My heart was going to be in big trouble. I wouldn’t be able to hide it from the man for much longer if he kept being this perfect. Maybe it was also safe with him?
“You’d better start delivering on anything that you’ve promised,” I spoke to his very solid chest.
“Mmmmhm.” His hum vibrated through my body, heating up much more than my already flaring cheeks.
Trouble. Trouble. Trouble. So much trouble. My mum had been right after all. I didn’t mind it in this very moment, however. I didn’t need help getting out of Luke’s arms. If his kiss was going to be stupendous, then his touch—Haylee!He would be careful and considerate, wouldn’t he?
Oh God, stop thinking about sex.
Much good did it do to try and avoid thinking about it, with his most-likely talented hands crushing me to him and every hard surface flat against my softer curves. Tryingthiswould include sex, wouldn’t it?
What if I froze? What if I panicked right in the middle of it? I would not be living up to that. Time to switch gears right now.
Luke pulled away and smirked as if he knew exactly why my cheeks were blazing this time. “Lay it on me.”
You lay on me—top it!
I cleared my throat. “I’ve yet to have supper. Perhaps we could eat together?”
His smile widened. “I will make you dinner, Red Cheeks. I can make you dinner every day if you so wish.”
“Every day? Really? I am already sold.”
Luke chuckled. “If it means I can keep looking at you, yes.”
He kissed my forehead before he stepped away from me, taking his warmth with him.
I rubbed my lips together.Don’t say it. Haylee, don’t—“Just looking?”
He was already all the way to his refrigerator and threw a grin over his shoulder. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
“You’re hardly a beggar.”
Luke pulled several ingredients out and placed them on the central island. I had no idea what he was going to make, but my mouth already watered.
He hummed. “Would you be here had I not begged you?”
I blushed. “Once I got my head out of my arse.”
“You know you can still ask for anything, Hals. This offer is indefinite. If just looking isn’t what you want, feel free to let me know.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that.”
Luke sure knew how to cook. I tried to help him but mostly felt like I was getting in the way. He didn’t complain when I dropped the salt shaker, and it shattered against the floor tiles. Only smiled, kissed my forehead and cleaned it up.
I kept apologising like a broken record and resigned to stay still on my designated barstool even though Luke didn’t seem mad at all. Staying out of the cooking process was for the best. It gave me plenty of time to admire the chef.
We talked about all the things we hadn’t yet talked about and, somehow, the heaviness I had brought into his kitchen when I first stepped in here faded, until it was completely replaced by light banter and laughter.
We’d just finished eating possibly the best meal I’d ever had, and Luke was looking at me—always looking—from across the kitchen island. His elbows rested on the countertop, and his body leaned towards me.
“What makes you happy, Sunshine?” he asked out of the blue.
“Sunshine?” I snorted.
“What makes you happy?” he repeated seriously.
I worried at my lower lip, considering it. I wasn’t going to say chocolate. That would sound stupid, even though it was partly true. There had to be something else that better fit the answer.
