With her free hand that wasn’t holding Benny’s carrier she rang Luke’s doorbell.
“Get a grip Cara.” She whispered to herself. “You’re having dinner with your friend Luke. Jake’s brother. You had dinner every night for a week with him and his daughter, tonight is just another night.”
The door opened and she glanced up at him. Holy Hunky Gorgeous. She whimpered, she actually whimpered. His hair was still wet from a shower and combed back, the ends curling around his neck. She suppressed the urge to run her fingers through his thick hair and hold on for dear life. Whoa! Cara. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them and letting them travel down the length of him. He was wearing jeans and a Henley that hugged every single muscle in his arms and chest. She lost her voice as she stared at his pecks.
“Cara?” He bent his head to be eye level with her.
“Yeah?” She croaked and forced her eyes to meet his.
“You okay?” He asked, concerned and took Benny’s carrier from her hands.
“Me? Yeah, I’m good.” She said and watched him turn and walk inside. She followed him, closing the door behind her. Her eyes found his ass as he bent down and placed Benny into the crate in the living room. She turned around on her heel and stared at the wall, deciding that was the safest place to keep her eyes.
“Ok, you be a good boy Benny.” Luke told the puppy and rose to his full height. He turned around to grab his coat when he noticed Cara staring at the wall as if she had put herself in a time out. He shrugged his coat on and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and turned around, her eyes immediately finding his. “You sure you’re alright? You’re very jumpy.”
“I had too much caffeine. Remind me not to order coffee after dinner.” She offered him a smile, hoping he bought her pathetic excuse.
Luke studied her for a moment, noticing her hair was extra wavy tonight. Cara didn’t wear much makeup, but tonight she did. Tonight when he looked into her hazel eyes they were sultry and told a story. He wasn’t sure what the story was but he’d be willing to spend forever trying to figure it out. Her lips were pouty and slick with a nude colored gloss and it took him a moment to drag his eyes away from those lips.
“You look beautiful.” He said huskily.
Not pretty, like she was shooting for. He thought she looked beautiful. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been called beautiful, but she knew it was Jake who had been the one to call her that. Now his brother. “Thank you.” She said her voice a whisper.
Luke leaned forward and her breath hitched, and much like he did the night they fell asleep tangled in one another he spoke directly into her ear. “Relax, Cara.” He said in his gruff voice.
Did he really expect her to relax when he talked all sexy in her ear? She pressed her hand against his chest, big mistake, because her hand suddenly wanted to explore every ridge in his chest. She stepped backward and looked into his eyes. They were smiling. His eyes were smiling at her.
“I’m starving.” She said quickly.
He laughed slightly. “Then I better feed you.” He reached around her and pulled open the door. He took her hand. “Come on.” He tugged her against him and walked out the door.
* * * * *
Cara’s nerves had calmed down on the way to the restaurant and she was even beginning to enjoy herself. Luke had taken her to Bob’s Crab Shack which was in the town neighboring Riverdale. They were seated at a wooden table with a red and white checkered table cloth draped over it. Cara’s sleeves were rolled up to her elbows and she wore a lobster bib. Luke watched her from across the table, taking a swig of his beer to cover the smile he wore. She looked adorable, her face full of determination as she used all her might to crack the shell of an Alaskan King crab leg.
She reached across the table and grabbed the little wooden hammer looking thing that Luke wasn’t using, since, he was apparently the master at cracking shellfish and didn’t need it. Hers had already gone flying out of her hand at her first attempt at a crab leg. Luckily the waiter thought it was comical.
She pulled her arm back and slammed the crab leg with her little hammer, finally cracking the shell. She grinned proudly and lifted her gaze up to Luke’s. “I totally nailed that sucker.” She grabbed the little fork and dug the meat out of the shell.
“He never had a chance.” Luke said while smiling. She dipped her fork into the melted butter before lifting it to her lips. Her mouth wrapped around the fork and her tongue snaked out to run across her lips, catching any excess butter that may have slid off the crab meat.
“Christ.” He muttered before taking a gulp of his beer, draining the contents of the bottle in one swig.
“You okay?” She asked as she perused the bucket of chilled crab for her next victim.
“Fine.” He cleared his throat and repositioned himself as he sat. “Any luck with finding an apartment?” Hoping the change in conversation would take his mind off of her mouth.
She frowned as she hammered another crab leg. “No. So I’ve decided to take my sorrows out on this bad boy.” She said pointing to the leg in her dish. “I think I’m going to ask Rudy if I can take the apartment upstairs from the bar.”
Luke raised an eyebrow as he picked out the meat of the lobster he was working on. “Have you seen Rudy since you’ve been home?”
“No. I’m avoiding him, which is completely wrong of me.” She glanced up at Luke. “He’s been really good to me and I don’t know how to tell him that I’m not going to be working there anymore. And then follow that by asking him to let me and Benny rent his apartment.
“He’ll understand Cara and if worse comes to worse and you can’t find an apartment, you can stay with me.” He said nonchalantly.
