Page 80 of Loyally, Luke
Maeve:And I’d advise you to keep your nose out of the newsif you don’t want to see how very unruly your brother has been lately. He really is putting your reputation to shame. (No, I’m name calling like an adult who prefers fun Scottish insults.)
Ellie:Thus the reason Mother is hoping for such a stellar presentation at the Wild Hyacinth Ball, to overshadow some of his behavior too, I’d imagine.
Ellie:Good heavens, what is he wearing?
Maeve:I told you not to look at the headlines. And the real question should be about what he’s NOT wearing. Though, I must admit, he’s certainly working out. Very fit!
Ellie:Ugh. Well, once they make everything official with me, they can turn all of their attention to remediating him. I’m sure he’ll love that.
Maeve:No doubt. And where does Lovable Luke come into all this?
Ellie:Lovable Luke?
Maeve:I can practically see you grinning as you contemplate the moniker.
Ellie:He doesn’t. He can’t. I have convinced myself that I will treat my meeting with Luke as a sweet dream to cherish, but nothing more.
Ellie:Or a lovely acquaintance, but nothing more.
Ellie:Well, maybe a friend.
Maeve:But nothing more?
Ellie:I refuse to acknowledge that remark.
Maeve:I need to meet him. How can we make that happen?
Ellie:I’m not certain that’s a good idea, though Father did invite him to the Board Luncheon at Cambric next week. He’s going to meet with the board members after lunch to talk about his excellent ideas for supporting the future training of some of the children.
Maeve:Wait, Dad’s on the board. And he probably needs a plus-one. Hmm...
Ellie:Oh dear.
Maeve:And since you can’t have him and I’m available, this could be kismet! Plus, I have no qualms about romancing an American.
Ellie:Perhaps I should encourage your father to bring your sister instead of you.
Maeve:Nice try.
***
Two full days of working with Ellie and, apart from glances and superficial conversation, Luke had stuck to the plan. Now, if anyone had been able to see into his head for the first five seconds of looking at Ellie every morning, they would have known that internally, Luke was teetering very close to thetword fromBambi—he shuddered, almost hearing Penelope say “twitterpated” in his mind, complete with a chime—but otherwise, he was quite proud of his appearance of self-control.
But that hair.
And those jeans.
And her eyes.
Well, it was a miracle of God alone that Luke hadn’t crossed the kitchen and tossed Ellie over his shoulder like some caveman, just to take her right back out to the tree and finish what they’d started over a week ago.
Self-control indeed.
And a healthy dose ofRambo,Mission: Impossible, and World WarII movies.
He’d even tossed inBraveheartfor good measure.
He triedStar Wars, but every time Han Solo and Leia came on the screen, he got distracted by the idea of a regular guy and a princess.
