Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Rachel finished her plate with a satisfied groan. “That was delicious. Thank you.”
I smiled. “You’re welcome.”
She nudged her brother playfully. “We hired her to help advise us on the business, Luke, not cook your meals.”
“Hey,” he objected. “I didn’t ask.”
I laughed. “I just did it. I was hungry, and I assumed he would be too, given how hard he worked all day. I don’t mind. I like cooking.”
“And I appreciated it,” Luke said. “I agree, it was delicious.”
“I hope you thanked her properly?” Rachel teased.
“What do you mean by that?” he sputtered.
“I mean, said thank you for dinner.”
“Yes, he did. Several times,” I assured her.
I might have gotten an even better thank-you if you hadn’t shown up, I thought to myself.
I lifted my gaze to Luke, who was watching me. He winked subtly, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he had been thinking the same thing.
Rachel stood, taking her plate to the sink. “I am going to go shower and head to bed.”
“You want to use my tub?” Luke asked, his voice rough-sounding.
She looked surprised by the offer. “Um, no, I’m actually too tired to soak. I need sleep more.” She smiled at him, brushing a kiss to his cheek. She looked at me. “We can sit in the morning before I head back to the hospital, if that’s okay?”
“Sure.”
“Great. Oh, and there is some aloe vera in the fridge. I keep it in there so it goes on cool and helps right away on a burn. It might feel good on your neck.”
“Awesome, thanks.” My neck did feel warm.
She smiled and walked down the hallway, her shoulders slumped in exhaustion. Luke sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes.
“She’s going to be fine,” I assured him. “She has so many people rallying around her.”
“I know,” he replied. “I hate seeing her upset.” He smiled ruefully. “This is one of those times I miss our mom the most. She’d know what to say or do to make things better for her.”
“You’re doing a great job, big brother.”
He stood and put Rachel’s plate in the dishwasher, then opened the fridge. I piled up the files on the table and plugged in the laptop for the morning. I was shocked when I felt Luke behind me.
“Lift your hair,” he instructed.
“What?” I half turned and saw the tube of gel in his hand. “Oh, I can do that.”
He smirked. “If you couldn’t reach it with sunscreen, you can’t reach it with this either.”
He had a point. I reached up and wound up my hair, holding it with one hand. He brushed away a few stray hairs, making me shiver.
“This might be cold,” he murmured.
I gasped as the aloe gel hit my skin. Luke’s touch was gentle as he rubbed the aloe into my neck, the cool soothing and the gel taking the edge off the slight ache the sun left. He glided his hands over me and the areas on my nape I hadn’t reached with the sun block. He pulled away my shirt, getting the pink skin that was under the edges.
“Better?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.”
He lowered his head to my neck, his face right beside mine. “Thank you for dinner,” he murmured.
“You’re welcome,” I managed to reply.
He pressed closer, his lips right at my ear. “It was the second most delicious thing I tasted today.”
“What was the first?” I asked, trying not to whimper at his closeness.
His lips touched my skin, leaving a fiery path of their own. I expected him to say the stew Callie had made, his coffee, something, anything but the one word he uttered before he straightened and left me alone, sitting and gripping the edge of the table.
“You.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
SAMMY
I barely slept that night, tossing and turning. How the mere brush of his lips could wind me up so tightly, I had no idea. But every time I closed my eyes, I felt his mouth on my skin. His hot breath by my ear. His voice whispering, “You.”
In the morning, I dragged myself into the shower, got dressed, and after squaring my shoulders, headed to the kitchen. Rachel was alone, sipping coffee. She offered me a smile.
“Morning.”
“Hi,” I greeted her, pouring a coffee. “You look more rested today.”
She nodded. “A good night’s sleep does wonders. You look like you need one this morning.”
I waved her off. “When I’m in the beginning stages of a project, I have trouble turning off my brain.”
She laughed. “I get that. How’s your head? Luke told me what happened.”
“It’s fine. The bump is going away, and the pain is almost gone.”
“Good.”
She tapped the files. “You want to bring me up to speed, so when Luke shows up, we can move forward?”
“Sure.” I pulled the files toward me and went over everything I had talked to Luke about. Unlike her brother, Rachel was enthusiastic and asked lots of positive questions and gave me some other ideas.