“I cannot do that.” She said firmly and lifted her gaze. “For so many reasons.”
“Name one.” He challenged.
“Okay.” She put her fork down and looked directly into his eyes. “I need to learn to stand on my own two feet.”
“I’m not trying to enable you Cara. I’m happy you’re taking control of your life, happier than you’ll ever know.” He held her gaze. “I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable where you live because you felt like you ran out of options.” He leaned against the back of his chair and paused, biting the inside of his cheek. “Just putting it out there, that, I was an option.” He said softly and wondered if the underlying meaning of his words would go unnoticed to her.
“You’re so much more than an option, Luke.” She said softly, not quite certain of what she even meant by her words, but she knew they were true. She watched as something flashed in his eyes and for some unknown reason she couldn’t tear her eyes from his. Whatever was going on inside of him was mesmerizing to watch unfold through the irises of his eyes.
Luke sucked in a breath, finally getting his bearings. “You about finished?” He said, nodding towards her plate.
“Did I say something wrong?” She asked, confused by the sudden rush to leave.
“No.” He swiped his hand down his face, mentally kicking himself. “I’m sorry.” He signaled for the waiter to bring him another beer.
“We can leave if you want.” She offered, wiping her hands with a wet-nap.
“Cara, eat your dinner.” He said firmly, feeling like a jackass. She had him so wound up and she had no clue.
“Something I said struck a nerve.” She pushed her plate away. “I’m not hungry Luke, but I want to know what I said that got you so antsy.”
“I’m not antsy.” He bit back and then sighed. “I’m just tired.” He lied not able to bring himself to ask her what she meant by him being more than an option to her, too afraid to know the answer.
“I’m nervous.” She blurted out.
He lifted his head quickly. “Ignore me. I didn’t mean to make you nervous, for fuck’s sake.” He shook his head. “I’m such a jackass…”
“I’m nervous being here with you.” She cut him off. “Not because of anything you said or did, b
ut just because you’re you and I’m noticing you, Luke. You matter to me and that’s it. That’s all I got. It’s not much and it doesn’t make much sense to me yet but…”
“I’ll take it.” He said gruffly and reached across the table, taking her hand in his.
She smiled slightly and squeezed his hand. “I’m ready to leave if you are.”
He nodded slightly and let go of her hand. He reached into his pocket as he stood up and threw some bills onto the table, more than enough to cover their meal.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” She said as she untied her lobster bib and laughed at herself before she shrugged on her leather jacket. Luke smiled at her.
“You sure you don’t want to keep it?”
“It doesn’t really go with my outfit.” She teased as he placed his hand on the small of her back and ushered her out of the crab shack. The blistery cold brushed over them once they stepped outside.
“Wait in the lobby, I’ll go get the truck.” He said, knowing very well that she was freezing in that leather jacket. She didn’t argue which only proved his point. He hurried to get the truck that was parked on the far end of the lot, jogging briskly. He climbed into the truck and started it up. When he made his way to the front of the crab shack he spotted Cara outside. Her arms were wrapped around herself as she stared at the man talking to her. He look closely at him, trying to place him but couldn’t. He shifted the truck into park and got out of the car. He reached Cara, and placed his arm around her shoulder’s tugging her into the crook of his arm.
“Everything okay here?” He said with his eyes firmly planted on the man standing before them.
“It’s all good, man.” He nodded towards Cara. “You have my number, sweetness. Don’t hesitate to call.”
Luke felt Cara go still in his arms and shifted his eyes to her as the guy stepped inside the crab shack.
“Cara?” She didn’t answer so he dropped his arm from her shoulders and stepped around her bending his knees to become eye level with her. “Are you alright?” His blood began to boil. “Who was that guy?”
She swallowed and her eyes met his. “My dealer.” She whispered.
His face grew stone cold. “Get in the car.” He said automatically, rising to his full height and turning towards the entrance of the restaurant.
“Luke.” She said, finding her voice.
“Get in the car.” He repeated walking towards the Crab Shack. Rage building up inside his gut, his fist clenched at his sides.
Cara snapped out of her trance and watched Luke take long strides to the restaurant, pulling open the door. She found her footing and started after him. She didn’t know what was going through his head. She hadn’t ever had to deal with Luke angry and she was sure he was angry. It was etched all over his face the minute she told him who Spike was. She ran into the restaurant to face unchartered territory, scanning the restaurant spotting Luke instantly.
Luke grabbed Spike at his shoulder, spinning him around roughly to face him.
“Yo, what the fuck?” Spike said as he met Luke’s infuriated gaze, trying to shrug him off, but Luke gripped his shirt with his fists.
“Luke!!” Cara screeched, hurrying to where they were, only reaching Luke after he slammed Spike’s back onto a table, sending the silverware flying.
“You stay the fuck away from Cara you understand me?” He spoke through clenched teeth.
Spike tried to lift himself off the table, but Luke’s hold was too severe and he only slammed him back against the wood when he attempted to lift off.
