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“Dad is so proud of you,” Darlene says.
“Communing with the dead now, Mom?” Luke laughs.
“Oh, hush.” She waves a hand in Luke’s face. “He wanted you to run a bar, take care of me, take care of Skye, but more than that, he wanted you to have love.” She steps back, looking between Luke and me. “And just look at you two.”
Walking around our new bar, she gushes over him, over me, and over the building. This is the first time she’s been here, and I can practically feel the pride rolling off his chest at his mother’s approval. He takes her for a long tour, showing her every inch of the building, including theVoyeur Motorsside.
After their tour, Luke finds me, and we move back behind the bar and work side by side as the minutes disappear into hours. Our favorite people filter in and out, sampling every item on the menu we’ve lovingly pulled together. The music gradually gets louder along with the laughter and conversations, and before long my cheeks are sore from smiling.
Luke reaches around me far more often than necessary, and I rub my ass against his dick every chance I get. “If you keep doing that, you’re going to miss the rest of your party, Ms. Walker,” he whispers, squeezing my ass cheek.
“I’ve worked with couples before,” Rhett says, reaching for the top-shelf whiskey, “but you two are next level.”
“That’s because she’s not just my girlfriend,” Luke says, pulling my back flush against his chest and wrapping his arm tight around my waist. “This is the woman who’s occupied every moment of my thoughts since I first saw her.”
My cheeks heat as I recognize the words, realizing he’s going to repeat the entire speech he gave me in the bed of his truck after the races.
“I work early every morning and stay late every night, just so I don’t miss a glimpse of her electric smile or her ponytail bobbing when she laughs. I want her as close to me as possible. Her presence in my life has turned every plan I’ve ever made upside down. Watching her exist is the greatest joy I’ve known.”
Rhett passes us each a shot of whiskey and raises one of his own high in a toast. “May we all be so lucky.”
~
“I heard an interesting rumor tonight,” I say to Luke, as he holds open the back door ofVoyeur Caféfor me. It’s two-thirty in the morning, and our bartenders just kicked us out, saying it’seasier to close down if your boss isn’t up your ass.
“You did?” Luke asks.
“Yeah, apparently, we’re moving in together. Have you heard that one?”
“I may have been the one who started it,” he says, the overhead lights of the parking lot highlighting his growing smirk.
“Were you planning to ask me about it?”
“Eventually.” He squeezes my hand.
We reach his truck, and a rustling noise sounds from the nearby bushes.
“Do you hear that?” I whisper.
“Hear what?” he whispers back.
I wave him over, inching closer, waiting for the sounds to happen again. When it does, it’s accompanied by a few quiet yips. I look over at Luke, raising my brows in question. He nods to confirm he heard it, too.
The rustling gets louder, and the yipping picks up, and a little pink nose emerges from the bushes, followed by a tangle of brown fur.It’s a puppy.I suppress a squeal and sit down on the warm asphalt, forgetting the dress I bought especially for today’s occasion.
“Sweetheart,” Luke whispers at me, “Be careful.”
Be careful? Of what? The puppy? Silly man.I sit very still but try speaking sweetly to the tiny dog. “Hi, little one. Are you scared? You’re safe now. You found us.”
The puppy inches closer to me, then freezes in place again. I look up at Luke making a silent, ‘Look how fucking cute this sweet baby angel is’face.
Luke kneels next to me, dropping a handful of treats in my lap.Where did those come from?Whatever, I don’t care.I hold one out, flat-handed to the puppy. “You’re okay. You can eat this. I’ll take care of you.”
The brown fur-baby inches closer, finally getting the courage to eat the treat out of my hand, its little tongue lapping up all the crumbs. “Poor baby. Are you hungry?” It comes closer, then scrambles into my lap and starts nosing at the pile of treats there. “Oh, you are.” I wrap a protective arm around the little baby, scratching behind its ears, just like Betty likes.
“Hey, Luke?” I ask him quietly.
“Yeah, sweetheart?” His warm hand rubs soothinglyacross my back.
