About that Night (3 page)

Luke watched me, saying nothing.

“Did I just ruin the night?” I asked self-consciously.

“No.” He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know if anything could ruin this night.”

I objected. “Bad karaoke. Bad karaoke can ruin any night.”

“Do you always do that?” his head tilted. “Do you always make jokes whenever someone says something too serious or too personal?”

“Yes.”

No use denying it. I hated talking about my past, or anything else that was private. It wasn’t because of my own feelings on the matter. I just knew from experience that it made other people uncomfortable. They would look at me with pity in their eyes and stammer over awkward words of sympathy. I was just trying to make it easier on everyone.

“It’s better this way, Luke,” I said, taking another drink. “Trust me.”

“You don’t have to do that with me,” he replied. “I can handle the truth. Trust me.”

I smirked. “I’ve already told you more than I’ve told most people. More than I’ve told Jen.”

“That’s sad.” Luke didn’t have a trace of a smile on his face. “Everyone needs someone to confide in.”

“Who do you confide in?” I had a feeling that Luke’s past was just as tragic as my own. There was something in his eyes that I recognized.

He studied me for a long time, as if trying to assess whether I was someone he could trust with his confession. Apparently, I looked trustworthy enough because he said, “My father was an abusive prick. He hit my mother and he beat the shit out of me.”

“For how long?”

“Until I was big enough to hit him back.” His voice was empty of feeling, but when I looked into his eyes I saw pain.

“Was it bad?” I asked, barely raising my voice above a whisper.

“I survived,” he shrugged, then realized that he hadn’t exactly answered my question. “A few broken bones and concussions. Lots of scars.”

Then he tried to smirk but it came across as a sad smile. “Wait until you see me with my shirt off.”

“We all have scars,” I replied. Before I could stop myself, I reached across the table and took his hand. “Some just run a little deeper than others.”

“What did you wish for at the river?” he asked out of nowhere.

I almost told him. Almost.

“I can’t tell you.” I held up a hand to stop his protest. “It’s not time yet.”

“When will it be time?”

I thought for a second. “After the wish comes true.”

“We should really consider calling it a night soon,” I said, two hours and four drinks later. It was at least the third time I had said those words, and each time I sounded a little less convincing than the previous time.

Luke waved a hand. “We’re just getting started, Kasey Maxwell.”

“I’m supposed to be studying right now.” I frowned down at my empty glass. I wasn’t usually so reckless, throwing away a perfectly good study night to spend time with a stranger. But Luke wasn’t a stranger anymore, and I didn’t want to go home.

“This could be the most important night of your life. If you go home now, you’ll miss it.” He flagged the waitress over and ordered another round of drinks.

“Or it could just be another night.”

Luke was unconvinced. “I’ve had a lot of nights, and this isn’t like any of them.”

“It’s the witty banter, isn’t it?”

“You’re doing it again.” Luke waved a scolding finger at me. “Stop using humor to deflect what’s really happening here.”

“What’s really happening here?”

His smile was irresistible. “You’re falling madly in love with me. No, don’t try to deny it. Don’t worry, I think you’re pretty great, too.”

“Now who’s being funny?” But the situation wasn’t humorous at all. While I wouldn’t exactly say I was falling in love with Luke, it was undeniable that there was an attraction between us.

“Alright. New game.” Luke leaned over the table. “We tell each other one serious thing that other people don’t know about us.”

“Why?”

He sighed. “Just give it a shot. Stop being difficult.”

“Fine, but you have to go first.” I was hoping by the time it was my turn I would come up with a good distraction.

“Hm. Okay.” His face gradually grew serious. “When I was 16, I skipped school and stole my dad’s car.”

“How very Ferris Bueller of you. Did you go to a Cub’s game or sing in a parade?”

He stuck his tongue out at me. “Don’t ruin this.”

“Sorry. Go ahead. What happened next?” I asked as the waitress returned with our drinks. She gave Luke a long look before turning away. I couldn’t blame her.

“I crashed it into a tree,” Luke said evenly. “I spent a month in the hospital recovering from my injuries.”

“How did your dad react?”

“Exactly as you would expect.” His eyes darkened. “He kicked me out of the house. Changed the locks while I was still in the hospital.”

My mouth dropped open. “You were still a minor.”

“I didn’t want to go back to that house anyway.”

“Where did you go?”

“My best friend, Tommy, took me in. His parents knew about the abuse and I think they felt sorry for me. I stayed with them until I graduated.”

