AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When he left, I exhaled the breath and dropped onto the bed. Staring at the ceiling, I tapped a finger on my arm.
He infuriated me. One minute he was this self-centered man-child, the next he looked into my eyes like some lost boy wanting to find his way home. Ugh!
I closed my eyes, hoping that would make the image of Luke go away, but it didn’t. His green eyes and light brown hair materialized in the darkness.
Why did it matter that he now knew about my mother? And why did sharing the truth about her make me feel closer to him? Was I that desperate for someone to hear me out? Was I that lonely?
The silence in the quiet, dark, empty room was deafening.
I rolled to my side—overcome with emotions I couldn’t comprehend—and tried to sleep.
The clock next to the bed glared at me: 11:16 p.m.
I puffed up my pillow. 11:47 p.m.
I pushed my hair off my neck. 12:24 p.m.
Giving up, I snapped the covers off me and got out of bed. Since I didn’t have an overnight bag, I slept in my panties and the shirt Luke had given me, but now even these seemed stifling. I unbuttoned a couple more buttons of the shirt and fanned myself. A glass of cold water would probably help me sleep.
I tread lightly down the steps, not wanting to wake Luke, but I didn’t have to worry. As I turned the corner toward the kitchen, I saw him standing over the island with a glass in his hand and a bottle of whiskey beside him.
His eyes squinted and looked confused, as though I were a ghost or some apparition. Then they widened as I neared. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice hoarse in the dim light.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
He watched me as I walked toward him. Slowly, he raised the glass to his lips but didn’t take his eyes off of me. The pale blue shirt clung to me and I pulled it away to cool down my skin. As I approached, I noticed Luke’s skin was flushed, too. A bead of sweat lay at the base of his collar.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked.
“Definitely.”
He turned to the cupboard to grab a glass.
“Are you hungry?”
My stomach growled on cue. I smirked; I couldn’t help it.
“Sure. What have you got?”
“I can scramble some eggs for you. I saw a carton of egg whites in the fridge that hasn’t expired.”
“Mmm,” I walked over to the fridge and pulled out the freezer drawer. Bingo! Rocky Road ice cream. “Do you think Colton has any chocolate sauce?” I asked.
Luke swallowed, his Adam’s apple jutting up and down. “God, I hope so.” He rummaged through the pantry and grabbed a squeeze bottle.
I clapped my hands together, then reached for two bowls and a large spoon. After filling up the bowls with three scoops of ice cream, I passed them to Luke to sauce them up.
Squeezing slowly, he looked up at me expectantly. “Say when.”
I shook my head and grinned. Reaching over, I put my hand over his and squeezed harder, releasing a downpour of chocolate sauce.
“Perfect,” I said.
He laughed. “Still have that sweet tooth.”
We took our bowls to the couch and feasted.
“So, what else have you been up to? Have you been to any of the art galleries in New York City? I recall you saying something about them.” He snapped his fingers. “Wait. It was breakfast in New York, then dinner in Paris. Wasn’t that the dream?”
