Page 56 of So Right
Luke latched on to that excuse—her personal life and the reason she was staying with him weren’t anyone’s business unless she decided it was. “It has issues. She’s actually looking to move. She’d been hoping to get Brooke’s loft, but you beat her to it.”
Jamie winced. “Oh, yikes. Well, now I feel bad. Is her place terrible?”
“Like I said, it has problems. She’ll just keep looking.”
“Are you sure? Because I could just come back to the house, I guess.” He sounded disappointed, but Luke knew the offer was genuine.
“That’s really cool of you, Jamie.” Luke shook his head. “But don’t worry about it. I know how much you love the loft.”
Jamie smiled a bit sheepishly. “I really do. Reminds me a bit of my flat in London.” He’d lived over there for a couple of years while going to the London School of Economics.
“That’s great.” Luke smiled at him as he sat down and opened his laptop, hoping Jamie would buy the clue and leave.
But he didn’t. “So it seems like there’s something between you and Kelsey, no?” He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. “She’s pretty cool.”
Theywerekind of dating. Had at least been on a date or two, and she was coming to the wine dinner with him on Saturday. “There’s…something. We’re taking it pretty slowly. Just checking out the landscape.”
Jamie nodded slowly. “Good plan. All right, then, I’ll leave you to it.” He turned and left.
Luke scrubbed a hand over his face and read through his e-mail. Then his phone pinged.
Kelsey:Wanted to let you know that you’re out of milk. I can pick some up, but you’ll likely beat me home.
Home.
She’d called it home. It was a simple word, one that didn’t necessarily mean anything except the place you planned to lay your head that night. How many times had he referred to a hotel room as home when on vacation? Why then did her usage of it give him a little jolt? A warmth that pressed into his chest and spread.
He responded to her, saying he’d pick some up. He wanted to ask how she’d slept, whether his bed was comfortable. Damn, imagining her in his bed was a thoroughly captivating image. The dark waves of her hair cascading over his pillow, her long, lithe legs tangled in his sheets… He needed to get a serious grip.
And get back to work.
He’d make himself so tired that he’d fall asleep long before she came home from work that night.
And there was that damn word again: home. Something about it evoked Kelsey. That had never happened with Paige. She’d mentioned moving in together several times, and he’d always balked. Somehow, Kelsey was different.
But how? It wasn’t as if they’d been together a long time. Hell, he hadn’t even made love to her yet.
Yet.
He dropped his head into his hands and stared, unseeing, at his desk. They were taking it slow all right. He just hoped he could survive it.
Kelsey rushed into Luke’s house after working at the library on Saturday. She’d had to dash back to her apartment to pick up her dress and shoes for tonight. It was a warm fall day, and after running around—on foot—she needed a shower.
She glanced at the clock on the wall near the kitchen, saw that it was already five forty, and dumped her stuff to jump in the shower.
As she turned on the water, she thought about how she didn’t remotely miss her apartment. In less than a minute, she’d step into nice hot water here, whereas at her apartment, she’d have to wait a good five minutes to reach a moderately warm temperature.
In three short days, Luke’s house felt more like home than her apartment ever had. It wasn’t hard to figure out why—the adorable bungalow was cozy and possessed several amenities her apartment didn’t, such as the hot water heater from this century, a dishwasher, and a washer and dryer. The luxury of not having to go to the Laundromat was practically swoonworthy.
Then there was Luke’s bed, which was about the most comfortable thing she’d ever slept on. And it smelled like him. It was, in a word, torture.
She stepped into the shower and quickly scrubbed up—she didn’t have a lot of time. It was a good thing Luke was at the winery so she could run around half-naked as she got ready.
She’d barely seen him—they’d crossed paths briefly Thursday morning and then again this morning. She’d worked late the past two nights, which had probably been for the best. She wasn’t sure she could handle spending time with him in these close quarters without taking things to the next level.
Why had she wanted this stupid no-sexy-times rule? Because she was trying to take this relationship—or whatever it was—slow. She liked Luke. A lot. But the specter of Noah, especially now that he was out of prison, loomed large in her mind.
Still, did that mean she couldn’t have sex with Luke? Because, good Lord, she wanted to have sex with Luke.
