“What?” Rachel looked at me as she stabbed a piece of white cake with her fork. I watched her face as she rolled the cake around in her mouth. I took a bit of mine and decided it was going to be my favorite no matter how it tasted.
“That's really good.” Rachel smiled over at me.
“It's my favorite.”
“It's the only one you’ve tasted.”
“And?” I smiled. We moved along to several other flavors, and even after we tasted all the cakes, the white cake was my real favorite.
“I like the white cake best.” I pointed at it. Then swiped my fork through the icing again.
“I really like the marble cake, but I think I agree that the boring old white cake is the best one.” She took the last bite from my plate, and I groaned. “I hate that you’re always right.” She pointed out then laughed when I grinned. She stood and said to the lady behind the counter.
“We will see you next week. Please look over our online catalog and also send whatever pictures you find, and we will see what we can come up with for your special day.” As she was talking, I pulled my phone from my pocket and looked down hoping for a message from Luke. Still nothing. I looked at the time, knowing my flight would be leaving that evening. I was kind of hating that I had to leave.
“I am so thankful you’re here to help me get all this done. I’d been dreading it. I just always thought you’d be here,” Rachel said, threading her arm through mine as we walked.
“Well, I am here. And once I’m done with this grant and start working for Granddad full time, I’ll be able to come out more often.”
“I’d be okay with that,” she nudged me.
“The dress is amazing, you know,” I told her, trying to focus on something positive instead of the fact we were heading back to get my things and go to the airport.
“Yeah. It kind of is. And to think, I had to try on all those mediocre dresses until I found the one that made me feel something,” she bumped my shoulder with hers. “Ya know?”
I knew what she was saying, and it had nothing to do with her dress.
***
Nine hours later, I was walking to my truck and climbing in. It was raining like it did nearly every day in late spring. I drove to the office just to check on everything before I headed back home. I wanted to see Luke. No... I needed to see Luke.
“Hey, Emmy. We weren't expecting you until Monday.” Samantha said when she saw me.
“I was just coming by to make sure everything was in order since I was gone for a few days.”
“You are already so much like your grandfather.” She smiled and handed me the mail that had been sitting on her desk in a basket. I walked down the hall and into the office. There were folders strewn across the desk I had claimed as mine, and I just stood there looking at them.
“Chris was in here this morning looking for something,” John said from behind me. “Welcome back, by the way,” he laughed.
“Yeah, thanks, I think.”
“Speaking of Chris, can we talk before you leave?” John asked.
“Yeah. I’ll stop by your office in a bit. I’m just going to find out what he was looking for.” I turned to go to Chris’ office. He stood as soon as he saw me and made a beeline for me.
“Emmy, you're back.” He smiled broadly.
“I am. What were you looking for in my office?”
“I needed a file.”
“Which one?” I watched as he shuffled papers on his desk looking for the file he had taken from my desk. He handed it over, and I thanked him, turning back toward the door. I glanced around his office, no clue how he could keep up with anything. As I did, I caught sight of my umbrella and one of my scarfs laying in the corner. I crossed the room and picked them up.
“What are these doing in here?” I lifted the umbrella and scarf.
“I found your umbrella by the door and carried it back, but your office was locked, so I put it there.”
I studied the scarf my grandfather had given me.
“The scarf… I don't know? Maybe the cleaning lady moved it in here.” I turned and walked out of his office, heading straight to see John. My gut said there was more to this than he was admitting, but I wasn’t in the mood to ask questions or get into it at the moment, so I took my things and left.
“You wanted to talk to me, John?” I stopped as I was reached his door.
“Yes. Can you come in and shut the door?” I pushed the door closed behind me, not exactly sure what was going on. He started filling me in on a few things that had been happening around the office. As I listened, I slowly sank into the chair in front of his desk. Plans for a couple of upcoming jobs were missing; that was his biggest concern. Then, he informed me he’d seen Chris with my mother a few times during the week and asked if there was anything weird about that in my opinion. I gave him my two cents on my mother’s desire for playing matchmaker. That brought him to the last thing he wanted to tell me about a man who had been there looking for me and that there had been a confrontation with Chris. When he started describing a man that seemed to be Luke, I was floored.
“I followed him outside, just to make sure Chris didn’t try anything underhanded after the way he’d talked to the guy,” John said.
“What was he driving?”
“A white pickup.” My heart skipped a beat. Luke had been here for me.
***
I sped down the driveway, kicking up gravel all the way to the house. My tires skidded to a stop. I ran up the steps and went to grab the handle on his door and stopped, thinking maybe I should knock. I raised my fist and hit the door a few times. When he didn't answer, I walked around to his shop and tried to look in, but it was locked, and that meant he wasn't home. I walked back to the front of the house and noticed the RV was gone. Luke’s truck sat in the driveway, but Ryan’s wasn’t there. Still, they must have gone somewhere. I walked up to his door again, pulled the screen door open, and tried his door, but it was locked. I lifted my phone, but put it back in my pocket. I wanted to talk to him face to face, not on the phone or over text messages, so I would just have to wait until he got home.
