Page 51 of This Loving Feeling (Mirror Lake)

Her face heated. “I amnotlooking at you like that. I mean, come on, clowns arenothot.” But this one sure was.

He got up in her grill. The ridiculousness of that damn clown nose and the streaky white makeup made her want to laugh crazily at the madness of it all. But his eyes anchored her and she could not look away.

“Have you not heard of personal space?” Sam asked weakly. “Back up, Clown.”

“I try but I just can’t seem to stop myself,” he whispered in a velvety voice that sent shivers up her arms.

“Well, try harder,” she said, steeling her voice. Except it did crack a little at the end. “It’s irritating.”

“All clowning aside, Samantha,” he said, taking off his clown nose and sticking it on her nose. “No can do.” Then he walked away, chuckling at his joke.

Nonsense aside, a list was building in her brain. Funny. Kind to Stevie, even when irritated. Great with kids. Hot as hell. She couldn’t reconcile this adult version of him with the carefree rock star who wanted a fling. And she couldn’t help feeling the joke was on her.

Lukas carried a sleeping Stevie to his Acura MDX rental car and bent to lower him into his booster seat. The boy’s shirt was untucked and stained, he had chocolate ice cream smeared on his chin, and his feet were bare and dirty. On his cheek were the remnants of a half-scratched-off green snake Sam had painted. It had been a great day. And not just for Stevie.

“We won’t show Mrs.Panagakos theafterpictures,” Sam said, standing near the car door.

“I’m sure his shoes will turn up somewhere.” Meg, who had followed them out of the house, kissed Sam on the cheek, and pressed two covered paper plates into her hands.

“Thanks for inviting us,” Lukas said, straightening up. “Stevie had a great time.”

Meg pecked him on the cheek. “I hope you did too, Lukas.”

He didn’t have a chance to answer, because Sam was thanking her for the food and getting in the rental car. She’d driven to the party with Brad and his family but Lukas was happy she accepted a ride home with him.

“The girls are going to MacNamara’s for a drink while the boys watch the kids,” Meg said, sticking her head into the car a little to see Sam. “You should join us.”

“Thanks for the invite,” Sam said, “but I’ll take a rain check. I’m beat.”

They drove off into the night, a not-unpleasant silence settling over the car.

After the clown performance, the brothers backed off, giving Lukas a break for the rest of the night at least. They’d barbecued, played hide-and-seek with the kids, and sat and talked while the kids ran around catching fireflies and playing flashlight tag. Very ... family.

It was a little too tempting to get caught up in it. Or caught up in the pretty-smelling woman at his side in the cute little sundress and those shapely, silky legs. At least he was certain they’d be silky if he ever had the good fortune of touching them.

“She gave us enough cake for a week,” Sam said from the passenger seat. “And she threw in some of those cheesy potatoes you couldn’t stop talking about.”

“I loved those,” he said. “That was really nice of her.”

That was the problem. Everyone and everything about this place was too nice. Nice like he’d never known before, except for the Ellises. Too good to be true. Or to last.

The quiet seemed more weighty now, full of things left unsaid. The moon was out, the night was balmy, and in another universe, he could imagine that this life would continue. That there’d be plenty of family gatherings like this one, followed by quiet drives home and the rest of the evening spent making love with Sam. Under the stars, in bed, everywhere possible.

He wanted her. But he wanted her to want him. He wanted Harris out of the picture for good.

Yet he was too smart to deny the truth of their situation. Tony, his agent, was already pushing him to schedule more tour dates. Come August, there would be time in the recording studio in L.A. and photo shoots and interviews and ... yeah. His life was on the road, and hers was here. Even if she broke up withthat guy, what kind of future could they have? Would she pack up her life and come with him?

That was his mistake. Thinking about her as more than a woman he simply needed to get out of his system. If they could only act on their attraction, she’d lose her hold on him. Then he’d stop thinking about complicated futures and how their lives simply didn’t mesh.

“What are you thinking about?” Sam asked.

They were stopped at a red light downtown. Quaint old-fashioned streetlights hung with blooming flower baskets dotted the road. The shops were softly lit and quiet, and the park was empty. A sleepy almost-summer night.

“I was thinking that today was ... fun.” He looked at her. Her face was shadowed in the soft glow of the dashboard lights, and judging from the look in her eyes, she seemed to be thinking the same gut-wrenching thoughts as he was. “Thank you for today.” He meant it. Because no matter what happened, days like this were numbered.

“Thankyou,” she whispered.

He hadn’t realized he’d leaned over toward her until he heard the beep of a horn behind him. The light had changed too soon.

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