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“Luke!”
I couldn’t help the way I called his name. This was his lodge, after all. Surely, if a customer was threatening one of his employees, he would come to help resolve the situation as best as he could. But he couldn’t do that if he wasn’t aware of what was going on.
I felt a hand on my arm, throwing my balance off and allowing me to be slammed against one of the walls.
“Luke can’t help you now,” Mark whispered.
I felt the cold metal of a ring on my finger and tried to pull my hand away. He just kept me against the wall.
“We’re leaving for Chicago – now!”
My stomach sank. Mark must have had this plan all along and was just tired of waiting for me to ‘wake up’ and ‘realize’ what a dreamy catch I’d originally had in him – his cheating and all his flaws were not an issue anymore! Or so he wanted me to believe.
“Luke!”
My voice went an octave higher, but it seemed to do the trick. One of the doors just across the hall slammed open, and the pressure keeping me pinned to the wall let up. I immediately scurried behind Luke before taking the ring off my left hand and throwing it to the ground.
If he wasn’t going to respect me, I didn’t have to respect the ring. And I didn’t want it.
“That’s enough,” Luke said to Mark through clenched teeth. “Take the ring. Get. Out. Of. Here. And I don’t want to see you back in Waterfront ever again. You’ll wish you had listened to my warning the first time if you come back.” He practically threw Mark – and kicked the ring – all the way down the hall. “Now, scram.”
Once Mark realized the situation was far more serious than he had originally thought it was, he scrambled down the staircase, leaving the ring. Luke turned to me, he reflexively reached for me before stopping himself, wanting to respect my space.
“Are you all right?”
“I-I… I might be a little sore, but yeah. I think so,” I said, rubbing where Mark’s fingers had dug into my arms. “Thanks.”
He nodded slowly before heading back to his room. He didn’t get far before he noticed that Mark left the ring.
“Leave it,” I said. “Let someone else pick it up when they come. But Luke…”
I walked over to him and took his hand gently in mine. It was warm and larger than mine, but after what had just happened, that made me feel safer having him around me.
“You didn’t give me a chance to answer you earlier today. But… I feel the same way.” I continued. “I-I… I don’t want to guarantee or promise you anything I can’t deliver, but I want to see where a relationship with you goes. I just… can we go slowly?”
Luke smiled softly.
“I’d be honored to go slowly with you,” he said. “Perhaps, after the ruckus Mr. Wilson’s caused, it’s better that we order pizza tonight. My treat. You’ve… you’ve had a rough hour.”
I nodded slowly, now realizing my legs were shaking from the adrenaline of looking for someone to help me get Mark away from me. Or at least get him to leave me alone.
Chapter twenty-four
Luke
The summer went quickly. Wyatt and Seth showed up and the season ran smoothly. As Laurel had predicted, the guests were thrilled with the new dining situation, and I enjoyed helping her in the kitchen whenever I had free time.
Laurel’s birthday came around at the end of the season. Thankfully, we hadn’t had any other issues spring up with the weather.
Meanwhile, Laurel and I were in the lobby of the lodge. Most of the customers were off fishing at the lake right now, and those who had stayed had either gone into Coeur d’Alene for the day or were in downtown Waterfront.
I couldn’t hold back any longer. I’d picked up a birthday present for Laurel, and though her birthday was only a few more days away, Rick had texted me that the paperwork was all finished. He was coming home with the present. I just had to stall Laurel so that she would stay in the lobby long enough.
“Luke, I think this side table here needs some work.”
Laurel’s voice brought me out of attempting to plan everything. This worked just as well to keep her occupied.
“What’s wrong with the table?” I stood up from where I had been sitting at the desk and walked over to the small side table where I kept all the information about how to get a fishing license if a guest hadn’t known how or had forgotten to get one before coming to stay at the lodge.