***
I spent Saturday morning on the porch as per my usual. I had thought a lot about everything that was happening. My feelings for Luke had come about quickly and fully. In some ways, I knew where I belonged. There were just so many uncertainties, and I wasn't sure how to fix those. I stood at the sink rinsing out my coffee cup thinking a good walk into the woods would help me clear my mind, so I changed clothes and headed out.
The further I got into the woods, the wetter it got. I started slipping and sliding around on the trail, but I made it to my meadow. I hadn't expected to see Luke standing in the middle of it. I stopped and just watched as he moved slowly doing what looked like Tai-Chi or something similar. I’d never seen him do that before. I wanted to walk to him, but I stood there appreciating the view—him shirtless, his skin shimmering with sweat and the backdrop of the large trees was intoxicating. I sat on the root of a tree and just relaxed.
After about fifteen minutes of watching him, I began my approach quietly. Or so I thought. A large branch cracked under my foot, and he looked over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes. I continued to walk toward him, and he slowly turned to face me.
“I didn't know you were out here.” I sat down my backpack. “Don’t stop on my account.”
“I didn't know you were back.” The rumble of his voice sent tremors down my skin.
“I got back last night. I came by to talk to you, but everything was locked up.” I found his gaze, and I wasn't sure I liked it.
“I've been out here a few days.”
“Alone?” I asked.
“I needed to clear my head. Get myself in check.”
“I think we need to talk.”
“Yeah?” He tilted his head to the side, his gaze still searing mine.
“John told me that you were there looking for me and that Chris told you to leave.”
&n
bsp; “You know about that?” He took a step toward me.
“John told me you were there to see me.”
He took another step, and so did I.
“I didn't like that Chris has been with you,” he words were pained.
“He hasn't. It has never been like that,” I assured him.
“It still isn't something you want to hear another man say about someone you care about, true or not.”
“I'm sorry? I don’t know what else to tell you. It’s simply not true.”
“There’s a lot we should talk about, Emmy. I just don't think we should talk about it now. I need some time.” He looked away, and I knew I had lost him. He was hurt, and it showed.
“I'll be here for the week. I need to get caught up with my grant work. But then I’ll probably have to spend a little more time in Portland the next week since Chris will be in Seattle bidding on jobs.”
“He left?”
“He’ll be out of the office for the better part of the next few weeks. John was supposed to go, but Granddad and I decided that maybe Chris should go since John has a family.”
“Good.” He looked down at me before turning to walk toward the RV.
He gave me a look I wasn’t sure how to decipher then turned, and I watched him disappear into the RV.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Luke
Knowing she was sitting in those woods made me feel all kinds of things. Did I believe her? I knew what kind of man Chris was—he was liar. But I also knew that she hadn’t admitted that she was wrong about him and still didn’t realize what he was up to. I needed to get myself under control.
I walked back to the RV and climbed in. Ryan had laughed at me when I told him I was going to pull it out here for some peace and quiet. He said I was hiding, and maybe he was right. I needed space and time to figure this out. My heart felt like it had been shredded and then put back together only to be ripped apart again. There was nothing I wanted more than to be able to be with Emmy, but I didn't know if I could trust her.
“Luke!” I heard from outside of the RV. I stood and walked over and pushed the door open to see Ryan walking toward me.
“Ryan.”
“So, are you done being a baby?”
I flipped him off and closed the door.
“You can't stay out here forever, and I find it funny that you can see the meadow from here and, hmmm. You have to walk past here to get to it.” He said as he climbed into the small space.
“Your point?” I shrugged and leaned against the counter and cross my arms.
“You knew good and damn well this was the first place she would go when she got back, and I would bet my left nut that her little ass is sitting out there right now.”
“She is.” I watched as Ryan looked from the window and caught my line of vision.
“And you're in here?”
“We spoke briefly.” My coffee cup seemed to want my attention, but Ryan was vying for it.
“And?”
“We talked briefly, and that's it. I told her I needed a little more time.”
“You are a jackass,” Ryan enunciated each word like I didn't understand English. “Wait. Word substitution. Dumbass.”
“Why are you out here?” I asked.
“Because I need your help. You've been MIA for days, and I'm not used to that. You know I’m co-dependent.”
“That I do.” I shook my head, gulped down my coffee, and rinsed the cup. “Fine.”
“Great. I'll go get the truck, and we can move back to the house.”
***
Once the blocks were behind the wheels, we unhooked the RV, and Ryan moved my truck back to its parking place.
“God forbid you to scratch yours.” I pointed over to his truck.
“Mine is not for driving in the woods.” He pointed at it. “It's for driving.”
“Yup, you get a truck to drive it, not to haul things or move things,” I said sarcastically.
“That's what your truck is for,” he said and looked up and over my shoulder. A grin crossed his face as he walked past me toward the tree line. When I turned, Emmy was coming out of the woods. I was a little jealous of how easy their friendship was. She looked over Ryan’s shoulder and smiled at me when he hugged her. I turned and walked over to the shop door. I pushed my key into the padlock and pulled it free. Once I was in there, I turned on lights and started working.
