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“And what was your first attempt?” she asked him while her head got as soft and fuzzy as the light filling the room.
“Pot roast. It seemed a safe choice, and I didn’t think too much could go wrong,” he answered.
“Let me guess. Flavorless and tough as a dried-out old shoe, right?” she asked, remembering every pot roast she ever attempted to cook.
“It was delicious.” When Andie looked at him with eyebrows raised, Jax held up his hand like a boy scout. “Honest. Everybody on my floor at the dorm was beating down my door, trying to get some.”
“That is just not fair.” She stabbed a slice of Italian sausage that had been seared to crispy perfection and shook it at him in mock-anger. “I’m a wretched cook. Dismal. And I have a zillion cookbooks too. But you get it right from your very first meal?” She grunted at the unfairness of the universe and plopped the food in her mouth with an angry snap of teeth.
“I was just as surprised as you. But cooking is just math. I’m a tax guy. Numbers and equations, that’s my sweet spot. Math always make sense and just adds up.” He waved a hand, flushed a little, and Andie was charmed to see him get flustered by her obvious admiration. “It’s a quarter-cup of this and a half-cup of that. And if the roast weighs this much, you need to cook it at that temp for this long per pound. See? Math.” Then he shrugged as though it were the simplest thing in the world.
“Well,” Andie said and lifted her glass to toast him. “I am impressed. You are a man of rare talent, sir, and my hat’s off to you. Feel free to come cook for me as often as you like.”
“I might just take you up on that.” Then he clinked his glass to hers, and the two of them moved on to other topics and finished their meal as the sunset turned to twilight.
Andie didn’t remember her plans with Luke until she heard the sound of his truck door slamming just outside the front door. “Oh crap.” She looked at Jax over the rim of her wine glass and was at a loss for what to say. “Umm. Sorry about this” was all she got out before her screen opened and Luke walked in.
Why, Andie wondered,does it hurt my heart to see he showered and changed for our meeting?She was still mad at him for the mean things he said out at the fence this afternoon. She shouldn’t be feeling guilty about anything. But she was. She felt awful for forgetting their plans, and the feeling only intensified when she saw his expression harden as he saw her with Jax.
“Well, shit.” It wasn’t until he dropped his hands at his sides that she noticed the flowers. A lovely simple bouquet of gerbera daisies in bright, sunny colors was in danger of getting demolished as he tapped them against his thigh. Andie pushed to her feet and rushed to their rescue. “Hello, Luke.” She met his eyes briefly, and the look on his face caused her cheeks to burst into flames. “Are those for me?” she asked as she reached him and motioned to the trembling blooms. She smiled a little to see his rough, worn boots covered in a rainbow of petals.
“Uh. Yeah.” With a flush of his own, Luke thrust the flowers at her and glared to where Jax calmly continued to sit and sip at his wine. “I was an ass earlier. I thought these would help. Did you forget you already had a date for dinner tonight?”
“I’m afraid I did.” She looked at him as she brought the flowers up to her chest. “After what happened in the field, I was upset. Then Jax offered to fix me dinner.” She took a deep breath scented with the earthy tang of fresh-cut blooms and admitted, “I should have called and told you directly that I didn’t want to talk to you, let alone go out. Not calling was rude of me. I’m sorry; I would have called if I’d remembered.”
“Hey.” Jax pushed up from the table and started toward her. “He was a prick, Andie. You don’t owe him an apology.”
“Sit your ass back down, Jax. And shut the hell up.”
When Jax’s expression turned thunderous and he looked as though he was going to wade into the battle Luke was spoiling for, Andie held her hands up. “Stop.” She glared at Luke and Jax alike. “This is not going to happen. Jax, please. I appreciate you wanting to stand up for me, but really, it’s not necessary. And you—” She jabbed a finger in Luke’s direction. “—will remember whose house you are in and treat my guests with respect or you can turn around and leave.”
With arms folded over his chest, Luke sent Jax a last murderous glare then asked Andie, “Can I talk to you outside for a minute?”
“Sure. Let me set these down.” When she turned to lay the flowers on the table, she sent a non-verbal apology to Jax and mouthed,I’ll be quick, before following Luke out the door.
* * *
Luke feltlike he’d just been gut-punched. Walking in and seeing her with Jax was too familiar of a feeling, and he wanted nothing more than to shove his fist through the pansy’s face. Talk about history repeating itself.
“Luke.” Andie looked at him with solemn eyes and a slight tremble to her bottom lip. “I am sorry I didn’t think to call. To be honest, even if I had remembered, I would have thought our little scene in the yard would have made it clear I wasn’t interested in seeing you tonight.” She paused for a moment then added, “Or ever again, for that matter.”
“Shit, Andie.” If she had kicked him, he wouldn’t have been more surprised. Or hurt. “Don’t say that.” He reached out to her, but she stepped back before he made contact, and he let his hand drop. “I’m sorry. I keep fucking up with you. The one person on the planet I don’t want to piss off.” As he hoped, that won him a small smile.
“This just isn’t going to happen, Luke. You and I just weren’t meant to be friends. Why don’t you leave the papers here, and I’ll go over your offer with Jax?” At the name, Luke felt his guts tighten and had to force himself to unclench his fists and take a calming breath before he spoke. “No. That’s not gonna work for me.”
“What isn’t going to work?” she asked, and Luke felt a large part of his anger defuse. Andie had a way of quirking an eyebrow that made the entire thing disappear into her bangs while the other one just tilted up on the tail end, and it gave her such a charming expression that he almost lost his train of thought.
“You are right about one thing. We aren’t meant to be friends.” Luke stepped right up to her until he could feel the tips of her breasts against his chest, and her breath feathered his neck as she looked up at him with wide eyes. “Not by a long shot.” He lowered his head, testing himself as well as her reaction. A little closer now, she wasn’t drawing back, and he took that as a good sign and brushed his nose along hers, just a hint, a tease as her breathing increased.
“I know the taste of you,” he told her, his lips so close he could feel the warmth of his words as they floated against her mouth. Felt the cool wind as she parted her lips and took a soft gasp at his intimate reminder. “I lie in bed at night and, without even trying, that taste fills my mouth. Floods my senses and makes me crave you. Makes me wish I savored you that night. Drank you down like fine wine instead of like a frat boy at his first kegger.”
Closer. He stepped closer now as the memories and his nightly musings melded together with the delicious reality of her in the flesh and right in front of him. Her breasts flattened against him, and he rested his forehead to hers as he went on. “I want another shot, Andie. I want more. More from your sweet lips.” A kiss, so swift and light he wouldn’t even know they touched if she hadn’t gasped. “More from your beautiful body that makes me hard every time I see you. Or think about you.” Another kiss. Another sweet gasp. “We can take care of the sale all on our own. We don’t need the asshole for that. We can even take care of it in bed. After.”
Luke wasn’t prepared for the ice-cold instant withdrawal his last statement caused. He was going in finally for the full kiss he’d been starving for, when she nailed him in the gut with a tiny, rock-hard fist as she jerked her head back.
“What iswrongwith you?” she demanded in outrage while Luke rubbed his stomach and stared at her. Baffled.
“What was that for?” he asked. “What got into you?”
