Her words and expression hit him right in the gut like the best joke he’d ever heard, and he realized that, for the first time since his accident, he wasn’t mentally fatigued.
Before he could offer a witty reply, the music stopped, and Luke silently cursed the timing.
The teacher clapped. “Well done, everyone. Ready for the open position?”
Luke was ready all right. But for an entirely different position that didn’t include company. Everyone dropped their arms and took a step back from their partners. He welcomed the distance—the dangerous detour his thoughts had taken was unbidden. Since when did he flirt with Sela? And from her knit brows to her pursed pink lips, he could tell she was thinking the same thing.
His pulse spiked the second his hands touched her again. At least this time they moved away from each other, arms swinging out. Sela kept her gaze on the other dancers, and he followed suit. But even without eye contact, they moved with the kind of sensual fluidity that led straight from the dance floor to the bedroom. Hell, if they moved with this kind of chemistry here, he could only imagine how hot it would be in bed.
Imagining is all you’ll be doing.
This was his sister’s best friend and Shane’s little sister. The girl his parents loved like a daughter. He couldn’t let his lust screw up any of those relationships.
“Not bad,” Vanessa said when they swung away from their partners at the same time and nearly collided.
“You, too.” Happy for the distraction, he was about to suggest a change in partners so he could dance with his sister when sharp pain stabbed him in the chest. He tried to mask the discomfort like he usually did, but his shoulders involuntarily hunched and he grimaced.
“Luke,” Sela said, her voice soft and knowing. She took the lead, drawing him close. “You’re hurting.”
“No,” he lied, his regret at telling her his secret barreling back to the surface.
“Luke.”
Not wanting to draw attention with an argument he said, “A little.”
The fiery spark in her eyes dissolved into something no less unnerving—tenderness. “Why don’t we take a break and you can get some pictures?”
Why hadn’t he thought of that? “Good idea.”
They rumbaed off the makeshift dance floor. He left Sela behind and headed to the guest bedroom for his camera. He considered heading right out the front door to get some fresh air, but then he’d have to explain himself.
Okay, so maybe his five-mile run had been two too many, but he needed to feel back to himself again. The chest X-ray had shown no signs of extra fluid, and his lung had expanded back to normal. The doctor said he could resume his normal activities, albeit with caution. Luke’s normal MO was zero to seventy, not zero to forty, and it sucked that he had to dial back. The finish line seemed so damn far away that every muscle in his back clenched.
He had three weeks left to be good as new. His gig in Chile required no less.
Kicking doubt out of his head, he grabbed his camera.
The first person he searched for when he got back to the living room was Sela, but there was no sign of her. He took shots of Vanessa and Hayden, both sets of parents, Erin and her partner—a friend of Hayden’s from college—and the other two couples rounding out the wedding party. His nerves settled down, the camera’s lens a soothing balm to his emotions.
Photography made him forget everything but his subject. He should have thought to use it as a remedy sooner.
Sela did think of it
. Did she know it was more than just something to do besides dance? That it distracted him from his pain?
Keeping his camera in place, he sought her out again. He found her leaning against the room’s archway, a glass of water in one hand. He zoomed in on the smooth planes of her cheeks, the ripeness of her mouth, the affection in her eyes. She watched Vanessa and Hayden as if they danced on water.
Between the sways of the dancers, he snapped her picture. When she looked directly at the lens, he froze. He’d only just gotten reacquainted with her, but she had a way of looking at people like they mattered.
Even broken, he mattered.
…
“I’m worried,” Vanessa said right after the dance lesson.
Sela sagged against the wall, extreme tiredness settling into her muscles. She wanted to go home and write her column and fall into bed at a decent hour, but she didn’t see that happening anytime soon. Especially since she didn’t know how she was getting home. Or to be more exact, how she was getting to her car with one of those red jugs of gasoline.
“About?”
“Hayden stepped on my foot six times.”
“What? You guys looked amazing. And this was only one lesson. We’ve got two more.” Sela rubbed her hand up and down her friend’s arm. “He’ll be a pro after that. No worries.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
“Okay. Be right back.” She skipped away, in search of her fiancé, Sela guessed.
