“LUKE, WAKE UP.”
Luke moaned in protest and rolled onto his side, pulling the blankets over his head in an effort to escape the insistent voice.
“Get up. I need to talk to you.” Someone jerked at the blankets, dislodging them despite Luke’s sleepy attempts to keep them in place.
“Go away.” Luke groped for the edge of the quilt, unsurprised to discover his tormentor was Matthew.
Matt plopped down on the edge of the bed. “Did you find her?”
Luke squinted and regarded his brother through bleary eyes. “Do you have any idea how late I got to bed last night? What time is it?”
“Half past eight,” Matt informed him in a much-too-cheery voice. “So you did find her.”
Luke yawned, trying to focus. “She’s upstairs.”
Matt smiled. “I knew everything would work out. She’ll make you a good wife.”
Luke sat up. Last night’s events washed over him with cold clarity. “Oh, God,” he muttered. ”This is a disaster.”
Matt shook his head, obviously dismayed. “You seemed to feel something for her last night.”
“If you knew anything about how I feel, you wouldn’t have sent her here.” Luke glared at his brother for a long moment, and then relented. “She’s going to stay on for a while, but we haven’t talked about marriage.”
“You haven’t talked about it?” Matt surged to his feet, staring down at Luke incredulously. “You can’t keep her here as your mistress. If you don’t want to marry her, let me take her to Denver. I’ll find her a teaching position, if that’s what she wants.”
“She wants to stay here.” Luke wasn’t ready to commit to marriage, but he wasn’t about to let Matt take her away. “Besides, she’s furious with you. She doesn’t want your help.”
Matt looked dumbstruck. “What do you want me to do?”
“You don’t have to do anything. Go back to Denver. Leave me alone. Believe it or not, I can manage quite well without you.”
After a long, uncomfortable silence, Matt grinned. “I think you’re right.” He leaned forward, slapping Luke on the back. “Maybe you don’t need me at all.”
* * * * *
SARAH TOOK A DEEP,steadying breath at the top of the stairs. She tried to smooth the ingrained wrinkles in the skirt of her emerald dress, but it was a futile attempt.
The house was quiet, and she cursed herself for sleeping so late. She couldn’t imagine what Luke’s brother and sister-in-law must think of her lazing the entire day away.
She descended the stairs and peered into the parlor. The room was empty, but someone had stripped the covers off the furniture, and they lay in a dusty white heap in the corner. Sarah made a mental note to begin her cleaning here. It wouldn’t take much, just a mop, a bucket of soapy water, and some elbow grease.
Across the hall from the parlor was a large room occupied by a piano. There were some art supplies spread out on a table near the window, and an easel was turned toward the wall.
A door led from the music room to the adjoining dining room. The massive oak dining table was covered with a thick layer of dust. Shaking her head in dismay, she pushed open the door to the kitchen. It was spotless, a complete contrast to the rest of the house.
Her lips curved into a smile as she surveyed the well-stocked, organized pantry. So much food! At one time, her family had been blessed with this kind of plenty, but the war had turned them into paupers. For years, she’d done nothing but worry about where her next meal was going to come from.
She took a deep breath and inhaled a hundred different scents. Cinnamon, pepper, yeast, and other things she couldn’t even name. Food meant safety on a primitive level. She wanted to stay here, wanted it with fierce intensity.
There was no sign of Luke’s brother, and for that she was grateful. It would have been difficult to be nice to the man after what he’d done.
She drifted back into the hall and stared at the door to the only downstairs room she hadn’t yet explored. Luke’s bedroom.
She was wildly curious. The rest of his home hadn’t given many clues to his character. Would this, his most private sanctuary, be any different?
The door was ajar, and she glanced over her shoulder to make sure she was alone before peering inside. Her breath caught when she discovered Luke still sound asleep in his big, comfortable-looking bed. Towering piles of books lined the walls.
He lay on his stomach, a shaft of afternoon sunlight gilding his dark hair to gold and highlighting the bare curves of his shoulders and upper back. Her gaze roamed down the expanse of sun-kissed flesh, until she reached the tangled sheet around his waist.
