Free The Hourglass by Megan C. Smith, K. S. Smith Page B

aback, I glanced over at Luke who was still holding tightly onto my hand. “Listen, this entire thing with Brooke has gotten out of hand, don’t get me wrong. I enjoy spending time with her, she’s a great girl, but she’s not you.”
    Pulling my hand from his, I stared out the window not sure whether I should be excited or angry at him. We rode in silence for the majority of the drive. Then, upon pulling into my complex, Luke jumped out of the car, grabbed my things, and helped me up to my place. “You want me to take your luggage to your bedroom?” With an awkward feeling, I glanced at him and pulled in a deep breath. “Luke, I’m not sure what to say to all of this.”
    Frustrated, I stood there trying to avoid eye contact, but Luke closed the distance, running his hands up my arms and back down then gently wrapped them around my hips, pulling me in so my body was pressed tightly against his. “Don’t say anything, there’s no reason to talk, just let me show you how much I’ve missed you.” Slipping his fingers under the hem of my shirt, he slowly started to massage my hips, instantly causing goose bumps to prick my skin while my body heated from deep within. His cool breath hit my neck, followed by the warmth of his lips. Luke trailed kisses from one side of my neck to the other, finally bringing his lips to meet the corner of my mouth. So much of me wanted to show him what he’d been missing out on, but I couldn’t do that to my best friend. I had given her my blessing and damn it I was going to stick to my word. It wasn’t Brooke’s fault I hadn’t realized I had feelings for Luke.
    Placing my hands on his chest, I pushed his body away from mine. “I can’t, I can’t do this to Brooke. Damn it Luke, why did I have to tell her to go for it? Why did it take me handing you over on a silver platter to my best friend to realize that I have feelings for you, that it is more than just sex?”
    His baffled expression lasted less than a second before he was trying to seduce me again. “Take Brooke out of the equation, this isn’t about her. I’m done with her; it’s me and you, Savannah. I think I’m in love with you.”
    Forcing further distance between the two of us, I crossed the room toward the door trying to keep myself from betraying my best friend. “Prove it Luke, if you love me, end things with Brooke, and make it right, I’m not going behind her back, I can’t.”
    Luke closed the gap between us and pulled me in to him again and placed a light kiss on my cheek. “I promise I’ll make this right.” With one last look at her, he opened the door and left.
    The day was more than half over when I finally walked into my office and collapsed into the chair. I pulled up the files from my trip to New York and started working on edits only to be interrupted by my assistant. “Savannah, I tried to call you but for some reason your phone kept going straight to voicemail. Mr. Wellington stopped in early this morning and told me that he was going to be picking you up. I hope it didn’t cause any confusion.”
    Looking up from my edits I shook my head. “Not at all, thank you for keeping track of me. Would you mind checking to see if Brooke is in the office? I really need to speak with her.”
    My assistant darted out of my office shouting over her shoulder, “I’ll go check right now.” A few minutes later she walked back into my office. “I’m sorry, but it appears that Ms. Reid is out of the office and by the looks of it she won’t be returning today.” Rolling my eyes in frustration, I thanked my assistant and asked her to close my door.
    I dialed Brooke’s cell and waited as it rang two times and then went directly to voicemail. “Brooke, we need to talk. This morning got way out of hand. I need you to let me explain before you begin jumping to all of these conclusions. Call me and we’ll meet for drinks.” After hanging up, I relaxed back in my chair and then shot a quick text to