“You look exhausted,” Paula said to her, passing Vanessa and putting a tray of finger sandwiches down on the coffee table next to plates of stuffed mushrooms and pasta salad.
“Two long shifts in a row, but I’ve got tomorrow off.”
“Come eat something.”
Sela sat on the couch and picked up a cucumber sandwich. “Thanks for feeding all of us.”
Paula smiled. “You know it’s my pleasure. I’ll be right back with the coffee.”
“Sounds good.” She shut her eyes, thankful for a quick moment alone, but a beat later the couch dipped.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” Luke whispered, startling her.
Good thing she’d finished her glass of water or she would have tossed it all over him.
“No,” she said. Talking was a bad idea. When she talked to him her body responded in ways she didn’t like. Things like tingles on the outside and flutters on the inside.
“Seriously?” he asked.
Did he have to sit so close? She didn’t answer, instead putting her glass down and grabbing another sandwich. Egg salad this time. Her stomach groaned in appreciation.
“You only need to listen.” His seductive voice really should come with a warning label. And he practically bumped his side against her, grabbing a stuffed mushroom and popping it into his mouth like her personal space had plenty of room for him.
“Can’t.” Sela had never thought about slugging someone, but she wanted to hit Luke. Push him away. Tell him to keep his distance. Only that wasn’t really true. She wanted to fist her hands in his crewneck black waffle shirt and pull him tight. Bury her nose in the crux of his neck and hope that maybe he’d hold her in his arms and let her stay there for a while.
“Because?” he prompted.
She turned her head. Big mistake.
He was so effortlessly handsome. And his eyes twinkled with fun and mischief, not seriousness like the men she usually dated. Those guys didn’t tug at her foolhardy side. They didn’t tempt her beyond a night or two of good conversation and companionship. She stayed safe with them. Her heart, her insecurities, remained tucked away. Since she’d laid eyes on Luke again, he’d churned up too much emotion and far too much desire. He offered a chance to be uninhibited, to try new things. Back in high school, he’d been
that
guy. The one to set every girl’s heart aflutter because he was daring and fearless.
“Sela?” he said, his brows furrowed.
She blinked away her wayward thoughts. “Because…” Because when they’d danced she’d liked it. Because while he’d never admit it, she saw that he was vulnerable, too. “Because I don’t really like you.” That ought to make him keep his distance.
“Liar.”
“Excuse me?”
Luke grabbed her hand and pulled her up. “Come on.”
“What are you doing?” She tried to yank her hand free, but he held tight. His take-charge attitude gave rise to a restless feeling inside her. She wasn’t sure if she liked it or hated it, but maybe finding out wouldn’t be so bad.
“Getting you alone.”
On second thought, it would be very bad. Why did he want to get her alone? What could he possibly want to tell her that was so important he had to drag her away like a caveman?
That damned wishing well had obviously misheard her plea.
“Hey. Is everything okay?”
Vanessa
. Sela turned her head as her best friend strode toward them, her concerned gaze on Sela first, then her brother.
“Fine,” she said, pulling her hand back. She edged away from Luke and sat back down. The last thing she wanted was for Vanessa to be concerned about her. Everything
was
fine.
Hayden followed on Vanessa’s heels. Then Hayden’s parents and Erin and Paula and…her ride over, Mrs. Witt?
Sela let out a defeated sigh. That couldn’t be good.
“Tildie stopped by,” Paula said, looking right at Sela with an amused look on her face. Mrs. Witt zeroed in on her, too, but at least she mouthed
sorry
. “She brought us an apple pie.” Paula put the dessert on the coffee table.
“Oh, and she wanted to know if the hitchhiker needed a ride anywhere,” Paula added, her tone playful. But Sela knew if it were just the two of them in the room she would have read her the riot act.
All eyes turned to her.
“I…I ran out of gas.”
“Again?” Vanessa said before cracking up. “And you didn’t think you’d get caught, did you?”
She let a smile slip. “It almost worked.”
