Fuck.
My ex-girlfriend is not the subject I want to discuss at the moment.
I want to talk about condoms and where the hell the nearest store is that I can get some because I want Afton. She’s all I want.
“No,” I answer honestly. “I tried calling her a few times right after her wedding. I haven’t bothered reaching out to her on social media.”
“You haven’t?” Surprise etches her tone.
“She’s married,” I say firmly. “I struggled to accept that the day it happened, but time has helped me see things differently.”
Skepticism knits her brow. “Are you saying that you’re over her?”
I can’t blame her for doubting me. She was next to me when I fell apart on Brook’s wedding day. Afton had a front row seat to that shitshow.
I slide my ass forward on the chair. “Now that there’s some distance between me and that day, I see that Brook is my past.”
She takes a sip from the glass in front of her. “Time has a way of changing our perspective on things.”
I hope to hell she’s talking about her perspective on me. I want out of the friend zone and into her bed, but I have to ask… I need to know.
“What about you and your ex, Afton?”
Her blue eyes widen. “Warren?”
It’s the first time she’s said his name to me. It makes him all that more real. Until now, he’s been a guy who let her slip away. He’s the man who couldn’t give her what she needed, so she left him to run away with a stranger, to run away with me.
I nod. “Yeah, Warren.”
Her gaze wanders to the lights behind me. “We talked. He didn’t come right out and say it, but I think he’s in love with his research partner.”
I glance down when she slides her hand away from mine.
“They had a lot more in common than we ever did,” she says softly. “I want him to be happy. Maybe he’ll find that with her.”
“You’ll find it too,” I say without thinking.
As her eyes meet mine, I hold in the words I’m aching to say.
With me, Afton. I want you to find happiness with me, even if it’s just for one night.
Chapter 23
Afton
I stare at Luke, wondering what it would feel like to kiss him.
I haven’t kissed that many men in my life. I can’t say that any of them were memorable. Kissing Warren was all right, but it was never filled with need or desire. It was the kind of kiss that doesn’t leave you wanting more.
I lean closer, hoping Luke takes the hint.
He said he’s over Brooklyn, so a kiss wouldn’t hurt.
His eyes trail over my face until they land on my lips. “Afton.”
My name comes out in a deeper tone. There’s a raw edge to his voice that I haven’t heard before.
“Luke,” I say his name breathlessly, wanting him to sense what I need. Hoping that he can.
A sudden, high-pitched beep fills the air. It sounds again, and then again.
I jump to my feet just as Luke does.
“Smoke alarm,” he says before he sprints into my bedroom.
“Dammit,” I mutter as I follow on his heel.
Before we went out to the garden, I put a blueberry tart in the oven for dessert. I forgot all about it.
Once we reach the kitchen, Luke acts fast. He turns off the oven, grabs an oven mitt from the counter, and retrieves the badly burned tart.
Laughing, he places it on a trivet on the island.
I wave both hands in front of my face trying to chase away the smoke that’s engulfed my kitchen and living room. “I can’t believe I forgot about the tart.”
Luke reaches over the sink, his hand moving toward the window. “Let’s open every window. Do the door too. It will clear the smoke out before you know it.”
I dart to the front door to open it, but before I can do that, Nelson and Joel come charging in.
Joel is in the lead with a fire extinguisher in his hand.
He stops as soon as he notices Luke in the kitchen. Nelson runs right into the back of him, causing them both to stumble forward.
I can’t help but let out a laugh.
“What the hell?” Nelson mutters with a grin on his face. “Did we interrupt something?”
“Not at all,” Luke says as he sprints toward the three of us. “Afton made dessert. There’s enough scorched tart for everyone.”
***
The ease at which Luke slipped into conversation with Joel and Nelson was incredible.
I got to work in the kitchen to throw together a quick dessert since I literally ruined the one I prepped before Luke arrived.
I made a fresh berry salad and topped it off with crumbled pieces of some of the meringue cookies I had baked yesterday for a social media shot for a client.
A dollop of lavender-infused whip cream was the finishing touch.