Jaded (11 page)

“Morning.” Workers filed past her as they arrived at her house. She smiled, waving her greeting, discreetly keeping an eye out for Luke. It was Friday already, the last day of their work week. Unless she asked him out, he wouldn’t be back to her house until the rest of the crew was.

She saw him round the corner from the garage and walk toward the front door. Her heart tightened in her chest and she felt suddenly breathless. “Hey, Bella.” Luke winked at her as he walked past. She opened her mouth to tell him to wait, eager to say something about the letter, but nothing came out.

“Hi.” She grinned shyly. She hadn’t been expecting the arrival of a nickname. She watched him walk down the hall and finally disappear into the kitchen.

She breathed deep, deciding she’d wait until their next encounter before she figured out how to respond. She grabbed her laptop from the office, setting up in the front living room in case Luke happened to wander by. As the words stared back at her from her computer screen, she realized she wasn’t seeing anything in front of her. Work might be useless today until she addressed the letter. Alternately sighing and gnawing on her nails, Isabella had never been more acutely aware of the shifting footsteps of the workers throughout the house. Each time someone neared the front room, she snapped into a feigned look of intense concentration.

Hours passed and Isabella finally managed to sink into productivity. In the back of her mind, she was desperate for him to approach her, or say something about the letter, but he didn’t. He remained at his job, and she remained solidly in front of her computer until lunchtime. When she heard the workers gathering by the patio door and clinking lunch pails, she slammed her laptop shut. Her curiosity was roaring and she couldn’t ignore it any longer.

The workers were lounging in the backyard, most of them shirtless, munching on chips or sandwiches. She saw Luke in the center of them all, throwing chips in the air and catching them in his mouth. And he was shirtless.
Bless his heart.

She entered the backyard cautiously, feeling out as out of place as a child interrupting an important business meeting. All eyes landed on her.

“Hey...uh, Luke? Can you come here for a second?” She tried to block the intoxicating scent of manliness he oozed, but it was almost impossible with the presence of his bare chest boasting tiny droplets of sweat that had formed between his hard, gleaming pectorals. She blinked, trying to keep the image of his half-naked body from making its way to the part of her brain that would cloud her judgment.

He smiled at her. “Sure.” He stepped past some guys, clapped them on their backs, and followed her inside.

“Whatcha need?”

“Um...nothing, really.” He stood with his hands on hips, eyes intent on her. Her brain stopped working for a moment. “I—I wanted to just...chat.”

“Oh.” He waited for her to continue.

“Actually...well...I got your letter last night.” She watched him for a reaction, but he gave none. “It was really sweet. It was a lot better than any other letter I’ve ever gotten.” She smiled.

He nodded, a smile creeping onto his face. “Good. I’m glad.”

She watched him for a moment. “I think that was really nice of you.”

“I can be a nice guy sometimes, huh?” He winked at her. “It’s no problem, Bella. But hey, we’ll talk later, okay? I’m gonna go back with the guys.”

He turned to leave and she panicked. Something felt weird between them. Their usual spark was missing. He wasn’t trying to put his hands on her and she was confused.

“Um—hey. Wait.”

He turned to her expectantly.

“It’s Friday, you know. And, well, I probably won’t see you again till Monday.”

“That’s right.”

Suddenly, she realized what was wrong. She looked him up and down: he was standing a safe distance away, a harmless, friendly smile on his face. He wasn’t hitting on her; he wasn’t making every comment some variation of a come-on. He was having a normal, civilized conversation with her. It was driving her nuts. She felt desperate for their fast-paced sexual energy, despite how angry it made her.

“Well...maybe you can stop by over the weekend. I wouldn’t mind if you just popped over sometime.”

He nodded, mulling it over in his head. “That might work.”

Might work.
Her mind was spinning. Did he even like her anymore? And what about that letter? What had happened to him?

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m great.” He offered a smile. “I’ll talk to you later.” He waved and went outside.

She stared after him, open-mouthed. It was like some essential Luke wire had been removed from his brain that caused him to act like a professional, platonic colleague. She watched him rejoin the workers through the window, stewing over his bizarre behavior. It had been the most normal conversation they’d ever had...and she hated it.

