Page 38 of Lipstick Kiss

“I’m sorry I lied.”

“That’s okay. I’m sorry you thought I was disbelieving someone would love you. Maybe you’ll explain tomorrowwhy you did because the woman I know, even faced with someone who thought she couldn’t bag a husband, wouldn’t have shied away from telling them. She wouldn’t have cared. What I want to know is, why do you care that I was shocked?”

Freya stayed quiet. Luke didn’t expect her to answer, so he let the question settle for a few moments.

Then Luke wrapped the hand holding her diamond around her back and pulled her flush with his body. She was trembling. They’d always horsed around when they held each other. Not ever had they held each other this quietly, this closely and fuck if he didn’t love it. Freya slowly placed her hands on his chest. The heat branded him like an iron. It felt like his body wanted to know the feel of her hands everywhere.

“I gotta give Kenny a lift up to Turner Hall. Have dinner with me tomorrow, and I’ll update you with what I found about the headstones.”

“Okay,” she said, slowly nodding.

Luke moved to kiss her head like he always did, but this time he saw her eyes close as he moved. She’d never done that before. It was always a quick press of his lips, and then he moved away. This time Luke tightened his hold and heard her whimper, then he dropped his head and kissed her temple, brushing his lips against the soft skin. Luke left his lips there for a few seconds and then moved a step away. It took a few more moments for Freya’s eyes to open, and they were locked on his mouth. That sight went straight to his cock.

Luke was hard for his best friend.

“You can start the rumour that your fiancé decided not to come back to the island but said you can keep the ring. It was a whirlwind romance, and he has been summonedhome to marry someone else,” Luke told her, holding her gaze.

She nodded, and he walked to the door, opened it and left it open before he walked away, down the corridor and out of the school.

He thought of all kinds of horrible things to get his erection to go away by the time he met up with Kenny. As soon as he was twenty feet away, he saw the kids from the ironing class rocking the golf buggy with Kenny in it.

Erection gone, fury arrived.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Luke roared.

The kids froze in their intimidation tactics and turned their upper bodies to look at him. Then two seconds later, they ran away. It was on the tip of his tongue to call them all pussies for running away, but they were kids, and he’d remembered he shouldn’t let out the f-bomb. He knew they said worse, but he was the adult.

“You okay, kid?”

“Yeah. I hope the buggy’s okay.”

“I’m sure it will be fine. It’s seen worse. What were they doing this time?”

“They keep calling me rich boy. Telling me, I should hand over all my money. I tell them that my dad works at Turner Hall, not owns it.”

“Those lads need a dose of humility and something to distract them. Leave them to me. Let’s get you to your dad. We don’t want Miss Riley thinking you can’t do your homework.”

“No, S-Luke,” he said.

Luke hauled his arse into the driver’s seat and nodded to Kenny to pull the seatbelt across his lap. He dropped his bag between his feet and buckled up. When they arrived at the back of Turner Hall near his dad’s shed, he pulled to a stop.

“Kenny,” Luke called out as he exited the buggy.

“Yeah?”

“When your dad is working in the evenings, what do you do when you have finished your homework?”

“Read mainly. Bailey lets me into the library.”

Luke smiled. Bailey was a good man.

“Well, I might have something more interesting you can do. I’ll ask your dad first if it’s okay, and then I’ll let you know.”

Kenny brightened and shifted his bag further up his shoulder.

“Cool,” he said and shuffled off down the path to the gardener’s shed.

Luke thought he might be able to kill two birds with one stone.

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