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Certainly no one would fault him for being in shock after a kiss likethat.
If he was capable of having steam come from his ears, this kiss would have done it.
Only one thought came to mind. He had to go after her.
He lurched forward, stumbling, trying to catch his footing until he reached the door and yanked it open. Hopefully it wasn’t too late. Depending on how fast she was, he might still have a chance.
Across the parking lot from where he sold most of his harvest, he could see her fumbling with the keys. Luke sprinted toward her, and if it was possible, his heart did the same. He couldn’t breathe. His lungs burned, but all he knew was that this couldn’t be the way it ended. They had to talk about this.
His palms landed hard on the hood of her car, causing her to jump and drop her keys to the ground. Allie’s head snapped up and she stared at him with wide, terrified eyes. “Luke,” she said breathlessly.
“Don’t go,” he wheezed.
“Luke, I’m sorry, I—”
“Don’t…” he gulped in some air, “go.” He moved around the front of the car and leaned down to swipe the keys from the ground before she had a chance to make her escape. “You can’t just walk away after doing something like that.”
She scowled at him and lunged for her keys. “It was a mistake.”
“Was it?” he demanded. He couldn’t tell her that Pippa had ratted her out, but maybe it was time to clear the air anyway.
“Yes.” Her voice was unyielding. “It was a mistake.”
Luke shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His eyes darted away as he tried to come up with an excuse good enough to keep her talking. Everything felt like it had been tipped on its side. He was dizzy but he couldn’t figure out if it was from the kiss, the physical exertion from chasing after her, or the whole situation all together. “Then… why?” He hated how desperate his words made him sound. But more than that, he was furious for allowing himself to be put in this position in the first place.
Allie didn’t respond except to reach for her keys again.
“Allie,” he whispered, holding the keys out of reach. “Talk to me.”
She let out a bark of laughter. “No thanks.”
“You can’t just—”
“Oh yes I can.” She motioned around them. “It’s the middle of the night, Luke. I have school in the morning and you have to work. I have to go.” This time instead of trying to grab her keys, she simply held out her hand. “Just let me go,” she pled with him.
What else could he do? He wasn’t about to throw her over his shoulder and march back into his office to force a confession out of her. And who did he have to blame but himself at this point? She’d been holding in these feelings for the better part of their friendship and he’d done nothing.
Nothing.
He dropped the keys into her hand and stepped back as she successfully put the key into the car door and unlocked it. She shot one last glance in his direction before climbing inside and starting the engine. Her lights flashed briefly when she turned the corner then disappeared into the night.
Luke was still reeling from the way her touch had made him feel and it wasn’t until a good ten minutes later he realized he’d made a grave mistake in letting her go without admitting to his own growing affection for her. At some point he found himself back in his office, not knowing how he came to be there.
He stumbled over to a chair and took a seat, giving himself a chance to breathe and make sense of not only what had happened but what had led up to this moment.
Allie had been like a sister—or a friend all through their formative years. Objectively, he knew she was beautiful—inside and out. She was driven and she’d always known what she wanted. That was a trait she shared with Shellie.
Both of them had known what they wanted and just gone for it. But that was where the similarities ended. Shellie had blonde hair and blue eyes while Allie had always been a passionate red-head with green eyes that flashed whenever she was vehement about something.
Shellie was soft spoken while Allie wasn’t afraid to tell people how she felt.
He squeezed his eyes shut and raked a frustrated hand through his hair. What was he doing? Comparing Allie to Shellie? There was no comparison. They weren’t the same. No two people were, and it wasn’t fair to Allie to do such a thing.
Luke got to his feet and got ready to lock up. Thankfully, Jackie had offered to put Molly to bed and stay with her while he’d been preparing for selling the Christmas trees. She was probably wondering where he was right about now, but knowing her, she was asleep on his couch, blissfully unaware he’d lost track of time with Allie.
Allie’s face filled his thoughts, spreading like a glittery mist and leaving her mark everywhere. He paused what he was doing, his heart hammering far faster than was normal. He’d seen her every week at church. He’d waved to her from the pick-up line at school. Heaven knew he heard about how wonderful she was every single day—if not from Molly, from Pippa.
And now he hated himself even more for being so blind to her.