“Are you ready to go?” Mrs. Witt asked in her genial grandmother voice. “I don’t like to be out on the road past nine.”
“Actually,” Luke piped up, and her heart battered the inside of her chest. It was one thing to tease her when it was just the two of them or with one of his sisters, but quite another to do it in front of a crowd. “Sela just asked me for a ride, and I told her I’d be happy to give her one.”
Chapter Four
“My maid of honor is not getting on that.”
Luke rolled his eyes at Vanessa. She’d been hovering over Sela since they’d walked out of the living room and into the garage and now she planned to speak for her, too? “I think Sela can decide for herself what she wants to do.” He tossed aside the motorcycle cover and grinned down at his bike. It looked exactly how he remembered. Since he’d moved straight to LA after college, he hadn’t had a chance to take it with him.
Luke ran a hand over his head. He hadn’t been on two wheels in too long, and he needed this. This first step to something more foolhardy and dangerous. The fact that he wanted to ride with Sela was a big mistake, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to see her reaction.
“Come on, Sela.” Vanessa put a hand on Sela’s arm. “I know you don’t want to do this.”
Sela shrugged. “It’s okay; I’m fine. Go back inside. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“You sure?” Vanessa half whispered.
“I’m sure. Forget about my wish,” Sela whispered back. “This could be useful material.”
Wishes? Material? What were they talking about?
She hugged Vanessa and then studied his bike with far more interest than he’d anticipated. “If you thought this would bother me,” she said as soon as Vanessa stepped out of earshot, “you thought wrong.” Hands on her hips, a gleam in her eye, her full lips were puckered as if she were contemplating blowing a kiss to his bike. The look knocked him off balance.
“You ever been on a motorcycle?” He pulled his gaze away and searched the garage for helmets.
“No.” She moved closer to the bike and reached out to slide her hand along the seat.
“But you’ve wanted to?” Damn if that didn’t surprise him, but the intensity in her interest couldn’t mean anything else.
She quirked a smile and continued to caress the bike, her fingers trailing over the handlebars. “Maybe. You haven’t ridden her in a long time.”
His groin tightened. No, he hadn’t
ridden
in a while. “Her?”
“It is a she, isn’t it? I heard all guys thought of their toys as female.” She rounded the front tire and glanced up at him from under those long, dark eyelashes of hers.
He gulped and ignored the sexy yet innocent way she moved. “Who told you that?”
“Shane.”
And just like that he was cured of any improper thoughts. His best friend’s little sister was forbidden. Always had been and always would be.
“His mountain bike isn’t the same thing.”
“No. He doesn’t need an engine to feel manly.”
Luke laughed. “When was the last time you felt a man, Sela?”
She choked and nearly knocked over the motorcycle when she faltered. Luke rushed to the other side, ready to put his body between the bike and the concrete floor. He’d saved for an entire summer working as an adventure guide after his junior year of college to buy the bike, and it was still one of his most prized possessions. He appreciated that his parents didn’t mind it taking up space.
“None of your business.” Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.
“So no boyfriend, then?” He should not be fishing. Not be asking personal questions.
“You ready to ride this thing or what? I didn’t follow you out here to talk. I followed you for a ride.”
He thought about teasing her with exactly the kind of ride he could offer but instead handed her one of the extra helmets. The last time he’d had a girl on the back of his bike had been five years ago. They’d ridden up the coast, found a secluded spot to get horizontal, and stayed friends afterward. A good time, nothing more. Exactly how he liked it.
“I’m always ready,” he said, and then realized the main hitch in his plan. Sela would be wrapping her arms around him. Her warm breath would rest on the back of his neck. Maybe he should take his rental car after all.
But the second she put on her helmet, he knew he couldn’t do that. Her eyes sparkled, and her chest rose and fell with the kind of anticipation Luke recognized well.
She wanted to be a little reckless.
“No one is
always
ready,” she said. “Sometimes things happen that you never saw coming and you have to figure out how to deal.”
Hell if her words didn’t ring true. His accident had taken him by surprise, and he hadn’t been ready for the feelings of self-doubt and fear it left behind.
