Built To Last (Saltwater Springs #1) (10 page)

T
he next day
when the bell over the door chimed, Scarlett looked up from the dustpan she was shuffling debris into and saw Shelby entering the shop.

“I saw Luke leave a few minutes ago,” she said with a raised brow.

Scarlett stood and dusted her hands off on her jeans. “He went to grab us some lunch.”

“Ah, so the rumors are true. There is an ‘us’ again.” She grinned when she made air quotes around the word ‘us’ and then winked.

This town…everyone was always up in each other’s business. “I don’t know what the rumors are saying, but there is no
us
. We’re spending time together, that’s all.” Shelby cocked a hip and gave her a disbelieving stare. “Really, it’s true.”

“Mmmhmm. Don’t pee down my back and tell me it’s raining, Scarlett.”

“I swear. I’m not lying.”

“Why is it so hard for you to admit what you feel for him? Everyone can see it.”

“Can we just drop this? Please?” Scarlett pleaded. She was still trying to sort it all out in her own head, never mind having to try and explain it to someone else.

Shelby raised her hands in a placating gesture. “Sure thing. I came by to get a look at the place so I can get an idea of what flower arrangements might look good on your opening night.”

A genuine smile spread over Scarlett’s face. Finally, something that wasn’t stressful about getting this place in shape to open.

She gave Shelby a tour of the storefront and explained her vision for it once it was all finished. Her friend had some great ideas that weren’t terribly expensive and promised to email some pictures over to Scarlett later in the week to see what she thought of them.

Shelby was almost out the door when she spun on her heel and added, “I almost forgot! Do you remember Savannah?” Scarlett frowned for a moment, trying to place the name. “We went to high school with her. She had light brown hair and glasses…wore it in braids a lot of the time.”

“Oh, right. Yes, I remember her.”

“Well, she runs the library now and is starting up a new book club. She asked me to invite some of my friends along.”

Scarlett had always enjoyed reading. Actually, she missed it. Life had been so busy lately that she hadn’t had much time to read. “Oh, what kind of books?”

“Mostly romance novels. You know, hot guy, smart woman, happily ever after.”

Scarlett chuckled. As much of a bookworm as she was at one time, she’d never read a romance before. She wasn’t sure if it was something she’d enjoy or not, but it would be a great chance to get out and socialize with some other people in town.

“Okay. Why not?” Scarlett shrugged.

“Great. I’ll send you the details of the first book once I have it. Everyone gets to take a turn picking.” Shelby turned and started to push the door open, then stopped again and spun back around to face Scarlett.

“Is there something else?” Scarlett said with a smile.

“If you see Layla, can you ask her, too?”

Scarlett’s smile fell. “I’m still annoyed at Layla for never mentioning that Luke’s brother had a daughter.”

“You didn’t know?” Shelby looked surprised and Scarlett shook her head. “Give her a break. Was she supposed to report in while you were living your life in Boston about every person in town who had a baby?”

Scarlett toed a piece of wood on the floor with her boot. “I guess not. Still, she’s my best friend. She’s supposed to keep me in the loop with all this stuff.”

“She probably didn’t want to hurt you by bringing up Luke.”

Scarlett knew she had a point. She and Layla hadn’t fought, but Scarlett had been avoiding her calls until she’d cooled down some.

“I suppose.”

“Think on it. You’ll see I’m right,” Shelby said with a big smile.

Scarlett laughed. “Alright, all-knowing one.”

Shelby laughed too and then turned to leave, bumping directly into Luke.

“Oh, jeez, sorry, Luke. Didn’t see you there.”

“Where’re you off to in such a hurry?” he asked, clearly amused.

“Duty calls.” She glanced back at Scarlett for a second and a knowing smile spread across her face. “See? Grinnin’ like a possum eatin’ a sweet tater.”

Scarlett’s cheeks heated when she realized she was. The sight of Luke alone made an automatic smile appear on her face.

“You guys are too cute,” Shelby said and then blessedly made her exit, leaving behind an uncomfortable Scarlett and a satisfied-looking Luke.

G
od forgive
her for being selfish. Because by coming to Luke’s house to watch a movie, that’s exactly what she was being. It wasn’t something she was proud of, but it was impossible to resist Luke when he was determined and putting all of his focus on her.

