penny was way too intimately familiar with the feeling.
“This must be the legendary Flicker.” Luke didn’t look up at her as Flicker put his front paws on Luke’s chest in an effort to lick his face. His jeans, slung low on his hips, drew her attention. He filled them out nicely. She forced her gaze up to his button-down white shirt.
She ran her suddenly damp palms over her pink cotton shorts. Expecting to be alone this evening, she’d already changed into her pajamas. She hadn’t thought to grab her sweater before answering the door since it was probably Maggie or Amber, and her comfy pink cotton tank didn’t help against the cool evening air.
“Did you want to come in?” Penny grabbed Flicker’s collar and tugged him off Luke. “It’s a bit chilly out here.”
Luke’s eyes caught on her breasts before lifting to meet her eyes. “Sure.”
He followed her into the house.
“Have a seat. I’ll put Flicker out in the backyard.” She motioned to the living room and hauled the dog out through the kitchen door. When she got back, Luke was staring at the pictures on the wall.
Her heart stopped. Most of the pictures were of Maggie, Amber and her, but the one he was focused on was the one of Luke and her. The night hadn’t mattered and hadn’t been anything special. It could have been any night or every night, but that picture showed how much in love they had been.
“Can I get you something to drink?” She wanted to ask why he was here. What had happened with Sam? Did he feel this intense, almost-drunk feeling when she was near, as she did? It made her feel comfortable and on edge in the same moment. “I have a beer or I could make some tea.”
“No.” He reached out and stroked a finger down the picture.
She shuddered as if he’d touched her. Goose bumps rose on her arms. It wasn’t the chill in the air affecting her. It was the electric current running between them that had her body humming like a live wire.
He turned toward her. His blue eyes glowed in the dim light the lamp offered. “Are you expecting someone?”
“No. I was just working some before going to bed.” She didn’t normally have anyone over during the week. Before last weekend, it had been quite a while since she’d hooked up with someone. She was busy with work and helping with Maggie’s wedding. It definitely didn’t have anything to do with the fact that Luke would be coming home.
He glanced over her shoulder, down the hallway. A thrill shot through her. He knew exactly where her bedroom was. They hadn’t had the chance to use it very often as teenagers, but he’d snuck in a few times. He was the only guy who had made it to her bedroom.
Suddenly she felt vulnerable and naked.
It had nothing to do with her state of dress. She wouldn’t care if she were literally naked in front of Luke, but he’d been inside her head and heart as a teenager. Maggie knew her, but not as Luke did...or, rather, had.
“Sorry I interrupted you.” Luke sank into the worn recliner.
“I had just finished up when you knocked.” She hesitated in the doorway for a moment before she shook herself. She wasn’t shy when it came to men, but something about Luke threw her off her game. She walked into the room and sat across from Luke with her legs tucked up under her. “What’s up?”
“Sam’s surgery went well.” He combed his hand through his hair.
“It must have been a long day for you.” Her heart beat mercilessly against her rib cage. Why was he here? To talk? To vent? To have sex?
“I just dropped off Brady.”
To not be alone? She’d been there many times.
His fingers stroked sensually down the ruby-red glass of the Egermann Bohemian perfume bottle on the end table next to him. It didn’t take muc
h for her to remember those fingers tracing the vein in her neck.
“And since you were in the neighborhood, you thought you’d pass along the news of Sam?” Not bloody likely. This whole week had been an exercise in chastity. Something she wasn’t entirely comfortable or familiar with. They’d never had a moment alone, which was probably good. If they had, she would have dragged him somewhere and to hell with her promises to her heart to keep him at arm’s length for the duration of his stay. Besides, all promises were meant to be broken.
“Something like that.” He seemed way too fascinated with the glass. It was as if he was trying to put her on edge. Draw her attention to the fingers that had provided her with hours of pleasure.
