Snowfall and Secrets (The Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 1) (9 page)

A
knock sounded at Tess’s door, and she rushed to put a robe on as she stepped out of the shower. She was running late for dinner and didn’t have time for visitors. Her hair dripped down her back, and she shivered when she opened the door.

Lukas stood there looking scrumptious in jeans and a dark green button down shirt that set off his eyes. If she kept staring, she would officially be late for dinner. She had a hard time asking Lukas to leave. Ever.

“Hey, Tess, I’m your ride.” He grinned as his gaze swept from her wet hair down to her bare feet.

“That’s nice of you. I was just going to walk. Thank you.”

“Walk? It’s freezing out.” He shook his head. “You are bound and determined to get hypothermia.”

“Yeah, but thanks to you, I have good winter gear. It’s only a few blocks away. But I’d love a ride. I was afraid I’d be late. I’m still not ready, obviously,” she said, waving her hand down her robe. She was suddenly very aware she was completely naked under the robe. Chances were he knew that too.

She backed away from him. “If you want to have a seat, I’ll be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

“Sure.”

Dio pushed inside and stuck her cold nose inside Tess’s robe, revealing her upper thigh. Tess pulled her robe closed, but when she looked up, she saw a dangerous gleam in Lukas’s eyes. Oh, he got a good look. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.

“I think Dio wants a treat. The box is on the counter.”

She escaped to the back, shut and locked her bedroom door, and sat on the bed. That man took her breath away. She didn’t know what he was going to say, but if it had been anything along the lines of “let’s forget dinner,” she probably would’ve given in. She was so stunningly weak.

Tess contemplated her wardrobe for a while and settled on a sweater, jeans, and high-heeled boots. It seemed sensible enough.

She quickly dried her hair and found Lukas and Dio cuddling on the couch.

“Ready to go?” Lukas asked. He frowned as he looked her up and down.

“Do you approve?” Tess asked testily.

“No. It doesn’t matter what you wear. It’s inappropriate,” he mumbled like he was pouting.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean you could wear a tarp, and it would look sexy.” He shrugged.

“Seriously? That’s the most awful thing anyone has ever said to me.” She set her hands on her hips.

“It wasn’t meant to be an insult.”

“Then you need to explain.”

He walked toward her. She was unsure if she wanted to step back, or step up and meet him. He felt different tonight. On edge. He was so close that she could feel his heat and smell his cologne.

“I suppose if you wore extremely baggy clothes, you could get away with it. But you’ve got curves in all the right places, and there’s no way for you to hide them. They are perfect. The Jorgenson boys will be rendered speechless. We need to go, or we are going to be late.”

If Marie wasn’t waiting, Tess wondered if she’d have moved in closer to see what he did.

They went outside, and the fresh air helped clear Tess’s head. Lukas turned her all upside down. She couldn’t be thinking about a man right now. Not with her troubles. She passed her hand over her stomach. So much to think about, and Lukas wasn’t a part of any of it.

Dio jumped into a basket towed by the snowmobile. Tess climbed on behind Lukas and debated trying not to hang on, but as soon as he revved the engine, she wrapped her arms around his waist. She suspected he did that on purpose.

The trip took all of five minutes. Five minutes of being pressed against Lukas while thinking about how he noticed her curves. Dio bounded up the steps and through the doggy door before Lukas shut the engine off.

Lukas helped Tess off the machine. “They know we’re here.”

Tess smiled. “Dio makes herself at home wherever she goes, doesn’t she?”

“Everyone loves her. Good thing she’s never met someone who doesn’t.”

Tess laughed. “Poor thing. You should make sure that never happens.”

Lukas didn’t bother knocking and walked right in. Tess smelled pot roast and felt a pang of homesickness. Her mom used to make the same dish every Sunday.

They found Dio and Una fighting over a rope toy in the living room. Lukas patted one of them on the head, and she growled. Tess couldn’t tell the difference between them until one dog dropped a toy and came over to push on Tess’s legs.

Lukas shook his head. “You belong to Dio. You’ve been marked.” He laughed and gave Una a conciliatory scratch behind the ears.

The house was warm and inviting. Doc met her in the doorway of the kitchen with a hug. “Nice to see you, Tess. Come on in and meet the rest of the family.”

The kitchen was enormous with dark wood and deep blue walls. Marie worked on one side of an enormous granite bar, chopping lettuce. On the other side sat two young men who looked like twins. They were good looking in the traditional sense, but Tess wasn’t into blondes. A little too pretty, they probably both knew they were handsome.

Doc guided Tess farther into the kitchen. “Tess, you’ve met Marie. This is Hayden and Joshua. Boys, this is the best third-fourth grade teacher I’ve got.”

Tess laughed. “I’m the only third-fourth grade teacher you have.”

He shrugged. “You’re still the best.”

Hayden smiled and looked over her shoulder. He jumped up and gave Lukas a bear hug.

“Hey, man. How’s it going?”

Lukas moved closer to Tess. “I’m fine. Busy. Dio and Una are playing in the living room.”

Hayden patted him on the back. “I’m going to go say hi to that girl. Maybe I can convince her to come home with me this time.”

“You’re fighting a losing battle, bro. That’s one girl who’ll never go home with you.”

Hayden’s eyes moved from Lukas to Tess. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. She blushed. Definitely too smooth for her.

“Tess might though. Mom was right. You are stunning.”

Tess blushed again and gently removed her hand from his. She wasn’t sure he even noticed. But Lukas did. He moved closer to Tess and put his arm around her waist.

