Chapter Ten
For the next three nights, Dominique stayed in and didn’t go out to follow Pierre. That also meant she hadn’t seen Luke for three nights. She had insisted he stay home and get some extra rest since he was now back on full duty with the police force.
The only place she was without her knife was when she was in the café working or when she was at home. She’d had several awkward conversations with her regulars, who had been questioned not only about the attack on her, but also about the day the note and dead bird had appeared at her door.
All of the men had claimed their innocence and they were appalled that she would even entertain the idea for one minute that they were guilty. Somebody was lying or the perp was somebody not even on her radar. And somehow, that was even more frightening.
Her days and nights were filled with a simmering fear, wondering when she might be attacked again. The only person she trusted completely was Luke, and tonight she was cooking for him once again.
She’d missed his company over the past three nights. She’d grown so accustomed to having him there to fill the hours of her evenings. She’d missed his laughter and the way he could make her laugh. She’d also missed their conversations about anything and everything.
She’d worked the morning shift and then stopped in the grocery store to pick up a few items. When she got back home, she was grateful there was no note on her door and nothing left on her doorstep. She’d packed her groceries away and then had taken a short—but nice—shower.
By the time she dressed in a pair of jeans and the new emerald green blouse she’d bought at All That Jazz, it was time to get into the kitchen and start preparing dinner.
On the menu tonight was fried fish, a broccoli rice, and a cucumber and tomato salad. She also intended to make skillet corn bread once again as Luke had loved it the last time she’d made it.
If she were honest with herself, she’d admit that she was hoping she could talk Luke into staying the night. As the days had passed, she’d yearned to be in his arms once again.
She wanted to feel his naked body against hers and make slow, sweet love with him. Then afterward she wanted to fall asleep in his arms as she knew that was the only place she truly felt safe and secure.
She knew Luke wanted her again, too. It was in his eyes when he gazed at her for any length of time. She felt it in his simplest of touches. The physical chemistry between them was still off-the-charts strong.
Eventually, it would all have to come to an end. If she decided to stop following Pierre, then there would be no more reason for Luke to come over each night. After the last three nights of not being out in the swamp, she was now reluctant to continue going out.
She’d come to the realization that catching Pierre digging up the missing book was a very long shot. As much as she wanted to see him behind bars for her mother’s murder, she no longer believed she was the one who could get the evidence.
She wasn’t a quitter, but she also wasn’t ignorant. Besides, she was tired of spending hours of her nighttime, when she could be sleeping or reading a good book, watching a man who did nothing but fish and hunt gators.
In fact, tonight would be her goodbye to Luke. She knew he would continue to work on discovering who had tried to kidnap her, but he would no longer need to be her bodyguard at night.
He would probably be relieved. He would be able to go back to his regular hours and routine. The idea of no longer seeing him in the evenings broke her heart just a little bit, but releasing him from his bodyguard duties was the right thing to do.
She knew Luke wanted to find a special woman who would be his wife, but how could he find that woman with Dominique taking up all his nights? She realized now she’d been selfish. In her quest to catch her mother’s killer, she hadn’t thought about how much she had affected Luke’s life.
She tried to push all her thoughts out of her head as she got busy preparing the evening meal. At ten to six, a knock fell on her door and she knew it was Luke.
He identified himself and then she unlocked and opened the door. As always, her heart fluttered a bit at the sight of him. He was clad in a pair of jeans and a dark green polo that emphasized his bright green eyes.
His slightly shaggy dark hair gleamed with rich highlights and she immediately wanted to dance her fingers through the silky strands. The scent of his delicious cologne radiated out from him and enveloped her with a sense of familiarity and comfort.
“I see you got the memo to wear green,” she said as she led him to the kitchen.
“Great minds think alike,” he replied with one of his gorgeous grins.
“Have a seat,” she said. “Dinner will be ready in five minutes.”
“Good thing I brought my appetite because everything smells really good.” He sank into the chair he’d sat in the last time she’d made dinner for him. “So, how was your day?”
