“I’m going to—” I snap, stomping my way toward Wren.
Her eyes widen as she sees me coming, and she releases her grasp on the tree. Luke huffs as its full weight hits him, but he manages to lift it back to its normal spot.
“Just so you know, I only helped with the photoshoot mess. The rest was all her.” I follow Zane's finger as he points at Wren, and I scowl at her.
“Then why didn’t you start cleaning the living room instead of the bathroom?” Wren snaps, furrowing her brows at him.
“You know why.”
I peer down the hallway. “Wren, what did you do to my bathroom?”
She has the audacity to blush. “Some things are better left unknown.”
My home is supposed to be my sanctuary, but right now, it feels like the complete opposite.
“What did you do to my house?” I ask, slouching in defeat.
“I, uh… I guess I took relaxing to a whole different level this weekend.”
“This is how you relax?” Luke adds from behind me.
“I trusted you with my home. And this is how you leave it for me?” I growl.
She gives me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Liv. I’ll start cleaning right now.”
“You’ve had hours to jump in and help.” Zane scoffs.
“How about this?” Luke loudly says, demanding all the attention in the room. “Olivia, go take a long hot shower, and the three of us will have everything cleaned up before you’re done.”
“I doubt you’ll be done by then, but I don’t have the energy to keep arguing.”
I squeal as Luke hoists me over his shoulder, grabs my bag, and makes his way toward the bathroom.
“Luke, what are you doing?” I gasp, my heart thundering in my chest. He doesn’t answer me. Instead, he sets me gently on my feet, his eyes locked on mine with something fierce, and he then leans in and presses his lips to mine, stealing the breath right out of my lungs.
It’s unfair how he’s using a kiss to distract me right now, but I can’t find a reason to be mad at him. I welcome the distraction, running my hands up his chest, feeling the pounding of his heart against my palm. He pulls back and smiles down at me before reaching over and tucking a lock of hair behind my ear, allowing his thumb to linger as he traces my jaw and then the swell of my bottom lip.
“Go enjoy a shower. I got this,” he says with a wink, practically making my knees turn into gooey dough. I look over his shoulder, at where Wren and Zane are both watching us with their jaws slackened. Before I can respond, Luke turns on the bathroom light and shuts the door in my face.
I stayed in the shower until all the hot water was gone. Then I spent twenty minutes on my skincare routine, taking my time, blasting my happy music to help lift my mood. Thankfully, I always pack extra and have a clean pair of undies and pajamas in my bag that I slip on.
Once there is nothing left for me to do, I turn off my music and tiptoe out of the bathroom. The sound of Michael Jacksonfills my home and grows louder as I make my way through the living room and into the kitchen.
To my surprise, the house is clean. It’s not spotless, but everything has been picked up and put into its place. Even Buttercream seems more at peace with himself, as he’s sprawled across my couch, snoozing away. It seems like the only thing that didn’t get cleaned was the dishes, which Luke is currently handwashing.
He uses his high-pitched Prince singing voice to sing along to “The Way You Make Me Feel” as he scrubs the plate he’s holding within his large hands. He’s rocking his hips side to side, exposing his glorious set of abs because,of course,his shirt is missing. He’s oblivious that I’m in the room witnessing this.
I. Am. Mesmerized.
Then he turns around, places the dish into the drainer, and catches me standing there, gawking at him. Then he winks at me.He. Winks.He does theMichael Jackson famous “He-he”before returning to the dishes, not missing a single beat. It’s as if he wanted me to catch him in the act.
That wink lights a fire so deep within my core that I have to actually fan my face. I allow myself a few extra seconds to enjoy this glorious scene, begging my memory to store this someplace safe so I can revisit it later on, before I reach over and turn the music down.
Luke continues singing the lyrics anyway and turns around, snatching me by my waist, bringing me closer to him. I now know why his shirt is off. His chest is completely covered in water. Or is that sweat? Either way, if I don’t put some space between us, I’m going to combust.
Regret might hit me later, especially since Luke and I still haven’t defined whateverthisis or what comes next for us. But if I could witness Luke shirtless, in my kitchen, washing my dishes every day, I would die a happy woman.
I painstakingly move away from Luke and make my way into the kitchen. He slings a dish towel over his shoulder before returning his attention to me, his eyes trailing up and down my body as he admires my Christmas tree cake pajama set that I’m wearing. His eyes have a certain sparkle to them, a look I’ve seen on him before when he’s eyed my freshly baked cookies, like he wants to devour me just the same.
