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He nodded. “And if you wanted to move them some more to—you know—reallyrub them against me, that’d be fine, too. Just saying.”
With a laugh, I found myself leaning in just a little bit more and pressing my chest harder against his.
Luke groaned and rested his cheek on my hair. “Good Lord,” he breathed. “You’re a saint. Saint fucking Chloe.”
I could only smile and drift in his arms until the song came to an end. When Malia appeared at the edge of the crowd, watching us with a scowl and her arms folded moodily over her chest, Luke seemed to mope.
“Playtime’s over, isn’t it?” he asked, sending me a puppy-dog frown.
“We can dance one more song, if you want,” I offered.
His eyes lit up over the idea, but then he frowned and pulled his phone from his pocket. The screen was displaying an incoming call from Bella.
He glanced at me and sighed before answering with a moody, “What?” Then, after a moment, he snapped, “Of courseI found her. Yes, she’s fine. Yeah, I’ll bring her out in a second. Just hold your damn horses, will you?”
Disconnecting, he stuffed the phone back into his pocket and rolled his eyes. “Your groupies are getting restless,” he said. “I should probably get you back to them, huh?”
I nodded. “Yeah, probably.”
I could walk out by myself; he didn’t need to escort me. But I couldn’t seem to tell him that as he started away with me. I wanted just a little bit longer with him like this.
He held my hand again, keeping a firm hold as if he were unwilling to let me go. And when we made it outside and saw Bella, Bentley, Beau, and Gracen hovering not so far away, he loosened his grip yet made me be the one to pull away.
I did slowly, looking up at him. “Thank you,” I said.
He nodded and bowed his head respectfully. “And thankyou,” he countered. “You saved me from at least twenty minutes of Malia.”
“Any time.” With a smile, I turned and started off, heading toward the others who were hurrying our way.
But then Luke called, “Hey, Chloe.”
I turned back. He grasped my hand and tugged me against him until my face landed smooshed against his shoulder. Then he hugged me briefly and tightly, kissing my temple with a hard smack of the lips before he murmured in my ear, “Size doesn’t mean shit. Small or extra-large, you’re fucking beautiful. Insideandout. Don’t ever forget that.”
When he stepped back, releasing me, he looked deeply into my eyes before murmuring, “Okay?”
I nodded dumbly, staring back at him with wide, surprised eyes. “O-okay,” I said, bobbing my head up and down.
At that moment, I truly, honestly believed him.
He smiled a private smile that seemed designated for me alone, then he winked and turned away, striding back toward the gymnasium so he could return to his malodorous date.
I was still watching the doors he’d disappeared through when the others reached me.
“Chloe! Oh my God. Are you alright?” Bella asked, gripping my arm and turning me so I could see the concern darkening her eyes.
I nodded. “I…yeah,” I said, my voice going breathless and high. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Except I wasn’t. I wasn’t fine at all.
In the span of half an hour, I had fallen flat in love with Luke Hamilton.
I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be fine again.
4CHLOE
Aweek after I signed my heart over to Luke, the family had a get-together, to celebrate my cousin Rory’s tenth birthday.
Since my dad owned a nightclub with an enormous back room that was often rented out as an event center, we had the party there on a Saturday afternoon, hours before the bar opened.
