Awakening (8 page)

"Perfect!" Anne Marie echoed.

"And if Luke doesn't want to rip it off and have his way with you the moment he sees you, then he doesn't deserve you anyway!" Eva added.

I laughed nervously at the prospect. He was Mark's brother, and although I did find him very, very sexy, I didn't think it would look good for me to be pursuing him overly much.

"Now, call your mom and make sure the boys aren't still at the house. We wouldn't want them to see us coming back with all these packages. They'd think we liked them or something!" Anne Marie joked.

I looked over at her, noticing that she had changed into a green peplum top that was the same color as the first shirt and some dark, form fitting jeans with rhinestone detail on the back pockets. She had on a pair of tan leather knee high western boots and had let her midnight hair down to cascade around her shoulders.

"Better?" She asked, noticing my gaze.

"Absolutely!" I told her and she smiled.

~~~~

My mother told me that Nick had left and Luke was just finishing up a few things. I remembered that I had asked him to hang around and talk to me before he left, so I asked my mother to let him know I was on my way.

Anne Marie and
Eva raced up the stairs with our packages, calling dibs on the shower, as I walked into the kitchen looking for Luke.

I found him leaning against the island, drinking a bottle of water. For the briefest moment I wished I was that bottle, and then he spoke and my sanity returned.

"You wanted to talk?"

"Luke,
I just wanted to say that I'm sorry I wasn't there for you either after Mark's death. I am just as much to blame for us not keeping in contact."

He looked at me for a moment, green eyes searching my face.

"Why didn't you come to the funeral?" Luke wanted to know.

"I just couldn't. I didn't want to remember him like that. I wanted to remember him alive and smiling," I replied, wringing my hands.

Luke picked up one of my hands sending tingles up my arm and nodded as if he understood.

"How did you end up
back here, in this town?" I asked.

"I grew up here
, you know that. My dad got a new job in Greenville so they moved. The house belonged to my great-grandparents. It was paid for, so we kept it. We visited for a few weeks every summer, and then when I finished my degree, I came back here to start my business with Nick. The house was just sitting there vacant so, naturally, I moved back in."

I smiled, trying to calm my nerves.

"Nick and I will pick y'all up around 7," he said and pushed off the counter.

Before I could say anything else, he had closed the short distance between us and enveloped me in his arms. He was warm and strong and he smelled of
sweat and aftershave. My arms instinctively came up to circle his waist as I breathed him in. Strangely, it felt right.

~~~~

After a flurry of showers, hair and makeup, the three of us were ready for a night of fun. Eva had helped me put my hair up in a low, loose bun, leaving some of the shorter pieces out to frame my face. I was thankful for her help, because I certainly couldn't have managed it without her.

"Yo
u guys, why am I so nervous?"

"Seriously, that beautiful man will be at the house any minute, you haven't been out with a man in ages, in fact, you haven't been out in ages! But, calm down, because at least you have your wing ladies with you! Right, Anne Marie?"
Eva laughed.

"That's ri
iiight!"

I couldn't help thinking it was more about
it being Luke than it was about not having been out with any other men. I hadn't really confided in Eva or Anne Marie about my interactions with Luke over the years. It didn't seem right to be almost kissing Luke in a hotel hallway or even thinking about him in that way when I was with Mark.

As we reached the bottom of the stairs, my mother came into the foyer. "Well look at you three gorgeous girls!" She chirped, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Mom, are you sure you won't come with us?"

"No way, your father will be here in a few minutes, and we're going to tackle
mine and Jillian's room together. Plus, you'll have more fun without me."

"That's not true!" Argued Anne Marie.

Just then the doorbell rang and Eva walked over to answer it. Luke stood there looking more delectable than I had ever seen him. His black t-shirt stretched tightly across the broad expanse of his chest, highlighting his pectorals. The short sleeves were a bit too snug around his biceps and I found myself wanting to reach out and run my hands over his arms. I swallowed hard and continued my perusal of his body. His jeans hung perfectly off his hips and fit snugly against his thighs. When my eyes made it back to his face he was staring at me with a look of mutual attraction. He made eye contact and then let his eyes slowly drift downward to my pendant and then over my chest to my legs. When his eyes traveled back to mine I could see the lust in them and I was sure my look mirrored his.

"Damn,
" I heard him whisper under his breath before clearing his throat. "Caroline, you look amazing," he said.

"Thank you," I managed breathlessly. "You look pretty good yourself." I smiled, trying to ease some of the sexual tension between us.

"
Allison, Anne Marie, Eva, always a pleasure," Luke added, nodding to each of them. "Eva, Nick had some business to finish up at the office, but said he'd meet us there. Are we all ready to go?"

"Caroline, just a minute please," my mother said, touching my upper arm. Luke escorted Anne Marie and Eva out the door as I turned to my mother.

"Will you please try to enjoy yourself?" She asked, in a pleading tone. "You haven't been out of the house much since, well... I just want you to have a little fun. Luke seems like he's grown into a really nice guy and I think he's genuinely interested in you. Don't let your past hold you back from your future, honey."

"Okay, Mom.
I'll do my best," I said with a smile, trying to appease her.

"Oh, and be careful. I ran to the store yesterday morning while you were out running and the cashier was talking to the woman in front of me about some guy who had tried to carry off a local girl a couple weeks ago. He hasn't been caught. Y'all stay together okay?"

"We will Mom, and the guys will be there too," I reassured her.

