“Too bad,” he said, stepping closer.
Stubbornly, she set her jaw and tried to reach the pavement on her own.
“Woman!” Luke reprimanded. Grabbing her before she hurt herself, he pulled her soft curves against his hard body. Oh, yeah. He liked those soft curves and he held her there a moment; the thin, red sundress she wore, though perfectly discreet, offered only a thin barrier. Awareness spiked between them and he lowered his voice to a seductive purr. “Help isn’t so bad, now, is it?”
“This isn’t help,” she accused softly, her hands gently pressing into his shoulders before he reluctantly settled her on her feet. Unable to resist while the door still blocked them from view, he let his hand caress a path over her backside.
She reached behind her and covered his hand. “You just wanted an opportunity to do this.”
“No,” he said truthfully, smiling as he added, “but it’s a damn nice bonus to being a gentleman.”
“Hey!” a male voice exclaimed. “Stop hiding out behind that truck door with your new woman and get your ass in here!” Luke laughed as he glanced at the porch to find Rick standing there, a beer in hand, as he added, “The game’s about to start.”
“What game?” Katie asked, as Luke shut the truck door.
“Horseshoes,” Luke said. “It’s a preseason tradition. We haven’t lost an opening day game in ten years, and every one of those years, Coach hosted a barbecue where horseshoes were played. Baseball players are a suspicious bunch. Whatever works, we repeat it.” He took her hand. “Ready to meet the team?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m ready.”
Luke guided her forward, their fingers entwined. His first time to have a woman here, a woman he wanted by his side, and it had to be under crappy circumstances. That mockery of a story about how they met would be told over and over, and that facade would remind him that Katie had come to be by his side to catch a stalker—his stalker. And after lying awake talking to her for hours the night before, he knew her gut feeling was the same as his. They both believed the stalker was someone close to him, trying to put him off his game, or maybe end his career. That meant whoever was behind this might well be right here, amongst his friends.
They reached the porch and Katie squeezed his hand. He glanced over at her.
“Don’t think about it,” she whispered, reading him with such amazing accuracy that Luke grabbed her and kissed her.
“Save some of that luck for the pitcher’s mound, will you?” Rick teased.
Luke grimaced. “You sure your name isn’t Tom?”
Rick and Katie both gave him a baffled look.
“As in, Peeping Tom,” Luke added.
“Oh, that was bad,” Katie said. “Really bad.”
At the same time, Rick grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “I’ve never minded a good show.”
Katie rolled her eyes as Rick entered the house and they followed. “I can tell this is going to be a guy joke kind of day.”
“You have no idea,” Luke said. “The fun has only just begun.” He winked, his eyes locking with hers, a secret message there for her and her alone that had nothing to do with the barbecue and everything to do with how much he wanted her. “That’s a promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” she whispered.
Luke smiled, and then he realized, suddenly, how much he wanted today to be about him and Katie, the real them, not about the lies they’d created to catch a stalker.
Luke turned her to face him. “When we go out there and tell our story,” he said, “don’t convince yourself it’s all a game again. This isn’t a game.”
“No,” she said, pressing her hand to his chest. “But the reason behind our little charade isn’t, either, Luke. I want you to be safe.”
“I believe you,” he said. “And that might be why you’re here—”
“It is why I’m here, Luke. I’m here to protect you.”
“No. Today, you’re here because I want you here. Whatever else you might be, Katie…you’re the woman I want here by my side, as my date. I’d choose to have you here if all the other reasons didn’t exist.”
Confusion touched her expression. Luke sensed her start to withdraw as she said, “You can’t know that.”
“Don’t do that,” he said. “Don’t push me away.”
“I’m not.”
“You are,” he insisted. “And I won’t let you.” He kissed her. “That’s a promise, as sure as me making you dessert later. And you can bet I’m going to be thinking about it all afternoon.” He ran his hand down her hair. He had no idea why Katie affected him like she did, but it felt good. And unlike Katie, he wasn’t going to let the past slow him down, nor was he going to allow it to ruin what had started to grow between them. “Let’s eat so we can get on to that dessert, sooner than later.”