The Sweetheart Bargain (A Sweetheart Sisters Novel) (32 page)

“You are . . . beautiful,” he said. “And intoxicating. And desirable.”

She beamed. “Thank you.”

He leaned forward and covered her body with his again. “I want you to know that this time, I don’t want to stop in the middle. And I”—he paused, grinned—“I came prepared.”

She laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

“What?”

A hot blush filled her cheeks. “So did I.”

Surprise lifted his brows. “You did?”

She nodded. “I couldn’t bring myself to buy condoms in the Rescue Bay pharmacy, given how small this town is—”

“And how people talk.”

“So I went to the next town and bought them.”

“When did you do that?”

“The day after we almost . . .” The blush rushed to her face again.

“Really?” He seemed flattered.

She shrugged, looked away. “I’m nothing if not an optimist.”

He tipped her chin until she was looking at him again. “And I like that about you. Very, very much.” Then he closed the distance between them again and they stopped talking.

He tore off his jeans, and she did the same, then his boxers, her panties. She expected him to go straight for the condoms he’d tugged out of his wallet, but instead, Luke took his time with her. Sweet, hot time, kissing her from lips to breasts to belly. He lingered for a long time on her breasts, taking one nipple into his mouth and tasting it, swirling it with his tongue, before releasing it to perform the same exquisite torture on the other nipple. She arched against him, panting, wanting, needing. “Oh, Luke, please, just . . .”

“Patience, Olivia, is a virtue,” he said, his voice dark and low. Then he slid down her body, kissing, tasting, nipping, before reaching under her legs to spread them apart. She held her breath, realizing what he was about to do. Shivers chased down her spine and anticipation fired in her veins.

He lowered his mouth and lifted her hips to meet his tongue. She gasped when his tongue slid along the folds at her entrance, warm, wet, delicious. He started slow and easy, then faster, pausing to suck her clit into his mouth and flick it with his tongue.

“God, Olivia, I love the way you taste.” The words were almost a growl.

“Then please don’t stop.”

“You like this?” He ran his tongue between her legs once, twice, stopped.

“God, yes, please, Luke . . .”

He gave her a quick, hot smile, then dipped his head again.

Sensation built inside Olivia, storm-tossed waves crashing against a beach that had gone untended for so long. Luke tasted and teased her, and she fisted her hands in the pile of clothes, as the orgasm built and built and then exploded in a rush, rendering her breathless and blind for one long sweet second.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and exhaled. Her heart still hammered in her chest and little tingles reverberated deep inside her. “Oh my God. That was incredible. I’ve never . . . no one’s ever . . .” She shook her head. What possessed her to tell him that now, of all times? “It was incredible.”

He chuckled. “You said that already.”

“Sorry. You just . . . surprised me.”

He raised himself up to meet her face with his own, then reached out and trailed a finger along her jaw. “You deserve that, and more.”

She smiled, then slid a hand between them to circle his erection. She stroked up and down, until Luke was groaning and pressing his hips to hers. “What was that about me deserving more?”

In answer, Luke reached for the foil packet beside him. He tore it open with his teeth, then slid the condom on. Olivia’s hand chased after his and slid down his shaft, then up again, then down, until Luke put a hand over hers, shifted, and settled his body between her legs.

“Olivia.” He exhaled her name in a long breath before catching her mouth with his. At the same time, he entwined their hands, brought their joined touch above her head, and in one long, smooth thrust, slid into her. She let out a gasp and bent upward, filled with such exquisite perfection that she wanted him to stay there forever.

“Okay?” he asked.

“Oh, yes. More than okay.”

“Good.” He lowered his head to kiss her mouth, her cheeks, her neck, while he moved with her, filling her almost to bursting, as liquid heat built inside her. Luke’s gaze held hers, their hands clasped tight, and all Olivia could think was how right, how perfect this all felt.

Luke released her hands and slid his palms under her hips, lifting her just enough to deepen the stroke and send her tumbling over the edge, as fireworks exploded behind her eyes and inside her heart. His gaze never left hers, even as he cried out with her and their bodies came together for one amazing moment.

And as she came down again from a high she had never experienced before, Olivia realized that she hadn’t just given her body to Luke in that moment. She’d given him her heart, too.

Nineteen

By the time Luke and Olivia came up for air, the propane had burned away in the grill, and they ended up calling for pizza anyway. Luke tugged on his jeans and went to answer the door while Olivia hit the shower. The remains of their afternoon—discarded clothes, tools, and empty cabinet boxes—sat around the kitchen like a road map of afternoon debauchery. He chuckled, feeling lighter and yes, happier, than he had in . . .

Well, in a hell of a long time.

He fished his wallet out of his back pocket and peeled off a couple of twenties, then tugged open the recalcitrant front door. But instead of Martie from Pizza Plus, Greta stood on Olivia’s porch, a familiar white box from the bakery in one hand and a surprised O on her face. “Grandma?”

“Luke. What a pleasant surprise to find you here.”

“I was, uh, helping Olivia install some cabinets.”

“Apparently, one doesn’t need a shirt to do that.” She grinned, then pushed the box into his hands. “I won’t bother you while you’re installing . . . whatever. I just wanted to bring Olivia some cookies.”

He shook his head. “I know you, Grandma. Are you spying on us?”

She feigned shock. “Now why would I do that?”

