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I cut in. “And he’s got me now.”
Luke’s eyes meet mine, and he hits me with a million-dollar smile. “And I’ve got Callie and Paris,” he says.
Alanis waves her hand around in the air. “Pfft, you can never have enough babysitters. I’ll check in on you in a couple of days.” She then kisses him on the cheek before adding, “It was so good to see you. And thanks for signing that document for me.”
The woman has no shame. Kissing a man in front of his woman is not okay.
After she leaves, Luke joins me again. He’s frowning. “Did something just happen there that I missed?”
I want to laugh. “Uh, yes. Your friend just tried to stake her claim on you.”
“Alanis? She’s married.”
I press my lips together and shake my head. “She might be married, but she’s got the hots for you, buddy. And where the hell is her wedding ring?” There was no ring on her finger. I checked.
“She doesn’t wear it. Something about skin allergies.”
“How do you know her?”
“She was Jolene’s best friend for years. She and Jolene used to do everything together. They were both pregnant at the same time, too, but Alanis’s baby died of SIDS. She adores Sean and spends a lot of time with him. I would have been lost without her after Jolene went to prison.”
Oh, God.
This woman is a permanent fixture in Luke’s life.
“They’re not friends anymore?”
“No. Alanis was actually the one who found the physical evidence that Jolene committed the murder.”
I frown. “How?”
“She was babysitting Sean one day when she discovered a box full of evidence. Stuff like maps of the area where the murder took place, a brochure of the motel where it happened, receipts for the motel room and rope…” His voice falters at that, but he continues. “Printed research on how to kill… Fuck, sorry, talking about this makes me—”
I place my hand on his arm. “It’s okay. You don’t need to go back over it all.” I decide to give this woman another chance. If she means this much to Luke, she mustn’t be as bad as I think. First impressions are often wrong. “It sounds like you’ve got a good friend there.”
His eyes find mine. “Yeah.” His voice is croaky, and I can see how much this is affecting him.
I lose myself in the moment and bend forward. Brushing my lips across his, I murmur, “I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all this.”
He reaches out and slides his hand around my neck. Holding me so I can’t move my lips away from his, he rasps, “Life’s getting better every day, Callie. You’ve given me that.”
His lips find mine again in a slow-burn kiss that morphs into desperate need. It’s not long before I’m straddling him with my arms around his neck while we kiss as if we’ve never kissed in our life. As if we’re fighting to experience every amazing feeling a kiss can give, all in this one moment.
When he finally pulls away, breathless, I instantly miss his touch. Resting his forehead against mine, he mutters, “Sorry about that. Momentary lapse…”
We sit like this for a long while, both of us struggling to recover our breaths. We’re also both having trouble letting each other go. Our bodies are still pressed hard against each other, and our arms are still around the other.
“I don’t want to move,” I whisper.
“I don’t want you to, either.” His eyes find mine and hold on just as tight as his arms.
I bite my lip. “Are you any closer to the divorce?” I ask hesitantly. I don’t want to nag him about this. And yet, I really want it to hurry up.
His eyes leave mine, and he looks down for a moment. “I think so.” He gives me his eyes again, but only for a quick second before he looks down again. He then stands while still holding me. Placing me down, he says, “I’ll know more soon.”
As I watch him begin to clear the table, I can’t help but feel like he just fobbed me off. It was like he was trying to avoid that whole conversation.
And not in a good way.