“She’s a fucking junkie, or did you forget that when you decided to tap your brother’s shit.” Spike shouted as he foamed at the mouth.
Everything went red and Luke’s fist connected with Spike’s jaw. The room was silent except for the sound of Spike’s jaw cracking. Luke released his hold on Spike, his body falling onto the table like a sack of potatoes.
“You ever talk about her like that again, I’ll break every bone in your body.” Luke said evenly. He took a step backward, lifting his head for the first time realizing he was surrounded by people. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some bills, turning to the waitress that stood off to the side. Her eyes were wide and when he stepped to her, she shrunk back. He folded the money and lifted it for her to see. He saw the fear in her face and he felt ashamed of his actions. He placed the money on top of the tray that she held with shaky hands.
“Tell your boss, I apologize. That should cover any damages.” He said and then turned around and his eyes met Cara’s. She stood completely still her eyes full of tears. Some managed to escape and run down her cheeks. Luke didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say, he had lost it, and she had just bared witness to him completely unraveled. Spike moaned in pain and Luke closed his eyes briefly, sick to his stomach, over his actions. He closed the distance between them and bent down to look into her eyes.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered.
“I want to go home.” She said as she wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands.
He swallowed the lump in his throat and forced a nod. She turned around and walked out of the restaurant, Luke on her heels, with his head hung low. Once they were outside and alone, she turned around abruptly to him.
“Christ, Luke, what the hell was that?!” She asked, poking her finger into his chest.
He licked his lips, trying to figure how to explain his actions.
“Answer me!” She demanded.
“I’m not going to stand by and watch that little punk proposition you Cara. If you think that, you’ve got the wrong guy.” He said angrily and reached around her to open the passenger door for her. She grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her.
“He didn’t say anything that wasn’t true!” She spat.
“I’m done talking about this with you!” He said firmly and pried her fingers off of his arm to open her door.
“That’s too bad, because I’m not done talking to you!” She looked up at him. “You need to trust me that I am not going to go down that path again. Because there are days when I don’t trust myself and the only thing that makes me, choose me instead of the pills is you! I choose me because of the trust you have in me, because of the faith you have in me to turn my life around. I’m only going to explain this once to you Luke, I don’t need you to come to my rescue. I need you to believe that I can rescue myself.” She blinked back her tears and stared up at him. “I don’t want our friendship to be based on me depending on you fighting my battles. I had that already and I’m not looking for someone to replace it.”
Luke bit the inside of his cheek and turned his head, breaking their eye contact and instead stared aimlessly into the parking lot. She reached up and cupped his chin and turned his face to hers.
“Look at me.” She pleaded. He stared into her eyes that were a fierce shade of green. “That guy in there? Wasn’t the Luke I know… please don’t let me ever be the reason he rears his head.”
“Okay.” He said sighing heavily, wishing he could rewind the night. It started off so good for them, and had the potential to end on so many different levels. Instead, he stood in a parking lot watching Cara shiver and plead for her to trust him. Little did he know, it wasn’t about not trusting her, but rather he didn’t trust himself. She was right about one thing though, he wasn’t himself, and he bet a lot of it had to do with the fact that he was falling in love with the woman his brother loved more than anything. The woman whose arms his brother died in.
Chapter Fourteen
Luke walked into Rudy’s the following night, with no desire to actually be there. Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember the last time he was there. He slowly made his way towards the bar, the booming juke box and the boisterous noises of the crowded bar hurting his ears. Nick was seated at the bar, already nursing a drink when Luke pulled up a stool beside him.
Nick glanced up and nodded to Luke, acknowledging him. “I was beginning to think you stood me up.”
; Luke signaled for the bartender raising his hand silently before turning around and looking at Nick. “Nope, here I am.” He muttered and noticed that Nick was holding an envelope. He nodded towards the manila envelope in Nick’s hand. “What’s that?”
Nick looked down at the yellow envelope he held in his hand and then back at Luke, assessing that he didn’t look to be in a good mood. “Maybe you should have a drink first.”
Luke sighed and sat down on the stool. “Sounds promising,” he bit back sarcastically.
“You want to talk about it?” Nick asked as the bartender found her way over to Luke.
“What can I get you?”
“Scotch straight, make it a double.” He looked at Nick’s half empty glass. “And another of whatever that is.”
“You got it.” She said and was off to make their drinks with a flirtatious smile on her face.
“So why are you running late?” Nick asked as he polished off what was left of his drink.
“I waited for Cara to bring Benny over.”
“They left hours ago.” Nick said, glancing at his watch. “Sam said their fittings were at five.”
“She never came.” Luke said flatly.
“I’m taking that that’s out of the ordinary.”
“I fucked up.” Luke said as the bartender placed his drink in front of him. “Keep them coming, Sweetheart.” He said with a wink and slid a few bills her way to insure he was never with an empty glass. He pulled the little cocktail napkin off the bottom of the tumbler glass and knocked back the scotch, taking his first burning swig.
Fitting The Pieces (The Riverdale Series Book 3) Page 16