Keeping up this conversation was pointless. If he were here to drive her mad with desire, it was working. And since he hadn’t touched her, she’d be on her own tonight. He’d hardly acknowledged the fact that she was barely dressed. If they weren’t going to get busy, she would have to work through her desires by herself. She started to stand up.
“Wait.” He held up his hand, still looking at the bottle.
She returned to her seat, not because he’d ordered her to, but because she was curious.
“Tell me about this.” His words were so quiet and his voice so deep she almost didn’t hear him.
“It’s a ruby perfume bottle made by Egermann after 1860 in Bohemia.”
Luke lifted his gaze to hers. “Penny?”
“Yes?”
“Give me its story.”
She drew in a deep breath. When she was younger, she’d been fascinated with the antiques in her grandma’s store. She’d spent countless hours there, wondering where everything came from, making up their stories to make them so much more than they were: things left behind by people who were either gone or no longer wanted them. “The real one?”
“Give me your story.”
She hadn’t thought up stories in years. Something in his lost look made her want to draw him into her embrace and just hold him for hours until whatever haunted him went away. He hadn’t asked for that, but she could give him a story. “The year was 1867. There was a man who desired a woman very much.”
He watched her with an intensity that took her breath away. “Go on.”
She licked her lips and continued, “She was everything to him, but she didn’t see him. Not as a man. Not as a person. One day he saw her standing in a store. In her hands she held that very perfume bottle. She stroked it with longing and smelled deeply of the perfume, which had the rich scent of jasmine in it. He could tell she wanted it very much.”
Luke stood and crossed the room. He hunkered down in front of her. His knuckles brushed her bare leg. “Tell me more.”
She swallowed. “The woman put it back because she didn’t have enough money for it. After she left the store, he went to the bottle and spent every last coin he had in his pocket on it, confident that with it, he would finally have her love. That night he went to her house and presented her with the bottle.”
“What did she do?” He brushed her hair behind her ear and cradled her head in his hand.
Her breath whispered past her lips. “She invited him inside.”
“Will you?” He pulled her head down toward his. She didn’t resist.
“Will I what?”
He stopped before their lips touched. “Let me in.”
Penny closed the distance between their mouths, answering him the only way she knew how. Their lips met and clung together. Sparks flew behind her eyes. Her skin tingled with the longing to be touched. Liquid heat flowed through her and pooled in the center of her.
Without breaking the kiss, he rose and took her into his arms. This was crazy. Foolish. The future was an unknown. The past was gone. This was perhaps the worst mistake she could make. But right now, Luke was the only thing that mattered to her. This connection. His mouth, his body, his essence...the fuel for this raging passion within her.
Chapter Nine
Luke hadn’t known what to expect when he knocked on Penny’s door. He wouldn’t fool himself into believing his intentions had been any less than kissing Penny until he managed to release the devil that had been riding him since their night together.
He pulled away from the kiss. Her body was flush against his, her chest rising and falling with every breath. He ran a finger under the strap of her tank top.
“I never figured you for a pink-cotton girl.” He rested his forehead against hers.
“My black and red lace teddies are all in the wash.” Her fingers tangled in his hair.
“Liar.” He pulled her from her chair and sat back on the floor with her on his lap.
“You’ve discovered my secret.” She ran her fingers along the neckline of his shirt until she reached the top button. With a flick of her finger, she released it. “I have an all-encompassing passion for cotton pajamas. Shorts, pants, T-shirts, tank tops. I can’t get enough of them.”
He ran his hands up her bare legs until he brushed the cotton of her shorts.
“I can’t let you leave here,” she said. Her expression was serious, but the glint in her eyes ruined the effect.
He cupped her bottom and pulled her tight against his hardness. “Why is that?”
“Because you know at least one of my secrets.” She dipped her head to kiss his neck. A pulse of pure heat went straight through his body. She pushed him back until he lay flat on the carpet. “I have to find out what else you know.”
