You'll Think of Me (38 page)

The door flew open and Diane’s eyes grew wide. She beamed happily and said, “Well, hey there, Olivia. What brings you here? Come into the kitchen and I’ll get you some tea.”

Olivia smiled nervously. “I’m actually here to see Luke. Is he around?”

Tilting her head to the side with inquisitive eyes, Diane asked, “Luke? Well, he’s around. But Olivia, he doesn’t live here. He’s at his own home.” She said it as if Olivia should have known that.

“Oh, that’s right... I’d forgotten he told me he built a house. I guess I just assumed he’d be here. Would it be too much if I asked where he lives now? I need to talk to him.”

Diane pondered Olivia’s question with a glimmer in her eyes. She felt like an idiot coming to South Fork to see Luke. She should’ve just called to thank him. Now she was standing in front of Diane asking for his address while Diane pursed her lips in thought.

“I’ll give it to you, Livy, but you have to make me a promise.”

Olivia’s eyes furrowed. “Okay…”

Taking hold of Olivia’s hand, she nicely requested, “You have to promise me not to hurt him again. He was a wreck after you left. He’d kill me if he knew I was telling you this, but as a mother I feel it’s my duty to. And one day when you’re a mother you’ll understand, too. I watched him for months and the agony he went through without you by his side. I know Luke and he’d never admit that, but a mother knows these things. That’s what hurt the most…being a mother and not able to fix the one thing only one other woman could. So please, promise me you won’t hurt him again.”

Olivia rolled her lip back and forth between her teeth as her jaw trembled. Her heart pumped hard as it cracked down the center, struggling to stay together after hearing Diane ask that she make this promise to her. She never ever meant to hurt Luke to begin with, and she sure didn’t want to ever again.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Olivia took a big breath before she spoke.

“I promise you, it wasn’t just Luke who was hurting, Diane. If you only knew…” She shook her head. “But I promise not to hurt him again. All I want to do is thank him for last night.”

Diane’s pleading gaze morphed at her reply. Her eyes were perplexed with so many questions swirling in them. She touched her dainty fingers to her mouth and pulled back just a bit.

Breaking their silence, John tumbled down the stairs like a bat out of hell. He was in a hurry but managed to say, “Hey, Livy. Good to see you again.”

“Where you off to, John?” Diane asked him.

“To see Alyssa.”

Diane dabbed her cheek with a finger and slanted it to the side. John leaned over and pecked his mother’s cheek before he left.

Alyssa? The one he was yelling at that night at Rum Bar?

Diane glanced back at her and said, “Alright, Livy. I’ll give it to you. Just go easy.”

A
s Olivia turned into Luke’s home, her eyes widened. The wrought iron gate was wide open for anyone to enter and she wondered why Luke had left it like that.

Driving up the winding driveway, Olivia parked her car and stepped out. She took in the land surrounding his home in awe. She could smell the newly fresh cut grass and the moisture in the air. Luke had done an impressive job just from what she’d seen so far and she could only imagine what the inside looked like. Her knees locked in place just thinking about being inside his home.
Shoot
. What if someone was there? Like another woman?

Olivia groaned. She should have called first, but she wanted to thank him in person and wasn’t thinking when she jumped in her car and hightailed it down south.

She took a few deep breaths and began walking up the pebbled driveway to Luke’s large front door. Olivia was focused on the gray and white little pebbles beneath her feet when a sound caught her attention.

Standing before her was Luke, barefoot in ripped jeans. His arm was propped against the door as he leaned into it, the muscles flexing to hold up his weight, a cigarette dangling from his fingers. Her gaze traveled the length of him and Olivia ground down on her jaw at the sight of Luke’s stance; his body was built to near perfection.

Olivia shyly smiled and then waved.

She waved. Like an idiot.

Luke took one last pull on his cigarette then dropped it into the ashtray outside.

“Can’t say I’m not happy to see you, Livy, but what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

Luke’s mouth quirked up. “Figured you weren’t coming for a swim.”

“Can I come in? I mean, if you’re available and don’t have company or not busy.”

Luke took in Olivia’s demeanor. He could tell by just glancing at her how nervous she was on the steps to his home. He never expected to see her there.

“You mean, like a female?” He chuckled. “There’s no one here but me. Come on in, Livy.”

Luke held opened his front door that had to be at least ten feet tall. As she brushed by, her senses became aware of every inch of him and she tried to hide the shudder that rolled through her body.

Damn.
As Olivia glided past him, he once again took in that sweet flakey coconut smell that he only associated with her. It assaulted his nostrils in all the right ways, making his body hard for her. He instantly wanted her back in his arms again, and now that there was no barrier between them after what she told him the night before, he wanted to make it happen.

But it wasn’t just the familiar smell of Livy that attracted Luke, because that would be disturbing. It was so much more. The fact that she was standing before him in his house after everything that happened, her generous and caring heart, the way she could sit and watch the sunset, her love of music especially, the way her coffee-colored eyes pulled him in…

Luke wanted Livy desperately. He wanted to feel it again with her. All of it. She was like listening to his favorite artist on repeat, he could never get enough. The beat to his music. The pure bliss of waking to her every day. She would always be his Livy, but now she was adult Livy and she made his heart beat faster and his blood roar even stronger than before. Nothing stood in their way now.

When his mother called and informed him that Livy was on her way, he didn’t ask questions. Luke hung up, opened the gate to his home that was normally always bolted shut and quickly got dressed, throwing on whatever he could find.

