Page 59 of Legends Luke

“I love you, Bird. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Your life would fall apart without me. And I love you back, Melon. See you tomorrow.”

The call ended, and Melody raced to finish dressing with a smile on her face. With low heels on her feet, she grabbed her purse and breakfast and headed out the door. Feeling pumped from her sister’s pep talk, she called Luke’s number from the car before she could chicken out.

“Good morning.” His voice was deep and smooth, and she shivered as if he’d touched her.

“Hi. Thank you for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome. Sorry I couldn’t be there when you woke up. I had something to do this morning, but you have no idea how hard it was to leave you.”

She was glad he couldn’t see the blush heating her cheeks. “I missed you, but it was probably good you weren’t there to distract me. I missed my alarm, and I’m barely going to make it to work on time as it is.”

“Speaking of work, I never asked you how it went after I dropped you and Erin off yesterday. Your boss wasn’t angry at you, was she?”

She sighed as she navigated a turn. “She had every right to be after I let Erin sneak out from her community service under my nose, but she wasn’t. Sandra apologized for putting me in that situation. She didn’t even seem angry at Erin. Just disappointed. Almost defeated. It breaks my heart.”

“It’s good they have you there to offer support if they need it.”

“I don’t know how much good I am to them.”

She was driving on autopilot at this point. Her body acted on muscle memory directing the car to the law firm, but her mind was focused on what Luke told her.

“I do. Too many people would walk away, say it’s none of their business and they don’t want to get involved. But you have reached out to be a friend. You’ve offered no unsolicited advice or judgment. That’s a big deal, Mel. Trust me.”

Emotion clogged her throat. Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them back. She was about to be a mess on the phone if she didn’t change the subject. “Thanks, Luke, but I didn’t call to talk about yesterday. I have some news.”

“Yeah?”

“Lyric is coming tomorrow for a visit, and she wants to meet you.”

“I want to meet her, too. How’s she doing?”

Her heart melted at how sincere he sounded asking about her sister. “She’s okay. Her building increased their security after what happened, and she’s had a friend staying with her at night. Now that her exams are over, she’s ready for a little break. I’m excited to have her visit.”

“I’ve got an idea if you don’t think it would be too weird. We can have a family dinner. You and Lyric come, and I’ll have my brothers, Gish, Reagan, and Jax over too. I’d like for you to get to know everybody if you think it’d be a good idea.”

Her smile widened until her cheeks ached. “I’d like that. I think Lyric will too. She’s going to be here a few days, so maybe we can schedule something for this weekend. And I was thinking…”

Shyness suddenly seized her tongue. She wasn’t usually forward with her relationships. She was the cautious one, the one to set the pace and the pace was always slow. She realized she didn’t want to move slow with Luke anymore. But she couldn’t bring herself to instigate anything, even though she made the first move last night.

“I was thinking too. I was thinking that I want to see you again.”

Relief washed over her. “Lyric’s not going to be here until lunchtime tomorrow. Want to come to my place tonight? I want to cook for you.”

“Sounds great. Text me a time later. And if you need me before then, call me, okay?”

She turned into the parking lot at the law firm. “I will. I should go. I just pulled up at work. See you soon.”

“Can’t wait.”

Once she hung up, she didn’t waste any time getting inside. Her smile remained on her face until she started to pass Sandra’s office. The door was locked, and she could see through the glass the light was off. Her smile faded. It wasn’t like Sandra to miss work unless she was sick. Even when Erin gave her trouble, she made time totake care of her clients. Luke’s words suddenly flashed through her mind, and she wondered if she should reach out and see if she could help Sandra with anything.

She continued to her office and met up with Tyrell Kendall on the way. The associate stopped her outside her office.

“Hey, when you get settled, come by and see me. Sandra left some work for us.”

“Is everything okay?” Melody asked.

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