She approached the front door with the feeling of crawling ants in her stomach, her nerves getting the best of her.

Luke swung the door open before she had a chance to knock. He was dressed casually in a tight-fitting grey t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. “Hello there. I was just pulling up the movies on the TV to see what our options were. Come on in.”

“Thanks.” She crossed over the threshold, and even though she’d already seen his place, Scarlett was once again surprised by the opulence of Luke’s home. He led them into his kitchen first and offered her a glass of wine.

“Sure. I’ll have white, please.” After the weekend, she hadn’t planned on drinking again for a long time, but a glass of vino was exactly what she needed to relax.

Luke poured a healthy amount into her glass and set it on the counter in front of her. “Here you are.” She lifted it to her lips to take a sip and savored the taste as it trickled down her throat.

“Now, I know you can’t watch a movie without munching on something, so what will it be?”

“You remember.” She smiled at him.

Luke stopped what he was doing and looked down at her with a serious expression. “Lettie, I remember everything.”

The air left Scarlett’s lungs. How was she ever going to be able to resist this man and do what was right by him? She wasn’t sure she was strong enough to let him go, and yet she knew she had to.

Scarlett’s cheeks warmed as he gazed at her with such intensity that she knew it wasn’t the right time. She pushed that thought out of her mind, promising herself she wouldn’t revisit it until she absolutely needed to. “Do you have any popcorn?”

He walked past her to a cupboard on the far side of the kitchen, tapping her on the butt as he strolled by. “Coming right up.” Luke pulled out a box of her favorite brand from the cabinet and sauntered over to the stovetop.

“I’m so excited that you have Jiffy Pop.” It brought back warm memories of the two of them, snuggled together on the couch, eating popcorn and watching movies and making out.

The ticking sound of the burner as it turned on pulled her from her thoughts of the past. Luke looked at her over his shoulder while he shook the popcorn back and forth over the hot burner. “I knew you would be.” He winked at her. “I’m trying to score some extra points here.”

“You’re off to a great start.” Scarlett took a sip of her wine.

“Well then, let’s hope I don’t do something stupid to ruin it.” He smiled at her and then turned his attention back to the popcorn until it was done. Then he removed it from the stove and said, “All set. Let me put this in a bowl.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have a lime, would you?”

Luke stopped pouring the popcorn into the bowl and glanced up at her. “You still squeeze lime on your popcorn?” He screwed his face up in disgust.

Scarlett gave him a playful swat across the arm. “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”

He shook his head. “I think I have one in the fridge. Why don’t you check while I grab another bowl to put my
normal
popcorn in,” he said teasingly.

Scarlett opened the fridge and rummaged around for a bit before she found what she was looking for. Luke had more food in his refrigerator than she would have expected for a bachelor.

Spying a cutting board leaning against the side of the fridge, she grabbed it and placed both items on the kitchen island. “Where do you keep your cutting knives?” she asked.

“In the drawer behind you.” Luke motioned with his head since he was busy making his own bowl of popcorn.

She turned and opened the cutlery drawer, then grabbed a knife out of it. As she started slicing the lime, a feeling of familiarity and comfort stole over her—like being surrounded by your favorite blanket. The corners of her lips tipped up for a moment before she silently scolded herself.

Her heart had been claimed by Luke years before, but it was going to be more difficult than she’d thought to not allow him to take ownership of her soul, too.

A bowl of popcorn appeared at her side, shaking her from her thoughts. Luke stood behind her and his woodsy scent filled the space around them. Scarlett fought to keep her eyes open and focused on her task, wanting nothing more than to ease back into the safety and security she knew Luke’s body would provide. He pressed in closer to her, not in a sexual way but in an intimate way that belied the years they’d spent apart.

“Here’s your popcorn,” he said roughly, then nuzzled his face into her neck. When he wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed, a tingling sensation radiated out from her center.

“Thank you.” As always, she sounded too breathy when she was around him.

He squeezed her one more time and then moved back to the other side of the island to grab his bowl and a beer. “All set?” he asked, seemingly unaffected by their proximity moments before.

