Page 58 of Lucky Strike

“Okay,” his father replied. “If that’s what you think we should do, then we’d have to find a new tenant.”

Sam’s mind went to one person. “I might know someone who’d take it.”

It had been a while since Sam had visited the property, but he could remember most of the details of the little bungalow with white slatted walls that sat prettily on the Ponderosa Way hill. The best way to describe it would be cute. It had been built in the fifties so it had a lot of details people liked: the small enclosed porch, a tiled fireplace, built-in bookshelves, a benched breakfast nook area. It was everything Luna wanted.

After he disconnected the call with his father, Sam stayed put even though his inside caveman desired nothing more than to sprint upstairs, burst through the door, and claim Luna. Him reappearing a half hour later would make it seem as though he was returning expecting to get sex. While he did want that, God knew he did, he also wanted a deeper connection. Not just sex. Her.

The problem was that while he did want her, he had done so at the expense of helping his mom with her dream. His mom had expected him to help her at the house today. Except the last few times he’d gone there, he’d left discouraged. No promises of painting walls or adding a backsplash had led to the kitchen being cleaned enough. Sam knew his mom was trying, and he was trying to appreciate when she was able to let go of a small handful of items, but he was tired. Instead of showing up, he’d made an excuse to stay behind and help Luna with her fake fireplace.

It wasn’t fair to his mom, and he had too much to work through to think about getting in a relationship with anyone. Maybe being cockblocked by his dad wasn’t a bad thing. He needed to get his head straight rather than jumping into things, and prove, at least to his parents, that he could be relied upon.

And Luna?

Well, at least in one way, he could give her exactly what she wanted.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Luna wasn’t oneto chase after anyone. If anyone had said to her,I’m not going to kiss you, the old Luna would have immediately found ten unforgivable faults in the guy before decidingBoy, bye. I didn’t like you anyway.

What she did with Sam was as close as she ever got to throwing herself at a guy. The fact he’d resisted her obvious advances, and told her he wasn’t going to kiss her, somehow piqued her interest more.Oh, you think you can resist these lips? I’m going to kiss you so well, Sunderland, you’re going to melt like a candle in the desert.

When he did kiss her,shewas the one swept away, proving he could tie her in a knot as easily as that cherry stem. After he departed her apartment, she found herself waiting, expecting he’d be beating on her door at any moment. But he never came.

She didn’t see him the following day, nor the day after that when leaving for work and there hadn’t been any text messages from him. She assumed he was avoiding her for whatever ridiculous reason. That made her more annoyed. If anyone was going to reject anyone, it was going to be her and she was rejecting him because…well, she couldn’t think of anything at the moment. It wasn’t as if there weren’t hundreds of possibilities for her to choose from, definitely enough to warrant a TikTok video and the tag of#ReasonsWhyIHate­SamSunderland

The biggest reason why she hated him was because he made it hard to concentrate at work. She was in her office when a knock came at the door. Mia and her dimple popped through.

“Hey, Luna. I brought you an afternoon treat.” She set a coffee on the desk.

“Can I talk to you?”

Mia didn’t attempt to cover how much this question lit her insides, acting as if she’d been invited to an exclusive club. “Of course.” The woman and her pregnant belly plopped into an office chair and waited expectantly.

Luna wasn’t sure how to start the conversation. Tessa would have been an ideal confidant, but she hadn’t gotten the courage to send an apology message yet. If her ex-best friend didn’t accept her apology, then their friendship was truly dead and incapable of being revived. She wasn’t sure if her heart was strong enough to be crushed again. Mia was the next best thing, and she wouldn’t give Luna a hard time like Ross.

“Wait, are you supposed to talk or am I? Just so you know, I used the bathroom at Pony Expresso but the timer countdown for the next time I have to use the facilities has already started.”

“I kissed Sam,” Luna blurted.

Mia’s expression didn’t change. “I know. I was there.” A split second later her brows lifted as the realization clicked. “Oh. Ooooooh, I get it.” She took a sip from her iced tea. “Okay.”

“I thought this would get a bigger reaction.”

Mia tilted her head in confusion. “Do you want me to get excited? Are you sleeping together?”

“No!” Although, not for a lack of trying.

The woman shrugged. “I guess I’m not that surprised. I sensed something at the fairgrounds, which is why I pulled Ross away. You know he’d just tease you nonstop. Sam seems like a nice guy. I think this is great, Lu.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“What about what Natalie said? About the accident and him being an asshole?” Sure, Natalie hadn’t been a hundred percent correct, but Mia didn’t know this.

“Is he an asshole? You’d know better than her.”

“No.”

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