Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Luke gestured with his fork toward Hannah's salad. “You’re not a vegetarian, are you?”
Hannah shook her head. “No, I eat meat occasionally.”
Luke thought she’d eaten the chicken he made the other night, but he couldn’t be sure. “I hope you didn’t choose it because it’s the cheapest thing on the menu. A bird couldn’t get full on that.”
Her lips curled into a smile at his teasing tone before she shrugged. “I don’t get much of a chance to work out these days, so it’s just the lesser of two evils. I have to be careful what I eat.”
Luke reassured her, “You have nothing to worry about. You’re beautiful.”
“I just… I don’t know. I’ve always been self-conscious. Selah…” She dropped her gaze to the table. “She was the pretty one—the homecoming queen, the one all the guys flocked to. Next to her, I felt like the Ugly Duckling. I’ve tried to diet, but it’s like I can never lose those last ten pounds.”
“That’s because you’re not meant to. Your body is perfect just the way it is.” Luke allowed his gaze to rove over the parts of her he could see. “Curvy, beautiful, just begging to be touched. Who wants some supermodel who looks like she’ll break the second you touch her?”
He shook his head. “Besides, Hannah, all that matters is what you think. If you’re happy with yourself, then screw everyone else.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the waiter stopping by to refill their drinks. “Can I get you two anything else, or will that be all? Our chef made a fabulous tiramisu tonight.”
Luke shot her a look. “Dessert?”
Longing flashed in her eyes before she quickly blinked it away. “I really shouldn’t.”
He stared at her for a moment before directing his gaze back to the waiter. “I’ll take it. Thank you.”
The man nodded and left, and Luke turned to her. “You’re sharing with me, you know.”
A tiny smile broke over her face, even as she shook her head. “You’ll regret those words tomorrow when I’m carrying an extra ten pounds on my hips.”
“Not a chance. I love your curves.” Her head dipped at the compliment, and Luke smiled, amazed at the woman across from him. She was sweet yet sassy, innocent but still the most tempting thing he’d ever seen. “What’s your favorite food?”
The question caught her off guard, and she jerked her head up. “Why?”
“I’m curious.”
A smile lit her face. “Ice cream, of course. What else do you want to know about me?”
As he studied her, Luke felt something shift within him. He hadn’t realized what he’d been missing until she’d walked into his life. “Everything.”
“Well…” She bit her lip. “You know a lot already. I’m originally from Ohio, but I’ve been here for almost ten years. I love art and music, and I hate sports.”
Luke smiled. He should have guessed, after her remark about hunting that morning. “Do you ever go back home, to Ohio?”
Her face immediately fell. “No.”
“Why’s that? Don’t you miss your parents?” He couldn’t imagine being separated from his family for almost a decade with little to no contact. His parents and sisters drove him crazy, but he loved them to death and flew in to see them whenever he could.
She played with a stray crumb on the tablecloth. “We don’t exactly get along.”
That sounded rough. “Are they mad you left?”
“Well, they’re kind of the reason I moved away.” She avoided his gaze completely, and unease settled in his gut. “After everything happened, it was kind of hard having me around, I guess. They’re really religious and they saw me as… tainted.”
“They what?” His voice was deceptively soft, a direct contradiction to the fury spreading through his body like wildfire. He forced himself to calm down when he saw the expression of shame and disappointment on Hannah’s face.
Was this the stuff she’d spent the past ten years believing? That she’d invited the attack and was now somehow unworthy? He prayed to God he never met them—or the man who’d done this to her—because he couldn’t be responsible for his actions if he did.
“What happened was not your fault.” He reached across the table and grasped her hand. “Doc, look at me.”
He waited a full ten seconds before her eyes finally met his, heart threatening to pound out of his chest. “None of it was your fault. Understand?”
Her head bobbed once, but it was less than convincing. “You were a young kid trying to help someone in need. You did nothing to invite trouble then, and you had nothing to do with it now. It’s not your fault some crazed idiot is stalking you.”
