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“You okay, little man?” he asks the child and my ovaries explode.
Boom.
I. Am. Done. For.
He just keeps on peeling back layers and all I can do is fall a little further with each reveal.
The boy loops his arms around Luke’s neck and presses his mouth to his father’s. “I had more of my puffer while you were gone. Paris looked after me good, so you don’t have to worry.” My heart cracks a little at his words. I can’t help but be affected by a child reassuring their parent that they don’t have to worry about them.
Luke continues to smile at his son, but I see the twinge of regret in those beautiful green eyes of his. “Paris will always look after you if I’m not here to do it, okay?”
The child nods and Luke appears to relax a little.
“Sean, I want you to meet a friend of mine,” he says as he turns to glance at me with a smile. “This is Callie.”
As Sean shifts his gaze to me, a young woman walks down the hall towards us and I'm overwhelmed. After a year of Luke holding me at a distance, he’s introducing me to his life all at once. I love that he’s doing this, but at the same time, I am the kind of person who struggles with change. Conflicting emotions rush at me, and I take a deep breath in an effort to contain them.
Luke takes hold of my hand and gently squeezes. “Callie, this is Sean,” he says, his voice softer than usual. Our eyes meet again, and the smile I see in his gaze reassures me.
He’s got me.
I shift my attention to his son and smile. “Hi, Sean. It’s so good to meet you.”
Sean grins, and it’s all Luke.
He looks so much like his father.
“Hello.” He only gives me one word, but that word means so much to me. It holds a welcome I’m fairly sure his father needs to move forward with whatever this is between him and me.
While Sean and I continue to smile at each other, Luke says, “And this is my sister, Paris.” He gestures between us and adds, “Paris, Callie.”
The petite, brunette woman standing in front of me, who looks so much like her brother, gives me a huge smile. She is younger than Luke, and first impressions tell me she is nowhere near as closed off as her brother. “Hi, Callie. I’m so glad to finally meet you.” She says “finally” as if she’s been waiting a very long time and it sets butterflies off in my tummy.
I return her smile. “I’m really glad to meet you, too.” I’m not really sure what else to say. I only knew that Luke had a brother, Tyler.
Her eyes narrow at me before she quickly turns her gaze to Luke. “He never told you about me, did he?” And then, turning back to me, she rolls her eyes. “My brother likes to keep shit to himself. I’m his half-sister. Same dad. We weren’t close until about five years ago when my mum passed away, and I went to live with Dad. I was a few months off turning eighteen, and he insisted I stay with him rather than on my own. And then when he died last year, Luke took me under his wing, and I moved in here.” She smiles at Luke before adding, “Mind you, I’m not sure if he took me under his wing so much as took advantage of me for babysitting duties.” I’m guessing from the smile passing between them that they adore each other.
Luke’s brows rise. “As I recall, you begged me to let you take on extra auntie duties.”
Paris reaches out for Sean and takes him off Luke. “Come on, little man, you should have been in bed ages ago.” Looking at me, she adds with a grin, “I do remember begging for auntie duties. I mean, who wouldn’t with this little one? He’s so adorable, and he gives the best hugs.”
Luke says goodnight to his son and after watching Paris leave, turns to face me. Silence consumes us for a few moments. I guess we’re both figuring this out as we go—this unexpected turn in our friendship.
“I don’t think we should have sex agai—”
He cuts me off. “If you think I’m buying that, you’re kidding yourself.” Bossy Luke.
God.
God.
How does he do this to me? This curling of my insides until they’re in a knot of desire and confusion and frustration that he’s been doing to me for the entire year I’ve known him.
I square my shoulders. “If you’d just let me finish what I was going to say… I don’t want to be a woman who sleeps with a married man. When I asked you if you were getting a divorce, you didn’t say yes. I need to know what that means before I can even contemplate something happening between us.”
He listens intently to what I say and then scrubs his hand over his face. “Come in.” With those two words, he places his hand on the small of my back and guides me down his hallway to the living room.
Luke’s home is luxurious, and again I’m struck by the fact I didn’t realise how wealthy he is. The house is a double-storey home with high ceilings and open living spaces from what I have seen so far. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open up onto a large deck enclose the living room. It looks like Luke must spend a lot of time in his garden because it appears to be beautifully landscaped. The deck and backyard are lit by fairy lights, so although it’s after nine at night, I can see how stunning it is outside.