Luke blinked away those uncomfortable reminders and steered the bike out of the garage and down the driveway. The cold night air doused the warmth rising up the back of his neck.
“Hang on a sec,” he said, using the kickstand to keep the bike in place. He ran back into the garage, found his old leather jacket, and brought it to Sela. “Put this on. That’s not going to keep you warm once we start moving.” He nodded at the thin black coat she wore over her scrubs.
“Thanks.” She slipped her arms through and zipped it up. She could add another person in there with her if she wanted to.
He smiled. Her petite frame reminded him she may talk tough, but she was about as soft as they came on the inside. He put on his helmet, hopped on the bike, and watched her over his shoulder.
She took a deep breath and straddled the seat behind him. Hands on her thighs, she said, “Ready.”
“You might want to hold on, daredevil, if you don’t want to fly off the back the second we take off.”
Her pennies-from-heaven eyes argued for a moment before she wrapped her arms around him. With her tight against his back, her hands clasped and pressed below his rib cage, he started the bike.
The nearest gas station was too close to give him the ride he wanted with her, so he went down Seascape Drive instead. Away from town and toward the long stretch of two-lane road that offered a free pass for exceeding the speed limit and glimpsing moon rays over the ocean.
Sela’s grip on him tightened, but she didn’t protest. With her acquiescence, adrenaline pumped through his veins. He relished the air rushing past him. This was exactly what he’d needed. Certainty and control filled his chest for the first time since his accident.
The beautiful woman behind him didn’t hurt, either.
Luke had a feeling she was grinning and it caused the corners of his mouth to lift in satisfaction. He didn’t want her to affect him, but damn if she hadn’t from the second he’d laid eyes on her again.
She shifted so that her chin sat on his shoulder. “This is awesome! Can you go faster?”
He’d go as fast as she wanted.
They raced down the highway, the open road void of other drivers. He laughed to himself. Only in the small town of Cascade would he find the road empty at nine o’clock at night.
When they took the turn around a sharp bend, he leaned his body into the curve. Sela leaned, too, her instinct and body mechanics on par with his. Thoughts of continuing their pace and driving to Washington crossed his mind. Would she steal away with him for a few days?
“We need to turn around, Luke,” she shouted.
There was regret in her tone but also enough conviction to cut into his musings and knock some sense into him. Shane would kick his ass if he found out his little sister was on the back of his bike. His sisters would berate him if they knew the crazy thoughts going through his head. They’d always made it clear that their friends were prohibited. And Sela definitely stood at the top of that list.
He nodded but slowed his speed to enjoy the sensations of the cold fresh air in his face and the warm body clinging to his back.
The bright lights of a gas station came into view way too soon.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, once both feet were on the ground. She pulled off her helmet and ran her fingers through her hair.
He watched the guy inside the gas depot give her a mile-wide smile when she walked in. No doubt she instilled that kind of response from most of the townspeople. She’d grown up here, too, and the town loved her. Having a home in Los Angeles when he wasn’t traveling, Luke didn’t run into familiar faces very often. He hadn’t realized how much he missed those friendly greetings until now.
A minute later she had a gas container in her hand and was walking toward the pump beside him. She pulled the nozzle and put it in the plastic jug. “By the way, do not think I liked that because of you. I would have accepted a ride on a motorcycle from anyone.”
“Huh?”
“You look very happy with yourself.”
“And you think it’s because you had a good time?”
The pump clicked off. She put it back and then twisted the cap on her one-gallon rescue. With a tilt to her head that did crazy things to his pulse, she seemed to be assessing him like she could read every idea he’d ever had.
“You wouldn’t let me drive to my car, would you?” she asked, ignoring his question.
“Think you can handle all this power?”
“Has anyone else?”
“You’d be the first.” And for some reason, he liked that idea.
She smiled. “Good. Hold onto this.” She tucked the gas under his arm, put on her helmet, and straddled the bike like she’d done so a hundred times before. “Oh, and you might want to hold on tight.”
Once in position with her nestled quite nicely between his legs, she glanced over her shoulder. “Thank you.”