“If your dad disowned you, how did you end up working for him?”

Luke looked away, gazing over the dark lake. “My mom begged me to give him another chance.”

“And you did?”

He kept looking away from me, lost somewhere in his past. “We all have our weaknesses. Mine is my mother.”

“Mine is bacon,” I said, then immediately clamped my mouth shut. “Sorry. I did it again.”

“That’s okay.” He smiled. “I have a thing for bacon, too.”

I forced myself to dig deep and put on a serious face. “Do you want to talk about it more? I promise not to make a stupid joke.”

He shook his head. “Nope. It’s your turn to divulge a secret. Make it good one.”

I didn’t even have to think about what my secret should be. “I was engaged.”

“Was?”

“A long time ago.”

“A long time ago? How old are you? 25? 26?”

“24.”

He scoffed. “What, were you one of those crazy kids that got engaged in high school?”

“Yes.”

His eyes widened. “Well, now I feel like an asshole.”

“I’m sure that wasn’t the dumbest thing you’ve ever said.”

“You’re right about that.” He grimaced. “So finish the story. What happened? I’m taking it you didn’t go through with the wedding? What happened to the fiancé?”

“He died.” If I stopped talking at all, Luke would jump in with a half-dozen sympathetic phrases that would only serve to make it worse. So instead, I plunged ahead. “His name was Dylan. We started dating when we were fifteen. One night in our senior year, Dylan went to a party. The kids got some booze from an older brother and everyone had too much to drink.

“Dylan didn’t want to drive home so he passed out on a friend’s bed. At least, everyone thought he had just passed out. He actually had alcohol poisoning and slipped into a coma. We found out later that he also had a heart condition. It wasn’t supposed to be life threatening, but mixed with the alcohol poisoning, it became a deadly combination.”

“That’s tragic.”

I took a sip of my drink, which was mostly just melted ice at this point. “You’re the one that wanted to play this game.”

“I’m full of bad ideas.”

Suddenly, I was ready to move again. We’d been in this one spot for too long. “Speaking of bad ideas, I have a really bad one.”

“I’m in.”

“You don’t even know what it is,” I protested as Luke threw tip money on the table. “Plus, it’s your turn to pick a destination.”

“We have all night for that.” Quite naturally, he took my hand. “You’re not getting out of this.”

Luke had second thoughts when we reached the destination. The establishment was small, designed to hold a few small groups after work. Instead, about forty people were crammed shoulder to shoulder, drunkenly singing along with the current performer.

“Didn’t you say karaoke could ruin any night?” he asked skeptically.

“You insisted.” I pointed to the bar. “Drinks are on me. Find us a good spot near the stage.”

It took nearly ten minutes to work my way up to the bar and then another ten minutes to get back to Luke.

“How’d you manage to get a table?” I asked, sliding ice cold beer cans onto the table.

“I can’t reveal all of my secret skills so early in our relationship,” he said with an irresistible smile, which I was fairly certain was exactly how he had gotten the table.

With the stage in front of us, we had to stand on the same side of the table. My arm brushed against his as I reached for my beer.

“You’re not a snobby beer drinker, are you?” I tapped the can with one fingernail. “It’s okay if you are. This one is a blue ribbon winner.”

“Only the finest, I see.” He gave me a curious look. “Pretty, smart, funny, and drinks cheap beer without complaining? You might be too good to be true, Kasey Maxwell.”

It was the perfect set up for one of my witty replies, but I made the mistake of looking into his eyes for just a second. When I saw that he wasn’t kidding, I lost the ability to banter. My cheeks flushed.

“If you were smart, you’d leave right now,” I said, being completely honest.

“I’m not scared of this, Kasey.” He put his hand on my arm, my skin tingling beneath his touch. “I think you’re pretty awesome and I’ve enjoyed every second of our night.”

“So far,” I said. As the karaoke moderator took the mic to announce the next performer, I gave Luke my best apologetic look. “I really hope what is about to happen doesn’t change your mind.”

His face darkened. “What did you do?”

“Ladies and gentlemen. Put your hands together for the one, the only, Luke Donovan!”

Luke’s eyes widened and he took a step back. “No way.”

“Don’t be lame, Luke.”

“Fine.” He slammed the rest of his beer and started toward the stage. I stared in surprise; I hadn’t actually expected him to give in.

