Me: Mmmm… let me think about that.
Luke: No need to think. I’ve got everything you need, including the night off.
Me: Is there pizza involved in this night off? A girl would never go back to internet dating if she was assured of pizza. Just sayin’
Luke: Is that code for cock?
Me: You’re a funny man, Luke Hardy. No, I just want pizza.
Luke: Pizza is at seven.
Me: I’ll be there. And Luke?
Luke: Yeah?
Me: I’ll take a side of cock with that.
Luke: So demanding.
I knock on Luke’s front door just before seven that night and hope like hell not to see Alanis here again. Last night was enough for a long time.
Luke opens the door and hits me with a sexy smile. I trail my gaze down his body, taking in the long-sleeved black shirt he’s wearing that sits firm against his muscles. This shirt isn’t as thin as his other T-shirts that do good things to me, but he still can’t hide those muscles. Meeting his gaze, I say, “You just shouldn’t wear clothes. I mean, I don’t see the need for them when what you do wear doesn’t even hide what’s underneath.”
He grins. “I’ll give them up if you do, too.”
“Could get tricky. I’m not sure what Sean would think.”
He nods as if he’s putting a lot of thought into this. “True.” He scoops me around my waist and pulls me in for a kiss. “When it’s just you and me, no clothes. Deal?”
“Deal.”
He lets me go and closes the door behind me. “How was work?”
“It’s getting better. They gave me another article to write. Seems the sugar tax one was popular. This time, they want me to write about refugees.”
“They like to give you the hard stuff, don’t they? Is this one for Sunday’s paper?”
Warmth spreads through me. He bought last Sunday’s paper and cut my article out to keep. My parents still haven’t acknowledged it. “Yeah, hopefully. It’ll depend if they like what I write, I guess.”
We round the corner into the kitchen and dining area. Sean’s face lights up when he sees me, and he runs my way. He barrels into me, and I pull him up for a hug. “You came!” he exclaims.
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss a night with you guys.”
His little arms tighten around my neck, and he kisses me. “Daddy’s making us pizza. And we made juice.”
I let him down. “You made it?”
He nods excitedly as he points to the juicer sitting on the counter. “Yes. With the juicer.” He turns to look up at Luke. “Can we have some now, Daddy?”
Luke shakes his head. “No, we’ll have it with dinner. Why don’t you show Callie the drawing you did today?”
He runs off to find the drawing, and I grin at Luke. “He’s excited tonight.”
“He’s been counting down the hours until he got to see you.” He pauses for a moment. “Seems to be something the Hardy men share.”
“I think they also share their charm. The way they know just what to say to mesmerise a girl is killer.”
“Callie, Callie!” Sean races back into the kitchen with his drawing, thrusting the piece of paper at me.