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“And that would be a shame.” Luke brushed a lock of her hair off her cheek and saw her smile slowly fade as she stared at him. The pulse at the base of her throat jumped a little, and he was lost in her. He forgot the dozens of people in the room, was alone and intimate with her as the world around them slipped away.
“A…a big shame,” she said, trying and failing to lighten the mood. She avoided his eyes for a second, and he forced himself to think of something, anything other than holding on to her and never letting go.
“So what about you? Both your half sisters are getting married.”
“I have my career,” she said automatically and sensed her blood heat. Being this close to Luke, feeling the pressure of his fingers on her back, caused her head to swim. Oh, Lord, how had she gotten this close to him?
“And that’s the most important thing in your life.”
“Second. Josh is first.” That was a given, but she didn’t want to discuss her son; not with this man who spoke little but asked questions that delved far too deep. Changing the subject was simple. “So, I guess you and I will be neighbors in a couple of weeks.”
“More than neighbors,” he said, and stupidly her heart took flight as the leader of the dance band announced that the musicians would be taking a break.
“More?”
“You’ll be my landlady.?
??
“Oh.” She let out her breath and laughed. “Good. It’ll give me a little bit of power, won’t it?”
His smile was off center and sexy as all get-out. “A little. But I’ll be movin’ out myself soon.”
“I suspected as much,” she said and mentally gave herself a shake when she heard the note of disappointment in her voice. “Come on, it’s time you met some people around here.” She guided him through the throng where they not only spoke with her half sisters, and Mason and J.D., but she introduced him to her half brothers and three quarters of the town. While he seemed to recognize a sprinkling of the guests at the reception, Katie knew them all.
“It’s hard to believe there are this many citizens in the town,” he whispered to her as she located Josh, who was ignoring his crutches in favor of hanging out with Stephen and a couple of other boys.
“I should go and talk to my son,” she said, but hadn’t taken a step in Josh’s direction before Brynnie caught up with her.
“Come on, come on,” she said, tapping Katie’s shoulder. “We’ve got dinner in the dining room, and it’ll go to waste if we don’t eat it.”
“In a minute—”
“Now or forever hold your peace.”
“I think we’d better not cross my mother,” Katie said with a teasing grin.
“Good idea,” Brynnie remarked as she beelined toward her twin sons and hustled them in the direction of the buffet.
They dined on salmon, prime rib and venison, though Katie’s appetite was nil. She was too keyed up, being with Luke. Touching him and smelling the faint odors of leather and musk that clung to him caused her heart to flutter, her mind to spin and, apparently, her stomach to shrink. She played with her food, barely eating a bite, sipped a little more champagne and, after the meal, danced to a couple of songs. She then stood beside Luke as Bliss and Mason cut their five-tiered cake and fed each other enormous pieces that left smudges of frosting on their faces. Mason kissed the icing off Bliss’s cheeks, and she repaid him by swiping a dab of the white confection on to his nose.
The crowd laughed, and Katie glanced up at Luke, who managed a smile.
“Silly, huh?”
“But fun,” he conceded, staring so deeply into her eyes that she had to swallow hard, and her mouth lost all moisture. “I…I…uh, need to talk to Tiffany,” she said to break the spell, the pure madness that seemed to be a part of the night.
Sometime near eleven, Mr. and Mrs. Mason Lafferty ran out the front door of the hotel and, while being showered with birdseed, ducked into a long white limo that idled near the front steps. As the guests waved and shouted, the newlyweds roared away. Katie felt a faint twinge of envy, then told herself she was being a romantic twit. She was glad that Bliss and Mason were together, thrilled that Tiffany had found J.D. to become her husband as well as a stepfather to Stephen and Christina. What was right for her half sisters didn’t necessarily mean that she wanted the same thing. She couldn’t. She didn’t dare let her heart be broken again.
They lingered for a while, dancing, talking with friends and sipping coffee as the crowd thinned. She wandered on to the veranda, but Luke grabbed hold of her arm.
“Let’s stay inside.”
“Are you kidding? It must be a hundred degrees in here.” She winked at him and, tugging on his hand, dragged him outside. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid to be alone with me, Gates.”
“That’s not it—”
“Good.”
