Page 163 of Unexpected

Only a month earlier did I finally get on the damn plane. It took a lot of work to get there, but baby steps were still steps in the right direction. And we both celebrated the little wins.

Writing also helped me cope, and after scrapping the entire first draft I’d been working on the year prior, I decided to go in a new direction and write what I knew best—us. Luke and I—or a version of us—would be the main characters, and I would write our story. It seemed bookworthy at least, but I was keeping it a surprise. It was cathartic to get it all out onto the page and see it from as much of an outsider’s perspective as I ever would be able to.

Luke hadn’t had the best time either and was less inclined to find an outlet. His night terrors had returned with a vengeance. Many nights for several months following my release from the hospital, I’d be woken up by the sounds of his yelling. Luke choking and crying my name was my own version of hell.

Oftentimes he dreamed of finding his parents dead, which was a dream he’d had for quite some time, but the new one was a graphic depiction of what that night in the little room above the bar could have looked like if neither Luke nor I made it out. He said Valerie would kill me while he watched, then from outside of my body, he could see me witnessing her kill him and then herself.

Watching the person you loved struggle was heartbreaking. Especially when there wasn’t much you could do to fix it.

But with time, patience, therapy, and a ton of really good sex, we made it through. We even made it through living with his brother for almost six months which was nearly a nightmare in and of itself.

Everyone involved in that day had lingering issues they were still fighting months later. Me, Luke, Josh—we all had our demons. I would have assumed Blakely was also reeling, but she’d disappeared. The night I was admitted to the hospital, her phone had turned off and hadn’t turned back on since. She hadn’t gone to see her parents as she told Amanda. Her parents didn’t even know where she was, save for sporadic phone calls from different locations each time.

The likelihood we would ever find out her motivations for aiding in my kidnapping dwindled the longer she was missing.

Josh decided the best way to deal with being a part of Valerie’s death was to drown himself in women. His room became a revolving door of hookups and one-night stands. Luke and I had both walked in on him in the kitchen, the living room and even on the back patio with new women, and although I was not going to say anything since I was a guest in their home, I think the day he moved in with Reed we both were relieved.

That’s also when we realized that Luke’s house couldn’t be our home. The family that moved into the house next door—the house Michael and I once lived in together—was a cute younger couple with a new baby. They seemed happy and were almost identical to what I, at one point, imagined my life would look like with Michael.

I kept as far away from them as I could.

But Luke and I both agreed it was time for a fresh start. It was time to distance ourselves from the painful memories. We wanted a place that wasn’t haunted by our pasts as we tried to move forward.

And the perfect place happened to be just north of the city, near the neighborhood where Luke and Josh grew up. The house, though, was a far cry from the childhood home Luke described to me.

When I pulled into the driveway, a smile I had no control of broke across my face, and an overwhelming sense of calm washed over me. At the sight of the light-brown brick and spacious, white porch that wrapped around the side of the house opposite the garage, it all felt right in a way it hadn’t before. Like that was the place we were meant to be.

I parked my car next to Luke’s truck and noted that our realtor’s car was gone since she probably wasn’t going to wait all day for me to get there. We’d closed on the house that morning and after signing the never-ending pile of papers, we were supposed to meet at our new home to celebrate when Becky called.

Luke dropped me at the old house to retrieve my car, and I kissed him and Sadie goodbye with the promise to be as quick as I could.

It was a blazing hot summer day. The Texas heat and humidity immediately made my skin sticky with sweat, but I didn’t want to rush into the house. It would be the only time I’d walk into our home for the first time, and I wanted to cherish it. So, when I stepped out of the car, I paused to scan the landscaping and marvel at the tall trees planted throughout the yard. They cast shadows across the lawn and over the house, sparing it from the scorching sun.

Our home sat on a huge lot set far off the road, and it ticked all of our boxes. It wasn’t too far of a drive to the clinic for Luke and had a huge kitchen, a living room with a fireplace along with enough bedrooms for our future, including an office for me. The backyard was also massive and fenced so Sadie could run between her naps.

It was perfect.

Standing in the middle of the yard, staring up at the house, I probably looked insane. Our neighbors were likely peeking out their windows, wondering who the hell had moved in next door, but I couldn’t care.

A sound in front of me pulled my attention from my survey of the house, but it was a welcome interruption.

Luke’s large frame occupied the entire doorway into the house. He casually leaned against the wooden doorframe, and his arms crossed over his broad chest. His dark tattoos were on full display, peeking out beneath his short-sleeved T-shirt that curved around his biceps. A knowing smirk tugged at one corner of his lips, and the effect it had on me was the same every time—my heart raced, the stupid butterflies erupted in my stomach, and I had to adjust how I was standing to relieve some of the pressure that built between my legs.

It was a similar smirk to the one he’d given me when we’d realized they’d miswritten my name on most of the paperwork. Instead of “Luke Shepherd and Hazel Cooper,” it was “Luke Shepherd and Hazel Shepherd.” His smirk was one that said he thoroughly enjoyed the sight of his last name attached to my first name.

His dark hair was mussed from running his fingers through it too many times at the closing. That, combined with his smirk and relaxed stance, screamed casual dominance and confidence. Like he was the king of his fucking castle.

“Are you going to come inside our house, or are you just going to stare at it all day?”

I rolled my eyes, shook my head, and hurried across the lawn and up the porch stairs. Once my feet hit the porch, Luke opened his arms just in time for me to jump into them. I buried my face into the crook of his neck and inhaled his spicy, manly scent as he grasped under my ass and kicked the door closed with his foot.

Before setting me down, he pressed his lips to mine in a hungry, possessive kiss that I had begun to crave. His tongue licked at my lips, hoping for entrance, which I conceded, but only for a moment. It was a challenge, but I pulled away with one final peck to his plump lips.

“I want to see the house,” I requested while wiggling in his arms. With a sigh, he let me down but didn’t let me go far before he could slap my ass.

I pretended to be affronted by the gesture, my hand defensively covering my ass.

Luke laughed and pulled me into his side. “I’m not sorry. Those damn jean shorts are a tease,” he said with a kiss to the top of my head.

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