“What about this year?” I ask.
“Kaylee has chosen Hawaii.”
“Mm,” I murmur. “That sounds nice. Where was your pick?”
“Two years ago we did an Alaskan cruise.” He grabs some juice from the fridge and holds it up in my direction. “Want some?”
I nod. “How was that?”
“Same answer as New Zealand.” He fills two cups as he talks. “My family didn’t care for her, so it ended up not being a very family-oriented trip, which is sort of the whole point.”
The microwave beeps, and I take out the muffins. I arrange two on a plate for myself and meet Luke on the other side of the counter. “I bet this year you’re looking forward to Hawaii without Michelle and just your family,” I muse.
His answer shocks me.
Shock isn’t a strong enough word.
I’m fucking obliterated.
“Just my family and my fiancée.”
My jaw falls open dumbly, and I can’t seem to form words.
“Yeah.” He nods and gives a little laugh as he elbows my arm. “That’s you.”
“You want me to come to Hawaii with you on your family trip at the end of this month?” This is his family trip. The one he takes annually. The only chance he gets to see his family each year.
And he wants me to come? Why? To keep up the ruse?
His brows raise and he presses his lips together and nods. “That about sums up our conversation. It’s on me if you want to go. We’d probably have nice backdrops for your hungry traps.”
“Thirst traps,” I murmur, but is he for real offering me a free trip to Hawaii where I’ll spend days upon days with his entire family? I’m floored. And I’m nervous. I know literally nothing about his family other than the fact that he and his brother have some intense sibling rivalry.
“Is that a yes?” he asks.
“Oh my God, Luke!” I toss my arms around his neck and press a kiss to his mouth without even thinking twice about it. He’s hot and sweaty but I could not care less. I’m crushed against Luke Dalton and it’s exactly where I want to be. He presses his fingers to my hips for just a beat like he’s about to give into this pull between the two of us...but then he backs away. He chuckles, and my cheeks burn. “Yes it’s a yes!”
They’re the only words I can think to say after I just totally embarrassed myself by kissing him, but I try to play it like it was a thank you kiss.
Though that does beg the question of what I’ll be willing to do as a thank you when he actually takes me on the trip. There’s not much that wouldn’t be on that list, if you catch my drift.
“Do you have any champagne?” I ask after we sit and start eating.
“To celebrate your upcoming trip to Hawaii?”
I shake my head. “Mimosas are one of the few acceptable breakfast drinks, and I’m gonna need a little something before I call my mom back.”
He laughs. “Is she really that bad?” He stands and walks over to one of the lower cabinets near the refrigerator. He opens the cabinet door to reveal a wine cooler. He grabs a bottle, pops the cork, and hands it over.
“Thanks,” I say. “Impressive little wine refrigerator.”
He laughs. “It’s a wine cooler and a complete beverage center, actually.”
“You drink a lot of wine?”
He shakes his head. “Next to never. Beer or whiskey for me. But I keep a stock of it for entertaining. Now tell me about your mom.”
I let that entertaining comment slide even though I want to know if it’s because he has big parties or if it’s because he’s entertaining different women. I hope it’s not a wide variety of women...but I also remember my brother was working hard to get him laid the night of the bachelor party, so maybe not any recent conquests. At least I hope not.
I brush those thoughts away and heave in a breath as I think about my mom. She’s equal parts critical and loving mixed with a little old-fashioned.
“She’s a handful. She usually means well enough, but let’s just say Josh is her favorite and I’m the disappointment.”
“I doubt that,” he says softly, and then he dumps some champagne into his orange juice, too.
“He gets a pass on everything. When Todd dumped me, her first words were literally about how she’s going to have to wait even longer for grandchildren when her son was getting married a few days later. Can’t he produce grandchildren?” I say it lightly because it’s just the way she is. I’m not damaged or scarred from it, and if anything, it’s a big joke between my brother and me—something that, over the years, has drawn us closer if nothing else than for the laughs.
“If it makes you feel any better, my brother is my dad’s favorite and my sister is my mom’s favorite. I’m just on a lonely island,” he says. He flashes me a smirk, and we don’t dig further into it even though I want to know why he hid behind the smirk.
After breakfast, I finally make the call to my mom—even though the champagne wasn’t nearly strong enough.
And I lie through my teeth—the same damn lie we’ll be telling everyone.
She buys it.
This might be easier than we think.
CHAPTER 5
I stare at myself in the mirror.
I found the perfect dress exactly three minutes after I walked into the first store, and they had shoes and jewelry that work as the perfect accessories. The dress fits like it was made for me. His tux is black so I had a pretty wide palette of colors to choose from. I settled on a gorgeous purple that makes my skin glow. I took an hour to curl my hair into loose waves that cascade around my shoulders, and I spent extra time perfecting my make-up. I feel like a different person.
I feel like the future wife of a football player.
I glance at the clock and see that I’m officially out of time. Luke wanted to leave no later than six forty-five, and that gives me two minutes to get downstairs where he’s already waiting for me.
I move toward the top of the stairs and start my descent made a little slower in these tall heels. I’ll get used to them—I hope. I think back to what happened at the wedding.
God, please don’t let me fall into any pools tonight.
When I walk into the kitchen, Luke looks up, and our eyes meet.
My heart races.
His dark eyes sweep along my entire form, and I grip onto the counter because I feel like my knees might buckle at the sight of Hot Luke in his hot tux.
He looks much the same as he did at my brother’s wedding in a different tux less than a full week ago, yet at the same time...he looks totally different to me.
He looks like a man I could potentially fall for. A man I am falling for. Every second we spend together, another little piece of me belongs to him.
And I’m afraid the more time I spend with him, the more I’m going to keep falling. Then what? What happens once I’m done falling and I’m already there...but he isn’t?
I force the thought away.
I have to. I can’t go into a night like tonight and play the part with those thoughts plaguing me. But it’s still a very real and very scary concern.
“Wow,” he says softly, and he takes a step toward me. He reaches around my waist and pulls me into him. I grip onto his bicep. It’s hard and freaking huge and I need to keep holding on or I might fall over. “You look beautiful.”