Page 22 of Memories with Fire

“What did you do?” I ask Liam.

Liam’s smirk just grows.

“Fucking guy deserted me when Nate’s Aunt Laura came walking up to us.”

This time I can’t bite back my laughter. We all know Nate’s Aunt Laura from the barbecues Nate has thrown in the past. The woman loves to know every detail about our personal lives, and getting stuck in a conversation with her can be overwhelming. I can’t imagine Brody getting trapped with her. The poor guy doesn’t talk a lot as it is, and Laura just asks question after question. I imagine that would be his own personal hell.

“I’ll remember this, asshole,” Brody says. It’s a threat and a promise.

“What are you remembering?” Quinn asks as she drops down beside me with a beer.

With everyone around me, I haven’t glanced in the direction of the dance floor in several minutes, but now that I do, I don’t see Luke anywhere. I force myself not to look around the whole bar in search of him, instead turning my gaze to Quinn. Glaring at her, I probably look like Brody did when he sat down.

Her brows furrow. “What?”

“You know what,” I tell her, an edge in my voice.

I knew she’d understand. Rolling her eyes, she waves a dismissive hand at me. “It’s not that big a deal that I was flirting with him. It’s harmless, Hails. I know he belongs to you.”

My eyes go wide. “He does not belong to me!”

“Okay, Hails. Settle down,” she chides like I’m a child. “Sometimes we can’t see what’s right in front of us.”

“Luke does not belong to me,” I say heatedly, anger growing in my voice. I know she’s been the only one who has been nice to him, which I’ve been okay with, possibly even grateful for, though I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but flirting is taking it too far. “I hate him.”

“Luke!” Liam’s voice rings loudly in my ear from my other side. “What’s up man? We were just talking about you.”

I’ve been so busy gawking and glowering at Quinn, I didn’t even notice he was within ear shot. I know the color drains from my face as I stare, horrified, at Quinn. She has the good sense not to laugh at me, but it takes looking away from me to do so.

Slowly, I turn my head and there stands Luke, looking like he was midstride when he heard his name. A flush so deep I know I’m red from head-to-toe sweeps through me as I meet his eyes. They look more green than they do blue from here, but I know that’s the lighting. If I saw him on the dance floor, there’s a good chance they’d look blue.

“Why don’t you join us?” Liam adds.

I have to fight for control not to whip around in his direction and smack him over the back of the head.

Luke’s eyes cut towards him, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. There’s a pang of guilt that hits me right in the stomach over that. It’s because of me he’s surprised his coworkers, who should be like family, are asking him to sit with them. No matter how I feel about him, he doesn’t deserve that.

He doesn’t move from his spot. There’s a nonverbal exchange that passes between him and Liam before his eyes slide back to me. Something inside me melts a little at his look. There’s an air of respect around him, his eyes heartfelt and hopeful as he silently asks for my permission. That he would do so even after being invited to sit by someone else, even after I’ve been awful to him, told him I hate him, moves me in such a way that my whole world feels off kilter.

I’m taken all the way back to ten years ago. To when he’d drive me crazy in all kinds of ways, and loved getting under my skin as much as possible. When it came down to it, though, he always showed me so much respect. He’d been raised to be a gentleman, and he was never anything but. Even at the young age of eighteen, he knew how to treat a lady.

Some things don’t change.

My eyes move to the chair beside Brody and then back to Luke, giving a subtle nod of my head. Though it’s small, I knew he’d see it. The smile I’m rewarded with has his dimples flashing and my stomach erupting with unexpected butterflies that have me silently gasping for breath.

Grabbing my wine glass, I take a healthy drink from it in hopes of telling the insects to bugger off. I don’t need to be feeling any of this when it comes to Luke. Or any other man for that matter. It’s not safe.

Safe is what I want. With safe, I can’t get my heart broken.

“Heard you asking Quinn the other day about surfing,” Liam says to Luke, and I glance between them. This is news to me. I can’t help my nose wrinkle at the thought of Luke surfing. It’s way too dangerous.

“Yeah, been trying to figure out the best places to dip my toes in here,” Luke replies, easing back in his chair. I can see his comfort level rise minutely. “Figured asking the locals was best, and since Quinn was the only friendly one, I asked her.”

I can’t help the smirk as he calls all of us out. I don’t even feel sheepish about it, only amused that he’d do it so blatantly.

“She was appointed your liaison,” Liam says unapologetically, and without missing a beat, continues, “Brody is the one you want to talk to about surfing, though. He’s out there all the time, doesn’t matter the season. Ain’t that right, big guy?”

Brody, still chafed that Liam hung him out to dry, grunts, but turns to look at Luke. “You any good?”

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