Pretend You're Mine: A Small Town Love Story (2 page)

She pushed through the door and into a very lively Friday night. The log cabin theme continued in the main bar with timber beams and a huge stone fireplace off to the side. Twin pool tables drew a crowd in a raised alcove overlooking the outdoor patio.

And there was Luke, standing at the long, rustic bar with a beer, waiting. He nudged an empty stool towards her with his foot. The gesture walked the line between invitation and order.

He was seriously smoking hot. Dressed in jeans and a plain gray t-shirt, he was seriously ripped. Like, romance novel cover ripped. And those eyes. Green and gray and brown. No wonder all she could say was
wow
.

She slid gingerly onto the stool as her muscles whimpered. They stared at each other for a minute. The silence hung thickly, cutting off the volume of the rest of the bar noises.

“Hi,” Harper said finally.

“Hi.”

“I’m Harper.” She extended her hand for the overdue introduction.

“Luke.” He took her hand in a strong grip and held it. “Come here often?” He smiled and the dimple appeared again. Harper felt her heart stumble. Oh, good lord. Not now. This was the worst possible time to develop a crush. She had sworn off men not two hours ago and promptly gotten her ass kicked by another one. She ordered herself to pull it together.

“First time. I hear the parking lot gets pretty rowdy on Friday nights.”

He straightened and brought his fingers to her face, gently brushed her bangs back. “How’s your face, Harper?”

“It’ll be okay, Luke.” She blushed, saying his name. It felt strange to be so familiar with a stranger. “How’s your hand?”

He was still cupping her face, running his thumb lightly over her bruised cheek.

Someone nearby cleared their throat. Sophie was behind the bar, grinning like an idiot at them. “Sorry to interrupt, kids, but this is for you,” she said, tossing an icepack at Luke. “And this is for you,” she slid a beer bottle to Harper. “Nachos are on the way. On the house. Sit.”

“Thanks, sis,” Luke said, barely sparing Sophie a glance while he sank down on the empty stool next to Harper’s.

Harper blushed under his stare and grabbed the beer like a lifeline. “Thanks.”

Sophie winked at her before hurrying away.

“Nice job out there, Luke.” A beanpole of a man in a red baseball hat smacked him soundly on the back. “That was one hell of a shot you gave Glenn. They teach you that in the Army?”

“Thanks, Carl.”

“Down and out in one,” Carl hooted, miming a right hook. “Remind me not to piss you off.”

“Just remember that next time you don’t give me a discount at the lumber yard,” Luke said dryly.

Carl laughed again and turned to Harper. “It’s nice to see Luke here in such pretty company. I didn’t catch your name, Blondie.”

Luke made the perfunctory introduction. “Carl, this is Harper. Harper this is Carl.”

“Well, Harper, if there is anything you need while you’re in town, you don’t hesitate to ask me. I’ll be happy to do anything, anything at all for you.”

“Yeah, I bet you would,” Luke said. “How is your wife these days?”

“Big as a house. Baby Number Three is due next week.” He puffed out his chest with pride. “This one’s gotta be a boy. A man can’t have three daughters.”

“He can if he’s getting paid back for raising hell in high school,” Luke said. “Maybe you should go home and rub Carol Ann’s feet to try and make up for it.”

“Oh, I’m doing better than that. I’m picking up a cheesesteak for her.”

Right on cue, Sophie reappeared with a large paper bag. “Three steaks, all the fixings.” She slid it across the bar to Carl.

“Give Carol Ann my best,” Luke told him.

“Will do. Will do. It was nice to meet you, Harper. If you get sick of hanging out with this soldier, just give me a call.”

“Will do, Carl.” Harper laughed.

“Don’t encourage him,” Luke said as Carl weaved his way past them.

“So, soldier?” Harper turned back to Luke.

“Captain in the Army National Guard Brat,” Sophie said, plopping down an overflowing plate of nachos and a pile of napkins.

Luke eyed his sister and said nothing.

Hmm. Military. That ranked right up there with firefighters and cowboys in the noble and sexy profession category. Was there nothing that wasn’t scorching hot about this man?

Harper glanced around the bar that was getting more crowded by the minute. It seemed like everyone was talking to everyone else at the same time. No one was alone, even if they arrived that way. Greetings and hands rose up from all corners of the room.

