Finding Promise (The Promise Series, A Small Town Romance) (17 page)

“It looks like your usual technique isn’t working for you,
buddy. So you might want to consider that wooing. I’m sure my dad would be
happy to give you some tips.” Nate scowled and that was enough for the other
two to let rip, clutching their stomachs with hilarity.

Luke took a deep breath to gain some composure, moving his
cheeks around to relieve its muscles. He noticed that Caroline still hadn’t
pitched up. “Speaking of women, where are they?”

“Well…” Matt responded, looking contrite, “Faith and I had
an argument. I’m tired of the awkwardness when we all get together and thought
I’d try and smooth things over. I tried to reason with her but she was yelling at
me so loud that all I got was buzzing in my ears and saw her mouth moving in
big, round circles. I was still trying to figure out what she was saying when
she stalked off.”

“Well you know what happened with Rachel.” Nate indicated
the darkening bruise on his eye. 

“So where’s Caro?” Luke asked. He thought that it was
strange that she hadn’t even said goodbye.

“Caroline joined them. She didn’t seem to be happy herself.
The three of them set off. Something about making rounds to say thanks. They had
a whole lot of baked goods in Caroline’s car. I can see why your dad wants to
do business with her, even with the lunch we had, I wouldn’t have minded some
of that myself.” Matt fondly recollected the sight of the food loading the SUV.

“So, what’d you do?” Nate asked. “It’s only fair that you
share your own stupidity with us too. Maybe your dad can give you tips on
wooing.”

“Choose a finger, Nate.” Luke responded. “I don’t know what
I did. I swear we were making out in the shed.” He grinned at the recollection,
feeling as though he was back in high school. “It got pretty hot and she left
so I could cool down.” He indicated his crotch, his friends nodding in
understanding. “Maybe she went with her friends to show support? I don’t know.”
He threw his hands up, exasperated and confused. “Who the hell knows what goes
on in a woman’s mind anyway?”

--------

They had made quick work of delivering the baked goods to
the town residents who had left Caroline the variety of welcoming gifts. They
were unaware that the town folk took one look at their faces and decided that
it may not be the right time for a visit with the girls. Being a small town,
they’d also heard of Rachel and Nate’s kiss, Betsy having seen it through her
front window and who have accordingly spread the word. Rumor also had it that
Matt was back in town, which could be why Faith was in a temper. Things seemed
to be going well with Caroline and Nate, the ladies confirmed to each other on
the telephone later that afternoon, so why was she looking as though she had
her favorite toy taken away from her? They were sure that the story would come
out soon enough and were eagerly anticipating observing the upcoming events.
The one thing that they all agreed on was that it must be the fault of those
young men.

“Men are pigs.” A tipsy Faith held up her glass to Caroline,
who was kindly dispensing this round of wine. They had all agreed to go back to
Caroline’s house and indulge in a good bout of drinking wine, eating chocolate
and slating men.

Rachel heartily agreed with her, flexing her hand proudly.
“At least I know Nate is feeling a bit sore this evening. I’m not a floozy to
be taken advantage of in front of the whole neighborhood.” She took a chocolate
from one of the boxes sprawled across the floor, enjoying the taste and making
satisfying sounds. “Just as good as an orgasm… who needs men anyway?”

“Honey, I love chocolate but it doesn’t come close to a well
delivered orgasm.” Faith responded, popping a chocolate into her mouth to test
her theory. “I don’t know how Matt thinks he can just ride into town as though
nothing happened and expect us to be friends. Who does he think he is? Oh,
wait, he’s a famous writer. So, the rest of us little people have to jump at a
chance to socialize in his esteemed company.” A cattish sneer on her face,
Faith was moving from tipsy to drunk. “What did Luke do to you?” Faith pointed
her glass at Caroline, indicating the need for a re-fill.

“We had a hot moment in the shed and he stopped suddenly and
sent me up to the house. I thought he was different. He seems different. But
I’m not going to take that hot, cold behavior.” Emboldened by the large amount
of alcohol she’d consumed, she waved her glass, sloshing the wine on the wooden
floors. “I deserve better. James can go to hell.”

