by Tia Siren
Toby broke out into a fit of coughs that sounded like hidden laughter. He shook his head when Luke glared at him.
“Sorry,” he said. “I wouldn’t necessarily call them girlfriends.”
“Shut up,” Shannon said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t listen to my brother. He’s an idiot sometimes.”
“Yes, please don’t listen to him,” Luke said. “He has a habit of saying things that aren’t necessarily true.”
Despite his glare, a playful grin tugged at Luke’s lips. There was an ease around the three of them Paige hadn’t noticed before that suggested years of strong friendship. It helped her nerves even when Luke scooted close to her. The smell of his cologne, a spicy musk, filled Paige’s lungs pleasantly.
They talked absently about things to do in New York while they waited for their food to arrive.
“So, you’re not a native of New York then?” Paige asked curiously.
“No,” Luke said, sipping at his water. “I was born in Bismarck, North Dakota. I lived there for a long time. I worked on a few oil rigs under my father after I graduated from high school.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “I have a hard time imagining you as a roughneck.” A blush filled her cheeks when Luke playfully glanced down at the muscles that wanted to bulge out of his shirt. “Never mind. I can see that you used to work on an oil rig. How long did you work there for your father?”
“Until my mother died.” A dark shadow danced in Luke’s eyes. “After that, I came to New York to help the other side of the business.”
Both his parents were gone—one of them recently. Paige had a hard time imagining that type of heartache, but she could see that Luke hadn’t necessarily come from a loving home. His sour mood Friday night was a testament to that.
She didn’t push the subject though.
Their food arrived a moment later. The smell of shrimp sautéed in rich butter and garlic caused Paige’s stomach to rumble happily. The food back at NYU wasn’t too bad, but it was never filling. Paige thought it was amazing that she had yet to put on a few extra pounds.
They ate while they conversed about classes at NYU. Luke appeared genuinely interested in Paige’s classes and asked questions about art history. It wasn’t until they were finished with their meals that he told her about his fondness for good art.
“That’s why I love New York,” he said, guiding her along the garden pathway out back. “There are some talented artists here with their galleries.”
“Oh, I know,” Paige said, her heart swelling with excitement. “I’m hoping that one of my professors will let me showcase some of my work in his private exhibit.”
“If you do, let me know. I’d like to see them.”
She blushed. “I’m not that good. I mean, not compared to some of the artists I have seen here in the city.”
“If you were accepted into NYU for your art, trust me, you’re good at what you do.”
They reached the edge of a pond with goldfish happily swimming about in it. A small water fountain trickled peacefully. Paige sat down on the bench facing the pond, crossing her legs when Luke took a seat next to her with a relieved sigh. There was less than a few inches of air between them. Her heart skipped when she realized that Toby and Shannon had disappeared from the pathway behind them.
They were utterly alone in the middle of a garden with no one to interrupt them.
“You’re nervous to be near me,” Luke said, tilting his head back to let the sunlight warm his face. A smile tugged at his lips when Paige turned to look at him. “You’re always looking around for Shannon or Toby.”
“Well, for one, I don’t want repeat of last Friday night,” Paige said. “Shannon promised me that wouldn’t happen.”
“Do you honestly think I’m that type of guy?”
He opened his eyes to look at her intently.
“No,” she said, and then she shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea who you are. You’re completely different now than you were on Friday night, and when you called me.”
“I told you that I’m sorry. I try to steer clear of whiskey when I’m already pissed off about something that’s bugging me.”
“Well,” she said hesitantly, “this is a nice change. I like this side of you better than the other one.”
“I’ll make a note to work on it,” Luke said, and his eyes closed again. “Do you really believe that having Toby and Shannon around will prevent me from what I want to do?”
The sultry tone dripping off Luke’s voice caused goose bumps to break out across Paige’s skin. A warm and hazy sensation crashed over her.
“What do you want to do?” Paige asked breathlessly. “I still don’t know why I’m even here with you.”
