CHAPTER SIX
B ella fidgeted in her chair. Torture device more like. She’d recently come to the conclusion that any chair that could be folded was not for her. Actually, they weren’t for anyone past the age of thirty. She needed back support. Some cushions. Maybe a nice neck rest.
This is why I don’t do activities.
Her job was adventurous enough. When she wasn’t working, she wanted comfort. Peace and quiet. Maybe a nice book.
Not for the first time today, she cursed Luke. He was the reason she was surrounded by strangers right now. Pretending to fish. She hadn’t even put any bait on her rod for God’s sake. Not that anyone noticed. They were too busy snapping pictures for their Instagram.
Why was he the reason she agreed to go on a fishing trip? That damn kiss, that’s why. Two days later, and her body was still buzzing. Who the hell kissed like that? Like he was worshipping her and punishing her at the same time. Setting everything inside of her ablaze. But the worst part was that she wanted more. So badly, she was even prepared to burn for it.
Fuckboys kiss like that.
Exactly. There’s no way a man becomes that talented without a whole load of practice. But just the thought of that turned her stomach. Kept her awake. It didn’t make any sense. Nothing about what she was feeling for the man she barely knew did. Which brought her back to why she was there. Joining in. Throwing herself into activities in the hope she’d quieten her mind, if only for a little while.
“So, you and Luke?”
Goddamnit.
Wade had snuck up on her. He’d even managed to drag his own foldable chair next to her without her noticing.
“There is no me and Luke .” Denial. Denial. Denial.
Wade scoffed. “Yeah right. He practically peed a circle around you a few days ago. And a little bird told me he made quite the scene at the Tipsy Cow the other night. You’re the talk of the town.”
Stupid small towns.
“Perfect,” she grumbled, her eyes shooting back to the riverbed in front of her.
“So? What’s going on with you guys?” Wade prompted.
He got her eyes again, but only so she could throw him a disappointed head shake. “ Wade Evans , I never took you as a gossip.”
A short, sharp laugh escaped as she got an eyeful of dimples. “Yeah, well, what can I say? I don’t get out much.”
Says the man always outside. But she was guessing he wasn’t talking about the great outdoors.
“That makes two of us.” She blew out a breath. “Marco, well, he was the social butterfly. If he didn’t drag me out, I’d probably go months on end without basic interaction ... and be perfectly happy. I guess now he’s gone ... I’m gonna have to drag myself out.”
Her gaze returned to the ripples. A steady stream of green rapids glistening under the sun.
“It must be hard. Losing someone so close to you. I can’t even imagine.”
She nodded into the distance. “I miss him. Every day.”
“Is Luke like him—Marco, I mean?”
“Complete opposites.” She felt herself smile. “Marco was full of life. He was one of those guys that everyone just wanted to be around, y’know? Always happy, always smiling. The eternal optimist in a world full of cynics. And Luke ... well, granted I’ve only known him a week, but he’s not exactly Mr. Sunshine.”
She heard Wade snort next to her. “You can say that again.” He paused for a moment. “You and Marco ... did you guys ever ... y’know... date?”
It was her turn to snort, after which she twisted to face him. “Marco was gay. So no, we didn’t date. I wasn’t exactly his type.”
“Oh.” She watched the wheels turn in Wade’s head. “But I’m guessing you’re Luke’s type?”
Yet another sigh left her lips. “Does a man like Luke even have a type?”
“Wouldn’t know, darlin’, never seen him with a woman. He’s not exactly the dating or relationship type.”
Excellent. Red flags were slapping her in the face now. Mocking her. While she basked in humiliation.
Wade continued, “Doesn’t mean he ain’t interested in you though. If anything, you’re the first woman I’ve ever seen him openly interested in. He’s certainly never gone into a jealous rage before, thrown a woman over his shoulder, and carried her outta a bar.”
She could feel the heat bloom on her cheeks. This town really did talk.
She had no idea what to say to that. It hadn’t occurred to her at the time, but she supposed Luke’s little display did scream jealousy to any onlooker. Despite what he thought, she hadn’t gone there to hook up with anyone, she went there to dance. One of the things she missed most about Marco and her nights out. Dancing until sunrise.
Her silence clearly concerned Wade, because he was quick to speak again. “Sorry, darlin’, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Yep. Her cheeks were bright red. It’s official. “I guess what I was trying to say, not very well apparently, was that it’s pretty obvious that Luke likes you. And yeah, I get he’s not exactly a ‘light and sunny’ kinda guy—from what Zach’s told me, that’s mostly down to having it kinda rough as a kid—but don’t let the gruff exterior fool you ... I know for a fact the man is soft as shit inside.”
“Yeah?” Her lips twitched at just the thought of Luke hearing someone call him “soft as shit.”
“You ever see him around Libby or Cat or Rachel and you’ll see.”
Cat and Rachel? Why did the thought of Luke being soft around other women make her want to hurl so bad?
Hello, jealousy!
Wade must have seen her eyes turn green because he was grinning like he’d just caught her with her hand in the cookie jar.
“They’re his friend’s women,” Wade finally put her out of her misery. “Cat is married to Cody; he grew up down the road from us and is our neighborhood cop. And Rachel is engaged to Hunter; he works at the fire station with Zach and Luke. Anyway, Luke might not admit it out loud or anything, but it’s obvious he loves them and would do anything for them.”