“James can go to hell, honey,” Rachel agreed. Laying a hand
on Caroline’s arm, “But Luke isn’t James. Maybe there’s a reason why he
stopped. Did you ask him?”

Not wanting to admit at being too embarrassed to ask,
Caroline stated, “I didn’t get a chance. He sent me off back to the house,
remember. I’m not a toy. You can’t play with me and then toss me aside when I
no longer interest you.”

“It’s about heart.” Rachel was slurring now. “We have
hearts.” She pounded her chest to illustrate her point, then realising that she
was pounding the wrong side, checked herself and pounded the other side.

“Yes.” An excitably drunk Faith shouted in agreement. “We
have hearts and they have egos. You can’t even say that they have dicks because
even that is all about ego.”

“Bastards,” Caroline said, loathingly, loving the way the
word felt on her inebriated tongue. She popped a chocolate in her mouth while
her friends nodded in agreement.

That night, for the first time in months, Caroline dreamt of
James. In the reality that dreams provide, she re-lived the humiliation and
heartache when he rejected her and flaunted his affairs in front of her. And,
for the first time since arriving in Promise, she felt alone.

The building renovations were nearly complete. She saw Luke
every day but pretended that she was too busy in the garden to speak with him.
He had caught her once in the kitchen and delivered a smoldering kiss that left
her confused. There he goes again, hot and cold. Caroline knew that she was
deliberately avoiding him but he didn’t try very hard to speak with her as
well. One morning, she had come into the kitchen to find an enormous bouquet of
sunny daffodils on the table. There wasn’t a note but she knew it was from him.
She’d thanked him and received nothing but a nod, so she walked away. It
irritated her that he just merrily went along his way, directing his crew as
they finished their work on the house, while she was in this constant state of
bewilderment and hurt. The garden was now complete and she still had another
two days of having Luke around. She didn’t really want to speak with him, his
rejection still stinging. So she resolved to throw herself into her new
business venture.

Caroline was holed up in the kitchen as usual. Luke stood in
the doorway, watching her bang the baking pans on the table. There was a lot of
bottled up anger there, he observed. She had been avoiding him for the past
week and a half and he had just about had enough of it. Regardless of his
frustration, he saw that she was still angry enough with him that speaking with
her would achieve nothing. So, he’d bide his time and give her a chance to cool
off, although he had no idea what he’d done wrong. He didn’t want to speak with
her while she was in this mood but some things were unavoidable. “Hi. We’re
done.”

Caroline’s felt the pain pull at her. “Done?”

“The house. We finished all the work on the house. Would you
like to see?” Unsure of her response, he held out his hand.

The relief she felt at the gesture was unwelcome. She’d
thought that he was breaking up with her before they had even begun. Yet, she
wasn’t ready to forgive his rejection to her advances. She purposefully ignored
his hand and went with him to look at the house.

Yes indeed, Luke thought, there was a volcano of anger
inside her.

The house was beautiful and everything that she had
envisioned. Light streamed through the window in the lounge, warming up the
sunny room. The dining room was formal yet inviting and the library. Oh, the
library was perfect, its empty shelves inviting hordes of books to fill it. She
ran her hands reverently along the wood. The matching oak table at the window
was the perfect place for her to work on her notes for her business. She stood
outside, looking up at the house and remembered how she had first seen it. She
had envisioned it just as it was now. It was the sort of house that invited one
to it. “Thank you.” She turned to Luke. He had said nothing the entire time,
following behind her as she inspected each room.

“I’m glad you like it.” It was the first time in days that
she didn’t look at him as though he was a cockroach invading her precious
kitchen.

“I don’t like it. I love it. Thank you. It’s just as I
imagined it would be.” She wanted to jump into his arms but something held her
back, silencing her.

Seeing her stand there mutely, Luke felt like someone had
dealt him a hard blow. It wasn’t about the house. He could see that she was
happy about the house. It was her lack of response to him that hurt. Taking
that as a hint, he bid her farewell and left.