“For one,” Luke said, opening his eyes to look at her again, “you’re an attractive young woman. I don’t know why you think otherwise. You’re obviously smart and talented, because you're at NYU because of your passion, not because of money. Why wouldn’t I want you here with me?”
“I-I guess I’m just still trying to figure things out in my life is all,” she said, twisting her hands nervously in her lap. “You’re billionaire. I’d think you’d have your eyes somewhere else than on me.”
“Well, you’re wrong about that,” he said. “My money doesn’t dictate who I find attractive. Let’s just get that straight along with something else.” Reaching out a calloused finger, he stroked along her cheekbone before tucking a curl behind her ear. A shiver went up her spine at the simple but intimate contact. “You’re sexy as hell in a lot of ways you aren’t even aware of. I want to kiss you too.”
“Oh,” she said softly. “That’s what you want?”
Luke shifted to bring their faces closer. She felt his warm breath wash over her as his hand smoothed down to rest on her shoulder.
“Yes. That’s what I want.”
“And that’s all you want? Because—”
A finger pushed against her lips. Luke chuckled at her with a shake of his fair head.
“You think too much, sweetheart. Just let me kiss you. That’s all that is going to happen today. Scout’s honor.”
She couldn’t even respond. Having Luke so close, close enough for her to see the bristles of his blond beard, was intoxicating in a thrilling way. Their lips brushed lightly when Luke leaned in further to kiss her. The contact sent jolts of electricity down her spine. Her stomach fluttered erratically. It was a soft kiss, the softest type of kiss that left her yearning for more.
****
The feeling of Luke’s lips moving against hers, coaxing her lips to open to him, was more than what Paige could handle. Her blood raced through her veins. Her heart pounded erratically against her chest.
All from one single kiss.
She gasped when the tip of Luke’s tongue caressed hers lightly. The taste of him overwhelmed every one of her senses. Luke’s fingers squeezed her shoulder gently before trailing up to rest on the side of her neck.
While a part of her screamed to get away, to stop it before anything else could happen, the other part of her that wanted to be touched and kissed screamed louder.
Reaching forward hesitantly, she placed her fingertips on the strong curve of his jaw. The bristle of a beard poked her sensitive fingertips. It felt too good, too entirely good to pull away. This wasn’t the same man at the lounge who had openly felt her up with lust raging in his eyes. This man was patiently kissing her while rubbing the side of her neck soothingly.
He coaxed her head back to kiss her again, but this time, it was much deeper. It had undertones of lust in it that rendered Paige completely motionless from the crashing sensation.
One of Luke’s hands found its way to rest on her bare knee. His thumb traced errant circles there, leaving trails of fire. Feeling emboldened, she let her hand fall from his jaw to rest on the center of his chest. She felt his heart thumping steadily against his ribcage.
The pace increased slightly underneath her palm.
Footsteps app
roached them. Paige drew back with a gasp to turn around as Shannon and Toby entered through a separate pathway. Heat filled her cheeks when Shannon arched a knowing eyebrow at them.
“Well, well,” she said, crossing her arms. “Look what we have here. Ms. Scott didn’t want me to leave her alone, but she snuck off to have a moment over here.”
“Don’t tease her,” Luke said, wrapping a strong arm around her shoulders. “You were the one who set this up.”
Shannon grinned at him. “That I did. I should make money for what I do.” She motioned for them to get off the bench. “Come on. Let’s walk around this place for a bit before we head back into the city. I have homework to do.”
“What about you?” Luke asked softly. His fingers rubbed her shoulder, and it felt nice to have someone strong to lean into. “Do you need to get back to the city to do homework? I don’t want to take you away from your studies.”
“I do,” she said, but she loathed the idea of holing up in her apartment when it was still nice out. “It can wait until tomorrow though. Unless you have plans you need to take care off.”
