Divided Interests (Southern Bride 3)

She smiled. “No sleepover tonight. I’ve got plans with the hubby. I was just inviting Paige along. Gene knows the lead singer in a band. He’s single, hot, and I’m pretty sure you would get along with him, Paige.”

That made Lucas pause for a moment as he looked at Jen, then me, then back to Jen.

“I’d love to come. I need a night out. It’s been forever.”

Lucas opened the refrigerator and put in a six pack of beer. Then pulled one out and opened it. He leaned against the counter and took a drink. I tried not to look at him, but I could feel his eyes on me. I quickly glanced his way.

Yep. He was staring at me.

“Didn’t get enough to drink last night?” I asked.

He smiled, and I instantly felt my cheeks heat. Jen cleared her throat and stood.

“I’m going to take off. I’ve got to get to the post office before they close. Great seeing you again, Lucas.”

“You don’t have to run off on my account, Jen,” Lucas said.

“I really have to get going,” she said with a smile that said she knew something we didn’t.

Facing her, I gave her pleading eyes that begged her not to leave. She simply winked, grabbed her purse and called out as she walked away, “Let me know if you want to meet us there or have us pick you up! It’s at the Pecan Street Bar! They go on at eight!”

When I heard the front door shut, I took in a deep breath and turned back around. I made my way over to the sink and started to clean the glasses from our tea.

“Sorry if I woke you up last night when I got home. I honestly don’t even remember coming in.”

Sadness washed over my body, and I was positive my shoulders sagged slightly. Damn it all to hell. The last thing I wanted was for Lucas to think I was upset about something.

“I was already awake. You didn’t drive drunk, did you?” I asked, focusing on washing the glasses. I moved slowly and washed one of the glasses at least four times before rinsing it.

“No, Milo’s friend Chuck was the designated driver. He brought us all home.”

Nodding, I rinsed the other glass and reached for the dish towel. When I looked at Lucas, he was still staring at me.

“Good. Hope you had a nice time.”

He nodded. “I did. Was good hanging out with our old friends. Bianca never did much like my friends from JC.”

I forced a smile. “I’d imagine she didn’t have much in common with them.”

Lucas didn’t say anything, but the way he watched me made me uneasy. I dried off the glasses and moved around him to put them in the cabinet.

The smell of his cologne filled the air, causing me to hold my breath. The last thing I wanted to do was smell him. Even his stupid smell made my body ache for his touch.

“If you’ll excuse me, Lucas, I’ve got to go get ready. I have a meeting with someone.”

He pushed off the counter and blocked my way. The way he looked at me almost made me feel like he was willing me to say something.

“Did you need something?” I asked, staring up into his green eyes.

“I don’t normally come home drunk, just so you know. It won’t happen again.”

I wanted to ask him what part wouldn’t happen again. Him coming home after drinking or him coming on to me? Maybe him jerking off in the shower and calling out my name? But I didn’t ask any of that. With a shrug, I gave him a slight smile. “What you do is your business. Not mine.”

He nodded, then smiled. “I didn’t wake you at all?”

I swallowed hard. The fact that he had no memory of what happened between us hurt more than I wanted to admit. I had been right last night. Sober Lucas would not have wanted to touch me. Or kiss me. Or ravage me in the middle of the kitchen in the house we both owned.

But he hadn’t seemed that drunk. Not drunk enough to not remember. Unless Jen was right. He was using it as an excuse. Since I wasn’t mentioning what happened, he was going to pretend he didn’t remember.

“No. Not at all.”

For a moment, there was a cat and mouse look on his face—something in his eyes. But it was gone as quickly as it came. “Good. Give any more thought to me buying you out?”

I let out a frustrated groan and pushed past him. As I headed to the stairs, I called out, “I’m not selling my half to you!”

Oreo raced up the stairs and into my room. I slammed the door shut and walked over to my bed. When I sat down, I took in a deep, slow breath, then let it out. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I sent Jen a text.