Page 55 of Unexpected

I cleared my throat and smiled. “I love it.”

“Good, now make a wish and blow out the candle so we can eat it.”

“You’re not going to sing to me? Isn’t that the point: you sing, I sit here awkwardly, and then I blow out the candle?”

“You do not want to hear me sing.”

“I heard you sing in the car the other day. You’re not that bad.”

He shrugged. “That was with very loud music. If I have something drowning me out, I sound better.”

I rolled my eyes but licked my lips, eyeing the cake again. “Fine,” I conceded.

For a moment, I pondered my wish, wanting to make sure it was really good and something important for this new stage of my life. It was also a pretty cake, so I felt it needed to be an equally good wish.

With my wish firmly at the front of my mind, I closed my eyes and blew out the candles, hoping that Luke’s pink cake had some magical powers that might make the wish come true. I needed all the help I could get.

“Well, now that you’ve heard my story, tell me about your family,” Luke said, heading to the kitchen and returning with two forks.

“There’s not much to tell. We’re all pretty normal, to be honest.” Luke raised a dark eyebrow at me as I stabbed my fork into the cake and took a bite that was much too large.

“Strawberry cake is my favorite,” I mumbled around the sweet cake and creamy frosting.

“Good guess on my part, then.”

“Or you’re a stalker.”

“Do you think I’m a stalker?”

I paused, cutting my eyes at him and taking another generous bite as he did the same. “That question sounded suspicious.” I shrugged. “But I don’t think you’re a stalker, although I do catch you looking into my bedroom window quite often.”

He froze with his fork in his mouth, brows raised and a terrified look in his eye. I had to laugh at his stunned expression and the realization that he’d been caught.

“But…” I began, setting my fork down on the table and settling back into the couch. “I guess if I saw you looking through my window, that would mean that I was looking at you through mine.”

The wine coursing through me gave me a confidence I wasn’t expecting.

“Although it was completely unintentional, I—” He cleared his throat and laughed. “I did enjoy that peep show not too long ago. I think we were both caught in compromising positions.”

I felt the blush creep up my neck and bloom over my cheeks. The wine apparently didn’t keep me from getting embarrassed.

“It’s amazing that it’s the first time that’s happened. Whoever built these damn houses was insane, I swear. Why do the houses have to be so close together, and why our bedroom windows of all things?”

Luke tossed his fork on the table next to mine and the already half-eaten cake before he leaned back into the couch and threw his arm behind me. With his arm resting on the top of the couch behind my head, his fingers lazily ran through my hair and then skimmed over my neck.

It seemed like he constantly wanted to touch me, and I didn’t want to shy away from the affection.

“I agree. I promise, though, I’ve never intentionally watched you. That would be fucking creepy.” His words said one thing, but the sly smile playing on his lips said another.

“If you say so. However, if I catch you watching again, I may just give you something to watch.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I couldn’t believe I had actually said them. Quickly, I schooled my expression, keeping it neutral and unbothered, while inside, I tried to sober up. I wasn’t that drunk. It was just something about Luke that made words fly out of my mouth or kept me from speaking coherently at all.

“Oh, really? Well, then you might catch me looking through your window more often if that’s on the table.” His green eyes were brilliant in the light coming from the fireplace, and his face was partially obscured by shadows cast around us. Even in the dim light, I couldn’t miss the desire that danced behind his eyes and in the slight tic of his jaw.

After years of being his neighbor, I thought that he was always so stoic and unbothered, but after getting to know him and watching him up close, I realized he was rather expressive. It was just all in the minute changes in his expression, body language and word choice.

He was pretty easy to read when you knew what to look for.

When I didn’t say anything, Luke changed the subject. “So, your family’s pretty normal?”

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