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‘You know what your problem is?’ Luke interrupted again.
‘No, do tell me,’ she said, not making any effort to hide her irritation with his casual attitude. This was not a joke. She’d been agonising over this for hours—ever since she’d been manoeuvred into agreeing to this meeting.
And OK, maybe it wasn’t all about Aldo. Maybe she was ever so slightly terrified at the prospect of seeing Luke bonding with Lizzie and Aldo, and letting those unrealistic expectations that had been dogging her all through the journey home sprint right out of control.
‘You need to know you can’t control everything,’ he said.
‘I know that,’ she snapped. ‘I wouldn’t have had to spend two weeks in Tennessee with you if I could.’
‘And that didn’t turn out so bad, now did it?’ He gave her a gentle shake, the approval in his eyes, with that flicker of heat that was never far behind, making her insides churn and melt at the same time. Which was not good.
You see, this is exactly why you need to be establishing distance, and not playing happy families.
‘What’s your point?’ she added, feeling her control, the control she’d worked so hard to build after Luke had left, slipping through her fingers.
‘That sometimes you have to trust in people,’ he said. ‘And, more important, you have to trust in yourself. You’re a terrific mum, but you can’t fix everything. Life is like baking. It’s not a precise science. Sometimes you don’t prove the dough quite long enough the second time around and your fancy European novelty bread doesn’t turn out how you planned. But it could still be edible. In fact, it might even be better that way.’
‘Luke, don’t try baking analogies with a master baker.’
He laughed. ‘I’m right, though, aren’t I?’
A tiny bubble of hope penetrated the panic at the calm assurance in his gaze. What if they could make this work? What if her expectations weren’t completely unrealistic, after all?
‘You’re going to have to trust Aldo and me to figure our relationship out for ourselves,’ he said. ‘But just to put your fears to rest, I can promise you this much—whatever happens this morning, I’ll do my utmost to make sure Aldo doesn’t get hurt. Lizzie means everything to me. And you mean quite a lot to me, too.’
Do I? The heart bumps rose into her throat.
‘And he’s her brother, and your son,’ he added. ‘So even though I’ve never met him, he already means something to me.’
‘You’re sure?’ she asked, the bubble expanding uncomfortably. Please don’t say that unless you mean it.
‘I’m sure,’ he said. ‘Trust me.’
The knot of panic finally let go of her oesophagus. ‘OK.’
As tough as it was, she was going to have to trust him. And herself. Because he was right about one thing. Ever since he’d left, she’d tried to control every single thing. And if this trip had taught her one thing—apart from the fact that Luke Best’s smile could still make her go weak at the knees—it was that being in control didn’t necessarily stop bad things from happening. And trying to control this might actually stop something amazing from happening.
He lifted her suitcase, as well as his own. ‘Now, can we take this inside? I want to make a good impression and I work better with caffeine. Especially after eight hours on a plane while I’m still on Tennessee time.’
It occurred to her, as she reached into her bag to find the keys, that however nervous she was, he was probably more so.
And that this was the first day of the rest of her life.
So, no pressure, then.
Five minutes earlier
Lizzie’s eyelids fluttered and then snapped open. Her mind registered the sonorous hum wasn’t just coming from Trey’s measured breathing against her ear, but from the sound of a car driving away on the street outside.
She snuggled against Trey to hide from the light penetrating the shutters. And smiled.
They’d spent the whole night together. Fully clothed, cuddling on the sofa. Was there anything more romantic?
He’d jerked awake a couple times, she guessed dreaming about his mum, or her death. Both times she’d lulled him back to sleep. Glad that she could help, and gladder still that he wanted her to.
But as her cheek brushed the solid wall of his chest, she realised she wasn’t feeling glad now so much as very, very curious. Because this situation wasn’t just romantic any more, it was also kind of hot.
She slid her hand under his T-shirt to rest against his belly. And took a few stolen moments to explore the soft line of hair that trailed under his belly button and had fascinated her for over a week. Getting bolder, she inched her fingertips under the loose waistband of his jeans, the definite bulge beneath fascinating her. And exciting her.