As night fell, I decided to grab some dinner and go to bed. I walked out and made my way around to close the doors and lock up for the night.
“It's a little early, don't you think?” Emmy said from her perch on my steps, her device on her lap, illuminating her face.
“Maybe a little.” I turned back and finished what I was doing. I was tempted to walk around to the front of the house just to avoid her. She must have seen me change direction and stood, laying her tablet on the steps.
“Don't, please.” She walked toward me. “I know you said you needed time, and I agree that maybe we need to really talk about a lot of things, but I don't want you to continue thinking this isn't something I want. I have trust issues, Luke. I’ll admit that. And apparently you do as well, but I know in my heart you’re the man I should chose, and I also know this will be full of challenges if we decide to try. When I look forward, I always end up with you here and me in Portland; that’s what scares me. I don't want to fall in love with you and then be heartbroken because our lives are going to different places.”
“Do you want to date Chris? Because I don't know that us being together is a good idea if you think you may want to date Chris at some point.”
She groaned and then tilted her head back and sighed loudly. “I don't want to date Chris.”
“Well, he wants to date you and has said on multiple occasions that he has dated you.”
“I haven't dated Chris, ever. I haven't kissed him, well he kissed me once in high school, but it wasn’t reciprocated. I pushed him away because it was never like that. And I know it was high school, but I want you to know everything. I don't want to lie to you. I'm not going to stand here and say that I haven't had lunches with him and dinner. I just want you to understand that I could have dinner with him every night, and it still wouldn't change how I feel about you. I could never be with Chris and be happy knowing that you were out there.”
I stepped closer to her. “I'm a jealous man for many reasons, Emmy, and I don't like the thought of you being with him even just for dinner. It puts you in a bad situation and I won't ever be okay with it. I don’t trust him.” I took another step, and she met me in the middle.
Her hand reached out and cupped the side of my face, and I leaned into it.
“I know we’ll have challenges ahead, Luke, but if I've learned anything in the past few weeks, it's to live in the present because the future isn't guaranteed and the past is already gone.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “There was a time in my life that being cheated on was the norm. Maybe that has made me a little weird about my woman being around another man.”
She traced a finger down my face and then slinked her arm around my neck pulling my mouth down to hers. “I wouldn't do that to you.”
When our lips met, I knew in my gut that everything was right about this and that I would have to get over my insecurities.
“Let's start with a clean slate. My insecurities and yours wiped clean,” I suggested and pulled her against me. There was no doubt my heart wanted her; my mind would just have to catch up.
“That sounds like an amazing plan.”
I took that moment to kiss her slowly, deeply. When she pulled back, a smile spread across her lips.
“I need another one of those,” she whispered and leaned back into me. I pulled her closer and kissed her with everything I had. Before I realized what was happening she was pulling me toward my back door.
“We don't have to,” I said but was silenced when her hand ran down my chest and stopped just short of my waist.
“I want to. I want to so much.” She moved to kiss me again, but I moved and lifted her carrying her into my house. Her legs wrapped around me, and I walked steadily up the stairs, laying her across my bed. I looked down at her and smiled. She blushed and moved to sit up, but I crawled over her and stopped her movements.
“I have thought about this for a long time.” I ran my hand over the side of her face and pulled at her hair, moving her head to the side. I lowered myself and ran my lips over neck and down across her shoulder. Her hands ran over my back and pulled at my hair. I groaned against her skin and kissed my way back to her mouth. Her hands traveled down my back and pulled my shirt up and over my head. I didn't want to pull away, but I didn't have a choice. I leaned up and removed my shirt, tossing it to the floor. I traced my fingers over her shirt, stopping to circle over her nipple before tugging her shirt up and out of the way. She sat up and pushed the straps of her bra down, exposing herself to me. The curve of her breasts bounced slightly as she moved, and I drew her to me until we were skin to skin.
A fire burned between us that I knew would be a full-fledged inferno before this was over. I laid her back across the bed.
“Luke,” she whispered over my skin. My knee pressed between her thighs, and she opened them for me. Her legs splayed out, and my eyes traveled her body.
“Please.” She said against my hand as she ran her tongue over my palm.
A shiver passed down my spine, and my dick expanded to the point it hurt. Her fingers went to my waist line and then journeyed over my zipper, tracing the outline of my bulge. My body pushed against her touch, and when she started to unzip my pants, I had to move away from her. I leaned over and kissed her neck and down her chest, stopping and taking her nipple into my mouth. It pebbled up, and I rolled my tongue over it. Her chest lifted to me, her back arching off the bed.
Being in this moment was everything I had thought it would be. As my lips traveled downward to her navel, I kept one of her breasts in my hand and trailed kisses down her soft skin. With a swift motion, I undid her pants and pushed them down over her hips. Her white cotton underwear went with them, and then she was bared to me. My mouth traced the line of her leg and moved toward her center.
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