“Nothing that can’t wait. We could get some coffee. I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“It’s settled then,” Toby said. “We will drop Shannon off at NYU, and then I’ll disappear to give you two some space.”
“That works for me,” Shannon said, shrugging her shoulders. “That okay with you, Paige?”
She looked pointedly at Paige, silently asking her if she needed a way out, as they had discussed on the car ride up.
The day was pleasant, and the mention of coffee did sound good. Chewing on her lip, Paige studied the relaxed expression on Luke’s face. He seemed much more at ease than before.
“That’s fine with me,” Paige said. “Let's look around a bit. I want to see the rest of the garden too.”
“Great,” Shannon said, grabbing ahold of Toby’s arm. “Come on, brother. Let’s look around the garden a bit.”
They strode out in front of them, chattering away. Luke stood up wordlessly to hold out his hand for Paige to take. His fingers laced through hers as they walked slowly hand in hand behind Toby and Shannon through the rest of the garden.
Once the air started to become chilly, they piled into Luke’s large SUV to drive back into the city. The entire time, Luke kept a hand resting on the bare skin of Paige’s knee, and it caused her stomach to flutter. She could hear her mother’s voice scolding her inwardly. Tell him to keep his hands to himself. You shouldn’t have worn that dress.
She didn’t move his hand or ask him to move it. The heat and weight of it on her knee felt comforting as she half-listened to the three of them amicably chat about next weekend’s flight to North Dakota.
“Maybe you could come,” Shannon said, twisting in her seat to look at Paige. “It’d be nice to have another girl with me.”
Paige looked over at Luke, who had a frown etched onto his face. “I don’t know. I don’t want to impose or—”
“You wouldn’t be,” Shannon said.
“I have a lot of homework to do as well,” Paige said, unable to read the look on Luke’s face as he gazed out the window. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll stay behind.”
Shannon pouted, but she let the subject drop as they pulled up to the freshman apartment building.
“You still want coffee?” Luke asked a bit distantly.
It was such a strange thing to see him so relaxed and then suddenly closed off again. It had something to do with that trip to Bismarck. Confusion filled her again.
“If you want to still,” Paige said reluctantly. “I don’t expect you to spend tons of time with me.”
“I want to,” he responded firmly, and then he opened the door for her to get out. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
She nodded while pulling out her dorm card to swipe it through the card reader. Paige glanced over her shoulder right as Shannon slid out as well. She gave Paige a thumbs-up before sweeping a silent Luke into the conversation.
Jessica’s door was closed when she made it up to her floor. Unlocking her door, Paige slipped out of the heels Shannon had insisted she wear with a relieved sigh. She managed to unzip herself out of the dress as well while pulling out a pair of black leggings and a T-shirt. She was done trying to impress Luke with clothes that she didn’t even own herself.
Paige glanced out the window to find the SUV still there, but the sidewalk was empty. She pulled on the pair of leggings and had barely slipped into her T-shirt when the door to her dorm room crashed open, followed by loud voices. Startled, Paige fell into her bed in surprise as Jessica slammed the door shut.
“Jessica? What the hell is—”
“You need to hear this,” Jessica said, panting as she flourished a hand in front of Paige’s surprised face. “I’m serious. You need to hear this shit.”
She caught sight of Jessica’s phone clutched tightly in her fingers. “Okay, if it’s that serious. Tell me what is going on.”
“Don’t trust Shannon, Luke, and the other guy that’s with them,” Jessica said hurriedly. Her fingers danced along her cell phone screen. “I was walking back to the apartment when I overheard them talking. This whole thing has been a setup.”
Paige’s heart dropped. “What do you mean?”
“There’s a reason why Shannon picked you as a freshman sister. It has everything to do with Luke. He’s trying to—” She pulled up a video on her phone. “Here, listen to it.”
“Just remember she’s a virgin, Luke.” Shannon’s voice echoed in the room from the recording. “I mean, I know it’s props right now for you because it’ll look good to your father’s lawyer.”
