“You did,” she admitted. “I half expected you to have a fancy little apartment in the new town, all shiny and modern.”
He laughed. “Sorry to disappoint.”
It was the opposite of disappointing. In fact, theamount of immediate lust she felt for this house was almost alarming, and she hadn’t even been inside yet. But it was like something out of her wildest, most unattainable Pinterest boards, with a brown brick exterior, stone window ledges and modern black window frames.
As if he could tell how enamored she was, Luke stayed quiet and led her inside. The door was a pale baby blue that nearly glowed in the dark and was not at all what she imagined Luke picking out.
They stepped inside and closed the door, and she had a second to take in the neat but modern interior before she was almost bowled over by a bundle of fur.
“Sadie, down.” Luke’s voice was infinitely patient and April suddenly understood where he got his experience with unruly women. She didn’t know much about dogs, but shedidknow that this one was huge, friendly, and absolutely adorable.
Tongue lolling out, Sadie flopped onto the floor with her belly up and wiggled, begging for tummy rubs that Luke immediately indulged her with.
“You have a dog?”
“April, Sadie.” He looked up at her from where he crouched on the floor with his hands buried in Sadie’s fur. “She’s friendly, I promise. Aren’t you, girl?” he crooned, and for some reason it had warmth filling her veins once more. Luke stood and carried the bag of food into what she assumed was the kitchen with Sadie at his heels.
April kicked off her shoes and followed suit, looking around curiously and taking in the small details. She’d been right in some ways. The inside of the house was shiny and sleek like she’d imagined his place to be, but the contemporary charm was paired with natural materials that somehow married the space so that it felt luxe rather than cold. Gold finishes on the handles of cupboards and white marble for the countertops kept catching her attention, gleaming at her as she watched Luke grab plates and cutlery for them.
“Does she just wait for you at home while you’re at work?” April wasn’t sure why that was the first question that came to mind, but she found it mattered to her how Luke cared for the sweet girl who sat watching him potter about with big, adoring blue eyes.
He looked at her in surprise. “No, of course not. My mom watches her during the day and then drops her off here for me in the evening.” He smiled as he looked at Sadie and ran a hand over the top of her head. “You might as well move, baby girl. I’m not giving you any food. You already had your dinner at Grandma Rosie’s.”
April’s heart melted and she knew right then and there that she was a goner for this man. Goddamn it.
“You OK?” Luke said as he brought over two plates, closely supervised by Sadie.
She blinked and forced a smile. “Yeah. Just tired.” He smirked and she rolled her eyes as she scooped up a forkful of the chicken-and-tomato pasta dish.
“I hope I chose OK. I just re-ordered what you got when we went to dinner before—seeing as you never got to actually eat it.” His tone was playful and she chuckled, but the sound faded quickly, replaced by a moan as she tried her first forkful.
“Oh my God, this is so good.”
Luke sighed, mournful. “If only I’d made you sound like that earlier.”
She laughed, swallowing her food before she could choke, because the truth was they both knew she’d sounded just as blissed out, if not more so, earlier.
Her phone vibrated and she cast an apologetic look his way. “Sorry, it’s my mom.”
He waved her off as she read the text and smiled. “All good?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to let her know I was staying with a … friend.”
His brows rose at that but he didn’t correct her, a small smile playing about his mouth. “She seems better for having you back home.”
Taken aback, April sniffed. “You really think so?”
He nodded. “Less lonely.”
“When I first got back, I found out that she’s been sleeping on the couch ever since my dad died. I think there were just too many memories in the house for her to deal with by herself. I even thought she might actually sell up to get away from it.” She hesitated and then continued, “But in the last week or so it’s like something’s shifted for her. She’s actuallysleeping in her room again, and she does seem somehow lighter.”
“I’ll bet that’s your doing, April.” Luke’s voice was gentle as he smiled at her.
“Yeah, I feel like you could be right. And it’s sort of got me thinking that if things keep going well, maybe I could start looking at moving out? I reckon I’m going to be in town for a while if the business takes off, and I love my mom, but I don’t know how long I want to be an adult living in my childhood bedroom. And I bet my mom wouldn’t mind the space back, either.”
April smiled sheepishly and Luke laughed. “That makes total sense.” He paused to feed Sadie a tiny piece of chicken and then looked back at April. “If you like, I’ve got a friend, Sam, who’s a realtor. I can ask him to take a look at the local listings when I’m back in the office, see if there’s anything that might suit you.”
She swallowed a mouthful of food and nodded. “That would be great, thank you.”