Page 56 of Unexpected

“Yes, my parents have been together since college. My mom drives me crazy, but I love her nonetheless. My dad works so much that I honestly don’t have much of a relationship with him. I have an older sister, Delilah. She’s married with two kids, Miles and Amber. They’re freaking great. I seriously think I miss them the most.”

“When’s the last time you went back to Nashville?”

It had been so long that it took me a moment to remember my last trip to Nashville. “I went in March while Miles and Amber were on spring break from school. We did a little mini vacation in the Smoky Mountains. They were planning on coming here for Thanksgiving, but I don’t think that’s going to happen anymore.”

Sadie stirred beside me as Luke’s phone began vibrating on the coffee table in front of us. Before he scooped it up, I glanced at the screen as the words “Unknown Caller” rolled across it. He silenced it with a shake of his head and tossed it on the couch beside him, once again giving me his full attention.

“Spam?” I asked.

He shrugged. “No idea. There’s been a shit ton lately from either an unknown number or blocked caller, but whatever.”

Next to him, his phone began vibrating again. That time, he not only declined the call, but turned his phone off altogether.

“It’s always at the worst damn times, too. So, have you decided if you’re moving back to Nashville?”

“I decided I’m going to stay here for now at least.”

I leaned forward to pick up my fork again, only scraping off some of the magenta frosting from the top and savoring the extra sweet taste on my tongue. I’d missed sweets so much.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I think I want to give the city a chance before I run back home. Why do you sound so surprised?”

He held up his left hand in defense as his right sat idle at the back of my neck. “Maybe I am a little surprised, but I don’t mean anything by it. It just seems like you’re close to your family and may want to be near them since you’re done with fuckface.”

I rolled my eyes at the derogatory name for my ex-fiancé, but he could have honestly called him whatever he wanted to. I probably would have agreed with whatever he came up with.

“I thought about it, and of course, my mom was the first one to tell me to come home. But I moved here for Michael, and…” Saying his name was more difficult than I was prepared for. My voice caught at the back of my throat before I could continue and both good and terrifyingly awful memories flooded back to me. “Because our relationship was the way it was, I didn’t get a chance to really know what it’s like to live here. I think I would like it, so I want to give it a chance.”

Nervous energy pounded through me at even the smallest mention of Michael’s name and my previous life. Needing something to do with my hands, I took another bite of cake.

“I understand. Are you keeping the house?”

“No, I can’t do it. There are too many bad memories there, I would feel like my every step was haunted by them or something. It’s also in Michael’s name—the mortgage is—so I can’t. I’m going tomorrow to look at a few apartments not too far away. I’m excited to have my own space, or that’s at least what I’ve been telling myself.”

I went to pick up my wineglass, but still feeling the effects of the previous three glasses, I opted for more cake instead to soak up the alcohol.

“You have icing all over your mouth and chin.” Luke laughed as I turned back to him. I quickly licked my lips and used my fingers to wipe around my mouth and over my chin.

Laughing again, Luke shook his head and swiped his thumb just below my bottom lip, collecting the icing I had missed. Without missing a beat and without taking his eyes off of me, he put his thumb to his mouth and licked the pink remnants from his finger. The way my body reacted you would have thought he licked me instead of his own damn finger.

I stared at his lips—plump, slightly wet and parted—long after it was appropriate to do so as I remembered how his tongue felt against mine not so long ago.

When a faint smile hooked his lips, I was pulled from my thoughtsand readjusted on the couch.

“I’ll come with you,” he said.

“Come with me?”

“To look at apartments. It’s always nice to have an extra set of eyes.”

“Yeah, that’d actually be nice,” I said. It would be nice to not have to walk through apartments all day by myself, but I was also excited about the prospect of spending an entire day with Luke. To get to see him outside of his house.

He also seemed excited that I wasn’t leaving Austin, and I needed his excited energy to get me through the process of finding a new place to live.

“Great. You have some places picked out?” he asked before picking up the cake and pointing at it, silently asking if I wanted more. I waved him off—I was more full than I had been in what felt like years.

“Yeah, they’re nothing special, but I’m sure I’ll find something.”

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