Watching Livy’s lush body fall into a deep sleep, sighing and mewing sounds broke free from her parted lips. He’d forgotten what it was like to have her wrapped in his arms and didn’t want to leave, but knew he couldn’t stay. He wasn’t sure where they stood and he wasn’t going to make assumptions, but he had hope and was wishing on a prayer that it would go his way.

Luke flew down the interstate in record time, but he hadn’t been able to fall asleep once he got home. Olivia was on his mind and no way would counting sheep work for him. He wanted to take a shower after working up a sweat at her home, but he didn’t want to wash the smell of her away. He knew just thinking that made him sound like a whipped man, but Luke didn’t give a shit. When he had finally succumbed to sleep at the break of dawn, his mother had called what felt like only ten minutes later. He was half dead but perked right up at the mention of Olivia and got his ass in gear.

Olivia turned on her heels slowly, taking in all of Luke’s home that was so him. It felt quaint and homey, which she wasn’t expecting. A round table sat in the center of the entry way with mail strewn across it. Dark wooden beams crossed the white ceiling diagonally every few feet and there were pictures all over the walls. Rugs covered the wood floor that led into a living room. To her left were stairs to the second floor. She had to admit she was surprised at how nicely decorated the house was.

“Wow, Luke, you have such a nice home.” She breathed in.

Luke shuffled on his feet. “Uh, thanks, Livy.”

Luke could feel the anxiety dripping from Olivia’s skin. He felt bad seeing her body so tense. Wanting to ease her discomfort, he asked, “Want me to give you a tour?” She nodded and her shoulders dropped.

“Well, this is the foyer, obviously.” He smirked as his arms opened to showcase the room. “Come.” Turning and walking toward the living room, Olivia followed behind a few feet. She listened to him as he showed her each room. Luke was dying to ask what was on her mind, he wanted to know her thoughts, but he’d wait until the time was right.

Making his way to the huge sliding glass windows that captured the most breathtaking view, Luke slid one of the doors open.

When Luke had the blueprints drawn up, he made sure to have a tall set of lengthy windows to display the view ahead of him. He knew once the dust settled the sunset would be the most amazing sight glistening off the lake. And he was right. Luke loved sitting on his porch watching the night fall. It was peaceful and provided much needed downtime after being on the road.

The only thing missing from the page was the one standing next to him staring straight ahead.

Olivia looked over the trees surrounding the lake. It was a picture perfect view with a tree swing to top it off. Luke had a huge piece of land that went as far as her eyes could see. To the right was a small home, which she assumed was a guest house.

“How much land do you own?” Olivia asked.

He shifted on his feet uncomfortably. “I don’t know… Give or take twenty acres…”

Olivia’s eyes bulged. “That’s a lot of land, Luke. How do you keep it up?”

“I hire people.”

“Oh yeah,” she said, feeling stupid again. It would make sense hiring someone. “Are you home often?”

“Not as much as I’d like to be. Though, it does get pretty lonely out here when I am. Maybe that’s why I’m hardly home all that much. If I had something or someone to come back to then that would be a different story,” he said, looking deep into her eyes.

Trying to change the subject, she asked, “Do you have any animals?”

“No. I’d like a few dogs, but I don’t like the idea of them being alone out here, not that anything would happen. Sure I could hire someone for that too, but I just can’t. It wouldn’t be right to the dogs. Plus, I don’t know if I could trust someone to care for them.”

God, how he missed Olivia and in that moment he wanted her back so bad.

Taking a chance, Luke held out an open palm. He wanted to walk onto his deck hand in hand and show Olivia. He wanted to stroll through his woods with her by his side. He wanted to sit on the swing and rock with her, not just now, but at night too. He wanted to show her his little studio he had added onto the house where he made his music. And just like all those years ago, as if in that moment nothing changed, he still wanted everything with her. He wanted to feel it all with her again. It was easy and simple, but that’s what they always had together.

Take my hand…

Olivia looked down at Luke’s inviting hand. Her breathing became erratic as emotions were bubbling up inside of her, threatening to escape. She tried to hold it in, but Luke noticed the change in her and he took a step closer. Her heart gave a little pitter patter at the nearness of him, the heat coming off his body as she watched him take deep breaths. She wanted desperately to take hold of Luke’s hand and never let go, but was scared. She was scared of wanting everything with him again but not having it. Scared of how he made her feel. Scared at what he’d say. Scared of his rejection again. Luke always had such control over her, making her feel so much. Her heart was open and exposed more than it ever had been. Letting Luke completely back in was a chance she wanted to take, but was terrified to do so. She wasted too much time doing what she thought was right and not what she truly wanted deep down.

Most of all, she was scared that she had unintentionally hurt someone else in the process. Nate. She didn’t want to run back to Luke like he swore she would, but the pull was too strong, too demanding.

Her vision became blurry as tears welled in her eyes and her jaw trembled. She couldn’t take his hand. It felt guilty doing so, yet there was nothing more she wanted in the world.

Jesus. This woman had to be the most stubborn one he’d ever come across in his life. Luke could see the internal battle in her pretty brown eyes. He wasn’t asking for her to marry him, not yet at least, just to take a walk. Then something happened. Whatever was running through her mind caused tears to form in her eyes and he knew she was fighting to keep them in. If he knew Olivia like he had, she was probably over thinking everything. If she wasn’t going to take that extra step, then he would. Too much time had passed, and he wasn’t going to let another day go by without her next to him. They were both stubborn and wanted something more all those years ago, but fate had come full circle and brought them right back to each other. No way was Luke going to allow her to leave again like he had nine years ago. It was the biggest mistake he had ever made.