He turned her hand over and laced his fingers through hers. “You are not tainted, so don’t you believe it for one second. You are perfect—absolutely perfect. Don’t ever let anyone try to tell you otherwise.”
Her eyes dropped back to the table, but not before he caught the fine sheen of tears that she tried to blink away. He squeezed her fingers tighter in silent support, and a moment later, she met his gaze again. “Thank you for that.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.” A small smile curved her face. “Audrey tried to tell me the same thing a few years ago, but… I think I wasn’t ready to hear it then. It still hurt too much. Thank you for believing in me.”
It blew Luke’s mind that this woman—so smart and so strong—had helped hundreds of other people overcome their anxieties and fears and shortcomings, all while she’d been torn apart on the inside, grieving the childhood she’d lost. The events had been completely out of her control, yet she’d been treated like a leper, cast out of her own family.
A sense of protectiveness barreled through him, and he vowed never to let her feel that way again.
“You don’t have to thank me for anything.
Look at you: you’re a survivor. You’ve made something of yourself.
You’re an amazing person—because of you and no one else.
Don’t let anyone’s opinions—not your family’s, not your friends’, hell, not even mine—sway you.
Ever. You’re incredible just the way you are, and I count myself lucky every day to be with you. ”
Tears swam in her eyes again, and Luke ached to hold her, kiss those tears away, but the approaching waiter cut off that train of thought. With one last squeeze of her hand, he offered her a smile. “Now, no more of that. Tonight is about you and me, and our first official date.”
With a smile, the waiter dropped off the tiramisu and the check, and Luke nodded toward Hannah. “You first.”
He scooted around the table and draped an arm over the back of her chair, eager to be close to her. Hannah shot him a shy smile as she picked up her fork and sliced through the creamy layers then lifted it to her mouth.
Unable to contain himself any longer, he pulled the fork from her hands, and her eyes widened as he lifted his hand to her jaw.
“You have something right here.” Using his thumb, he brushed a crumb from the corner of her mouth and pressed his lips to hers. That familiar blush spread over Hannah’s cheeks, and he couldn’t help but grin. “Have I told you recently how much I love kissing you?”
She dipped her head, and a self-conscious smile spread over her face. “Me, too.”
Luke leaned forward, capturing her mouth again for another kiss. As he pulled away, her head dipped in embarrassment. “What’s wrong?”
Her eyes met his. “Nothing.”
She sighed when he lifted a brow. “It’s just…” She gestured around the restaurant, presumably at the other patrons. “I’ve never been good at this kind of stuff. It makes me feel like I’m the center of attention.”
“Well, you’re just going to have to get over that.
I want you to know that I’m in this for you, to show you every minute how much I care about you.
” God knew the people who were supposed to have loved her and supported her had all let her down.
He was going to do his best to make up for it.
“Plus, I want everyone here to know you’re mine. ”
She blinked up at him. “Sounds like you’re staking your claim.”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
She regarded him for a moment. “Not as long as you’re being honest. I don’t want to be hurt.”
Luke stroked a finger along the line of her jaw before gliding his lips softly over hers. “I would never hurt you. I meant what I said: I just want you—all of you. No ulterior motives.”
A sweet smile stole across her face. “It’s nice to feel wanted.”
If only she knew. “You have no idea how much I want you, Hannah. Good thing I promised to be a gentleman tonight, otherwise we’d already be back at my place.”
“Then why don’t you?”
He shook his head and pushed down his automatic reaction to her suggestive tone. “I’m trying to do the right thing here. I told you we’d take our time with this, and I’m a man of my word.”
She studied him for a moment before settling a hand on his thigh. “I don’t want your word, Luke.”
He could hear the rush of blood in his ears, and he fought to control his breathing as his muscles tensed under her touch. “What exactly are you saying, Hannah?”
Her eyes flickered with uncertainty, and her teeth raked across her lower lip before she responded, the words leaving her mouth on a whisper. “I want you.”