I slowly put my hands on his face, and lock my gaze to his. “I want you to so badly, Luke, but you’re right. I’m not ready for that yet. Sex will make this a lot more complicated than I can handle right now. But let’s try to get to know each other again. I would really love that. We can start tomorrow with going out to dinner. Adam and I have some things to finalize at the bank with Aunt Judy’s accounts, but after we are done I would really love to go to Mangiare’s and have some pizza.”
“That sounds perfect, baby. Can I pick you up at five thirty?”
“Do you have to work tomorrow?” I ask, thinking he would want to go out later.
“I do, but I work with my father and Antonio. They have taken over some of my clients for me this week, so I just need to stop in and check on a few things.”
I look at him with wide eyes and a big smile on my face. “You’re a lawyer?”
“I am.”
“That’s great, Luke! I am so happy you finished school and went through with it. I know how much you’ve always wanted to be a lawyer. And, here you are, bossy man in fitted suits arguing with people,” I tease, smiling wider.
“I’ll show you bossy,” he teases back, tickling my sides and kissing me once more. This time it’s quick. Slightly more than a peck, but nowhere near the intensity of the earlier kiss.
Luke slowly lifts me off the hood of my car and gives me a tender kiss on the cheek. He walks me to the door, kisses my cheek once more while he reaches behind me to pull it open, and tells me good night as I get in. I start the car and pull away, thinking about all of the questions I have that are still unanswered, but the one that is nagging at my heart the most doesn’t have anything to do with why he left. It’s... how in the hell am I going to tell him about Lucy?
I arrive home a little before eleven and head into the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. I go into my bedroom and open a drawer at the bottom of my closet that I have not opened in seven years, pulling out an old t-shirt of Luke’s I used to wear to bed all the time.
I put it up to my nose and inhale deeply. After seven years the smell is all but gone, but as I pull it away from my face I remember how much I loved his scent; a combination of leather and musk and all Luke. I loved burying my face into the side of his neck and just lying there, content and warm and comforted by his scent. I sigh to myself, pull the t-shirt over my head, and climb into bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I fall asleep, seeing Luke’s bright green eyes and inhaling his essence like a security blanket tucked tightly around me.
************
I wake to the smell of coffee. Adam must be here already.
“Shit, what time is it?” I mutter to myself. I roll over to look at the clock and shoot straight up. Nine-fifteen. Damn it, I haven’t slept in this late since I was in college. I shake off my morning-induced haze, getting out of bed and throwing on a pair of shorts. I move slowly downstairs and Adam is sitting at the table in the kitchen with what looks like a blueprint in from of him.
“Nice hair, brat,” he utters as soon as he notices me. “You must have had an excellent night last night; it’s not like you to sleep in. Were you with Luke all night?”
“Not all night, but we did go to the beach for a while to talk.”
“Talk, huh? By the looks of your hair, I’d say you did more than talk.”
“Funny, you ass. It’s called bed head. All we did was talk.” I grab my coffee and a banana and sit down at the table across from Adam. He rolls his blueprint up and stuffs it into a tube. “Is that a house that your company is building?” I ask.
“Yeah, it is, and it’s a pain in my ass. I’m just trying to finalize a few things for the electricians before I leave in a few days to get Lucy.”
“She called me last night,” I tell him. “She just went on and on about how much fun she’s had and how she can’t wait to show us everything that she learned.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait either. I get some Lucy time all to myself and I’m not going to waste it. So, are you going to tell me what you and Luke talked about last night?”
“Well, he did most of the talking, really. But, he did tell me why they left so abruptly.” Adam looks at me with a look of apprehension on his face.
“What did he say?”
“Apparently, a client of his father’s whose trial did not go how he wanted it to went to prison and his family started making threats, so they left. He also said he tried to get his parents to let him come over and talk to me but they were packed up and ready to go before he even realized it.”