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“Okay.” She made herself look at him while she spoke, though it would’ve been much easier to apologize to the floor. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been more understanding about what you’ve been through. I’m sorry that I keep pushing college on you. The truth is...”
Deep breath. This was the hard part.
“I have come to— That is, I have started— The reason I’ve been—” She let out an exasperated growl and decided talking to the floor would be just fine. “I kept wanting you to be the guy I’ve always fantasized about. In so many ways you are. But it’s not fair to expect you to become something that’s important only to me, and not to you. So I’m sorry.”
She peeked up to see his reaction. He looked stunned, and not necessarily in a good way. Her heart sank. Had she blown it? At least she’d finally been honest, with herself and with him. That was more important than what happened next, right?
Maybe. She hoped so.
“Are you saying that I’m not your ultimate fantasy?” He clutched his chest. “I can’t believe it.”
“Luke.” She put her hands on her hips. For probably the hundredth time since she’d known him, she was outraged and also about to burst out laughing. “That was really hard to do, and now you’re making fun of me?”
“Of course I am.” He took her into his arms. She resisted firmly—for about one thousandth of a second. “It’s just what I do.”
“Humph.”
“Thank you for your apology, but it was completely unnecessary. All you’ve done as far as I’m concerned is remind me that the world was not put here for my amusement. And I want you to know that I know that. In fact, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”
“Ooh, gosh, that must hurt.”
He gave her the look she deserved. “Here’s what I’m thinking. You and Zac are both going to school in the fall. After my grades at UConn the last semester, I have no idea what kind of place would take me, but by then I’ll be ready to try.”
Summer smiled so wide her mouth hurt, and it still didn’t feel wide enough. “Oh, Luke, that’s wonderful. As long as it’s really what you want.”
“It is. But wait, there’s more. With Zac gone, that means there will be an empty bedroom here. It makes no sense for you to be sleeping in a living room. If you and I are still able to stand each other in September, I think you should live here, rent-free.”
She gaped at him, her mind spinning. Part of her wanted to jump at the chance to save that much money; the other was immediately rejecting the idea of accepting charity. “Luke, you can’t—”
“Actually, I can. And Zac thinks it’s a great idea, too.”
She stared at him, bewildered by the depth of his generosity to a woman he considered just a friend.
And then her brain came up with another possibility.
“Are you asking me to move in with you?”
“Yes. Either as friends. Or...” He took in a long breath. “The truth is, I want to be the guy you’ve always fantasized about. Because you’re that for me.”
Giddy with joy, somehow Summer managed to make herself look horrified. “Your fantasy is that I’m a guy?”
“Summer.” He faked outrage, tightening his arms around her. “That was really hard to do, and now you’re making fun of me?”
“Of course I am.” She reached up on tiptoe to kiss him, and the kisses were as warm and wonderful and sweet as she remembered, only this time there was no fear that Luke Arnette would be trouble. Deep down in her soul she sensed that he was the man for her. Forever.
“It’s just what I do.”
15
THE VALENTINE’S DAY event at Slow Pour was turning out to be a smash. Almost. The morning’s cloudy skies had cleared to brilliant blue. The tent outside was crowded, and people even spilled onto the sidewalk, sipping coffee and eating pastries, trusting that if any proposals happened they’d be able to see.
Two local papers were there, and a USA Today reporter, in the area for a story on Central Coast wines, had stopped by to check out the scene and have a tall latte with a heart-shaped peanut-butter brownie. Four photographers and hundreds of cell phones were at the ready. The red carpet stood empty in the middle of the tent, where Chris had laid it that morning.