***

Luke was practicing an exercise in self-control. He’d done all right in the first round by refusing himself random breaks to visit with her throughout the day. He’d even managed to pull off victory in the second round—talking to her in the kitchen without one mention of his letter, dating, or sex. But he wasn’t so convinced he could keep it up, seeing as how if he even glanced at her he was overcome with the almost-insatiable urge to throw her to the ground and smother her with kisses. He wanted her to start wanting
him
, and the only way that would happen was when she thought he suddenly wasn’t interested. Reverse psychology, or something like it. Whatever it was, it was sure to work—as long as he could hold out. And at almost 6:00, he thought he’d been doing a pretty good job.

“Luke, you wanna come out tonight with me and Randy?” Jimmy leaned against the side of the house, tipping back a cola. “It’ll be the shit.”

You always say that
, Luke thought,
and it really
is
shit
. “Nah. I think I’m gonna stay home tonight.”

Jimmy almost choked on his drink. “What?”

“I think I’m gonna stay home.” He shrugged. “No big deal.” Besides, he wanted to take Isabella up on her offer. He’d be over in a flash as soon as he knew she wanted him here.

“But...why?” Jimmy looked as if he’d been slapped.

“Why not? I might see Isabella later...”

Jimmy grinned slyly. “Ahh. I see now.”

He sighed. Let him think what he wanted. But after that night at the restaurant, he knew he would be perfectly happy spending an evening just talking to Isabella. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been interested in a woman, genuinely curious to hear what she had to say, and how she would react to what he had to say. In a small way, Luke felt like he’d discovered an enormous secret, something even his work buddies didn’t know.
Girls can be sexy and smart.
It seemed ludicrous, even to himself, how he’d never considered the possibility of finding a girl with something in her mind. He’d only ever figured he’d find a girl with a body. That was the only thing he’d been taught to expect. Arm candy. Good looks. Fun. And not much else.

A worker rushed out the back door and started gesturing hurriedly to him and Jimmy. “Guys, you gotta see the babes that just came in!”

They followed, Jimmy pushing the guy to go faster. Luke lagged behind, wondering where Isabella had been since lunchtime.

“Hey, boys...” Luke noticed two women standing in the front room—both had suspiciously similar facial features to Isabella, one older and one younger. Isabella stepped out from behind them and he made the connection. It was her mom and her sister, the one about to be married. His eyes landed on Kitty—poised confidently beside her mother, a knowing look coupled with lips pressed into a smile—and he could tell without looking around him that his buddies were salivating over her. She stood a couple inches taller than Isabella, with long white-blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. The Moreno mother was similarly poised, with dark, silky hair cropped close to her face and large sunglasses covering eyes that he felt were scrutinizing him and his crew. Mother and daughter both carried oversized purses, hung from the crooks of their elbows. The family resemblance was strong, but Luke could tell Isabella wasn’t kidding about being a little different from the rest.

“Well, Isabella?” Her mother’s voice wafted through the air, sugary yet firm. “Introduce us to your construction crew!” She smiled patiently.

Isabella came forward, cast a shy smile at Luke, and introduced him. “This is Luke—he’s leading the project.” She paused as they shook hands, and then gestured to Kitty. “And this is my younger sister, Kitty.”

Kitty offered a limp hand, and Luke gave it a firm shake. She giggled. “Nice to meet you.”

Isabella turned to address him. “My mother really wanted to meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure, ma’am. You made the right choice with us.”

Her mother slid down her sunglasses and peered at him, amusement in her eyes. “Aren’t you darling?”

Luke looked over at Isabella for some sort of cue—was that a compliment, an insult, did he say thank you? Isabella bit her lip and smiled, so he looked back at Mrs. Moreno and grinned wide. “That’s what they tell me.”

She watched him for a moment and then laughed. “Well, Luke, it looks like you’re doing a
fabulous
job so far!” Isabella’s mother gushed. “This house will be
beautiful
when it’s done, and all thanks to you gentlemen!”