“I’m getting the feeling that this is a very small town and I’m the only stranger here,” Harper ventured.

“Don’t bother feeling like a stranger. It won’t last,” Luke warned. “See that woman over there in the Easter Bunny sweatshirt?”

Harper spotted her gabbing it up by the jukebox.

“That’s Georgia Rae. She’s probably already plotting on how to corner you and extract your life story.”

Harper laughed and sampled a cheesy nacho.

“And that,” Luke said, gesturing at a gray mustached man by the pool table, “is my Uncle Stu. I guarantee he already called my dad to tell him that I’m at the bar with the girl who took down Glenn Underhill. And see how Sophie keeps checking her phone? That’s my mom texting her to find out what you look like.”

“Wow. I should probably get out of here before they invite me to Sunday dinner,” Harper laughed.

Luke’s phone on the bar buzzed. He glanced at the screen and grimaced. “Too late.”

“Very funny.” Harper rolled her eyes and took a sip of beer.

He held up his phone for her to see.

Ask your friend if she can bring a pie to dinner Sunday.

She choked, slapping a hand over her mouth. “This can’t be real. I’m still in the parking lot unconscious, aren’t I?”

Luke laughed and put a solid, warm hand on her back. “You wish.”

Click.

Harper glanced up to see Sophie holding her phone extended towards them.

“Soph.” Luke’s voice held the sharp edge of a warning.

Sophie smiled innocently. “What? Oops, gotta go. Order’s up.”

“Did she just take a picture of us?”

Luke grabbed his beer. The spot on her shoulder where he had touched her still felt tingly.

She put her head in her hands, until she bumped her cheek and remembered the bruise. “I feel like I’m in some alternate reality. I’m not even supposed to be here.”

“Where are you supposed to be?”

“Fremont.”

“You’re a long way from Fremont.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Harper, Fremont is four hours west of here.”

“Son of a bitch. I was going the wrong way.” She leaned forward and covered her eyes with her hands.

“Everything okay, here?” Sophie reappeared. “What did you do now, Luke?”

“It’s not him, it’s me.” Harper’s voice was muffled by her hands.

“She was supposed to be in Fremont tonight,” Luke supplied.

“Well, that’s not going to happen, Harp. Fremont’s four hours away.”

“I know that
now
,” Harper groaned into her hands.

Sophie started to laugh and Harper dropped her hands. “I’m glad you find my life so amusing.”

It only made her laugh harder. “This is ridiculous. Does stuff like this happen to you all the time?”

“Stuff like what?” Luke asked.

Harper dropped her head to the bar, while Sophie gave Luke the brief details of her situation, mercifully leaving out any mention of the delivery girl.

“You left your house with nothing but car keys and then drove for hours in the wrong direction?” It was Luke’s turn to swipe a hand over his face and sigh. “So where are you staying tonight?”

Harper sat up and took a mournful swallow of beer. “I don’t know. The plan was to message Hannah on Facebook for a ride. But that’s when I thought I was only ten minutes away from her.”

“Maybe someone here tonight is heading in that direction and can get you part way there?” Sophie suggested.

Luke shook his head. “We’re not putting her in a car with some half-lit stranger.”

“What do you think cab fare would be to Fremont?”

“Soph, be realistic. Besides, why not just give her gas money?”

“I’ll just sleep in my car,” Harper decided. It wouldn’t be the first time for that either.

“So you sleep in your car. Then what?” Luke asked.

“I’ll message Hannah and beg her to pick me up in the morning.”

“Here,” Sophie slid her phone to Harper. “Log in and message her.” She hurried away to grab a refill for a customer.

Sensing salvation, Harper pounced on the phone.

She keyed in her login and went to Hannah’s page. “Crap! Hannah’s husband surprised her with a weekend away at a cabin in freaking West Virginia.”

“So giving you gas money to get there is a moot point. Hmmm, if only you could stay overnight with someone. Hmmm.” Sophie arched an eyebrow at Luke.

Harper leaned back on the stool and tilted her head up. “I will figure this out. I will figure this out.”

Sophie leaned over the bar. “Hey, what about Mickey?”

“For Christ’s sake.” Luke slammed his beer down.

“He’s got an empty house now that his girlfriend moved out. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind an overnight guest,” Sophie chirped.

Harper narrowed her eyes.