That was actually kind of sweet. It also wasn’t hard to imagine him being protective of the people he cared about.
“Okay.” She let out a weary breath.
She was done hiding. Wade was offering to lend an ear, so why not take him up on it? God knows she didn’t have anyone else to talk to. Not anymore.
“Yes, something might have happened between me and Luke.” She ignored the raised brow, and soldiered on, “We kissed ... and then I ran away.”
“Why’d you run?”
“Because hooking up with my dead best friend’s brother isn’t a good look.” She tried for a smile.
“Why’d you really run?”
Wade Evans clearly wasn’t here for her bullshit responses. So she chose honesty.
“Because I felt something.” Her head dropped at her confession, and she began fiddling with her fishing rod. “Something I have no business feeling for a man I’ve only known a few days.”
“Do you think he felt it too?”
“Yep.” She didn’t hesitate. There was no way in hell he didn’t. Fuckboy or not, you can’t fake that kind of intensity.
When she looked back up, Wade had a thoughtful expression on his face. “So, what are you gonna do tomorrow, when you see him at the barbecue?”
That earned him a laugh. “I don’t think you need to worry about that—there’s no way he’s gonna turn up. Not after what happened. Trust me.”
“Hate to break it to you, darlin’, but he’s coming. He called me just yesterday to check what time it starts.”
“He did?” She squeaked. Fairly sure she was now gaping at her host. And conveniently ignoring the heart palpitations.
“He did.”
Oh shit.
***
B ella had a plan. She was going to turn up fashionably late to the barbecue. Grab a burger. Avoid Luke Cappelli. And then sneak off without anyone noticing. Simple. What could go wrong?
Currently an hour late, she had just rounded the main house to the backyard where the barbecue was being held.
So far so good.
She totally had this. And she actually believed that right until she got her first glimpse of Luke. Who had somehow already spotted her and was in the process of marching over.
Abort! Abort!
She couldn’t just run. Could she?
She didn’t run. Mostly because her legs weren’t working. She’d frozen in place. Panic not the only thing rising as the man she’d spent the past three days—since their kiss—trying her hardest not to think about got closer. It was a toss-up over what scared her more, the very real possibility she might hurl or the look of pure determination on his face.
“Were you seriously gonna run?” he barked, still striding toward her.
Wait, how did he know that?
“Uh, what?”
Good save.
“You were gonna run, weren’t you?” he repeated as he came to a stop, close enough for leathery peppery musk to fill her lungs.
“No.” Liar. “What are you even doing here, Luke?”
“I could ask you the same question, darlin’. You’ve delivered your letter. Answered my questions. Made it damn clear nothing is gonna happen between us. So ... why are you still here?”
That was a good question. Why was she still there?
Marco.
Feeling deflated, she let her shoulders sag. “Your brother wanted me here, I don’t know why, but he did. And after all the shit he did for me, this is the very least I can do. So here I am.”
Luke took a step closer, his dark brown stare penetrating her. “How long did he ask you to stay?” Was it just her imagination or had his voice gotten deeper?
“A month.” She found herself gulping.
“Good, ’cause we’re not done.”
She had a feeling he wasn’t referring to the questions she promised to answer about his brother, but she needed to distract him. Or herself. Especially now that he was looking at her like he was a minute away from swallowing her whole.
“We can still talk ... about Marco. While I’m here. I won’t let what happened between us stop you from finding out more about your brother. That wouldn’t be right.”
Another step and he bowed his head. Their faces just an inch apart. Making it hard to think. “And you’re all about doing the right thing, aren’t you, Bella?”
Was he going to kiss her? Surely not. There were people everywhere. His friends. Wade. Wade’s family. The other guests.
As her rib cage began to rattle from the pounding, he let his forehead drop to hers and took a deep breath.
“You’ve got me all fucked up, angel, you know that? Not a day has gone by where I haven’t thought about how goddamn good you feel pressed against me. Or the sexy sounds you make when my tongue is inside you. I need another taste. Just one more.” His voice sounded just as tortured as she felt.
“Luke,” she whispered into him. “People are watching.”
“So let them watch,” he rumbled, swooping down and capturing her lips.
Unlike their first kiss, this one was slow, controlled, and almost gentle. Luke’s big hands cupped her face, tilting her every time he wanted more. Deeper. She knew she should stop. End this. But she couldn’t. Didn’t want to. Every sip of his lips felt like oxygen she needed to survive.
Her own hands curled around his waist. Getting her first feel of the wall of muscle that was Luke Cappelli’s back and abdomen.
Holy shit.
Holy shit indeed. The man was pure sin. Made to tempt her. Whether he was frantically taking her up against a wall or giving her slow and sweet, no brain cell was going to survive his touch. Add in the deep rumble that was currently ripping through him and making her insides shake, and she might as well wave goodbye to all common sense right now.
When he drew back, she wanted to protest. Whine. Maybe even sob. What the hell was happening to her?
“Fuck”—his chest was heaving—“I can’t control myself when I’m around you.”
“Then don’t.” She gathered a handful of cotton and tugged him back down onto her.
This time there was no slow and sweet. There was only urgency as their mouths parted and they both fought for the first taste. She felt a familiar tug in her belly as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Ushering him closer. Apparently, her body was done fighting her feelings. It wanted this man, and it wanted him now.
But her body would have to wait a little longer. They were both reminded just a minute later where they were, when a loud, so not real, cough broke them apart.