Then, I kissed her on the cheek and walked outside to see Luke clo
sing the back door of his truck after helping Anne Marie inside. I walked down the stairs, and he opened the passenger door, holding out his hand to me. As my hand touched his, I felt sparks in my belly, and looked to him to see if he felt it too.

"Caroline, I
know how sudden this all is. I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but I-"

"Let's go you love birds, I want to get my drink on!" Eva interrupted, reaching over the front seat to honk the horn.

"Later?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "When there aren't so many witnesses."

He nodded, helping me into the truck.

~~~~

When we entered
The Back Porch Bar & Grill Luke led us through the restaurant area and out the back door onto the porch where Nick was waiting for us in a booth with another man. They stood as we walked over.

"Hope y'all don't mind, but I asked my little brother to join us," he said, looking right at Anne Marie.

"Damn Nick, you certainly couldn't be more obvious!" The brother said, elbowing him. "I'm Ben, it's nice to meet y'all."

Nick made the introductions all the way around as we slid into the booth. When he got to Anne Marie, Ben lifted her hand, planting a light kiss on her fingers. I think it may have been love at first sight because Anne Marie, who was sliding into the booth next to me, slowly stood and slid in next to Ben instead. I had to admit, he was a pretty good looking guy
with the same sandy hair and gray eyes as Nick.

"I stopped by my brother's office this afternoon to discuss a business o
pportunity and on my way there I saw three lovely ladies, that I didn't recognize from around here, coming out of
Mimi's Boutique.
"

Oops, b
usted!

"I happened to mention the dark headed vixen amongst them to Nick, and he invited me for drinks tonight. What a surprise it was when you walked in," Ben said, putting his arm around Anne Marie's shoulders.

"Get a room!" Eva shouted at them, lightening the mood and drawing a laugh from everyone else. She was seated across the booth from Nick, who was next to Ben and Anne Marie. That left me in between Eva and Luke.

The booth wasn't re
ally large enough for all of us with all these broad shouldered men cramming in and my thigh was solidly up against Luke's. I felt like my leg was on fire where it met his and I squirmed toward Eva trying to get some relief. Luke looked directly at me and put his hand firmly on my knee, holding me in place. His fingers traced slow circles over my knee, sending sparks of heat straight to my center.

I looked around
noticing the large porch area we were on was built around several large trees that were lit with white lights around their trunks and through their lower branches. The walls were created by white lattice that had honeysuckle and jasmine winding through it. The dance floor and stage took up most of the covered area in the back and the large teak bar took up one whole side of the porch space in the front. There were only a few other people occupying tables at the moment, and one guy sitting at the bar, who it seemed, liked to stare because every time I looked that way, he was looking at me, or at our table anyway.

The waitress came by to get our drink order. Eva, ever the parti
er, ordered shots for the table. I had never been a big drinker, so I tried to just get a water, but Eva would have nothing to do with it, and asked the waitress to bring me an Appletini. I thought to object, but I was very conscious of Luke's hand on my knee, and decided I could use a little something take the edge off.

When the drinks arrived, Eva passed out the shots.

"To the future, whatever it may hold," she toasted.

The combination of different liquors burned it's way to my belly, warming me from the inside. Just then the band started playing.

"Care for a dance, Savannah?" His nickname for me caught me off guard again and I wasn't able to object before he had me out of the booth and on the dance floor. Thank goodness it wasn't a slow song. As we shagged to
I Love Beach Music
, by the Embers, I thought how much I missed dancing. It had been a really long time since I'd gotten out and enjoyed myself, and I really did want to let go. As we twirled and shimmied around the dance floor, I found myself laughing and having a great time. When the song ended, I started to walk back to the booth, but Luke grabbed my wrist.

"One more?" He asked, raising his eyebrow at me. As soon as I nodded, I wished I hadn't.

"Just one look, and I fell so hard, hard, hard, in love....," the lead singer began as Luke pulled me into his arms.

As we swayed to the music, every nerve in my body was on high alert. His hand, firmly on my lower back, held me solidly against him and I could feel my pulse racing. He leaned down and laid his head against mine. I could feel his breath in my ear and inhaled his warm male scent.

"God this song reminds me of you," he said as we swayed to the music. "I've thought about you so often. About all the fun we had during summers here. About seeing you again." I tried to pull away, but he held fast. "I wanted to say earlier that I know this must be overwhelming for you. I know I haven't always treated you right but I don't want things to be awkward between us anymore. From the moment I met you I knew you were special. I thought I had missed my chance with you long ago and then when I saw you standing in my driveway... I am just so thankful to see you again."

"Luke..." I started, but as soon as I opened my mouth to talk, his lips were on mine. The kiss was slow and sweet at first. The music fell away, and all I could do was feel his mouth moving over mine, taking what he wanted. He brought one hand up to cup the back of my neck and moved his head to the side, deepening the kiss. Our tongues collided eagerly, as if they had done this dance before many times. I leaned into him, trying to stifle the low moan that threatened to escape.

"What is going on here!?" I heard, from somewhere in the background. "Luke Johnson, I am talking to you!"

This brought me screaming back to reality. Pulling my face back from Luke, I realized we were eye level, and he was holding me up against his chest.

"Let me apologize for her in advance," he said, lowering my feet back to the dance floor. "This has nothing to do with you. Please wait for me. I'll be right back."

He placed another kiss on my forehead before turning around to the girl and leading her across the dance floor. I stood in stunned silence watching his back disappear
inside.

Nick walked over to me and guided me back to the booth. "Don't worry about her."

"Who is she?" I asked.