Page 25 of Legends Luke

“I’m sorry.” His voice sounded very close to her ear, but she resisted the urge to look and find out how near he was. “Were you close?”

She placed the photo back on the bookcase, feeling the dull ache which came when she thought of her parents. “Yes. They died in a car accident not long after the picture was taken. I was closest to my dad, and Lyric and Mom were close. I mean, we all loved each other and enjoyed being with each other. It’s just how the family dynamics were, you know? Anyway, we worried about them feeling lonely with both of us in college, but then they started planning dates. They’d go to the movies or to dinner. They went to an outdoor concert and even went to one of those escape rooms.”

She laughed as she remembered the conversation she and Lyric had with them about that particular date. “Lyric and I almost drove home to go with them. We figured they’d get in the room and panic when they couldn’t figure out the clues. But they finished in record time. The place took their picture as a record-setting couple. They loved it.”

She stepped back and looked up at him, smiling sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I told you all of that. Anyway, I’m ready to go if you are.”

He held her gaze a moment before nodding. His hand settled at the small of her back. “Lead the way.”

The heat from his touch traveled through her body, making her oddly aware of how he moved behind her. She reached into a pocket in her purse which she reserved for her keys. He waited for her to secure the door before guiding her to his truck. Though it was an old-fashioned move, she appreciated having the passenger door opened for her.

Her father always insisted on opening doors for her mother. She’d asked Viola once if it bothered her since she was so independent, but her mother explained her father didn’t open doors for her as a show of male dominance. It was done in deference to how much he loved and respected her. Was that why Luke did it? Knowing what little she did about his upbringing, she wondered if someone in his life had taught him how to be a gentleman or if he adopted the ritual on his own.

She wanted to ask, but once he sat behind the wheel and pulled onto the road, she was tongue-tied. The silence felt awkward, and she sneaked side glances at him to gauge if he felt it too. She thought he was focused on the road until he finally grinned.

“Want to tell me why you keep looking at me?”

She flushed and opened her mouth to make up what hopefully wouldn’t sound like a lame excuse. But she had a feeling he’d see right through any lie she told him.

“I’m trying to think of something to say.”

He took his eyes off the road long enough to quirk a curious brow in her direction. She sighed at his unasked question.

“First dates are for getting to know each other. There’s a lot I’ve been curious about, but now that I have a chance to ask you whatever I want to know, I can’t think of anything to say.”

“It doesn’t happen too often, does it?”

With anyone else, she might have interpreted those words as an insult — given in jest but nonetheless a jab — but Luke’s tone of voice was more matter-of-fact like he was making an observation.

“Part of my job is to know what questions to ask to get the information we need. So no, it’s not typical for me to be unable to think of a single question.”

“So how about I ask a question? Tell me about your job. How did you decide to be a paralegal?”

She was sure Luke tried to alleviate her nervousness, but he’d succeeded in making it worse. She wasn’t used to talking about herself because most of the dates she’d been on lately only wanted to talk about themselves. Grasping her hands tightly and placing them in her lap, she turned to face the windshield.

“Because of a guy.” She hadn’t planned to admit it, but once she did, she figured she’d go for broke. “My high school sweetheart dreamed of going to law school. It was all he talked about. The closer we got to graduation, the more we talked about going to the same school so we could stay together. After listening to him talk about law school, I entertained the idea of doing it too. I had no other plan, soI figured why not? We could be this power couple. We could open our own practice and be the most successful, most sought-after lawyers around.”

“So, what changed?”

“Law school’s expensive. I didn’t receive enough financial aid to cover the cost, and I didn’t want to take out a loan. So, I enrolled in the paralegal program. I thought I could get my foot in the door and save enough money to go to law school later. Henry, though, flunked his first semester. He broke up with me and moved back home. Eventually, his family relocated somewhere else, and I never saw or heard from him again. The funny part is I wasn’t even heartbroken. Not like I thought I’d be considering how long we were together. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think I would have considered being a paralegal, and I love it.”

“So why move to Fire Creek? You could probably get a job almost anywhere.”

Melody smiled at him. “The jobs aren’t as common as you think, and it can get very competitive. I went to work at a law firm at home, so I could be close to Franklin University, where my sister goes. Our parents died when she was a college freshman. We’re all we have, so I didn’t want to be too far away from her. She’s about to graduate, so when this job offer came, she encouraged me to take it.”

Her mind’s eye took her back to that time in her life, when she was living her life as more of a routine revolving around work, home, and her sister. “One of my professors is friends with Sandra Bleekley, my boss now. Sandra reached out for a recommendationfor the job. She was having a hard time finding someone to stick around long term because they didn’t want to settle in a small town. My professor recommended me. She thought I might be interested in making a fresh start. Lyric convinced me it was time to live for myself. She said we needed to seek our own adventures.”

“Your sister sounds pretty special.”

“She is,” Melody said dreamily before she realized Luke had parked at what appeared to be a luxury strip mall. “Where are we? Are you taking me shopping?”

Luke chuckled. “We’re at the Shoppes at Valley, but we’re not exactly going shopping.”

He slipped out of the truck before she could question him further. Her mind spun with possibilities. Was he taking her to an escape room? Or one of those ax-throwing places? Maybe it was something more typical, like a movie? They could be eating dinner first, but she hoped that wasn’t it because she was too nervous to have an appetite.

He helped her down from the truck and kept a hold of her hand as they walked among the shops. His stride was long and quick, meaning she had to focus on her steps to keep from tripping instead of taking in her surroundings. When they finally stopped in front of an open doorway, she glanced inside, her mind taking a moment to register what she was seeing.

She gasped in delight. “You brought me to an arcade?”

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