Page 58 of I Can't Help It

“Oh?” I raise an eyebrow at him. “And what kind of ‘good insight’ have you gained from those movies?”

His chin dimple winks at me as he brushes his thumb over my hand. “I’ll never tell.”

Hmm, maybe relationship limbo isn’t so bad after all. At least we’re openly flirting now. And I wouldn’t be opposed to us kissing again…

I mean, it’s been HOURS.

Luke’s eyes darken, an obvious sign that he’s thinking the same thing. He could very easily yank me up from my seat, haul me against his body, and kiss me until I’m breathless.

Just call me Katniss because I volunteer.

That’s not what happens though. Nope.

Instead, he clears his throat and slips out of my grasp. Then he steps away. “We should probably head back, so I can check with Shy to make sure today’s itinerary is good to go.”

Never mind.

Relationship limbo still sucks.

Why else would Luke choose talking to the front desk guy instead of making out with me?

“Okay.” I try to hide my disappointment as I stand up. “I guess I’ll go get my stuff together since I’ll be switching rooms soon.”

“Yeah, and I’ll check on a time frame for that too while I’m at it.”

“Sounds good.”

It doesn’t.

Spending even the smallest amount of time apart from Luke sounds awful. But I refuse to be clingy with him. Especially when we’re not even official. I’m not going to be that girl.

So, we walk back to the lodge, and Luke waits in line with a few other people at the front desk while I go upstairs to our room. Even though it won’t be “our” room for much longer…

This would probably be a good time to update Sloane about how things are going.

I’m surprised she hasn’t called me yet, since I haven’t had a chance to answer her texts. I did text Aunt Kat back, but she didn’t send me 15+ messages like Sloane did.

“IT’S ABOUT DANG TIME!” Sloane yells into my ear once I call her. “I was going to call you like, ten different times since last night but Harvey talked me down. And then he stole my phone when that didn’t work.” She pauses to let out a long, deep breath. “I MISS YOU SO MUCH, AVA! I feel like I haven’t seen you in a million years! Are you and Luke together yet, or not?!”

“Um…” I trail off as I sit on the bed. “Sort of?”

Sloane proceeds to gasp. Then she curses. Another gasp.

“Tell. Me. EVERYTHING.”

And I do.

I tell her about the “we-shouldn’t-have-feelings-for-each-other” conversation. I tell her about our “one date” agreement. I tell her about the magical gazebo and that amazing kiss…and the grumpy police officer who interrupted us. I tell her about Luke turning me down again because of Wyatt. I tell her about us sharing the bed…and how we ONLY slept…and how I promised Luke that I’d back off. But then I tell her about our second kiss. And I tell her about Luke’s plan.

At this point, I’m sprawled across the bed like I’m dealing with a midlife crisis.

“I am SHOOK! This is crazy!” she cackles. “You got what you wanted! Luke likes you back. Maybe even more than likes you, from the sounds of it.”

“Yeah, but now we’re in relationship limbo,” I point out the obvious problem. “And it feels like he’s still holding back, which is frustrating—”

“Oh my gosh, Ava!” she cuts me off. “What were you expecting? A marriage proposal? Why don’t you just enjoy this time with him for what it is?”

She has a point.

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