Page 15 of Hell of a Mess
“Ah, Jayda, you’re a peach. I’d love another Corona,” Locke said, winking at her.
She rolled her eyes and didn’t move to get up. “I wasn’t asking you,” she replied. “You know where they are.”
Locke placed a hand on his heart. “Ouch.” He winced.
I bit my bottom lip to hide my smile. I was pretty sure he was kidding, but I didn’t want to laugh if he was serious and I was reading this wrong.
“I brought you the first one because I was up,” she told him. “I’m not up now.”
He sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he shook his head in mock disappointment. I was waiting for his response, enjoying their back-and-forth, when the door opened, and Maui’s head shot up to see who it was.
The sight of Luther stepping outside made my stomach do a fluttery thing that was only getting stronger the more I was around him. His blond hair was pulled back in a messy knot, and his hazel gaze scanned the area until it locked on me. He closed the door, and I realized I was smiling a little too brightly before I tamped it down a bit.
I didn’t know how old he was, but then I didn’t know how old I was either. What I did know was that there was an age gap. A rather significant one, but my body did not care. Instead it was…giddy whenever he appeared. And even without the age gap, I didn’t know anything about myself. Getting giddy over a man wasn’t good. I might be…married. That word felt so foreign to me that I found the possibility hard to believe.
Dropping my gaze to my ring finger, I studied it for a moment. I couldn’t tell if I normally had a ring on or not. There wasn’t a tan line. My skin was an olive complexion naturally. I didn’t have tan lines on my body anywhere. It was possible that whoever had beaten me had taken my ring or rings, if I’d been wearing one.But then the doctor had said I had older bruising on my body. They didn’t believe I’d been hurt by a stranger.
“I wasn’t expecting either of you back so soon,” Jayda said.
I looked up as Luther made his way past Locke and toward me.
Maui’s tail slapped against the sofa cushions with excitement at his approach. It seemed that the puppy and I had something in common. We were both happy to see Luther.
“They’re still convening. I was just done with it,” Luther drawled.
He gave Maui the slightest nod of his head, and the dog jumped off the sofa and sat beside it.
Luther took his spot—well, almost. He didn’t sit as close to me as Maui had, but he did sit in the middle of the sofa instead of the other end of it. Maui watched Luther expectantly, and when Luther patted the top of his thigh, Maui laid his head down on it. Jayda had told me Maui belonged to Stevie, but one would think by watching them that he was Luther’s.
“You staying for the Houston game at Bane’s or going to Tampa for the Derby?” Luther asked, his gaze fixed on Locke.
Locke sighed and leaned back in his seat. “Staying to handle the betting for Oz so he can go,” he replied. “But Tampa is a waste of time. Garrett has a horse in that race.”
“Oz seems to think he’s got one that can beat it.”
Locke smirked. “Has he ever had one that has beat a Hughes?”
Luther shrugged. “Garrett isn’t always the winner.”
“No, but when he isn’t, his grandson is,” Locke replied.
Luther appeared to agree as he thought that over. I tried hard not to stare at him, but it was difficult. His chiseled jawline, peppered with dark golden hair stubble, was that of a character in a book. Almost too attractive. That, added with his effortless charm, made a fascinating combination. One I was growing fond of.
“Is Houston playing at home?” Luther asked as Jayda handedhim a beer.
I hadn’t even noticed her get up; I’d been so wrapped up in Luther and my awkward gawking, which I had to stop doing. He took the bottle and winked at her before turning his attention back to Locke. Even his wink not being focused on me sent my heart into a flutter.
“Yeah,” Locke replied.
I tore my focus off Luther and looked in his direction instead. He was shooting Jayda an annoyed look. I assumed because she had gotten Luther a beer and not him.
“What about you, Lace?”
That was a jolt to my entire nervous system. The sound of Luther saying my name. I wanted to record it and put it on repeat.
“Ever been to Houston?”
I swung my gaze back to him to find his eyes on me this time. Slightly dazed by him in general, I blinked, confused. He’d asked me something.