“His girlfriend moved out because he got arrested for shoplifting at the liquor store,” Luke growled.

“I thought it was because he’s banging Sherri from the bank,” Sophie interjected.

“Then why would you even suggest him?” Luke pressed his fingers to his temple.

“I’d let you stay at my place, Harp, but you’d have to sleep on a lumpy chair and probably wake up to a screaming, sticky-fingered 3-year-old,” Sophie said, pouring a pint from the tap.

“What happened to your couch?”

“Josh spilled a juice box on it and then Bitzy decided to eat the whole cushion. She could sleep on
half
a couch. But no juice boxes allowed.”

Harper hoped “Bitzy” was a dog.

Luke shook his head and Harper could see his jaw tighten.

“So
your
plan is to sleep in your car and
your
plan is to send her to sleep with a cheating alcoholic shoplifter?”

“Hey, at least we’re brainstorming here. You’re just shooting down ideas. I hate when you play devil’s advocate,” Sophie pouted.

Luke sighed again and looked down at the bar. “You can stay with me tonight, and tomorrow I’ll drive you back to your place to get your stuff.”

Sophie turned away, but not before Harper saw the cat-that-ate-the-canary grin on her face. “Oh, no. I couldn’t. I don’t want to inconvenience anyone,” Harper blurted, her eyes suddenly wide.

Luke looked at her. “I’ll be more inconvenienced if you sleep in the damn parking lot. Besides, I promised the doc I’d bring you by in the morning so she can get a couple of quick X-rays if you were still in town.”

“Well, why didn’t you just say so?” Sophie asked in feigned exasperation.

Luke shot her a look and she shut up.

“Thank you, Luke. You really don’t have to. I should have to suffer the consequences of being an idiot. Then maybe I’d learn.”

He smiled down at the bar and she saw the dimple wink into existence.

“I think you’ve already had a rough enough day.” He turned back to her again. “Are you okay if we stay ’til closing?”

“Of course.” She nodded.

What was it about those eyes? Maybe it was the shadow in them. Harper felt a pull every time she spotted it. He was quiet, clearly not at all inclined to talk about himself. Definitely not like Ted the Dick. But the way he observed what was happening around him made her think there wasn’t much that he missed.

“So what’s your story Luke? I mean, I feel like I should know more about you if we’re going to have a sleepover.”

“No story.” He scratched the back of his head.

“Uh-huh. Yeah. Sure.” She raised her eyebrows and drank deeply from her beer.

He laughed again.

“My name is Luke. I’ve lived here my whole life. I’m in construction and the National Guard. And Sophie’s my sister.”

“That’s all you’ve got?” Harper elbowed him.

“What else do you need?”

“How about arrest warrants? Bodies buried in the backyard? Unusual fetishes?”

He leaned in. Close. And could smell his soap. Something with a little spice.

She could feel his breath on her face. Harper parted her lips. Her breath caught.

“Define 'unusual'.”

T
he evening passed in a blur of townsfolk greetings — Georgia Rae did make her appearance — beer and bar food. Harper felt slightly buzzed and incredibly exhausted as she stood with Luke watching Sophie lock the front doors. She stifled a yawn. It was 2 a.m., way past her bedtime. And her face was starting to throb again.

“Thanks again for hanging out,” Sophie said, as they crossed the lot.

“Have a good night, Soph,” Luke said, opening the car door for her.

“You too, big brother. Night, Harper! I hope I’ll see you again.”

Harper waved with her good arm and yawned her good-bye, “Thanks for everything, Sophie.”

“Better get her home before she falls asleep standing up, Luke.”

He tapped the roof of her car and waved as she pulled out. “Ready to go?” he asked Harper.

She nodded, crossing her arms against the spring night’s chill. They were alone. And they would be for the next several hours. Harper wondered if she would lay awake all night on his couch thinking about him being so near ... and presumably naked. Men like Luke didn’t sleep in pajamas.

“We’re over here,” he said, pointing to a dark gray pickup at the back of the lot. “Need anything out of your car?”

“No, I’m good.” The only thing in her car was her old coffee from the morning.

They started walking together and Harper rubbed her arms.

“Cold?” he asked.

She nodded and felt a tingle exactly halfway between comfort and lust ignite as Luke draped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her in. The heat coming off his body instantly warmed her bare skin and she didn’t resist the urge to snuggle a little closer.