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His mother nodded. “Thank you.” She lifted her mug and took a long drink, and when she replaced it on the table, he realized that she’d gotten through her coffee much more quickly than he had. “I’m afraid I can’t stay long right now, but let me know what she says, and we’ll make arrangements about how to get you to the fundraiser. And please remember to dress well. There’s… well, there’s a dance.”
Luke closed his eyes and pulled in a deep breath. The last thing he and Rose needed was to be put on display in front of a crowd of people. Sitting at a table was one thing. A dance was an entirely different problem. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said.
“Thank you.”
He heard his mother shifting, and he opened his eyes as she stood and embraced him once more.
“I’ll call you in a little while and see how everything’s going,” she said.
He nodded, and after she turned and went out into the hallway, he let out a heavy sigh.
Why do I feel like this is going to go terribly wrong?
His mother’s footsteps retreated, and he heard the front door open and close. A few moments later, the sound was replaced by the soft padding of bare feet as they moved down the hallway outside the kitchen. Within moments, Rose stood in the doorway, and the sight of her there gave him pause. She wore the shirt he’d taken off the night before, and only the shirt. It was buttoned a little more than halfway, leaving her breasts partially visible. The urge to stand up, cross the room, and pull her against him washed over Luke, and he attempted to distract himself by remaining on his stool and taking another drink of coffee.
“Morning,” he said. His throat was tight, and he knew he was probably doing a poor job of pretending he didn’t notice how little she was wearing. His shirt was long on her, but though that meant it fell to her upper thighs, it did nothing to hide her long, shapely legs.
“Morning.” She smiled, and the sight of the expression sent a wave of warmth through his stomach.
“Did you happen to hear any of that?” Luke asked.
“A little.” Rose crossed the kitchen and settled onto the stool his mother had just vacated. “I was planning to come in, but then I heard her voice and figured I probably shouldn’t be walking around like this with your mom here. I take it she doesn’t know it’s me you’re seeing.”
He breathed in the scent of vanilla and cinnamon that hung in the air around her, and he mentally filed away her choice of words. So she did consider it a relationship, for what that was worth. Was it one she saw a future for, or was it temporary?
“No, not yet,” he said with a shake of his head. “I wanted to ask you before I said anything.”
Rose nodded. “So she wants us to…”
“Go to her campaign fundraiser tonight. It’s a dance.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
Luke considered the question. Though he wasn’t ready for the media to swarm them or for anyone to press them for answers he didn’t have, he couldn’t deny that the idea of spending the night pretending they were a normal couple with nothing to worry about except the next dance was highly appealing.
“I want to leave it up to you,” he said at last. “If you’re not comfortable with it, we don’t have to go. I’ll just tell her we both have to work tomorrow and can’t stay out too late.”
“I do have to work tomorrow,” said Rose, “but I know how much it would mean to her if you go. And maybe if I go with you, I can keep your mind off the stress.”
She took his hand, and his skin tingled beneath her touch. He smiled.
“I think that sounds like a great idea,” he said.
***
Luke sighed as he climbed the stairs, one of the two black cardboard boxes his mother had had delivered in his arms. She’d never been one to do anything halfway.
She could’ve mentioned it was a masquerade. We probably would’ve had time to go pick something out ourselves…
He paused outside the door to Rose’s room. It still felt strange to think that she had her own area and he had his. She was like a housemate who shared his bed now and then, and he was eager to get past this strange phase of their relationship. The longer he spent in her presence, the readier he became to have things return to how they’d been before he’d lost her. To go back to planning their life together. But he reminded himself that he needed to take one step at a time and that right now, the priority was for everyone to make it through his mother’s party in one piece.
He knocked on the heavy wooden door.
“Come in,” Rose called from within.
Luke shifted the bulky box somewhat uncomfortably and managed to turn the doorknob. He nudged the door open with his foot, and as soon as he entered, he froze.
She wore a floor-length red dress that hugged her hips, and the neckline plunged low enough to show just a bit of cleavage. Just enough to make Luke’s grip tighten on the box he held as he forced his thoughts to move elsewhere. Now wasn’t the time to let himself think about how absolutely exquisite she was. He’d taken her home to retrieve more of her clothes and personal items shortly after his mother had left, and thankfully, Alex hadn’t been around. But Luke hadn’t seen much of what Rose had retrieved until now.
