Page 55 of Sweet Spot

“Well, we’re not close but I did have to tell my dad I got an investor,” I said.

“Right.” Lukas looked down for a second. “Forgot he’s still up there. Remarried?”

“No. He’s… alone,” I said.

“You don’t ever miss him?”

I frowned. “Of course I do. It’s just complicated to see him. It involves seeing everyone else. We still text on holidays, birthdays, but the fact of the matter is there’s just… way too much unsaid between us. We’d have years’ worth of explaining ourselves to each other before we could even begin to have a real relationship.” I groaned into my hands. “I hate thinking about this,” I whispered to myself.

“Why? You feel guilty?”

“Of course I do,” I admitted softly. “I mean neither of us were really wrong. He was too heartbroken to care for me so I forced myself to love a surrogate parent. I wish it didn’t turn out that way, but it did.” I chewed my lip, annoyed with myself for revealing so much about myself when I got so little back from Lukas. “Anyway, I’m going to shut up now. I’m just thankful he lives with my uncle and their family.”

“His brother?”

“Yeah. They’ve always been really close.”

Lukas stared and nodded. “Nice,” he said, though he didn’t mean it. His voice was suddenly far away, his green eyes looking vacant.

“Hey.” My brows pulled tight as I studied him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he said far too quickly for me to believe. I pursed my lips, watching him look into his coffee for a silent moment before caving.

“You’ve never told me about your parents,” I said softly.

Lukas glanced up at me. “You’re right, I haven’t.”

Foolishly, I waited for him to say something more, maybe continue his sentence. But he gave me nothing. All I got was that brisk reminder of the wall between us. I tried my luck. Rolling my eyes, I got off the couch.

“Right,” I said, bringing my cup to the sink. “Anyway, I should probably get started on my day.”

Lukas watched me walk across the room. “You’re upset with me,” he said.

“No, I’m not,” I lied breezily. Returning to the couch, I slid my feet into my slippers. I wanted to admit that I was at least irked but getting into a fight was what couples did, and we weren’t that, so I put on a smile that convinced us both that things were fine. “I’m just thinking about all the stuff I need to get done today,” I said, straightening his perfectly straight tie. Touching him generally helped me forget whatever was plaguing my mind. Within a few seconds of my hands on his chest and his cupping my cheeks, I was actually fine again. At least I felt that way.

“Hey,” Lukas murmured, his thumbs stroking my jaw.

I smiled. “Yes?”

“If you find yourself needing a break from work, you should swing by my office,” he said to my surprise. “It’s about to be a long week for me. I could use as much of you as I can get.”

I swallowed, having known from Julian that it was about to be a rough week for him. I just wished I knew why and I was less than a second from asking but Lukas unknowingly silenced me, leaning in to give me a last kiss before work. He let his hands slide into my hair and the way he gently tugged on my locks told me that he already missed me. That he didn’t want to go.

But that was just it.

His touch said one thing and his words said another. As much as I told myself I didn’t care, it was starting to eat at me and since I could feel it actually hurting my heart, I knew.

I’d officially gotten attached.

20

LUKAS

“You? Here on a Saturday?” I got a belly laugh from Jack, the weekend desk guy at Hoult Tower who Julian nicknamed Creepy Uncle. “You must have another lady friend up there,” Jack winked.

“Actually, no,” I said. The last time he’d seen me, it was late and I was coming from a bar. The girl on my arm was already unzipping her dress so it was safe to say Jack made assumptions. Probably the right ones, too.

“So, you’re telling me you got real business to do?” Jack asked skeptically. “Seventy-five degrees on a Saturday, all the pretty girls in little skirts by the piers and Lukas Hendricks is working?”