Page 75 of This Loving Feeling (Mirror Lake)

Be with me, Lukas had said.

She was ready to take the chance. It felt right, in the sweetest, worst way. She couldn’t wait for them to be together, and she refused to think of anything beyond right now. Just then, her phone buzzed.Lukas.

The shot of adrenaline that coursed through her made her fumble the phone and she nearly dropped it off the balcony. “Hello?” She looked around, half expecting him to somehow magically appear.

“Pizza’s here. But it got a little wet.”

“What ...” She turned around. There he was, walking down the side aisle from the top of the balcony section, making his way toward her, a pizza box in one hand and a big bundle slung over his shoulder. She thought she recognized Tom’s old thermal silver minus-twenty sleeping bag, compliments of Effie, no doubt. As he emerged from the darkness, she saw a bottle of wine in his other hand. He was wearing green Mirror Lake Hospital scrubs. And he was completely soaked.

He handed her the pizza. A slow, steady grin spread over his face.

She couldn’t help smiling back. “It’s pouring out there,” Lukas said. “But the good news is, I don’t think anyone followed me.”

“Great.”Hewas great. They stood there for a moment, just looking at one another, grinning dumbly, until finally she said, “There better not be peppers on there or I’m totally making you return it.”

Effie knew damn well she liked her pizza plain. Clearly Lukas was theeverythingEffie was talking about.Hereverything.

She started to tear up, so she made a big show of checking out his face. His nose was swollen and bruised, and he had another bluish swelling on his forehead. All she wanted to do was dive into his arms and kiss him all over, tell him how glad she was that things had happened as they did and now they could finally, finally be together. But suddenly she felt nervous and shy. “How did you ... how did you get in? If you got in, someone will just ...”

“Ben gave me scrubs and a surgical hat and got some off-duty paramedics to bring me here. And Effie gave me a key.”

Effie.Of course.

He touched her cheek. “You okay?”

“I am now that you’re here.” To her embarrassment, more tears welled up. Before she could brush them away, he set down all the stuff he was carrying and wrapped his big, strong, inked-up arms around her. Like she hadn’t felt them in six long years.

His fingers tangled through her hair and suddenly his mouth was on hers, and oh, the feel of that mouth, kissing her like they’d never been apart and like there was no tomorrow, and not a second could be wasted.

For now, that was all the security she needed.

“I have to tell you something.” Lukas was brushing back her hair, caressing her face, and it was so hard to focus on what he was saying.

“What is it?” she asked, reveling in his presence, his heat, the freshly showered, soapy, delicious smell of him.

“I’m sorry I ruined your event tonight. I wasn’t thinking, I was feeling. I was afraid I would lose you forever if I didn’t do something.”

“I’m glad you came for me, Lukas. It was Harris who did the ruining.”

He gathered up her hands in his big ones. “Sam, I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”

That made her bawl more. She rested her hands on his forearms. Felt the hardness of his muscle, the softness of his skin, the light grazing of hair. “Oh, I have,” she said.

“Who was he?” he growled. “I might have to go after him.”

“It was a long time ago. A lonely boy named Spike. Used to work at Clinker’s.”

“That boy has wanted you for a long time. He’s never stopped wanting you, Sam. And he’s so happy to be here with you.”

He released her hands and walked over to where he’d left the sleeping bag, unbound and unzipped it, and spread it over the fantastical red carpet that covered the floor under the seats—a pattern of green and gold parrot feathers and exotically swirled designs. Then he peeled off his scrub top in one swoop. And holy theater ghosts, all thought ceased at the sight of that amazing, perfect chest. “Dr.Lukas is here to make it all better, sweetheart.”

She would’ve laughed at his shenanigans but his eyes weren’t joking. They were dark and intense and serious and oh, lordie, they meant business. She slid out of her one shoe, which was just a low-heeled pump because of the Aircast on her other foot. “You’ve never been short on confidence, that’s for sure.”

He shrugged out of the wet bottoms and tossed them over a chair. Guess he was a boxer-briefs guy, who knew. Black, of course. What else? “I had no confidence six years ago. I was just so desperate to make it in some way that I managed to fake it.” He walked over to her and took her into his arms.

Sam closed her eyes. She must have stiffened because he pulled back. “What did I say?”

She suddenly felt awkward. Really awkward.

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