Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Luke
Dinner reservations? Done.
Business casual pants and a jacket? Yep.
Wallet with cash, credit cards, and... a condom?
Indeed.
And probably overkill.
Sleeping with Kylie on the first date wasn't what he planned, but he'd been a Boy Scout. Eagle Scout, even.
And that meant being prepared.
“Daddy, you smell really good!” Harriet lifted her arms for him to pick her up. She was getting big for this, but he did. She sniffed his neck. “Why do you smell so good?”
“It's called cologne.”
“Why don't you wear clone all the time?”
His mother's laughter from the kitchen didn't help matters.
Ignoring his daughter's question, Luke set her down and shot his mom a look, not that it did him any good.
“Why's Gamma laughing so hard?”
“Because she's a wee bit wicked.”
“I wanna be wicked!”
“Here.” His mom held out a sparkly fairy muffin from Kylie's most recent batch, baked with Harriet. “Go crazy being wicked with some sugar.”
Before Luke could object, Harriet's face was smeared with edible glitter and delicious buttercream frosting.
“Gamma, when I’m a grown-up, I’m getting wicked hitched at Love You Forever!” The town’s 24/7 drive-thru wedding chapel had a slogan:
We got wicked hitched in Love You, Maine!
The bumper sticker was wildly popular.
“You're the one who has to spend time with her all sugared up,” he said to his mother as his child disappeared under smears of sweetness.
His mom smiled. “But you're the one who has to take over when you're done with your date. Gamma gets to spoil her.”
“You were so strict with us when we were kids! You've fed Harriet more sugar in her little life than we four kids got, combined, the whole time you raised us.”
In response, his mother grabbed another muffin and took an enormous bite out of it, licking frosting off her fingers.
Wuff!
Jester's muffled bark made them both turn, just as someone knocked on the door. Luke crossed the room to answer it.
Annabeth Khouri.
Carrying a cookie container.
“Hi,” he said, unable to hold back his surprise.
Instead of a similar greeting, he got a slow crawl of her eyes, from the ends of the hair on his head down to the tips of his shined dress shoes.
With a few pauses in between.
“Don't you look amazing. Why so dressed up?” Arm outstretched, she pressed the container into his midsection before he could easily grab it.
“I– ”
“Who's at the door, Luke?” his mom called out, appearing around the corner with a dish towel, wiping wet hands. Her mouth formed an O of surprise.
“Annabeth!” Her eyes cut to the container in Luke's hands. “What a surprise!”
“I hope I wasn't interrupting anything?” The way her voice rose made it clear she wanted every detail, in triplicate, and that she was beginning to get an idea that didn't align with her claim on Luke.
A claim she had no right to.
Inwardly, he sighed. On the outside, though, he took command.
“I was just about to leave,” he said directly to Annabeth. “What's up?”
“Going anywhere interesting?”
What was up were his mom's eyebrows. Didn't anyone in Love You, Maine, have anything better to do than watch his love life–or lack thereof–unfold before their eyes?
Didn't people have Netflix or Prime Video to watch? Who decided The Luke Love Chronicles were part of your regularly scheduled programming?
Oh. Right.
Once he became Poor Luke, he was town property.
“I am. What's this?” he asked, tapping the top.
“I heard Harriet likes edible glitter. Thought I'd make some fun chocolate heart cookies for her.”
As she spoke the words chocolate and cookies, Harriet magically appeared, grabbing the container. “Thank you, Ms. Khouri!” she squealed, before plopping down in front of the television.
His mom took the container away, laughing.
His phone buzzed.
A glance showed the text was a reminder about his dinner reservation.
“Thank you,” he said sincerely to Annabeth. “That's really sweet.”
“I heard you like lemon bars. I put some in there, too.”
Ah.
Now he understood.
This wasn't a normal “Annabeth tries to get Luke interested” social visit.
This was about territory. Annabeth viewed Kylie as competition.
Which she wasn't.
Because he wasn't a prize someone won.
He was a man who had already made a choice.
“I do like them.” He smiled, then looked over her head as he reached for his wool dress coat. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I–”
“Your cologne is lovely.”
“It's just aftershave.”
“And your dress coat! I don't think I've ever seen you looking so sophisticated.”
“Mmm.” He grabbed his keys. She was blocking him. His mom was now openly watching them, munching on what looked like one of Annabeth's cookies.
Harriet wasn't the only Luview getting sugared up tonight.
Annabeth laughed. “It's almost as if you're going on a date, Luke.”
