Chapter Twenty Luke
Twenty
Luke
The booming voice cut through their haze like a bucket of ice water.
Luke sat up, head whipping toward the sound.
A boat was chugging past, not twenty yards away, Luke’s old friend Ray waving enthusiastically from it as if he hadn’t just interrupted the most intense moment of Luke’s recent existence.
“NICE DAY FOR A PICNIC!” Ray continued at full volume, either oblivious to or deliberately ignoring what he’d sailed in on.
Sophie froze against Luke, her face buried in his shoulder, body shaking with what Luke realized after a moment was suppressed laughter.
“Morning, Ray,” Luke called back, aiming for casual and probably missing by a mile given the rasp in his voice. “Just showing Sophie the floating garden.”
“IT’S A BEAUTY! HOPE TO SEE YOU BOTH AT THE FOOD TRUCK SOMETIME!”
Luke raised a hand in acknowledgment, hoping Ray would take the hint and move along. Thankfully, Ray gave a final cheerful wave and his boat puttered onward, leaving a wake that gently rocked the platform.
“Oh my God,” Sophie whispered, finally lifting her head. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, her dark hair mussed where his hands had tangled in it. “So much for nobody being able to see us.”
Luke couldn’t help the rueful smile that tugged at his mouth. “Welcome to small-town life where it turns out privacy’s a rare commodity, even at this time of the morning.”
Luke wrapped his arms around her, his body still running hot as their breathing steadied.
“You okay?” he asked, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
“Apart from risking indecent exposure charges, I’m…amazing.”
“You sure are,” Luke said as he pressed his chest against hers. “I’ve got to admit, this is…not how I planned the morning going,” he said.
“No?” Sophie looked up at him, eyes bright. “And here I was thinking the Luke Rhodes dating experience always included exhibitionism and fishermen.”
He snorted. “Not part of the standard package, no.”
“We better get decent,” Sophie said, reaching for her dress.
“Prefer to get indecent again…but yeah, the lake’ll be getting busier now.”
“So,” Sophie said as they got changed, “what exactly is this between us, Captain?”
The question hung in the air, weighty despite her light tone. Luke took a breath, considering his answer carefully. He wasn’t good with words, with naming feelings. But Sophie deserved his honesty, not just his desire.
“Don’t know exactly,” he said slowly. “But it’s…something. Something I haven’t felt in a long time. Maybe ever.”
Sophie nodded, her expression thoughtful. “For me, too.”
“I know it’s fast,” he continued. “You just got here. You’re building a life, a business. And I’m…well, I’m not the easiest person to be with.”
“You don’t say,” she teased, but her eyes were gentle.
“But…I know I want to do this right.”
Sophie’s fingers traced patterns on his chest, her touch both soothing and maddening.
“Me too. We’ve both got baggage. We’re both building something here.
” She looked around at the floating garden, at the lake stretching beyond it.
“I want to see where this goes, Luke. No pressure, no expectations. Just…us, figuring it out together.”
“I like the sound of that,” Luke replied.
“Good.” Sophie leaned in, pressing a soft, chaste kiss to his lips. “And I have to remember I have a bookshop to launch in eleven weeks. So I can’t be too distracted.”
“And I need to remember I’ve got a bookshop to help you launch.”
Sophie’s face went serious. “Am I being stupid, thinking I can actually launch it in time for the Solstice Serenade?”
“To be honest, Soph, at first, I thought you were crazy. But now I know you, I honestly think you can do it.”
“Really? I’m terrified of failing,” she admitted.
“The bookshop, this whole adventure.” She paused.
“It’s not just about proving Marcus wrong when he called me boring.
It’s about proving to myself that I can build something meaningful.
That I’m not just the person who organizes everyone else’s dreams but never pursues her own. ”
Marcus.
Every time Sophie mentioned her ex’s name, Luke wanted to find the bastard and introduce him to the business end of an outboard motor. He could imagine what he was like: some smug Londoner with his tailored suits and perfect hair who’d tossed away something precious like it was nothing.
“You’ve got the whole town behind you already,” Luke said. “That includes people like Mabel, and she’s practically a force of nature. Speaking of which, Mabel’s raspberry scones aren’t going to eat themselves.”
He leaned over and dragged the box of scones over, handing Sophie one.
She bit into it, a small sound of pleasure escaping her that did dangerous things to Luke’s concentration.
He reached across to brush a crumb from her lower lip.
The simple touch was all it took to draw them together again, her mouth sweet with berries and honey as she leaned into him.
Over the next hour, it was the same pattern.
Each time they broke apart to catch their breath, to sip tea or steal another bite of food, Luke found himself pulled back to her like the tide to the shore.
They managed to talk between kisses about everything and nothing, including childhood stories that had them both laughing until their sides hurt.
Luke couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this light, this present in a moment.
As the morning wore on, Luke checked his watch with increasing reluctance. The boys would be waiting for him at the boat ramp by two. Annual fishing trip, overnight on Eagle Point.
“We should head back,” he finally said, gathering their empty containers. “I’ve got a fishing thing with the guys.”
As they loaded everything into his boat for the short trip back to their docks, Luke found himself wishing, for the first time in his life, that he wasn’t going fishing.
The thought was so foreign it nearly made him laugh out loud.
Here he was, Luke Rhodes, who’d rather be on the water than anywhere else in the world, wishing he could skip a day on the lake with his oldest friends.
“What’s that smile about?” Sophie asked as he helped her into the boat.
Luke settled in beside her, his arm finding its way around her shoulders like it belonged there.
“Just thinking that for the first time ever, I’m not looking forward to an overnight fishing trip.
” He brushed a kiss against her temple. “I’d rather be right here with you, seeing how many times I can make you laugh…
and produce other sounds, too,” he added.
The smile that bloomed across her face was worth the admission. Worth everything.
“There’s always tomorrow,” she said, leaning into him. “You have a rickety staircase to fix in-between boat tours.”
“Tomorrow,” he agreed, starting the engine.