Page 67 of Sweet Spot

Lord. I looked up at a grinning Lukas.

“You can come too. Isn’t that nice?” I whispered under my breath as we followed everyone down to the basement that had once been Ritchie’s escape when he didn’t want to help me with anything. There were still video game boxes littered all over the floor and pillows and blankets from the bed on the couch, for the nights that Ritchie fell asleep playing Fallout. I could tell from the dry look Lukas shot at me that he was making all the correct assumptions about what this room used to be.

“So, this is probably not as fancy as you’re used to in the city, but I got some of your old favorites at least,” Ritchie said, pointing to the flavored seltzer and giant, half-eaten pie of pizza from Lucille’s.

“Nice,” I said as everyone sat down, looking expectantly at me. Since no one had thought to, I introduced myself to the redhead sitting with Ritchie. “I’m Lia, by the way.”

“Oh, I know! I’m Gina.” She pointed back and forth between Lukas and me. “So how long have you two been dating?”

Crap. I hadn’t even thought to make up the story for that. I looked up at Lukas. “How long has it been?” I asked.

“Honestly?” He rubbed his bottom lip as he tried to think. I chewed back a grin because he looked so damned sexy like that. “Less than two months. It hasn’t been that long.”

“Oh,” Bree laughed, sounding relieved. “So you’re not that serious at all.”

“Bree,” Lyssa muttered.

“What? It’s a normal question!” Bree defended herself. “It’s just a fun little fling thing?”

Lukas chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m hanging onto her for as long as she’ll have me.” He turned to me. “You running away anytime soon?”

I snorted. “No plans as of yet.”

He squeezed my hand. “Awesome. Let’s keep it that way,” he said as Gina cooed from across the sectional.

“So, Liam,” Ritchie started.

“Lukas.”

“I said that,” Ritchie said, shooting me a look. “Lukas, what do you do for a living?”

“I own a real estate company.”

“Damn, you own a real estate company in New York City? That’s gotta make a lot of money,” Ritchie said, leaning forward. “Tell me something – are you Lia’s investor?”

I stared at Ritchie as Lukas laughed. “No, I’m not. I would’ve loved to be but I don’t think she would’ve accepted that,” he answered, looking at me. “Would you have?” he asked, lowering his voice.

“Not in a million years,” I whispered with a grin.

“Didn’t think so,” Lukas smirked. When we looked back up, everyone was whispering together except Gina, who smiled at us.

“I hear you make chocolate for a living!” she said excitedly.

“I do,” I smiled. “I actually brought some for everybody in case you’re curious to try.”

“Oh, totally! Yes!”

Reaching into my purse, I pulled out a square box of sixteen truffles that everyone, even Ritchie, oohed and ahhed over. I couldn’t help but glow with pride because every row of round chocolates did look beautiful, their shells perfectly smooth and shiny, their colors complementing each other. There were colors ranging from periwinkle to cream, and toppings ranging from cinnamon sugar to flecks of dried lavender. When Lyssa asked me to explain each one, I gladly did, smiling the whole time because I could almost feel Lukas’s pride as he rubbed my back.

“The first row is Earl Grey lavender truffles, the second row is rum raisin, the third is chestnut and the last one is dark chocolate with a churro feuilletine. I know the colors are bright but don’t worry, it’s tinted cocoa butter and it’s all completely edible,” I said, genuinely happy as I watched everyone dig in.

“Damn, I don’t know what a foo-ya-teen is but it tastes like fucking heaven,” Lyssa practically growled, staring at the other half of the truffle she’d bitten into. I breathed out in relief, almost certain I felt something in the air change for the better as everyone tried a piece of chocolate.

“That’s it. I’m taking your ass to Spain,” Lukas whispered in my ear, feeding me the other half of the churro feuilletine truffle. I held in my giggle as he squeezed my knee. “You think I’m kidding? I’m going to buy us one of every nut or spice I see out there and I’m going to spend every morning watching you make chocolate while you’re ass naked.”

“Lukas,” I giggled.

“Don’t you want that? I want that,” Lukas grinned.