Scarlett squeezed the lime over the top of her popcorn bowl. “Yep.” She smiled and followed Luke into the great room, making herself comfortable on the large leather couch. He sat beside her, leaving little room between them, then leaned forward to pick up the remotes off the coffee table. Luke pushed some buttons and the television roared to life, the volume booming out of the speakers so loud it caused Scarlett to nearly jump up off her seat.

Luke immediately turned the volume down, though he laughed at her reaction while doing it. “Sorry. I think the last thing I was watching here was football. Guess I had it a little too loud.”

Scarlett placed a hand to her chest in an effort to calm her erratic heartbeat. “Jeez, that nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Come here.” Luke motioned her over.

“Why?” she asked, looking at him sideways.

“Lettie, just get that pretty little behind over here.”

Luke pulled her up by the waist and forced her to straddle him. Scarlett opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, he placed his hand over her heart. She exhaled a small gasp at the intimate contact and looked into his eyes. Luke met her gaze head on, his sapphire eyes hooded as he pinned her with his stare. It seemed as if their entire history together was in the depths of his eyes and it rooted her to the spot.

Eventually, the staccato beat of her heart returned to normal, though she wasn’t quite sure how with Luke looking at her the way he was.

“I’m so happy you’re here, Lettie.”

“So am I,” she whispered. She shouldn’t have said it—she didn’t want to give him false hope—but it was the truth, and she couldn’t look him in the eyes and deny it.

“Can I ask you something?” Luke sounded unsure, and it was so unlike his strong character that it made her nervous.

“What about?” she asked with apprehension.

“Why did you sell your parents’ house?” Her face fell, and she was sure the color was draining away. “I know how much it meant to you growing up. I’m not judging; it was yours to do what you wanted with it.”

“I had my reasons.” She looked down to their laps, feeling the familiar shame creeping over her skin when she thought of her father’s bad decisions and her own selfish desire to open the bakery rather than save the family home.

Luke brought his hand up to her cheek. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” His voice was soft and soothing, and it made Scarlett want to confess everything to him. No one knew about the state of affairs her parents had been in. “When I first heard it had sold, I assumed it was because you never had any plans on returning to Saltwater Springs. Figured maybe you were investing the money in some gigantic house somewhere else. Then, when I went by your place…”

He trailed off, but he didn’t have to say what she knew he was thinking. Luke was wondering why she was living in a low-rate rental when she should’ve had all kinds of equity from the sale of her family home and her place in Boston.

No one knew about the difficult financial position her parent’s had been in when they died and Layla was the only other person who knew that the first contractor had ripped her off. Scarlett bit her lip, not sure if she was ready to take that leap and open herself up to judgment. If Luke chastised her or thought she was stupid, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to bear it.

His finger came to rest under her chin and he lifted it so she was forced to look at him. His forehead was creased, and the concern pouring out of his eyes gave Scarlett the courage she needed.

“The past couple of years have not been great, Luke,” she started. Tears burned behind her eyes, threatening to pour down her cheeks. “When my parents passed away, it was so sudden and unexpected that it took me a long time to even come to terms with it. I was in shock, and I didn’t want to make any decisions about what to do with the house until I’d had time to think clearly.”

“That makes perfect sense. When Brad died, it was a shock, too, even though I’d feared it happening for years. It takes time to work out your feelings. I understand that.” Scarlett pressed her hand to his chest. Of course he understood.

Losing someone you loved without warning was like being thrown in the ring with a professional boxer. You took the hit and it hurt like hell, but mostly you’re stunned, wondering what just happened and how you got there in the first place. It didn’t feel real, and time became your ultimate enemy, allowing the pain and regret to settle into your bones. Once that happened, you carried it with you wherever you went.

Scarlett drew in a shaky breath and continued. “What I didn’t know when my parents passed away was that my dad was in a lot of debt. He’d made some bad investments and then he mortgaged the majority of the house to try and make up his losses, but only ended up losing more. In the end, there was no equity, just more debt that needed to be paid off. I tried to keep the house for as long as I could, but it’s an old house and needed of a lot of repairs that I couldn’t afford, let alone the monthly mortgage and insurance on top of my place in Boston.”