“You’re right. There isn’t.”
“Luke–”
He kissed her, stealing her words with a hot caress of his tongue. “Stop doing that,” she ordered, pressing her hands against his chest and wishing he’d do it again.
“Is that what you really want?”
“It’s what’s smart.”
“Says who?” he challenged.
“Probably the cab driver.”
“There’s a glass and we’re G-rated compared to what he sees on an average night in Manhattan. I want to know what you want.”
“This isn’t like the last time,” she said.
“No,” he agreed. “I’m here to stay.”
“And you’re about to be Lauren’s brother-in-law.”
“Which means what?”
“We’re complicated.”
“What in life isn’t?”
Her brows dipped. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“Except how to get you to admit you want me to kiss you again.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t want to. I said it wasn’t smart.”
He kissed her again. “Seems pretty smart to me.” He pulled her close. “Feels pretty smart to me, too.”
Her hand settled on his chest, his name a whisper on her lips. “Luke.”
He smiled and kissed her again. “I know. The cab driver.” He released her and gently stroked hair from her eyes. “Seems like we have a lot to talk about later.”
She sunk back into her seat and didn’t reply. She had never been so confused in her life. One minute she thought hopping back into the bed was the right answer. The next, she thought it was the completely wrong answer. The truth was, she didn’t know what to do about Luke, but she had to do something.
***
A few minutes later, they were at her apartment door. Julie pushed it open, and they stepped inside. Luke tugged both of their bags in the door and leaned them against the wall. Cici, her white oriental shorthair cat, was instantly up the three steps to the foyer at Luke’s feet, purring and rubbing all over him. “I think she missed me,” he said, bending down to pet the cat.
“Apparently, she didn’t miss me,” Julie said, squatting down beside him to stroke Cici. “Little wench has always had the hots for you.”
“At least I’ve won over one woman in the house.”
He’d won her over, too, but she wasn’t going to say that. “Because you play with that bird toy she loves with her.” She pushed to her feet and he followed. “Am I safe to move around the cabin, Captain? Cici is going to want to be fed.”
“Give me a chance to have a quick look around,” he said before he headed down the stairs.
Julie leaned against the door, wondering how she’d gone from avoiding him to having him in her house. She wondered why she couldn’t just make this about sex and enjoy the hot man currently searching her bedroom. What made Luke different? He sauntered towards her with a sexy, loose-legged swagger, and a confidence about him that brought the one-word answer to her question to her mind. Everything. The answer was everything about this man made him different.
Before she knew his intent, he was in front of her, his hands sliding into her hair. “You were wrong in the cab when you said this time is different.”
Those words punched her in the chest. This was more to her than him. “I was?”
“Yeah, you were,” he said. “We were just as good then as we are now.” He brushed his lips over hers. “See you tonight.” He grabbed his bag and was out the door before she could think what to say or do. The door shut, and she sank against the wall. Cici appeared again and began rubbing her leg.
Julie sank down to the ground and ran her hand over Cici’s head. “What are we going to do about him, kitty?”
Cici purred and meowed, and Julie imagined her saying ‘Can we keep him?’ “You’re no help,” Julie said with a grimace. “You’re kitty putty in his hands.” Julie sighed. And she wasn’t much better herself.
She grabbed her purse to punch in Lauren’s number.
“You’re home! I was worried sick,” Lauren exclaimed.
“I’m home, so don’t worry,” she said. “I’m taking care of everything for tomorrow night.” She hesitated. “I was thinking though it would be fun to have a girl’s night two nights in a row, instead of just the night before the wedding. I could stay with you tonight or you with me and we could do up the gift bags together.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Lauren said. “It’s silly because we never fight, but I have this fear Royce and I will fight and decide to call off the wedding. Or maybe we’ll have really bad sex and that will make the wedding night really awkward.”
Julie laughed. “Fighting and really bad sex don’t fit the Lauren and Royce I know, but it’s a date. My place or yours?”
“Yours,” she said. “But, can you swing by after work and help me get everything to a cab and over there?”
“Of course,” Julie said. “I’ll see you there say, about four? I’m taking off work early.”
“Perfect.”
Julie ended the call and inhaled deeply. She was being a big chicken, but she didn’t care. She really did want to spend time with Lauren. In fact, she wanted to very badly. The problem was, she could easily say the same thing about Luke.
***
Later that afternoon, Luke still had Julie on his mind, more than a little eager to see her again. He sauntered down the hallway of the apartment building he and his brothers had bought and renovated several years ago to both work and live in, carrying a tuxedo for Royce. He stopped at the door at the far end of the hall, two doors down from his, and knocked. Used to be he’d just walk into Royce’s place, but since Lauren had moved in, he was sensitive to their privacy.
The door opened and to his surprise there stood the woman of his recent, and not so recent, dreams. His lips curved in a knowing smile. “Decided to stay the night?”
“Actually,” she said. “Lauren’s staying with me.”
“Not when Royce finds out what’s going on,” he said. “He, like me, will be concerned about safety.”
She stepped into the hall and shut the door, her blue eyes lit with urgency. “Luke, she wants to stay at my place to build up the anticipation before the wedding. I don’t want to tell her no. Please don’t involve Royce in this mess I’m in and get both of them all worked up about this. Lauren will worry herself sick about me and now is not a time for her to worry.”
“You stay here at their place,” he said. “Tell her you want her to be comfortable. Royce can stay with me. He’ll stay away if that keeps Lauren happy.”
“But–”
“Now is also not a time for anyone to get hurt as you pointed out at the airport,” he said. “Be safe, not sorry.”
She sighed and nodded. “Okay. You’re right. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about it ever since she and I decided this and I thought about calling you.”
He arched a brow. “And?”
“I was still thinking about it when you showed up at the door.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. I would have called.” She crossed her arms in front of her. “Probably.”
“Not,” he supplied. “Did you talk to the judge?”
She shook her head. “He won’t return my calls. Did you find out anything?”
“Nothing worth telling yet.” He lifted the tuxedo. “I’ll take this back to my place. Is Royce here?”
She shook her head. “He’s at the limo service fixing some mix up.”
“I’ll call him and work things out,” he said, and smiled, lowering his voice. “There’s an easier way to deal with me than avoiding me.”
“What? I wasn’t...” her voice trailed off, and she shoved a lock of that silky blonde hair behind her delicate earlobe. “And that would be what?”
He gave her a wicked smile. “Don’t.” He turned and headed back down the hallway, feeling her watching him, and wishing he could just drag her to his place and make love to her. But as his SEAL commander used to drill into their heads, ‘patience is a virtue’ and Luke had learned to make it work for him. Every instinct he’d honed over the years said this was one of those times when slow was better than fast.