Falling: A Sexy Alpha Romance Collection

“Hey, you,” I say softly, biting my lip.

“Callie,” he says, his deep voice almost a growl that only intensifies my butterflies. “Are you free for a few hours?”

I clench my thighs together. What would be the chances of breaking a sex drought with a guy you can’t sleep with again straight away? Only you, Callie, only you. “I’m about to go to the shops. Why?”

“I’m coming over to take you out for lunch. We’re going to start that friend thing you want today.”

“I can drive to wherever you want to have lunch.”

“No, I’ll come get you.”

“Honestly, Luke, I don’t mind.”

“I do.” His voice is definitely a growl this time.

Oh, my.

Why have I never dated a man with a voice like this before?

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

I drop my phone on the counter after we end the call and proceed to freak out. My hair is a mess, and I don’t know what clothes I have clean that I can wear. Because lunch with Luke demands the exact right clothes.

You should have asked him how far away he was.

Well, I was hardly thinking straight, was I?

Then, it hits me—this is my first real date with Luke. The butterflies that took over my tummy a moment ago completely consume me now.

Jesus, Callie, it’s not like you haven’t been on a date recently. Dating is kinda your thing these days.

Shut it. I don’t need your sarcasm.

Taking a deep breath, I concentrate on one thing at a time. First, my clothes and then my hair.

By the time Luke knocks on my front door, twenty minutes later, I’m presentable. Not as presentable as I would prefer, but given the short time frame, it will do.

Luke’s expression tells me that he doesn’t share my hesitation with my appearance. His heated gaze makes its way down my body, taking in the tight jeans I’ve thrown on with a black V-neck T-shirt and black leather jacket. He spends a moment checking out my heels before his eyes meet mine again.

“I thought you hated heels,” he says.

“Not for special occasions.”

He watches me in silence, processing that.

When he doesn’t say anything, I add, “First dates are special occasions.”

“So this is a date?” The sexy smirk forming on his lips shows me where he’s going with this.

“Not a full-service date, Luke, so drag your mind from the gutter.” But oh, God, I wish it was.

His smirk forms completely. “A man’s gotta take his opportunities when they come, Callie.”

I love this side to Luke. Throughout the past year, he’s hidden away from us, and while I now understand why, I’m sad that he has. I can only imagine the darkness he’s been living his life in over the last two years. Keeping that smile on his face has moved up my list of priorities.

Following him out to his car, I admire his body and wonder where he fits in the time to work out. Because my guess is that with the muscles he has, it would take many hours a week to maintain.

He leads me to the passenger side and opens the door for me. I love his old-school manners. And when he slides into the driver seat and says, “What’s your favourite place to go for lunch?”, I wonder what I ever did to have this man in my life. I’ve dated a lot of men—a lot—and I could count on one hand the number of them who ever opened my car door, let alone offered to take me to my favourite place to eat.