He blinked.
“Good catch, Annabeth. Because I am. I really appreciate the cookies, but I'll be late if I don't leave now.” Touching her elbow, he tried to gently give her the signal to move.
She flinched, face twisting with emotion. “I was joking!”
“I'm not,” he said kindly.
“Who–what–who are you going out with? Not that nanny of yours!”
Her outraged tone had a tinge of disgust in it that made him see red.
“Goodbye, Annabeth.”
As he walked out the door, he realized his mom would have to deal with the mess.
Served her right for mocking him.
Backing out of the driveway, he saw them talking inside, his mom offering her a seat at the dining table. If anyone could soothe hurt feelings, it was Deanna Luview.
And if anyone could milk a conflict for attention, it was Annabeth.
On the drive to Kylie's, he let himself rant internally, his mind going to other ways he could have responded, and projecting ahead to when he would see Annabeth's mother, Nadine, at work.
Fortunately, Nadine was a consummate professional. Never, ever had she said a word about Annabeth coming over to his house before church, or suggested they date.
Didn't make it any less complicated, though.
By the time he pulled into Kylie's driveway, the residue from the weird interaction had worn off. Excitement at seeing Kylie dominated now. A lightness he hadn't felt in years soaked into him, the scent of his own cologne making him grin.
He cleaned up nice.
Who knew?
Kylie was at the door before he could ring the bell, dressed in a simple black, high-neck dress that hugged every curve.
And made his hands itch to touch her.
“Come in. It's freezing!” she said, ushering him over the threshold. As he walked in, she turned her back to him, and holy smokes.
The neckline in the back dipped way down, with a red silk accent along the dip. Her shoes were fire-engine red, and matched her lips.
At home, he'd wondered if the suit jacket and shined shoes were too formal, but Kylie matched him perfectly. They were on the same page.
This was a real date. A grown-up date.
And while dates were supposed to end with a kiss, why not start with one, too?
Before he could reach for her, she turned, eyes going wide, giving him a look over that he enjoyed far, far more than the one Annabeth had inflicted on him.
“Wow! You look–wow. That coat. Your cologne.” She inhaled deeply, then gave him a flirty smile. “It's almost like we're mature adults being sophisticated.”
Luke made his move, closing the gap between them, his hand sliding to the bare expanse of skin on her back.
“Almost,” he murmured as their lips touched, her hands looping around his neck, the embrace tightening as they kissed.
And kissed.
And kissed.
Maybe being a well-prepared Boy Scout wasn't such a bad idea, after all.
Bzzzz
“Your pants are vibrating,” she said.
“It's that obvious?”
Joyful laughter poured out of her. “I think that's your phone. If not, you're scaring me. Or exciting me. A little of both.”
His turn to laugh. The buzz was another reminder about their dinner reservations.
“The Food Alchemist says we need to be on time or they'll give our table away.”
“You got us a reservation there?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No! It's amazing! They're so booked out. I heard there's a three-month wait.”
“I know someone who knows someone.”
“In this town, Luke, when you're a Luview, the people you know are all blood related somehow.”
“True.”
“This is going to be so much fun.”
“Already is.” He kissed her temple softly, hand caressing her back. “You look extraordinary.”
She pulled away, eyes serious. “Number 14, Part A.”
“Stupid clause. Let's nullify it.”
“How?”
He cleared his throat suggestively. “I can think of one way.”
“Luke!” The blush on the tips of her ears told him what he needed to know. They were on the same page about sex, too.
Not yet.
Too soon.
But there was plenty of territory to explore between a kiss and a bed.
“We didn't plan for this, Kylie. When I had my lawyer draw up that employment contract, it was because I thought I'd have really young nannies I'd never dream of becoming involved with. Or because I wanted strict boundaries between us. No confusion.”
“Confusion?”
Annabeth's appearance at his door half an hour ago was the very definition of confusion, but he didn't want to think about her right now.
Bzzzz
“We're going to be late,” she whispered, moving to get her coat. The glimpse of the deep dive of fabric on the back of her dress took his breath away.
Reaching for her coat, he took it, opened it, and offered it to her. It was black wool with big buttons, not a ski parka after all. Her arms slid in with such grace. Kylie reached for a thick red scarf, carefully donned a red wool toque, and reached for black leather gloves.
And with that, they were out the door, down her apartment's stairs, and into his car, Luke opening her door for her, Kylie grinning as he did it.
Courtliness wasn't in his nature, but she sure did bring it out.
And make him want to offer her more.