“This has been too much of a headache for me,” Luke said. “It’s fucking bullshit that I have to do this just to get my damn inheritance from my father’s lawyer. Who the hell is that recording us?”
The video cut out. Paige’s heart thudded hard against her ribcage, but this time it was out of sheer anger. She looked over at Jessica, who nodded grimly.
“I heard them talking about it. The only reason Luke is trying to get you is so he can get his money.”
It made perfect sense, every single bit of it.
Tears filled Paige’s eyes as footsteps and a hushed conversation approach her dorm door. She stared at it while someone knocked on it a few times before slowly rising to her feet.
“Don’t answer it if you don’t want to,” Jessica said, rising from the bed as well. “Seriously, don’t answer it, Paige.”
She opened the door to see Luke standing there with a hand propped on the doorframe. Gone was his kind expression. It was cool and calculating, similar to the one she had seen at the lounge on Friday night.
“I know what you probably think,” he said, sweeping an angry glance at Jessica, who stood resolutely behind Paige. “Just let me explain it first.”
“Is it true?” Paige asked. Her fingers tightened on the doorknob. “Just tell me the actual truth, because that video says a lot.”
Luke sighed in irritation. “Fine. Yes, it’s true. I won’t try to lie to you anymore about it.”
“That’s a first,” she said coldly. “This whole thing was a setup for you to get an inheritance. Right?”
“It was to a degree,” Luke said. “I’m in a bit of a situation right now, and Shannon mentioned you to me. I didn’t think any harm would come of it.”
“Well, you harmed me in the process.”
“Then name your price for this to work,” Luke said. He glanced at his wrist watch. “Look, I’ve got some place to be in an hour. If this isn’t going to work, then—”
Anger ripped through Paige. It left her dizzy and breathless as she grabbed ahold of the door.
“You’re out of your fucking mind,” she cried, and she slammed the door directly in his face. “Go away. I never want to see the three of you again.”
She collapsed on her bed with an aggravated sigh. “I knew it was too good to be true, Jess. I knew
it like you did.”
“I know,” Jessica said. She locked the door for good measure despite the retreating steps. “I didn’t want to think Shannon was in on it, but it makes sense, though, seeing that her brother is close to Luke.”
“It makes tons of sense now. Every single bit of it does since last weekend.”
“I wonder if they are getting a cut of money out of this,” Jessica said, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to Paige’s feet. “What do you think?”
“Most likely,” Paige said, rubbing a hand over her face in exhaustion. “I just can’t believe I convinced myself to kiss that man.”
“You kissed him?”
“Yes, at the restaurant and garden today. He kissed me, but it was all an act, Jess. Don’t look too thrilled about it.”
Jessica immediately wiped the ecstatic expression from her face. “Sorry. I was just excited for a moment. Even if the guy is a jackass, you have to admit he’s hot.”
“The only thing I’m going to agree with is that he’s a jackass.”
“I’m sorry they took advantage of you,” Jessica said, patting Paige’s knee in the same spot Luke’s hand had been. “It’s over though. You won’t have to worry about it now.”
“Right, thankfully.”
It wasn’t until Monday morning that Paige realized it wasn’t over, though, even though she wanted it to be.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Harry Scott said, sighing into the phone. “We just can’t afford it. Everything is slow around the farm. We can barely make the mortgage payments.”
“There has to be something that can be done,” Paige said, rubbing a hand over her face. “I love it here, Dad. I don’t want to go to school in Wyoming.”
“Well, honey, talk with NYU. See what they say, or if they have options for this sort of situation.”
He hung up after telling her that he loved her. Paige stared down at the phone as tears filled her eyes. There weren’t any options for a situation like theirs. They were broke compared to some of the other students who went to school there. She couldn’t shake the feeling that while her parents had done all they could to make sure she went to NYU, it felt a bit perfect in timing for them. Not once had they verbally vocalized their support about her going to NYU.