Watching Luke leave was like watching what had become part
of her life, slip away. She’d always been so controlled, she didn’t understand
why she was being so emotional and irrational and didn’t know how to manage it.
“Wait!” She called out to him before she could stop herself. Seeing him leave
was the right kick up the proverbial that she needed. “Don’t go yet. Sorry, I
was overwhelmed by what you’ve done to the house.”

Luke turned around and looked at her standing there and
wringing her hands. “We did it. It was your vision and we just helped bring it
to life for you. But it’s not the house that’s been interfering with our
relationship Caro. I’m tired of playing this guessing game.”

“Yes,” she smiled at him, “we did it. We did heal this house
together and you’re right, it’s not about the house. Would you like to come in?
I made chocolate brownies earlier and I noticed that you were partial to them.
We could talk inside?”

Nodding his head in acquiescence, Luke followed her into the
house.

They sat in the lounge, on opposite couches while they ate
brownies and drank her excellent coffee. It was all so civilized and it
irritated him. “Caro, you’ve been avoiding me lately. I don’t know what I did
to piss you off and if you don’t tell me, how can I work it out with you? I
tried to give you some space and waited for you to tell me what’s going on but
you’ve been acting as though nothing’s happened between us. You treat me like a
stranger and it’s starting to piss me off too. When you told me about your late
husband and your lack of experience, I thought that you were starting to trust
me. This last week and a half has made me question that. I still believe that
we can have something good together, so talk to me. If we’re going to be in a
relationship together, I can’t do this alone.”

He was so reasonable. This big, handsome man was looking at
her with insecurity written all over him. The irony of the situation struck
her. “Luke. I’m sorry. I’m such a ninny.”

Luke came around the couch and pulled her into the crook of
his arm. “Well I can’t argue with you being a ninny lately but what’s going
on?”

“I initiated sex a few times with James, thinking that perhaps
that would spark his interest. He rejected me all but the one time. That one
time I felt as though I had forced him, as though it was pity sex or had raped
him. I felt dirty, disgusted with myself. When we were kissing in the shed and
you stopped so abruptly, I thought that you were rejecting me too.” Sensing
Luke’s protest, she hushed him. “No, you don’t have to say it. That’s why I
acknowledge that I’ve been a ninny. An idiot, really.” The smile she gave him
reflected the disappointment she felt in herself. “I was projecting my feelings
about James onto you and it wasn’t fair. I should’ve spoken to you about it
sooner. I’m sorry.”

“Caro, I’ve told you before that I’m not James.” He turned
around now to look at her, not liking the self-depreciation he saw on her face.
“I stopped kissing you because I didn’t want to take you like a cheap tart in
the shed. I wanted our first time together to be special. I wanted you so much
that I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to stop.” Luke brushed his hand through
his hair in agitation.

Hopeful that she hadn’t ruined the relationship, she
continued, “I know you’re not James. I’m sorry.” Taking his hand, she smoothed
his hair down. “I promise to try to not let him come between us. It’s difficult
for me, though. I was with him for a long time. I don’t know how normal
relationships work. I realised that I didn’t want to end things between us when
you were walking through the gate. I realised that you’re not like James when
you sat there on the couch and spoke to me. James would never have been so
reasonable, he would’ve just ignored me or accused me of sulking.” Returning
his gaze, she shoved her pride to the side and risked, “Do you think that you
could be patient with me? I know that it’s not fair. I know that I’m asking a
lot of you and if you don’t want to, I’ll understand. I come with a lot of
baggage, Luke.”

“You’re worth it. Trying is all that I ask for now. And if
you’re pissed off at me again, don’t bottle it up, okay? Speak to me. I’ve seen
my parents fight and heard them sort it out. Arguing in any relationship is
normal. There are times when we’re going to irritate each other, Caro. It’s how
we sort it out that will make this relationship work.” Grinning, he stretched
out on the couch, his long legs spread out in front of him, hands behind his
head and challenged her, “Now, how are you going to make it up to me?”