I shouldn’t have underestimated him.
“That sounds fucking terrible. No wonder you took a break.”
Now it was my turn to be shocked. Giggles escaped my lips. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
“Happy to help?” He scrunched his face, but he was smiling now, looking at me with equal parts concern and fascination.
“I feel like people don’t usually believe me. Or they’re not sympathetic because it was obviously my choice to take a job like that, which is fair.”
“I believe you. And just because it was your choice doesn’t mean you have to love every aspect of it.”
I bit the inside of my lips, unsure what to say and wondering what I’d done to earn his confidence in such a short time.
And then his watch buzzed.
“That mean the burgers are ready?”
“Yeah.”
Dinner at Luke’s kitchen table felt normal and relaxed. He topped off my wine, cracked a fresh beer, talked to Luna about her activities. Luna and I decided to have lunch with Mimi at her house tomorrow, which Mimi would love. When we finished eating, Luna said she wanted to start biking to tennis in the morning.
“You’re too young to bike two miles by yourself,” Luke responded.
“But my friends do!”
“They might live closer or go with siblings or something. That’s up to their parents. And I think you’re too young to bike that far on your own.” Luke’s jaw ticked. His tone was calm but firm, like he was bracing for a debate.
Luna scowled with all her might, her expression so vehement I wanted to laugh, but that wouldn’t go over well, so I pressed my lips together before saying, “Can I bike with you?” I glanced at Luke, and he nodded.
“Fine,” she sighed dramatically, waving her arm.
I shook my head slightly, hoping only Luke noticed.
“I have an extra in the shed you can use,” Luke said. “Let’s go get it set up.”
“Can I watch Disney?” Luna replaced her scowl with a pleading look.
“Yes, Luna, you can go watch Disney.” He tried to maintain his serious tone, but the corner of his mouth tipped up as he shook his head.
“Yay!” She popped out of her chair in a flash and scampered into the living room.
I followed Luke out to the shed in the corner of the yard. He held the door open, and the scent of sawdust flooded my nostrils. The wooden work surface was lined with so many tools, I wouldn’t be able to name them all. Deep shelves were outfitted withmatching bins on one side and wooden boards and two-by-fours on the other.
When the door shut behind us, I suddenly became aware of our aloneness, the privacy of the enclosed space. He pulled a red bike down from an overhead rack, along with a hand pump. My eyes devoured the sight of his toned arms pumping the handle up and down as he added air to the tires. When he stopped and looked up at me, he pushed his dark brown hair out of his eyes. My hands were jealous of his, itching to know what his thick hair would feel like between my fingers.
Should I feel bad for admiring a man that was sort of my employer?
Probably.
“Let’s check the height. C’mere.” His hand gestured for me to come toward him and my legs obliged. He stepped to the side and guided me between him and the bike with a light nudge on my waist, just below my ribcage. “Seat should be level with your hip,” he explained. His hands deftly moved the seat down, and he floated his palm across the top of the seat until it connected with my waist right at my hip bone.
“Good?” he asked, not moving his hand.
“Yeah.” I hoped he didn’t notice that my voice came out a bit hoarse. I didn’t want him to move his hand. I wanted him to use it to grab that hip and pull me closer to him. What was wrong with me today?I must be starved for male attention since Max has been out of town for several days.That was all this was.
“Great.” He swallowed. Was his voice a little throaty, too?I must be projecting.
His hand moved from my hip and shifted the bike so it leaned against his wooden work bench. He looked at me for a moment, lips pursed under his manicured beard. I was about to ask what he was thinking about when he held up his pointer finger and turned around. He plucked a blue helmet off a hook.