Isabella went through each remaining man on the crew, introducing them to her mother and sister, until Luke finally told them to get back to work and said his goodbye to Isabella’s family.

“Nice meeting you,” he said, flashing one last grin at Mrs. Moreno. She slid down her glasses again and winked at him, and once more he was unsure how to react to the debonair woman before him.

Just as he was about to excuse himself and return to work, a knock on the front door grabbed everyone’s attention. Isabella gasped with excitement. “I think it’s Lizzie!”

She ran to the door and pulled it open, laughing as a friend wrapped her in a big hug. Luke watched with interest, remembering Isabella referencing a Lizzie on their night out, and how important this person was to her. He specifically remembered her saying, “She’s the only sane person in my life,” and he felt instantly compelled to win her favor. She was the closest person to Isabella’s heart, so he had to win her if he was going to win Isabella. Mrs. Moreno and Kitty hugged the girl as well, murmuring their welcomes.

“Luke, meet Lizzie,” Isabella said, gesturing to her. “She’s my best friend in the entire world.”

As they shook hands, Luke recognized the glint in her eye—she was finally attaching his face to all the stories she’d heard from Isabella. He almost blushed, curious to know what she knew about him. Something about her seemed familiar though, and he wondered if they’d met in another place. His eyes lingered on hers as he struggled to connect her with a distant memory, and from the haze that covered her eyes as they shook hands, he could tell that she was remembering him too.

“Pleasure to meet you,” he said.

“Same here,” she said, still watching him closely. “I’m glad to meet the guy in charge of ripping this place apart!” She smiled over at Isabella. “It already looks like a completely different house.”

As the Moreno girls and Lizzie started to chat about the work being done and what was to come, Luke excused himself and retreated to the kitchen, mind still struggling to connect Lizzie’s face with a specific moment. He figured it was some shared characteristic with someone else he knew—maybe the curly hair or the body shape that triggered his recognition—and left it at that. Besides, with how many girls that had come in and out of his life, it might take him the entire year to figure out where he knew her from.

He busied himself at the kitchen table, going over floor plans, trying to keep himself near the girls so that he wouldn’t miss a chance to woo anyone or flash a smile. After he had spent a while taking measurements and rereading the same plans, Lizzie sauntered into the kitchen.

“Hey, Luke!” She sounded surprised to find him there. “Nice work you’re doing.”

He flashed a smile. “Thanks! It goes fast with all these guys helping.”

“How long have you been doing remodeling?”

“A while...since my early twenties, at least.” He continued examining the floor plans as he talked to her, careful to make sure he kept a good balance between working and socializing.

“So you’re pretty much a pro by now, right?”

“Sure, something like that,” he said, smiling at her. “I might not be the best ever, but I’m definitely the best in Florida.”

She chuckled, tongue in cheek. He could tell she was similarly aware of his cockiness, like Isabella had been. She paused, looking around the kitchen, and then turned to face him. “Luke, you look so familiar.”

He stood up from the table and looked her square in the eye, nodding. “You do too.”

“I can’t place you though,” she said, shaking her head slowly as she studied his face. “Do you know a Robert Maxwell?”

He scoured his brain for a friend by that name and came up with nothing. “Nope.”

“Hmmm...” She took lazy steps around the kitchen, chin in her hand as she pondered the connection. “Did you go to Hopewell High School?”

“No, I was an Enderle Eagle,” he said. “And proud.”

She chuckled again. “Are you secretly famous? Have I seen you on TV anywhere?”

“I had a brief movie career, but that fizzled out,” he said. She looked over at him sharply, surprised. “I was just kidding. I’ve never been in a movie, but I used to model...I doubt you’ve seen any of that stuff anywhere, though.”

“Oh, really?” She stopped pacing the kitchen and watched him with a look he was accustomed to when he let his secret slip—a look halfway between “Then why are you working in construction?” and “I figured you were paid for those biceps.”

He grinned at her and turned back to the floor plans. He heard her resume pacing.

“Do you go to Bigsy’s?” Luke asked, thinking of the only place he frequented more than once a week, his favorite bar.