“I wouldn’t be so quick to assume his mood has anything to do with you,” Sophie said, as though reading Paige’s mind. She looked over to where her niece was now reading a story to a very well-worn bunny. “Lucas has a lot on his plate right now with trying to restart the business.”
Paige knew from the first day’s eavesdropping that it was more than that. From what she’d heard, Lucas was in danger of losing the place. But that had been the case all along. What she saw this morning was something different. Something worse. “I don’t think that’s what was bothering him.”
“Did you ask him?”
Paige looked down at the teacup she still held clenched in her hand. Hearing Sophie ask something so obviously simple made her suddenly feel very foolish for hauling ass out of the house. “No.”
“I’ll let you in on a little secret, Paige,” she said, dropping her voice to a whisper. “My brother is crazy about you.”
Paige looked up. “What?”
Sophie grinned. “You heard me. I saw how he was with you. Can’t even remember the last time he had such a dopey look on his face.” She stood and pulled Paige to her feet. “Why don’t you jog back to the house and ask him what’s up?” She looped her arm through Paige’s as they walked arm in arm toward the door. “Just don’t tell him about the dopey-face part.”
Paige met Sophie’s grin with one of her own. “Your secret is safe with me.”
Chapter 19
If Paige thought about it too long, she’d chicken out.
She’d been standing on the sidewalk in front of the Copper Lantern Inn for at least five minutes, debating how best to broach the subject with Lucas. Sophie had made it seem so easy that Paige had left the bookstore in total confidence. But the closer she got to the inn, the more her courage waned, until she found herself standing in front of the picket gate overthinking her next move.
This never happened at work. She had no problem charging into a meeting with her hand extended and her head held high. But this was different. It wasn’t a project or a new client on the line. It was her heart.
Suck it up, Parker, she thought. It certainly wasn’t going to make things any better if he saw her outside pacing like a loon.
Lucas was still in the kitchen, sitting at the island, right where Paige had left him. There was a fresh carafe of coffee on the counter, so at least he’d moved at some point. But that was the only evidence that he’d taken his eyes off the computer at all.
“How was your run?” he asked when she walked into the room. He didn’t look up. Not a good sign.
Paige drew a blank. “My run? Oh yeah, my run. Good.”
He finally looked at her. His eyes were glassy, probably from staring at the screen for no telling how long, and his hair looked as though he’d run his hands through it a few dozen times. “I made coffee while you were out.”
“Thanks.” Paige didn’t really even want coffee—her morning outing had provided enough of a jolt to her system—but pouring a cup was a good excuse to avoid the conversation. At least for a few more minutes.
She stalled, stirring the cup of coffee far longer than necessary considering she hadn’t even added anything to it. Time to put on her big-girl panties.
“Hey,” she said, finally turning around to face him. “I know this is all new to you. If you’re upset about last night, if it’s too much too soon, we can take a step back. I didn’t come here looking for… And well, you’ve got a lot on your plate.”
“Oh God no,” Lucas said. “Is that what you thought?”
“I wasn’t really sure what to think. I mean, I thought everything was great last night.” She shot him a knowing look. “Really great.” Really great three times over, thank you very much. Actually, thank him very much. “But then this morning, I woke up and you weren’t there, and you’d seemed totally fine last night, but then I came down, and you were sitting here all tense and you looked so upset.” Paige paused to take a breath. Even she knew she was rambling. “I just assumed it was because—”
He closed the gap between them in two easy strides, swallowing her protests with a kiss. Instinctively her arms snaked around his neck, and then he shifted, pressing against her in a way that had her moaning into his mouth. Her reaction was met by one of his own. A low groan rumbled in his chest as Lucas’s hands gripped her waist, lifting her so that she sat perched atop the butcher-block counter. She spread her legs, inviting him in, and Lucas took full advantage, seating himself against her warmth and rocking against her in a rhythm that left them both breathless when he finally reared back to look at her.
“Does that answer your question?”
“Technically, I hadn’t asked a question.” Gah! She really had to do something about her need to always be right.
Lucas merely smiled and shook his head. “You’re a little crazy, do you know that?”
She winced. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he said, “I happen to like your kind of crazy.”
“You do?” No one liked her crazy. Not even her.
Lucas didn’t answer. Not with words anyway. Instead he kissed her again, and for once in her life, Paige Parker lost the urge to win a debate.
But that did nothing to erase her concern for the man currently wedged between her thighs. “So, if it’s not us,” she began when they finally came up for air. “Look, I don’t want to pry, so feel free to tell me it’s none of my business, but…are you sure everything’s okay? The look on your face when I walked in the room this morning…”
Lucas reached for his laptop and spun it around so it was facing them. “I got an email from Maddie’s grandfather,” he said.
Paige already knew that Lucas and Sophie’s parents had been killed by a drunk driver, which meant he had to be talking about Jenny’s dad.
“Go ahead.” Lucas nodded toward the screen. “Read it.”
Paige slid off the counter, sat down on one of the stools, and read the email, twice. Lucas stood behind her, his entire frame vibrating with tension. She could feel it rolling off him in waves. What Paige couldn’t figure out was why. The email seemed pretty straightforward. John and Jane Randolph would be arriving Sunday to visit their granddaughter. With the exception of the fact that Mr. Randolph mentioned how worried his wife had been about “Madeline’s safety” during the recent storm, the whole thing read more like business correspondence than a message between family members. Although technically, was Lucas even related to them anymore? The email certainly didn’t give that vibe. Even the closing was just his professional signature block: John James Randolph, CEO Randolph Industries.