Chapter 13
Mina
Being in lust with someone wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Crossing my legs to ward off the pulse of need as a replay of the other night ran through my mind, I glared at Luke’s name in my contacts. I don’t know why I was even looking at it. I opened my phone to call a supplier while I ate lunch, which now soured in my stomach.
It had been three days. Three! And he hadn’t called yet. Oh, he’d texted, but it was to tell me he’d been slammed with work and as soon as some time opened up in his schedule, he’d call so we could get together again.
I was not some floozy who was at his beck and call, ready to jump back into his bed at a moment’s notice. While I understood work was busy for him—he was running the company in his father’s absence and still playing the role of architect, after all—I wasn’t a booty call whenever he wanted it.
You shouldn’t have given it up so easily, my inner voice reminded me.
Rolling my eyes, I told her to shut up. It was the same voice who told me to jump his bones.
The phone rang in my hand, and I jumped, letting out a soft squeak. It was Claire.
Heart thumping in my chest, I answered. “Hello?”
“Hey. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?”
My eyebrows twitched in a slight frown. “It’s Friday. Don’t you and Ozzie want to go out?”
“No. I think he has info on your case. I just got off the phone with him, and he said he couldn’t talk because he was busy chasing a lead. I want to pick his brain at dinner, and I thought it might go better if we both attack him.”
I chuckled. “That poor man. Okay, I’m in.”
There was a short pause. “You said yes fast. I take it Luke still hasn’t called?”
Any amusement I felt fled. “No.”
“You should call him. Invite him to dinner with us.”
“What? No. That’s a terrible idea.” I refused to beg for a man’s affection.
“Why? Relationships aren’t a one-way thing, Mina. And some men are dense and need a push. Call him. Make him aware Tuesday wasn’t a fluke.”
I huffed, leaning back in my office chair, a creak filling the room.
The sound grated on my already tightly strung nerves.
“I thought he knew that.” We hadn’t parted Wednesday morning like a one-night stand.
There had been cuddles and pillow talk and a tender goodbye kiss that left me aching for more.
The “more” had turned into crickets.
“Well, either you call and invite him, or I will.”
My chair creaked again as I abruptly sat up. “No, you won’t. Claire—”
She cut me off. “You need to talk to him, and he needs to get his head out of his ass. My house is neutral-ish territory. Plus, I’ll feed you both, and you’ll get info about the body in the wall.
Unless you plan to cut all ties with him and find a new contractor, you need to work this out.
I’m not excusing his lack of communication, but he probably has just been really busy. ”
“So, I’m being a needy girl, is what you’re saying?” A modicum of fight left me as her reasoning started to sink in.
Claire chuckled. “Maybe a little. I’m not excusing his behavior, either.
You have a right to expect better communication than he’s given you after what happened between you.
But yes, I do think you’re taking it a little overboard.
I get why,” she hastened to add. “But I also think you need to rein in your anger a bit.”
My mouth flattened, and I stared at the calendar on my wall, not really seeing anything I had written there as I thought about what she said.
Maybe I overreacted. Just a bit. Could he do better? Yes. Was the lack of communication a deal-breaker? Not yet.
Claire was right. He and I needed to hash this out. Not just for the sake of my renovations, but because I genuinely thought we had a chance at building a relationship.
Leaning forward, I propped my forehead in my hand. “Fine. I’ll call him.”
“Wonderful.” I could hear the cheery smile I was sure was on Claire’s face. “I’ll see you both at six.”
Muttering an agreement, we said goodbye, and I hung up.
Once more, I found myself staring at Luke’s name in my contacts. Would he even answer if I called? Or was he too busy?
Only one way to find out.
Mouth pursed, I tapped his name and lifted the phone to my ear.
It rang four times, then five. Resigning myself to leaving a voicemail, I quickly mapped out what I wanted to say.
So deep into drafting a script, it took me a moment to realize it wasn’t his voicemail that picked up.
“Hello? Mina?”
Spine stiffening as I realized I had the man on the phone, I forced my throat muscles to work so I could speak. “Hi.”
“Hey. I’m glad you called. Sorry I’ve been so absent.”
“Oh. Um, yeah. I—”
“Terry! Make sure you get the extra piping for the Kingfisher’s remodel, or you’re not going to be able to do much else today.” After his initial shout, his voice sounded further away as he moved the phone to talk to someone.
“Sorry,” Luke said, his voice growing louder. “It’s crazy around here. Let me get somewhere quiet.”
“No, it’s okay. I won’t keep you. I just wanted to ask you to come to dinner at Claire’s tonight. Six o’clock.”
“Claire’s? Does Ozzie have info on the case?”
“She thinks so. I’d also like to see you.”
There. I put it out there that I wanted more than a one-night stand. It was up to him where this went now.
“I’d like that too.” His voice grew quiet. “I’m sorry I haven’t called. Work… Well, it’s no excuse to ignore you. I should have called. I’m not very good at relationships, Mina.”
And just like that, most of my ire evaporated. I wanted to hold onto it, but the fact he apologized without any prompting made it nearly impossible.
A soft smile formed, and I leaned back in my creaky chair. “You’re forgiven. This time,” I added, meaning it. I wouldn’t chase a man who didn’t want to walk with me in a relationship.
“It won’t happen again. I do want to make a go of this. Tuesday was…” His voice trailed off.
I knew how he felt. I couldn’t put it into words, either.
“Yeah, I agree,” I said.
A shout in the background of the call drew his attention away again.
“I’ll let you go,” I said. He wasn’t the only one who needed to get back to work.
“Okay. I’ll see you this evening. Hopefully, I won’t be late. But I will be there, and I promise you’ll get my undivided attention.”
I smiled. “Sounds good.”
With a quick goodbye, he hung up.
Staring at the darkened screen for a long moment, I set the device down and sighed. Cautious optimism lit in my chest. I wanted things to work with Luke. Badly. Our one night together had set aside my misgivings about his age.
But I wouldn’t unreservedly fall at his feet. Letting him—or anyone—stomp all over my heart wasn’t something I’d ever do.