“Nothing exciting or troubling happened, so in that aspect it was a good day.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” he replied.
“What about you?” She turned from the stovetop to look at him. “How was your day?”
“It was okay,” he replied.
She turned back to the stove where everything was ready to serve. Instead of placing the plates on the table, she had them on the counter next to her.
The butter and honey and corn bread were already on the table, as was the cucumber and tomato salad. The fish was golden brown and she put several of the bigger pieces on his plate, along with a large serving of the broccoli rice.
“This all looks amazing,” he said as she placed the plate in front of him.
She filled her own plate and then joined him at the table. “Eat up while it’s warm,” she said.
“You don’t need to tell me twice,” he replied and then used his fork to cut into a piece of the fish.
“Feel free to use your fingers. This is a manner-free zone.”
He shot her another one of his dazzling grins, set down his fork and then picked up the fish by his fingers. Oh, she was going to miss that boyish grin of his.
The conversation was light and easy as they ate. He entertained her with more stories of when he had first become a police officer, making her laugh over and over again.
They finished the meal and she cleaned up the mess, then they moved into the living room where they both sat on the sofa. “So, are we going out into the swamp tonight?” he asked.
“No, and I’m ready to give up on spying on Pierre,” she replied.
He sat up straighter and looked at her in surprise. “What made you decide to stop?”
“I just realized how futile it is. Like you told me before we even started following him. I could watch him for months and he might never dig up the book.” She shifted her position, bringing her a bit closer to him.
“I don’t want to waste any more of my time, but I especially don’t want to waste any more of yours.
I’ve been quite selfish in using you as my bodyguard. ”
“There isn’t a selfish bone in your body,” he replied in protest. “You were just hurting and frustrated, but never selfish.”
“I’m still hurting and frustrated, but I’m also tired of traipsing through the swamp on the off chance we’ll get lucky.”
He took her hand in his, his eyes glittering like bright emeralds. “I promise you we will get justice for your mother and that we’ll find the creep who is after you.”
She squeezed his hand and smiled. “You’re a very nice man, Luke Madison.”
“I try to be,” he replied and then released her hand. He studied her for a long moment. “I guess this means I won’t be seeing as much of you.”
“You can now spend your evenings looking for that special woman you want in your life,” she replied, surprised by a small pang of sadness that resonated inside her. She told herself it was just because he’d been such a big part of her world. Habit. He was a habit that it was time she break.
“Just because we aren’t going into the swamp at night doesn’t mean I can’t occasionally invite you to lunch or dinner at the café,” he replied.
“And I suppose I wouldn’t mind occasionally cooking dinner for you,” she added. There was no reason why she had to go completely cold turkey and never spend any time with him again.
He smiled at her. It was a soft smile that sparkled in the gold shards of his eyes and shot an unexpected warmth into her heart. “Then we’ll still see each other,” he said.
“Since this is kind of our last official night together, do you want to spend the night?” she asked. She stared at him intently, wanting this one last night with him.
He sat back on the sofa, a pained expression on his features. “Dominique, we both know that’s not a good idea.”
“It would just be a final, casual hookup,” she replied, hoping to entice him into staying. “It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
“It’s still not a good idea,” he replied.
Disappointment rushed through her. She had so hoped to have one last time in his arms, but obviously he wasn’t keen about it and she certainly wasn’t going to beg.
“So, what does your work schedule look like for the rest of the week?” he asked.
They small-talked for another half an hour or so, but things suddenly felt awkward between them.
She felt as if they were two strangers making nice with each other instead of friends who had spent an inordinate amount of time together.
It was almost a relief when he indicated it was time for him to leave.
She walked with him to the door, disappointment mingling with sadness inside her. “Luke, thank you. I’ve truly appreciated everything you’ve done for me,” she said.
“No need to thank me. I’ve enjoyed my time with you,” he replied. “If you ever think about going back out there to follow Pierre, I want you to call me and I’ll come to be your bodyguard.”
She forced a smile and then released a small laugh. “Why do I feel like I’ll never see you again when we live in a little town and I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”