Luke knew those were very common words, but he couldn’t remember her ever saying them to him before. He wanted to reply it was his pleasure, but the simple answer got caught in his throat. There was nothing ordinary about the attraction he had for her and he needed to do away with niceties before he did something really stupid.
Like kiss her.
Did she remember the Kissing Booth and the ill words he’d spoken?
He quieted the irritation that wove inside him by leaning his head down and whispering in her ear. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
The bike lurched forward, and he almost did fall off the back.
“Sorry!” she called out.
“No…” By the time he said “problem” she’d smoothed out their ride and maneuvered onto the road without further incident.
Clouds floated across the moon. He breathed in the salty air and the floral scent of her skin. The hum of the bike through the residential streets probably woke up one or two of the elderly folk, but it wouldn’t be the first time Luke had broken the town’s unwritten curfew.
Sela parked behind her car. For a beat she sat there, her shoulders slumped. Luke recognized the posture, since he’d experienced it plenty of times himself: letdown. Without thinking, he lifted his arms to wrap around her, but she hopped off before he could make contact.
“Not bad, Miss Sullivan. You got us here in one piece.”
There were lots of reasons why he should stay on the bike and speed away without further conversation, but he hated all of them. He started to lift his leg over the seat when Sela pushed him back down.
“I can take it from here.” She exchanged her helmet for the gasoline container in his hand.
“I’m sure you can, but what kind of gentleman would I be if I left you alone on the side of the road?”
“Do not play that chivalry crap with me. We both know the only thing I need to worry about at this time of night in this town are the nosy neighbors.”
“Does Mrs. Finnegan still patrol?” The seventy-something great-grandmother had been the first female police officer in Cascade and even though she’d retired years ago, she’d always taken it upon herself to keep an eye out for “riffraff.”
“She never leaves her house without binoculars around her neck, a water gun in her pocket, and a mug of hot tea in case a stakeout is required.” Sela poured the gas into her tank. “Last month she turned in Mr. Baxter for peeing on a tree.”
Luke raised his eyebrows.
“On his eighty-fifth birthday, no less.”
“There’s never a dull moment around here, is there?” He’d missed all the quirks of his hometown. Growing up in Cascade, he’d never minded the attention the older folks paid to him and his friends. He knew if by some chance he needed something and his parents weren’t around, any number of townspeople would be there to help.
Sela ran her hands down her scrub pants. “Nope.”
They stared at each other and, for several charged seconds, Luke’s blood pumped with the kind of energy he normally only felt when on assignment. He’d taken in Sela’s warm eyes, incomparable mouth, and attentive, caring nature several times over the past few days, but tonight something had changed. He’d glimpsed a woman with a daring side, and hell if that didn’t turn him inside out.
“I guess I’ll see you around,” she said, shifting and opening her car door.
React with the same nonchalance
, he told himself. She obviously wasn’t as affected by their ride as he’d been. She’d gotten her thrill and already moved past it.
“Yeah.”
He stayed where he was until she’d made a U-turn. Back to the gas station to fill up her tank, he guessed. Her taillights vanished around the corner and he revved the bike.
He’d given her her first motorcycle ride, and she’d given him some of his confidence back. Not a bad way to end the day.
But since when did a girl stir so much emotion in him?
Since never.
…
Sela didn’t always trust her e-mail—especially when she sent one that included a kick-butt column she wanted to
see
Stella’s reaction to.
The offices of the
Cascade Gazette
sat in the middle of town between city hall and Crem’s Bakery. Sela waved to the first-floor cubicle occupants as she made her way to the large staircase in the center of the substantial, open space. The renovation orchestrated by Shane’s architecture firm was finally complete, and she marveled at the transformation from a cold, gray office to an upscale expanse of glass and dark wood with rich shades of yellow and green added for color.
She took the stairs to the second floor and wove around the larger executive workspaces until she reached the office of Stella Muloway, editor extraordinaire.
Through the glass door, Sela saw her working at her desk, eyes narrowed at her computer screen, a smile on her face like she’d just uncovered a secret. Sela knocked.