Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
I glare at him. I hope he buys it. I hope he can’t see the lust sizzling through me from his words. He’s making me want to do something completely nuts, like grab and kiss him.
Then he’s got his hands on me, smoothing around my body. He pulls me against him, and suddenly, our lips are on each other. It feels so natural. So right. I moan as I move against him, but then I put my hand on his chest, ignoring the heat blazing through his T-shirt, and roughly push him away.
“No, Luke,” I snap.
He smirks. “Only my closest friends call me Luke.”
“Stop it.” I step back, half hoping he’ll close the distance again.
“That was our last kiss,” he says grimly. “You’re right, but if we’re going to make this work, I’ll have to be cold like the first time we saw each other here. I won’t even be able to look at you for longer than a second. When we leave, you’ll never see me again. I’ll make sure of it.”
“You say that like a threat,” I mutter.
“It’s just how it has to be,” he says gruffly. “I didn’t sleep a single minute last night. All I could do was lie awake, thinking about you: not just how sexy you were in the pool, not just your moans, not just your perfect, curvy virgin body. I was thinking about the dates we could go on and the long hours we could spend getting to know each other.”
My heart pumps as my thoughts flurry to a future we can never have. “Maybe in another life,” I murmur.
He raises his hand as if to touch me but then lets it fall. With a sigh, he turns and almost turns back. Then he returns quickly to the house. He moves fast, as though not trusting himself to walk the short distance without losing his resolve and grabbing me again.
I stay outside for a while, looking at the pool, remembering how he looked when he climbed from it naked, the water glistening on his body. It seemed so lighthearted then—playful, somehow. Wrong, sure, but innocent compared to what we did last night.
The dates we could’ve gone on. An image of Lukas and me stabs into my thoughts. He’s wearing a suit, and I’m wearing a glittering dress that proudly hugs my body. I don’t feel any shame about my shape when my arm interlocks with his. He leans down and whispers, “This will be the best night of our lives. Let’s not think about how wrong it is.”
Shimmers dance over me as I stare at the water, wishing I could leap in and emerge in that impossible dream.
I’ll have to do what Lukas said for the rest of the stay. Be cold and distant. Don’t even look at him, and after—gulp—we’ll never see each other again.
CHAPTER 10
LUKAS
The next day, after using every ounce of self-control I have to ignore Maci, I grip my cell phone hard, pressing it against my ear. Standing at my window, I watch the security circulating. Ethan, my daughter’s date, is on his way.
“What do you mean?” I snap at Sebastian, my nerves already taut from being in the same house as Maci and somehow withholding my desire.
“I can’t tell you where I’m going,” he repeats.
“Seb, what the hell are you talking about?” I grind my teeth, struggling to keep my voice level. I’m supposed to be playing the supportive, understanding dad role, not worrying about my friend.
“I need some space,” he goes on. “I thought it was only fair to warn you. You’ll be handling stuff on your own.”
“Have you lost your goddamn mind? I need you. Are you drunk? High? Listen, Seb, I’ve been an ass, okay? I’ve been a selfish prick, but you’re my best friend. You don’t need to do this, whatever it is.”
“Relax,” he says. “It’s not… anything like that. I’m not going to hurt myself. I’m just tired of it all. I’m tired of the race. I’ve got no wife. No kids. No real life. I want to change that. I’m taking some time for myself. I hope you can respect my decision.”
I close my eyes, massaging my forehead. Clearly, I can’t be a good dad, but maybe I can be a good friend. “If this is what you really want,” I say, “then I understand. But I don’t understand why you can’t tell me where you’re going or what you’ll be doing.”
“Just taking some time,” he says vaguely. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep in touch.”
“Seb, is something wrong?” I ask. “I mean, apart from the stuff we’ve talked about? Is somebody blackmailing you, maybe? Have you gotten into something? You can talk to me.”
A pause. For a moment, I think he’s going to tell me I’m right, but then he mutters, “It’s nothing like that, Luke. I just need some space.”