Sarah. In his life. In his bed. Banishing the loneliness.
“Damn,” he muttered. It was a foolish, dangerous dream. He couldn’t bear to see the tentative curiosity in her eyes turn to revulsion when she saw what a Confederate bullet had done to his leg.
Sarah frowned and reached across the table, lightly brushing his hand with her fingertips. “What’s wrong?”
He forced a smile and extricated himself from the sweet warmth of her touch. “I know the men on the school board. I’ll see what I can do.”
It would help appease his guilt. Besides, he wouldn’t see her that often. He almost never went into town.
“I’d appreciate that.” Sarah felt her first shred of hope at Luke’s casual promise. She didn’t question his assertion that he had the influence to get her a teaching position. Perhaps she’d been too quick to judge him. Right now, he didn’t even resemble the drunken lout who’d opened the door a few hours ago.
This new Luke, bathed and shaven, elegant in a perfectly tailored black suit, was dangerously attractive. She hadn’t been able to tear her gaze away from him since she’d entered the kitchen.
She wondered anew why his brother had schemed in such an underhanded fashion to procure him a wife. Surely, Luke could have captured some woman’s heart if he’d wanted to.
He smiled at her, and a dimple flashed in his lean cheek, nearly taking her breath away. Goodness, he truly was handsome.
“Don’t worry, Sarah. I’m sure everything will work out fine.”
There was such quiet strength in his words. She longed to lay all her troubles in his lap. That was all she’d ever wanted, the main reason she’d decided to marry again. She’d wanted someone to help ease her burden, just for a little while, until she found the strength to pick it back up again.
Luke was still a stranger, but his shoulders looked broad enough to withstand all sorts of troubles. Too bad he didn’t want to marry her.
“You’ve been so kind,” she murmured.
He looked uncomfortable with the praise and glanced away. “I’m not kind, Sarah. Don’t delude yourself.”
She wondered why he tried so hard to keep people at arm’s length. Why did he live alone, without even a servant to do for him, when he could obviously afford one? Did he still love the girl he’d written those beautiful letters to?
“Self-delusion is all that’s gotten me through the last few months,” she admitted with a strained laugh. “Why should I stop now?”
“I know you need a husband, sweetheart, but use a little common sense next time.” He wadded up his linen napkin and tossed it onto the table, signaling that dinner was finished. “I’d hate to see such a smart girl make a stupid mistake twice.”
“You needn’t see me at all, after tomorrow,” she told him, stung by his harsh words.
Luke stood and limped around the table, pausing behind her chair. To her shock, she felt him trace the back of her neck with one warm fingertip.
“Oh, I’ll be seeing you for a long time, Sarah,” he murmured in a voice so low she wondered if he’d meant for her to hear it. “In my dreams, if nowhere else.”
Before she could think of a suitable reply, he left the room. She sank back against the wooden slats of her chair, still tingling from his touch. Heat pooled deep in the pit of her stomach as she realized that if things had gone differently, she might have ended up in Luke’s bed tonight.
When she left Georgia to marry a man she’d never met, she never expected to find one who was young, virile, and even charming at times. He’d said he didn’t want a wife, but it was as plain as the nose on his face that he needed one.
Somehow, she had to make him change his mind about marrying her.
