When I braved a glance at his face, a gentle smile replaced the desperation. He guided me out of the corridor and into a much warmer flat. The door shut behind me with a soft click, shutting out the grey tiles outside and highlighting the brightness of Luke’s personal space.
“Come, gorgeous, time for tea. English style.” Luke hummed, tugging me forward until we stood in his kitchen. I’d spent several hours around that island last Friday, yet the unexpected familiarity surprised me and comforted me at the same time.
Instead of the kitchen aid on the central island, a large vase full of even more roses took the spot. Luke appeared to be sheepish about it but let me place the ones in my hand back into the water with the rest of them.
Don’t forget your umbrella today.
It’s raining, but your smile will prompt the sun to come out.
Apparently Luke owned a kettle; not an electric one but an actual, real kettle that he filled with water and placed on a stovetop. I watched him bustle about the kitchen, pulling out two cups, placing herbs in an infuser, and dropping that in one of the cups.
“Sugar?” he asked.
I bit my lip and nodded. “Can’t say no to sugar. Big weakness of mine. Glen keeps exploiting it repeatedly.”
“Weakness, hmm?” Luke took a small container off a shelf and placed it next to the cups. “Say I had chocolate pudding on my chin, would you lick it off?”
My eyes widened at the straightforwardness of his question. His eyes didn’t waver from mine even as the kettle wheezed its readiness.
“I wouldn’t call it a weakness then,” he replied to my reaction when no words left my gaping mouth. “Or maybe we should experiment? That could be fun.”
“Do you have chocolate pudding?” I wondered, licking my lips.
Luke poured steaming hot water into both cups, placing the kettle on a trivet before he stirred the infuser in one of the cups in lazy circles.
“We could always get some. Would that make you happy?”
I shook my head. “No. I mean, I don’t need—”
Luke switched the infuser over to the second cup and slid the first one in front of me, along with the container of sugar. Then, he leaned over the central island and reached out with his index finger to dip my chin up higher and urged me to look at him.
“I didn’t ask if you needed it, Red Cheeks. I asked if it would make you happy.”
The air grew heavier as we looked at each other. I sucked my lip into my mouth, avoiding the question. His eyes focussed on the movement.
“I don’t know,” I said at last. “Momentarily, perhaps.”
He let go of my chin and nodded before going back to stirring his tea.
“I think you should allow yourself to be happy,” Luke said.
“We are no longer talking about chocolate, are we?” I mumbled, dropping my eyes the moment he pulled away from me.
“No, I suppose we’re not.” He took a sip of his tea and nodded in approval. “I’m not going to push if you don’t want to talk about it, Haylee, but spending time with you last Friday made me very happy. I would very much like to keep seeing you.”
I fumbled with the sugar and dropped a spoonful in my tea as my heart hammered in my chest. “I like the idea of it.”
“But?”
“I don’t want to pull you into my drama, and there’s a lot of it. It’s not fair on you, you’re perfect.” There, I said it again. “My life is far from it.”
“You assume I’d shy away from a little bit of drama.”
“A lot.”
“I think you’re worth it, Red Cheeks. Hit me with it. Nothing you say will make me change my mind.”
“You can’t know that for sure.”