“Tess isn’t going home with you either.”

As much as she liked him, she hated his presumptions. No one told her what to do. She pulled free of him.

“I expect that tomorrow morning I will wake up in my own bed. But the night is still young, so who knows.” She winked at Hayden and walked away from both men.

L
ukas followed Hayden into the living room, completely envious of that wink. Tess had never played with him like that. As soon as they were out of earshot of the kitchen, Hayden turned to him.

“You’ve got it bad, huh?”

Lukas sank onto one of the couches. “Don’t know what you are talking about.”

Hayden sat down in between the dogs, and immediately they were both vying for his attention.

“She’s gorgeous, man. Dad loves her too, which means she’s good at her job. Heck, even Mom’s smitten, or she wouldn’t have invited her tonight. Have you guys hooked up?”

Lukas shook his head. “No. I don’t know what I was thinking in the kitchen. I

only wanted you to know she’s off limits. Obviously, it was the wrong move.”

“Yeah, she didn’t seem too happy about that. Bet you ten bucks she flirts with me tonight just to piss you off.”

“Or because she wants you. Seriously, nothing has happened between us. It’s probably better that way.”

Hayden groaned. “Don’t start on your sob story again. I’m so tired of hearing how you’re not deserving of having someone to love.”

“And you wonder why I won’t visit you.”

“Look, I’m the only one who won’t let you get away with this crap. It’s been two years. You made a mistake and suffered huge consequences. That doesn’t mean you can’t be in a relationship ever again. If you feel that way, tell her the whole story and let her be the one to decide.” Hayden reclined and both dogs tried to get in his lap.

“We haven’t exactly talked about stuff. She rents from me, but I don’t know her. It’d be weird for me to say ‘hey, I have to tell you a story, and then you can decide whether or not we should be together.’”

“I’ve had stranger things work.”

Tess walked into the room, and they both stopped talking. Lukas wasn’t sure if it was because she rendered him speechless when she appeared, or because he didn’t want her overhearing his conversation.

“Marie said dinner is ready.”

Hayden didn’t move, and Tess looked down at the Una and Dio.

“I bet it’s pretty crazy when all the dogs are around.”

Hayden glanced up, surprise etched in his features. “Did he tell you the story behind the dogs?”

“Yeah. He also told me you got the first.”

Lukas knew what Hayden was thinking. He hoped he didn’t voice his opinion.

“Why’d you tell her about the dogs?”

“She asked.”

Hayden looked over at Lukas. “You do like her, don’t you?”

Leave it to Hayden to not keep his mouth shut. But he wasn’t done yet.

“I’m sorry, Tess. I’m going to have to withdraw my earlier offer. I’d never do that to my buddy here.”

Tess raised her eyebrows. “I wasn’t aware that there was an earlier offer. I never said I was interested anyway.”

With that, Tess turned and disappeared into the kitchen.

Hayden stood. “Man, when Estelle told me there was a girl, I thought she was scheming again. So, should I plan to attend a summer or fall wedding?”

“Shut up, Hayden,” Lukas muttered.

T
ess felt at home at Marie’s house. She supposed that was why she didn’t mind taking little jabs at Hayden and Lukas. They teased each other all through dinner, and tales of their exploits on the island filled most of the time. Before she knew it, dessert was finished, and Lukas leaned over to her.

“You ready to go?”

She shrugged. “Whenever. I’m enjoying myself.”

He got a little closer and whispered. “Marie doesn’t see her boys often. We should give them some alone time.”

Tess nodded and stood.

“Leaving so soon, dear?”

“I’m exhausted. Teaching is hard work.” She winked at Doc, and he raised his glass to her.

“Only for the good ones. By the way, there is a blizzard watch for Monday. Most of us are used to these, so we’ve already stocked up. But you should go to the store early tomorrow morning and make sure you have enough food to get through the week. Do you have a fireplace in your apartment?”

“She does,” Lukas answered. “It’s gas, so she should be fine.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“See you Sunday.” Hayden smirked at Lukas, who in return rolled his eyes.

Tess leaned over and gave Marie a kiss on the cheek. Marie held on longer than necessary and whispered in her ear. “Be careful with Lukas. My boys can deal with getting their hearts broken, but Lukas is a different story.”

Tess nodded and withdrew. That’s the second warning about Lukas. She wondered what he was hiding.

She climbed on the snowmobile and didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around him this time. Tess rested her cheek on his back. Everything about Mackinac felt comfortable now. She missed Miami and her family, but it was never like this.

“I enjoyed tonight,” she said before he turned the snowmobile on.

“Marie goes all out when the boys are home.” He twisted to look at her. “I hated to make you leave. Can I make it up to you?”

Her heart skipped a beat.

“How?” she asked cautiously.

“I know it’s dark out, but there’s good moonlight, and I bet no one has taken you to the Grand Hotel yet.”

Tess let out the breath she’d been holding. That was certainly not what she expected. True, though, she hadn’t seen it.

“Night is one of my favorite times to go there and the snow will be pristine and untouched.” His eyes were lit up like he was thrilled to be able to show her this. How could she say no to that?

“I’d love to,” she said.

“When it gets too cold, we’ll head back.” He started the engine and took off toward Main Street.

As they drove through downtown, the quaint streetlights lit the shops, and again, Tess couldn’t wait for spring. She heard a rumor about a lilac festival. When Lukas turned off to drive to the Grand, she realized he was right about the moon. Even though it wasn’t full, the light bounced off the snow, and everything appeared to glow.