This Can't Be Love (Whispering Bay Romance 5)

Well, now they knew all right.

In a month, she’d be gone from here. And he’d be who knew where. She wasn’t a casual sex kind of girl. And he wasn’t the kind of guy who wanted a relationship. Poor Perfect Victoria was a prime example of that.

The shower water turned off and she imagined him drying off that body of his. Lucky towel. She flipped to her side. This was more than bad. More than disastrous. If she wasn’t careful, she’d do something she’d regret.

The house went completely silent. Good. Maybe now she could get some sleep.

She’d thought sharing a house with him would be no problem, but tonight she’d found out that wasn’t the case. The solution, of course, was obvious. She simply had to avoid being alone with Luke. No more quiet dinners on the patio or anything else that could lead to temptation. In the evenings when he was home, she’d be at The Bistro, baking and getting ready for the next day. She’d come home late, too tired to even talk. She’d hit her bed and start all over again the next day. They’d be polite roommates and eventually they’d both go their own way, and they’d remember their kiss as a nice but impetuous gesture, and nothing more.

* * *

Sarah was in the kitchen making a cup of tea when Luke walked in on her. “I hope I didn’t scare you last night,” he said quietly. Cameron was still asleep in the living room and he didn’t want to wake him. He knew Sarah woke up early and he wanted to talk to her before she headed into work.

“Scare me? Oh, you mean that kiss?” She laughed but it sounded nervous. “It’s just my luck. Kids, dogs, and old men. They all love me!”

“Old men?”

“Well, you are thirty-seven. That’s old to me.” She stirred some milk into her tea, then took a sip, but she had trouble meeting his gaze.

If she wanted to pretend that last night’s kiss didn’t mean anything, then that was fine by him. He’d come in here to apologize. To tell her that he’d meant it when he said it was just a one-time thing but that in the moment he’d taken it too far. No way, however, was he going to let that old man remark go unanswered. “Thirty-seven isn’t old.”

“But it’s not young either, is it? Don’t men’s testosterone levels start decreasing at thirty-five?”

“There’s nothing wrong with my damn testosterone levels and we both know it.”

She fl

ushed.

“Yeah,” he said, unable to hide a smirk. “I was pretty sure you felt it, too.”

“I stand corrected. Your testosterone levels are up to par.” His smirk deepened and her face flushed at the realization that she’d just made a double entendre.

“Let’s start again,” she said. “Thanks for a lovely evening, but you were right when you said that kiss was just a one-time thing.”

“I agree. It would be a mistake to take things any further.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I was afraid I was going to have to let you down gently.”

He was about to say something about her being a smartass, but he let it go. Despite her protests or talk of him being too old, it was obvious she used sarcasm to deflect her discomfort. And his kiss had made her uncomfortable. In the same exact way it had made him uncomfortable, too. Last night’s cold shower had ended in a quick hand job that had only partially done the trick. Knowing that she was sleeping just a door away had made him hard again within minutes of crawling into bed.

She grabbed her backpack. “I have lots to catch up on today, so I won’t be home for dinner, but tell Cameron I’ll be in time for that game of Monopoly.” She paused. “If we’re still on for that.”

“Of course.”

“Good, I’m looking forward to it.” She glanced his way, still not fully meeting his gaze, then slipped out into the early-morning dawn.

Luke watched the door close behind her. It was exactly what he’d wanted. To make sure she didn’t have any unrealistic expectations after last night. He should feel relieved. But instead he felt the opposite. Which made no sense at all.

He felt off, for lack of a better word. Probably due to yesterday’s sequence of events. First, there had been Cameron’s confession about the soccer club, then the revelation about Mimi and Zeke’s separation, Toby’s escape into the wild, and, last but not least, the kiss he’d shared with Sarah. Not to mention how he’d told her all about Mimi’s teenage pregnancy and his mother’s plan for the adoption.

He’d never told anyone that story. Not even Torie. So why had he told Sarah? The woman had an uncanny way of making him say things he normally wouldn’t. He shook his head. It had probably been the effect of too much leftover Toby-induced adrenaline and all those s’mores.

He picked up his cell phone and dialed Ethan. It rang five times before his best friend answered in a groggy voice. “What the hell? It’s five-thirty in the morning. You better be dead or in jail, Powers.”

“Not in jail and obviously not dead either.”

“What’s wrong? Is Luke okay?” Julie, Ethan’s wife asked in the background.