Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
Finally, Blair sighed. ‘It wasn’t a prank, Luke.
I promise. I know I was terrible when you first got here .
. . and I’m truly sorry. I’m sorry I accused you of sabotage so many times.
But I never wanted anything like this to happen to your bakery.
Or to you or your mother.’ Blair’s voice cracked with emotion.
She looked down at her hands. ‘You coming back to Moonbeam Hollow was the honestly best thing that has ever happened to me. I want your mother’s bakery to open.
I want you to be happy and successful right next to my café. I’m sorry, Luke.’
‘Blair, look at me,’ Luke said.
She did. Tears were falling down her cheeks. Blair wiped them quickly.
‘I can’t be mad at you,’ he said softly. ‘Every time I try, I look at your eyes and I melt. If you say you didn’t do any of that to drive us out of town, or to destroy the bakery, then I believe you. I trust you.’
Blair sighed, looking back down at her hands. He shouldn’t trust Blair. Because yes, what happened in the bakery was Hecate’s fault, not Blair and her sisters’, but Blair had intentionally tried to get a vengeful witch to possess Luke. She didn’t deserve his forgiveness.
‘Are we . . . okay?’ Blair asked.
Luke nodded, and Blair almost cried again. Why was he so good? So sweet. Blair got up from her seat and sat next to Luke on the sofa, basking in the warmth from his body and his sweet pine scent. He immediately took both Blair’s hands in his.
Blair had no idea what she was doing. She was supposed to be separating herself from this man, but instead she was getting closer. She was supposed to leave Moonbeam Hollow in a few hours, leaving him behind. But instead, Blair leaned in to kiss him.
‘Blair, wait.’ Luke frowned, looking down at her hands. He ran one finger along a red scratch peeking out from under her cardigan, then pushed the cream knit up her forearm, revealing the angry wounds from the tables shattering on her in his bakery.
‘You’re hurt,’ he said, brows furrowed with concern.
‘Just scratches. I’m fine.’
Luke shook his head, pushing up the sleeve on her other arm. ‘It’s not fine.’ He slowly leaned down and kissed her arms. Tenderly, achingly slow, and with so much love that Blair nearly cried. She manoeuvred herself closer, climbing onto his lap with her legs to one side.
‘Hi,’ he whispered, circling his hands around her waist.
Blair smiled, then planted a kiss on the tip of his perfect nose. ‘Hi,’ she said back.
‘I’m sorry you got hurt in my bakery. I’ll let my insurance know. If you go to the doctor, get receipts for any prescriptions—’
‘Luke?’
‘Yes, Blair?’
‘Kiss me.’
Luke grinned widely, and then his lips were on hers.
Small kisses at first, slow tender ones because it was the middle of the night, but also because this was realer .
. . felt true in a way that none of their kisses had been before.
Luke was kissing Blair with so much feeling.
So much love. And Blair was pouring all of her huge emotions into kissing him back.
She loved this man. In a way she’d never imagined was possible.
Falling so hard for Luke again felt overwhelming – she had no idea if they were a couple doomed or this was the beginning of something lasting.
So Blair turned off her brain, and just focused on Luke, right here with her now.
Luke ran his hands over her shoulders, sliding off her cardigan until she was wearing nothing but her sleeping tank and pyjama bottoms. His hands on her arms were soft, but the calluses from all the construction work he’d been doing for the last few weeks made her skin shiver.
Blair wanted to feel his skin, too. She slid her hands under his soft sweatshirt while their lips were still joined. Their kisses were slow, but deep and hungry. Her lips moved to the scruff of his cheek, dragging her skin over his, not caring that her soft skin would be raw in the morning.
‘Blair,’ Luke murmured. She hoped he wasn’t going to say something about insurance again.
‘Yeah?’ Blair bit his earlobe lightly, causing Luke to groan and press his erection into her.
‘Let’s go upstairs,’ he said.
Blair didn’t need to be asked twice. She got off him and pulled him off the sofa. They climbed the stairs, went straight to Blair’s bedroom and Blair shut the door behind them.
In one smooth motion, Blair pulled off her cream tank top, exposing her bare breasts with erect nipples desperate to be touched.
And that’s exactly what Luke did. First with his fingers, then with his mouth.
When he ran his teeth over her sensitive skin, Blair gasped.
How could she ever even think of walking away from this man?
Blair’s legs could no longer hold herself up, so she fell back on her bed with Luke crouching over her, still lavishing attention on her sensitive breasts.
‘What’s with the luggage?’ Luke asked while his lips were still doing their magic.
Blair groaned. This felt so good. ‘Um . . . don’t worry about it. It’s a long story.’
He chuckled. ‘You’d tell me if you were skipping town, wouldn’t you?’
Blair blinked, turning to glance at the open suitcases on the floor of her bedroom while Luke continued to kiss her breasts.
She needed to lie to him again. He’d just forgiven her for what happened in the bakery, even though she’d lied about it, and now she had to lie again and hope he believed her.
She couldn’t tell him that she and her sisters were planning to leave town the moment the sun came up.
She couldn’t say that they had to – the risk to them was too high because they couldn’t stop Hecate from destroying the festival.
And maybe it was because Luke was so good at what he was doing, or because of how easily he’d believed her when she said she and her sisters weren’t the reason why his bakery was destroyed, that Blair was done lying.
But what choice did she have? She had to keep her family safe. Herself safe.
‘Stop, Luke,’ Blair said. This was killing her.
Luke looked up at Blair’s face, frowning. ‘Are you okay? Did I hurt you?’
Blair closed her eyes, feeling them well with tears.
Luke’s face was suddenly near her. He cradled her head and pressed his cheek against hers. ‘Blair, baby, what’s wrong? Talk to me . . .’ He kissed her tears, and it just made Blair cry more. He kept holding her, stroking her hair while she sobbed into his face. She couldn’t do this anymore.
She couldn’t love Luke and let him love her – not when she wasn’t being honest with him.
But she couldn’t walk away from him, either.
She couldn’t go back to who she’d been before this man came back into her life.
Yes, she’d been fine in the last twelve years.
Mostly. But had she been happy? Had she been supported?
Had she had anyone let her just be Blair?
Not the oldest sister, not the small business owner, and most of all, not the witch in hiding?
Bianca’s words rang in her mind. It’s okay for you to put Blair first for a change.
Blair’s family . . . her sisters’ safety, meant the world to Blair.
She’d never put herself first – not once since her mother died.
Bianca meant it was time for Blair to think about what would make Blair happy, safe and fulfilled, not what would be best for all three of them as a unit.
And it was time to trust that this man would let her be Blair.
‘Luke,’ Blair said. His face was inches from hers. Their bodies were pressed together. Her tears were all over him.
‘Yes, I’m here, Blair.’
She exhaled, long and shaky. ‘I need to tell you something. A big something.’
Luke looked into her eyes. They were face to face, sharing her pillow. Blair reached up and put her palm on his cheek, feeling the warmth of him, this whole person who loved her. ‘I’m going to ask first that you never tell a soul what I’m about to tell you, okay?’
‘Of course.’ He frowned. ‘Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together.’
Blair nodded. She was pretty sure he thought she was going to say she was in the witness protection program, or that she’d done something illegal.
The truth might be even worse for him, though.
Or not. With her hand still on his cheek, she smiled sadly.
‘What I said in the bakery was true,’ she said.
‘I’m magic. I’m a witch. My whole family are witches. ’
Luke froze, silent for a few long moments. Eventually, his brow furrowed. ‘Okay,’ he finally said, slowly untangling himself from Blair. He sat up and crossed his arms on his chest. ‘Sure. Why not. Tell me everything.’