Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
L uc in regular clothes was hot. Luc in dark, pressed suit with a charcoal shirt underneath, the top two buttons open leaving just the hint of that magnificent chest that lay beneath…that was pure temptation.
“Wow.”
He grinned. “You stole my line.”
Leaning down, he brushed his lips across her stunned ones.
“You look absolutely amazing, Charlie.”
“Thank you. So do you.” So much so she was debating this whole date thing and thinking of skipping to the end. As good as those clothes looked on him, they’d look better on her bedroom floor.
He arched one eyebrow, staring down at her. “No.”
She blinked, forgetting if she had asked a question or not. “What?”
Chuckling, he used one finger to tip her chin, closing her jaw that had dropped the moment she opened the door.
“I know that look and as tempted as I am, sweetheart. I promised you a date and I never break a promise. Now let’s go before I forget what a gentleman I am and take you on your front porch.”
Sounded good to her. This man could take her anywhere as far as she was concerned.
“Dinner, Charlie. And then…”
She gazed into his dark eyes, tongue coming out to wet her lower lip. “Then?”
His smile fell, eyes going hazy with lust. Groaning, he cupped the back of her neck, pulling her into him. Willingly she went, arching up on her toes as their lips came crashing together. She clutched at the satiny lapels of his suit, fisting the material in her hands as he kissed the ever-living daylights out of her. Far too early for her liking, he pulled away, pressing his forehead against hers.
“Dinner first, then we finish that.”
Sounded good to her. Though why they couldn’t start and end the date with that she had no idea.
Yeah, you do. If you started in bed, you’d never leave.
True, but who could blame her? Anyone who had a man like Luc would be ridiculous to ever do anything outside of the bedroom. The man was a keg of sexual dynamite. But he was also fun, easy to talk to, sweet, caring…okay so they could do stuff out of the bedroom too. As long as it always ended there, she was good.
After closing and locking her front door, they headed to his car. Once they were buckled in and on the road, she turned her head toward him. “So where are we going?”
“The Pine”
“Oh. They’re nice.”
Luc nodded. “I figured you wouldn’t want to go to your family restaurant, and I asked Carson where else in town was good—”
“You told Dr. Ray about us?” Her stomach dropped with a slight sense of panic. Thinking about everyone knowing was one thing. Actually, having the town of Kismet privy to her and Luc’s relationship status was another.
“Yes.” He spared her a brief glance before turning his eyes back to the road. “I wanted to be completely upfront with the hospital staff. I don’t want any rumors spreading and getting back to my workplace before I have a chance to explain.”
Leaving one hand on the steering wheel, the other reached out to grasp hers. Bringing their clasped hands to his lips, he kissed the back of her knuckles.
“Someone once told me that small towns like to gossip.”
She laughed, the silly tightness in her chest easing. Of course people were going to know about them. That was the whole point of this date. Dang, her emotions were all over the place tonight. This whole turning her booty call into her boyfriend thing was messing with her big time. She needed to get her shit together.
“You know I was thinking…” she trailed off, her earlier consideration popping up in her head.
“What?” he pressed when she didn’t finish.
“About what you said that one time, about me and ADHD.” Her fingers twisted nervously in her lap.
He glanced at her briefly before turning his eyes back to the road. “You thinking about getting tested?”
She shrugged. “I emailed a few places to ask about evaluations.”
“That’s great, sweetheart.” He smiled over at her. “If those places don’t work out, I can give you some numbers of physiatrists I know who do testing. A lot of people find medication helps with focus, but it’s not necessary if you don’t want to go that route.”
She shifted in her seat. His hand engulfed her’s squeezing with a reassuring tenderness.
“There’s no shame in being neurodivergent, you know that right?” he said softly.
“I know.” She nodded, taking a deep breath. “It’s just…a little scary. I’ve never been a big fan of tests of any kind.”
If anyone had told Charlie that she’d be admitting fear to the man she was dating a few months ago she’d call them crazy, but here she was, being venerable and not losing her cool. Was this what they called growth?
“I know, sweetheart, and I’m proud of you.” He brought their joined hands up to his lips brushing them against the back of her hand. “I’m here, whatever you need.”
“Thanks,” she sighed in relief. Feeling a small weight slip off her shoulders.
They pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot. This place mostly catered to tourists, but they saw a few locals dining as they were seated. Dinner was great. The food was good—not as good as chef Jeremy, but she was biased. The conversation flowed and even though they caught the servers and locals staring and whispering, it didn’t bother her. Nothing could bother Charlie tonight.
After dinner, Luc suggested grabbing dessert at the ice cream shop just down the street. He held her hand as they walked, listening to her blather on about the history of Kismet and all the old buildings.
“Town hall used to be a brothel?”
“I think they preferred the term saloon but yeah. The miners would come back from the mines for drinks, food, and the company of a lovely lady.”
He chuckled. “And now they hold local government meetings.”
“If you’re going to make a joke about screwing people, don’t. Believe me it’s been done. By our own mayor, in fact. He thinks he’s hilarious.”
Mayor Briggs did make her chuckle occasionally, but the old guy took to dad humor like it was coined after him.
