Chapter 17 #2
I leaned my elbows on the deck railing, looking out at the backyard.
Flowers and a jungle of blue and purple hydrangeas lined the back fence.
A weathered-shingle shed was tucked on the left side.
Lush green grass covered the middle of the yard, leaving plenty of room for yard games.
The faint din of birds chirping and bumble bees buzzing mixed with the sizzling sounds of the grill. A deep breath released from my chest.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Luke asked after closing the grill cover and joining me at the railing.
“Oh, nothing in particular. Admiring the yard. It’s peaceful here. I didn’t even have a balcony in New York, let alone a green space. It reminds me of New Hampshire a little. But the hydrangeas only take over like that here.”
“It’s gotta be the salt or something. My mom could never get the hydrangeas to thrive like this in Pennsylvania.”
I turned to look at him. His expression was contemplative, looking at the same cluster of flowers that I was a few moments ago.
“She must admire them when she’s here,” I said, hoping it would prompt him to talk about his family.
I found myself wanting to know things about him.
“Oh yeah. She comments on it constantly. They’re coming next week for July 4th. So I can give you some time back. They can help cart Luna around while they’re here.”
He meant it to be a relief, but my heart sank a little. I was starting to like my new routine with Luna. I didn’t mind seeing him every day, either.
“Great,” I lied.
He squinted his eyes slightly, like he could tell I wasn’t being honest.
“Did you like it? New York? I know some people love it.”
I took a long time to answer. “I liked New York in theory more than in practice. I love Broadway, and Central Park, and the fancy restaurants. But I honestly didn’t do much besides work the last six years.
Eighty plus hour weeks were the norm, and weekends were a time to catch up on everything I couldn’t finish that week.
Dinners out spent on my phone… I probably went to five total Broadway shows in six years because I never felt like I could be unreachable for three hours.
And then when I took a vacation here and there, it was always to get out of the city. ”
When I finished speaking, Luke’s eyes were so wide, you’d think he saw something shocking.
I shrugged and cast my gaze down to the deck, bracing myself for the usual comments questioning if it was really that bad.
My standard response—that no, it wasn’t that bad, I learned a lot and I was compensated well and I paid off my loans and when I did go out I could afford to order whatever I wanted—waited on the tip of my tongue.
I shouldn’t have underestimated him.
“That sounds fucking terrible. No wonder you took a break.”
Now it was my turn to be shocked. Giggles escaped my lips. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
“Happy to help?” He scrunched his face, but he was smiling now, looking at me with equal parts concern and fascination.
“I feel like people don’t usually believe me. Or they’re not sympathetic because it was obviously my choice to take a job like that, which is fair.”
“I believe you. And just because it was your choice doesn’t mean you have to love every aspect of it.”
I bit the inside of my lips, unsure what to say and wondering what I’d done to earn his confidence in such a short time.
And then his watch buzzed.
“That mean the burgers are ready?”
“Yeah.”
Dinner at Luke’s kitchen table felt normal and relaxed.
He topped off my wine, cracked a fresh beer, talked to Luna about her activities.
Luna and I decided to have lunch with Mimi at her house tomorrow, which Mimi would love.
When we finished eating, Luna said she wanted to start biking to tennis in the morning.
“You’re too young to bike two miles by yourself,” Luke responded.
“But my friends do!”
“They might live closer or go with siblings or something. That’s up to their parents. And I think you’re too young to bike that far on your own.” Luke’s jaw ticked. His tone was calm but firm, like he was bracing for a debate.
Luna scowled with all her might, her expression so vehement I wanted to laugh, but that wouldn’t go over well, so I pressed my lips together before saying, “Can I bike with you?” I glanced at Luke, and he nodded.
“Fine,” she sighed dramatically, waving her arm.
I shook my head slightly, hoping only Luke noticed.
“I have an extra in the shed you can use,” Luke said. “Let’s go get it set up.”
“Can I watch Disney?” Luna replaced her scowl with a pleading look.
“Yes, Luna, you can go watch Disney.” He tried to maintain his serious tone, but the corner of his mouth tipped up as he shook his head.
“Yay!” She popped out of her chair in a flash and scampered into the living room.
I followed Luke out to the shed in the corner of the yard.
He held the door open, and the scent of sawdust flooded my nostrils.
The wooden work surface was lined with so many tools, I wouldn’t be able to name them all.
Deep shelves were outfitted with matching bins on one side and wooden boards and two-by-fours on the other.
When the door shut behind us, I suddenly became aware of our aloneness, the privacy of the enclosed space.
He pulled a red bike down from an overhead rack, along with a hand pump.
My eyes devoured the sight of his toned arms pumping the handle up and down as he added air to the tires.
When he stopped and looked up at me, he pushed his dark brown hair out of his eyes.
My hands were jealous of his, itching to know what his thick hair would feel like between my fingers.
Should I feel bad for admiring a man that was sort of my employer?
Probably.
“Let’s check the height. C’mere.” His hand gestured for me to come toward him and my legs obliged.
He stepped to the side and guided me between him and the bike with a light nudge on my waist, just below my ribcage.
“Seat should be level with your hip,” he explained.
His hands deftly moved the seat down, and he floated his palm across the top of the seat until it connected with my waist right at my hip bone.
“Good?” he asked, not moving his hand.
“Yeah.” I hoped he didn’t notice that my voice came out a bit hoarse.
I didn’t want him to move his hand. I wanted him to use it to grab that hip and pull me closer to him.
What was wrong with me today? I must be starved for male attention since Max has been out of town for several days. That was all this was.
“Great.” He swallowed. Was his voice a little throaty, too? I must be projecting.
His hand moved from my hip and shifted the bike so it leaned against his wooden work bench. He looked at me for a moment, lips pursed under his manicured beard. I was about to ask what he was thinking about when he held up his pointer finger and turned around. He plucked a blue helmet off a hook.
“Can I?”
“Yes,” I said softly. He placed it on my head, carefully pushing a lock of my light brown hair behind my ear so he could secure the strap under my chin. The sensitive skin tingled.
He let go once it clicked but didn’t step back, his face close enough to mine that I noticed some hints of golden brown in his chocolate eyes for the first time.
“How do I look?” I asked, biting my lip. It was a joke. Bicycle helmets were so not sexy.
It took him a moment to answer. He held my gaze, then the side of his mouth ticked up. “Like you’re putting safety first.”
A laugh sputtered out of me. “Thank you. That is exactly what I was going for.” I flicked a lock of my hair over my shoulder with a flourish.
He chuckled before removing the helmet from my head and hanging it back on the hook. He turned back to me, not saying anything for a moment. That awareness of how alone we were descended again, making my breaths shallow and short.
“Should we go back in?” I asked finally.
“Yeah,” he rasped. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.
I inhaled only when my feet hit the grass outside.
I said goodnight to Luna and Luke walked me to the door. “Thanks for dinner. That was fun.”
“Anytime. Actually, do you like salmon? I was thinking of making it on Friday, and Luna won’t eat it.”
“Love it.” I bit the inside of my cheek, not wanting the excitement filling me to be so obvious on my face.
I tried not to think about what it meant that I was happy Max wasn’t getting back to the island until Saturday.