“I can read what you’re thinking, as clear as the newspaper. You were just a little obvious with the hip thing the other day.”

“Wonders of modern medicine. Sometimes I’m better”—she snapped her fingers—“just like that.”

He chuckled. Grandma was always trying to take care of him, to ensure his happiness. He loved that about her, even if he sometimes disagreed with her methods. “You should have been a politician, Grandma, because you can spin like nobody I know.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Lucas.” She patted the top of the box. “Just be sure to share those cookies with Olivia. Tell her I’ll see her at Golden Years on Monday. So that means you two have all weekend to . . . install cabinets.” Then she gave her grandson a smile, turned on her heel, and walked away.

At the same time, the pizza delivery guy pulled into Olivia’s driveway. He bounded up the stairs two at a time. “Hey, don’t you live next door?” Martie asked.

“Yeah. Long story.”

“Whatever, dude. I don’t ask questions, I just hand over pie.” He exchanged the pizza for the money, thanked Luke for the generous tip, then drove away.

Luke took the pizza and cookies into the house. As he did, he passed an oval mirror hanging in the hall. He caught his reflection—bare-chested, carrying dinner, like a normal man in a normal relationship. Then his gaze shifted upward and he saw the scar that sliced a C along the side of his face, and he remembered.

He was a far cry from a normal man who could have a normal relationship. And the longer he kept playing this pretend game, the worse it was going to hurt when reality returned.

“Promise me, Luke. If anything happens to me—”

The happiness evaporated like rain on a hot summer sidewalk. Luke laid the food on the kitchen table, gathered his clothes and the dog, then walked out of Olivia’s house.

Before it got all too easy to stay.

* * *

If there was one key to handling teenagers, it was knowing the art of the deal. After they left the barbecue earlier that week, Diana promised to let Jackson keep one of the puppies if he went to school every day and stayed out of trouble. She threw in a
Keep your grades up
, sure that he would do two out of the three, but instead, as the days went on and Jackson spent his after-school hours at the shelter with the pups, his enthusiasm for school returned, and his Fs and Ds edged up into Cs and Bs. There’d been no reports home, no detentions, and no tardies or days skipped.

“Those puppies are going to need their first shots,” Diana said to Jackson as they headed back home on Saturday morning. She’d treated him to lunch at Suzy’s Family Dining after stopping in at the office for rounds and some supplies for the dogs. “I was planning on doing it today. Want to help me?”

“Is it going to hurt them?”

“A little pinch, like when you got your shots when you were little.”

He scrunched up his face at the memory. “Little pinch? More like getting bit by a rattlesnake.”

“Oh, it wasn’t that bad.”

He looked at her askance. “You weren’t the one getting the arm tattoo.”

“True, true. Sorry.”

“Can we get them some dog treats for after, kind of like how the doctor would give to me?”

She smiled. “Sure. Whatever you want.”

“Cool.” Jackson glanced to the right, then quickly slumped lower in his seat and put a hand between his head and the window. “Shit.”

She braked for the light, then flicked her directional for a left turn. “Jackson, don’t curse.”

“Then drive, Mom. Please.”

Urgency peaked in his voice. “Why? What’s the matter?”

“Just drive.” He slumped lower. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I can’t. It’s a red light.” She shifted her gaze to the right, to a trio of teenage boys standing on the corner, waiting for the light to change. They wore long dark jeans, dark T-shirts, and heavy boots, and stood like a wary pack of dogs, ready to lunge at any threat.

“Are those kids bothering you?”

“I. Don’t. Want. To. Talk. About. It.” He said the words through gritted teeth and kept his face averted from hers.

She sighed. Weighed the wisdom of pushing the subject or letting it go. In the end, the light changed, Diana made the turn, and as they left the intersection in the rearview mirror, Jackson’s tense stance eased and he sat up straighter.

“Don’t forget to stop at the store,” he said, as if nothing had happened and the world had returned to normal.

“Right.” But her mind was on her son and what he wasn’t telling her, even as she pulled into the parking lot of the pet store and went inside with Jackson to pick out a bag of puppy treats. She wanted to ask but didn’t want to disturb the fragile happiness in Jackson’s voice when he talked about seeing the puppies. In the end, she let it go.

Some child psychologist would probably chide her for avoiding instead of confronting, but right now, the greatest thing in Diana’s life was Jackson’s smile, and she refused to dim it.

When Diana and Jackson entered the shelter, the puppies scrambled out of the kennel and over to Jackson, a tangle of awkward legs and eager noses. They yipped greetings, nudging each other out of the way to be the first to reach the boy. He laughed, bent down, and grabbed up one, then the next, then the third. The trio wriggled in his arms, like he was trying to wrestle a twelve-legged furry octopus. Jackson’s smile brightened, his eyes softened, and he seemed to drop ten pounds of stress and angst off his shoulders.

Diana saw Olivia’s car parked in the driveway of the house, but her sister didn’t come out. Fine with Diana. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about this whole sister-and-inheritance thing. Diana had talked to an attorney, who told her that she had a valid case if she wanted to fight the will in probate. Diana decided to sit with the information, let it digest before rushing to a decision. Maybe because she didn’t relish a lengthy and expensive legal battle, or maybe because Diana’s heart was softening toward this stranger who was trying so hard to make things right.