After grabbing two cones at the ice cream shop, they headed back to the car.
“I can’t believe you like coconut cream.” She shook her head, nose wrinkling in disgust. “That’s not a dessert. That’s fruit.”
Luc took a long lick from his cone. The sight of his wide tongue against the pale white of the frozen treat made her core tighten.
“Fruit can be dessert.”
She cleared her throat. Having to swallow past the dryness. “No, it can’t.”
Tipping his head down, he nuzzled her ear with his lips. “What about peaches? Nothing I like better than a nice, ripe, juicy peach. Best damn dessert ever.”
A shiver of need racked her body, causing her to almost drop her cone of Rocky Road. Lucky for her Luc wrapped his free hand around her waist pulling him to her, steadying her suddenly weak knees.
“Well, well, well. Looks like someone’s after some extra credit.”
Charlie looked over to see the very last person she wanted to. Apple Blithe. Oh lovely, now their relationship would be all over Kismet before they even got back to Luc’s car.
“Apple, Olive.” She nodded to the sisters.
“Hello, dearies.” Olive smiled sweetly, wrinkled cheeks creasing. “Having a night on the town?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Luc still had an arm around her waist, but he’d moved to her side, facing the elderly women in front of them. “And what are you lovely ladies up to tonight?”
“Bingo night at the community center.” Olive pointed down the street.
“Well, we won’t keep you then.” Luc nodded. “Enjoy your evening, Olive, Apple.”
Apple’s gaze went back and forth between them. “Yes. I’m sure we will. Though not as much as you two.”
“Apple!”
“Oh, can it, Olive.”
Charlie groaned as the sisters continued down the street. “It’s a good thing you already told Carson, because now we’re going to be the talk of town in precisely two seconds.”
“That soon? Isn’t the community center a few blocks away?”
“Apple has group texting and surprisingly fast fingers for an old lady.”
He laughed, tossing his half-eaten melted cone in the trash can. Charlie, lover of all things sugar, finished hers with zero guilt. She had a feeling she’d need all the energy and calories she could get for the coming nightly activities. Her body hummed with anticipation or perhaps it was from all the rubbing and stroking Luc managed to accomplish with his arm around her waist as they made their way down the street.
“So, my place?” she asked when they arrived at his car.
He grinned, head dipping down until his lips were a breath away. “Your place.”
The words of agreement feathered over her lips on a warm rush of air just before he pressed his mouth firmly against hers. As much as she wanted to deepen the kiss, she wanted to get home and naked more. Pulling back, she gave him her best seductive grin.
“Hurry.”
Opening her car door, he helped her in before doing as she said and hurrying around to the driver’s side. As he slid into the seat his phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket, he frowned as he read the display.
“Luc?”
“I need to take this.”
Touching the screen, he brought the phone up to his ear, speaking in what she now knew to be his “serious voice.”
“Hello?” He paused. “Yes, this is Luc Woolf.” Another moment of silence as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. “He did what? No, no I understand.”
His hand tightened on the cell, knuckles going pale. Her heartbeat raced, but not from excitement this time. No. Charlie feared something was wrong. Very wrong. Luc’s jaw had gone tense, his body tight. The hazy cover of lust had all but disappeared from his eyes. Now they were hard, cold. Who was on the phone and what terrible news did they have?
“Yes. I’ll be there soon. Thank you.”
He hung up, placing the phone back in his pocket, but he didn’t make a move to turn on the car. They sat in the dark. Silence so loud it deafened. After a few minutes, she couldn’t take it anymore. Reaching out, Charlie placed her hand on top of his.
“Luc? Is everything all right?”
Her question seemed to pull him out of whatever dark place the call sent him to. He glanced over at her. The darkness in his gaze all consuming. Anger, regret, pain, poured from his eyes inky depths. It hurt her to look at him. To see those shadowy emotions passing over his face.
“I’m sorry, Charlie. I-I can’t come over tonight.”
She figured that much. The entire demeanor of the evening had changed with one phone call. What she didn’t get was why? What happened? Was he okay? Did he need anything?
“Okay. I get it. I mean, I don’t because I don’t know what’s wrong, but obviously something is?”
“Yeah.” He moved his hand to grip the steering wheel, effectively brushing off her touch. “It’s…my father.”
“Your father?” Luc didn’t talk much about his dad. She knew there were some issues between them, but she had no idea what they involved. “Is he okay?”
He scoffed. “No, but that’s the problem, isn’t it?”
Yes? No? She had no idea. What she did know is she hated this sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. The pain radiating off Luc was palpable, and she had no idea what to do for him. She felt useless, and Charlie hated to feel useless.
“Can I do anything to help?”
His fingers gripped the wheel tight, but he didn’t look at her. He simply shook his head and started the car. They drove back to her house in silence. A heavy weight crashing down on the pleasant evening.
When they got to her house, he walked her to her door and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before turning and heading back to his car. He sat there, waiting until she’d gotten inside and locked her door before pulling out.
Charlie stood at her front window, heart aching, mind a swirl of confusion, watching with blurry eyes until the reds of his taillight disappeared into the blackness of the night.