Page 93 of I Can't Help It

“I’m good too.” Luke tucks his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Thanks, Maren.”

“All righty,” she drawls, stepping around us, “I’m off to find apple cider donuts and something wrapped in bacon.”

At the mention of apple cider, I wrinkle my nose.

“Ya know, you might like apple cider donuts,” Luke says with a laugh. “They’re pretty good.”

“Pass.” I make a very unattractive retching sound. “I’m done with that stuff. I’ve been scarred for life.”

He laughs again, but then his eyes get serious when he reaches for my hands. “Ava, listen, I’ve never asked Wyatt for anyone’s number. Your number was the only one I wanted, and when you texted me that first night, it felt like—”

“Winning the jackpot?” I tease, swinging our clasped hands.

“Yes, it felt like winning the jackpot,” he agrees with me. “And by the way, it was hot as heck watching you write my number on your arm.”

I can’t help but grin. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he echoes, his voice becoming husky, “is that weird?”

“No,” I whisper as he leans forward to rest his forehead against mine, “it’s not weird.”

Are we about to kiss again? I know anyone could find us like this, but it’s hard to care about that when our lips are so close to touching.

Luke’s thumbs brush over my hands, causing little shivers to creep up my arms. “I want to kiss you so much right now…”

I guess he’s not that worried about someone seeing us either.

“But I think we should wait.”

Anddddddd never mind.

If there was such a thing as a human fire extinguisher, that would be Luke.

“Of course.” I resist the urge to look at his mouth. “We can wait until we’re totally alone again, and—”

“We should wait until I talk to Wyatt.”

Say what now?

I let go of his hands, then take a step back as my mind tries to process his horrible idea.

“Ava, please don’t be upset.” His words are quiet, but I can hear the desperation behind them. “I just think it would be better if we have some distance between us.”

“Better for who?” I hate that my voice wavers. “Because I know it won’t be better for me.”

Putting distance between us would mean moving backward instead of moving OUT of relationship limbo.

“Ava—”

“Just talk to Wyatt,” I interrupt, hoping I’ll be able to get through to him. “Or we can do it together! The sooner he knows about us, the sooner—”

“I can’t,” he mutters with a curse. “Not yet.”

A sense of déjà vu comes over me as I realize this conversation sounds a lot like the conversation we had in his room, when he turned down kissing me. When he said, “I can’t” and I told him, “There’s a difference between can’t and won’t.”

Not a good sign…

And even though I don’t want distance from him, I know that I need to get away before I make things worse by saying something I shouldn’t.

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