Page 107 of Unexpected

To simplify the process, I pulled out my favorite pair of black jeans and black boots—it was a classic combo that always worked. But I went back and forth with which top would best fit the occasion. I went through almost everything in my closet before I settled on a black, simple yet slightly girly top. The cinched hem skimmed the top of my high-waisted black jeans and the buttons up the front hit the perfect spot where my cleavage was there, but it was tasteful.

By the time I left my apartment with an apple cobbler in one hand and a decently priced bottle of wine in the other, my hair was curled and my makeup was done. I felt confident and pretty—especially with my light makeup and bold red lip—which did a lot for the nerves churning in my stomach.

It wasn’t until I was about to turn down Luke’s street—my old street—that the possibility of shitting myself appeared. I was stopped at the stop sign at the end of the street for so long, I turned on my hazards and pretended that something was wrong with my car.

I expected to be nervous about meeting Luke’s friends. Well, remeeting them after being a colossal bitch on several occasions. And I realized only a few days before that they had all likely been witness to my mortifying performance imitating an orgasm at the last party. But most of the nerves were from being so close to my old home again.

I’d just left, and I was relatively settled at my new place. I was happy there, and I knew I did what I did for the rightest reasons anyone was ever faced with. But that didn’t keep my anxiety from building, knowing that I would be so close to the damn house without living there for the first time. Then there was the possibility that Michael was there. He could be sitting there on the porch and watch me walk up and confront me and I wasn’t going to be okay if he did.

Just as the real panic was setting in, tapping on my passenger side window pulled me from my thoughts and sent my heart into my throat. I whipped my head to the side to find Luke leaning down and waving at me through the window.

Fuck.I sighed but rolled the window down.

“Josh just pulled up and saw you sitting out here,” he said as I began preparing my less ridiculous excuses until he continued, “He’s not here, Hazel.”

Oh.

“You’ll see. Just pull up behind my truck, I saved that spot for you.” He reached into the window and unlocked the door before he hopped in.

I hadn’t seen Luke as much as I would have preferred since earlier in the week. Neither of our schedules was conducive to seeing much of each other. Josh’s car was still out of commission, so Luke was chauffeuring him around or letting him use his truck. And Luke was putting in extra hours at the emergency vet hospital.

He told me his schedule that week hadn’t been usual, though, and it just so happened to fall on a week when all we wanted to do was stay in bed constantly.

So, when he hopped in my passenger seat and his intoxicatingly manly scent filled the small space, my brain was having trouble focusing on anything besideshim.

Luckily, I was able to drive the ten seconds down to Luke’s house and pull in behind his truck without an issue.

“I was wondering why it smelled like cinnamon apples in here,” Luke said, scooping up the bottle of wine and apple cobbler from the back seat. I slung my purse across my body and smiled as he took a whiff of the dessert even through the tinfoil.

But my smile quickly vanished when I attempted to just swing my eyes across my old house without seeing much. That plan backfired when my eyes narrowed in on the “For Sale” sign planted in the grass near the curb.

The range of emotions I felt in the moment confused me. I was surprised he’d put it up for sale so fast, but I was also sad that a house I was once so excited about was no longer a possibility and ended up being the place where some of my worst memories took place.

“Sign went up yesterday as soon as the movers showed up.”

That information was even more shocking. “He’s gone?”

Luke nodded, leaning against the side of the car next to me. “Josh watched the guys load up the entire rest of the house in no time at all apparently. I’m sure it’ll go fast, but it’s completely empty right now.”

“Good—good for him.” My voice was quiet and didn’t match the words coming out of my mouth. I didn’t really have the capacity at that moment to comprehend what I felt about the situation, so instead, I decided to save it for later. “Ready?”

“Only if you are,” Luke said, peering down at me and carefully scrutinizing my face.

“I’m okay,” I told him before reaching for the cobbler. When I held the large glass dish in my hands, he cupped my chin with his now free hand and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. He lingered for a moment, but it evened out my mood and reset me the best it could.

“Everyone’s excited to meet you again,” he said as we headed up the driveway and around to the walkway.

I grunted, unsure if he was just comforting my growing nerves or if he was actually serious.

“I’m serious, Hazel. No one cares about any of the shit that happened before now.”

“Is it because you told them about Michael?” I asked, suddenly realizing that they could all be fine with meeting me again—even after I’d been such a big bitch—because they pitied my situation. I was the abused woman next door that Luke took in and all but rescued.

He stopped in the middle of the stairs leading to the front porch and turned to me. “I told them that you called off your engagement, but nothing more than that. I wouldn’t tell them that without your say-so. Your story is not mine to tell.”

Luke had never given me any reason to distrust him, but I found myself hunting his face for any sign of deceit. There wasn’t any. And I knew I was being ridiculous. But the thought of anyone pitying me made me want to run in the other direction.

“Okay. Thank you.”

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