I watched as Luke said something to the moderator who then began scanning the music list in front of him. When he found what he wanted, he gave Luke a thumbs up.

“This is a duet,” Luke said into the mic, looking directly at me. “I need my partner to join me.”

All heads swiveled in my direction. I shook my head, but Luke wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“Kasey Maxwell, it’s your time to shine.”

Begrudgingly, I stepped onto the stage. “You’ll pay for this,” I told him, keeping an overly-sweet smile on my face.

“Don’t forget, this whole thing was your idea.” He gave the music man a thumbs up and I looked to the screen to see what song Luke had chosen.

“Really?” I groaned.

Luke belted out the lyrics about islands and streams and I begrudgingly joined in. He was surprisingly good, and I wasn’t completely tone deaf. Together, we sounded half-decent and because we were singing a well-known classic, everyone joined us for the refrain.  We reached the end and bowed dramatically.

“I’m in charge for the rest of the night,” Luke said through a clenched smile as he put his arm around my shoulders.

“We don’t have much time left,” I said, glancing at the vintage clock on the wall.

“Why is that, Cinderella? Do you turn into a pumpkin at midnight?” When he looked down at me, it was like we were the only two people in the room.

“Something like that,” I replied.

He thought for a second. “We better get going then.”

I yelped in surprise as he jumped from the stage and pulled me with him. He ushered me through the crowd with his usual confidence. 

“Where are we going?” I asked, slightly out of breath as I hurried to catch up with him outside. He was already hailing a cab.

“You like good views of the city, right?” He opened the taxi door for me.

“Let me guess. Your place has a great view?” My heart skipped a beat when he placed his hand against my lower back, guiding me into the cab.

“I have better game than that, Kasey Maxwell,” he scolded me.

When he told the driver our destination, I was surprised. If my choices had been predictable, his was downright mundane. But I wasn’t going to complain. Despite my initial reluctance, I found that I was quite enjoying my evening with Luke Donovan.

“I’m pretty sure the observation deck will be closed,” I said as we pulled over in front of the Willis Tower.

“I had a different view in mind.” Luke finished paying and climbed out. He offered his hand to help me and I took it gladly. There really was no good way to emerge from a cab while wearing a dress.

“This isn’t the visitor’s entrance,” I said, confused as we stepped through the revolving door. Aside from building security, we were the only people in the cavernous lobby.

“Mr. Donovan.” The doorman greeted Luke with a warm smile. “Working late this evening?”

“Actually, David, I’m hoping to impress this beautiful lady with one of the best views in the city,” Luke said, following David to the registration desk.

In a matter of minutes, I had a visitor’s pass in hand as I moved through security. Two elevators and an escalator ride later, we stood in front of a glass door.

“Donovan and Kramer?” The firm name was etched in big block letter across the glass. “You brought me to your office?”

“I thought it would be presumptuous to bring you back to my condo.” He flashed me a playful smile. “Was I wrong?”

“Show me this amazing view,” I said, choosing to ignore his question.

He used his security badge to unlock the door and held it open for me. “After you.”

The empty office space echoed our footsteps on the hard tile floor as I followed Luke down a long hallway. He stopped in front of a frosted glass door that had his name prominently displayed across the center.

“You should know that I’ve never brought a girl back to my office,” he said with a teasing smile as he pulled open the door.

“Your first time?” I stepped through.

“Something like that.” He gestured to the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. “What do you think?”

My eyes widened at the sight of so many twinkling lights. “Impressive.”

It wasn’t until I was right up against the glass that I saw just how truly impressive the view actually was. From our vantage point, it felt like we could see the entire city below us.

“Alright, you win.” I happily admitted defeat. “The view is better. But at least at my place we were able to have drinks.”

“Who said we can’t have drinks here?” From the depths of a bookcase, Luke retrieved a bottle of liquor. He explained, “Expensive scotch from a wealthy client.”

Two crystal glasses followed and it wasn’t long before we were seated in comfortable chairs in front of the window, sipping and chatting the night away. It was strange how easy it was to be with Luke. We floated smoothly from one topic to another, and in the rare moments of silence, it wasn’t strained or awkward.

“What kind of law do you actually practice?” I asked. Holly had said that his appearance in our court room had been a fluke. Judging by the swanking office space, Luke’s firm was successful at whatever law it specialized in.

“Corporate law mostly. But I pick up a lot of random cases as well. It can get boring focusing on the same thing every day. I like to dabble in different areas whenever possible.”