Her fingers wove with his and pressed his hands into the floor. He could easily overpower her if he wanted to. She took his mouth with hers. Her tongue danced with his. His blood ran hot through his veins and his brain began to short-circuit. His fingers twitched with the desire to explore her lush body. She released his mouth and stared down into his eyes.
“What if I’m not willing to talk?” Luke leaned up and nipped her chin.
She smiled wickedly. “We’ll see about that.”
Penny took her time removing his clothes, button by button, kissing every inch of skin she uncovered until Luke couldn’t think straight. By the time she had him fully naked, he was sensitive everywhere. The slightest breeze from the open window made him stiffen with desire. He allowed her to do what she wanted, enjoying her attentions more than he probably should.
When he couldn’t take any more, he lifted her top over her head and helped her out of her shorts and underwear. Having her naked skin against his was the most enticing feeling in the world. She was intoxicating. So sure and aware of herself as a sexual creature.
He wanted too much from her. He knew that. He wanted everything, every piece of her down to her very soul. But it was impossible. He’d learned that lesson years ago as a boy. As a man, he would take what she offered and enjoy her without reading too much into her moans of delight and her desire to please him.
After covering him with a condom, she hovered above him. Aphrodite herself. Her flesh pressed intimately with his. He had so many things he wanted to say, needed to tell her. Things she should know. She was one of a kind. In nine years, he hadn’t been able to replace her in his mind or in his heart. No one compared to her.
“So beautiful.” He reached up and stroked the side of her face.
Her passion-glazed eyes met his. She took his hand, pressed her lips against his fingertips. “I want to come apart with you.”
She came down on him. They both gasped in air as if they were starving for it. She set a slow rhythm, but he couldn’t take it. He grabbed her hips and set a new pace. He watched her every expression until she tightened all around him, taking him over the edge with her.
She collapsed on his chest. Both of them worked to catch their breaths.
A laugh escaped Penny.
“Not something a guy likes to hear after sex,” he grumbled and kisse
d the top of her hair.
She rested her chin on her hands on his chest to look at him. Her brown eyes sparkled. “Trust me when I say that laugh wasn’t about your performance. And may I say, ‘bravo’?”
“You can applaud if you like.” He smiled and pushed her hair from her face. “But I think you did most of the work.”
“I wouldn’t call it work.” She squirmed against him and raised an eyebrow. “But you know, if you have some pent-up energy you need to expend—”
She squealed as he flipped her onto her back.
He leaned over her, his hand tracing along the side of her breast. “Since you seem in the mood to laugh, let’s see if I can remember where your tickle spots are.”
* * *
Penny hummed as she dusted the shelves of her shop the next morning. She still wasn’t entirely sure why Luke had come over last night, but she definitely wasn’t complaining after the christening of her living room rug.
“Penny dear, did you get bit by a mosquito?” Bitsy Clemons was making her morning rounds. With only a few shops on Main Street, Bitsy could spend a lot of time in each and still make it home for lunch.
Penny reached up and touched her neck. “Uh, yeah, nasty little buggers.”
“We need to spray for them before they get bad this summer.” Bitsy wandered down the aisle to the jewelry trays.
Penny glanced in one of the antique mirrors on the wall. Sure enough, she had a huge hickey from Luke as a greeting card this morning. Damn.
Luke had left sometime during the night and she’d crawled into bed exhausted. This morning, she’d overslept and managed to roll into the shower and pull on some clothes just in time to get to the shop for opening. She’d forgotten to look for collateral damage.
The bell above the door rang—hopefully announcing Bitsy’s departure.
Some damage Penny had noticed—thankfully. The rug burns on her knees were discreetly hidden by her slacks. Bitsy would have a heart attack if she’d seen exactly how Penny had gotten those puppies. She chuckled.
“Someone’s in a happy mood,” Luke’s voice slipped over her like a satin nightie, causing her knees to turn to gelatin.
ONE NIGHT WITH THE BEST MAN Page 7