Free Book of Luke (Book 2) by Chrissy Favreau Page A

shirt, rubbed his forehead and —once I was
dressed—opened the door. “I turned my phone off for a reason,
Burke.”
    Burke had his arms crossed. His smile was
big. “Ah, well, that is what you get for turning it off, yes?” He
waved at me as I stood up off the bed and straightened my hair.
    “Hi, Mom,” Luke said in utter frustration,
pausing to listen. “Yes, I got here safe. Mom, you needed to hear
that from me?” He listened for a while longer, then rolled his
eyes. “Of course I’ll put on fresh socks in the
morning.”
    I chuckled. Burke looked amused, too.
    Silence.
    “I have to go now, Mom,” Luke said. “Oh, and
thanks for calling. You have great timing!” He hung up and threw
the phone to Burke. Then he walked back toward me and crashed
backwards onto the bed.
    “So,” Burke said, “would you two like to go
down for some hot chocolate?”
    Luke put his hands out, staring at the
ceiling. “Well my night’s ruined! Sure, why not?”
    ~ ~ ~
    We got hot chocolate in the lounge. By the roaring
fire was a large, stylish sectional that could probably seat about
twenty people. Several love seats shared the room, and a TV played
quietly by the fireplace ceiling.
    Luke had an arm around me, and Burke sat
almost across from us. We shared the room with a couple in their
own area, drinking and speaking softly.
    “Much more fun than the bedroom, yes,
Lukasz?” Burke said with a grin.
    Luke smiled. “I haven’t had this much fun in ages . Thanks, Burke.”
    Burke laughed his warm laugh. “I’m sorry,
Lukasz. I remember being your age. But she did want to speak with
you, and I had no choice!”
    Luke waved it off, but the sheer
disappointment on his face said it all.
    I leaned into Luke’s chest and took a sip of
rich, creamy hot chocolate. “This tastes incredible!”
    Luke squeezed me tight. “Yeah, it’s not that
powdered crap.”
    “Lukasz, didn’t you say Troy is around here
somewhere?” Burke asked after a quiet moment.
    Luke glanced at Burke just as his cell phone
beeped. “Yeah, I’m gonna have to go look for him.”
    I was going to ask who Troy is, but he
pulled out his phone, and I strained to see the screen without
being obvious.
    The screen said, “Message from Nikki” and
the text read,
    Where are you?
    My eyes widened. Who’s Nikki?
    Luke pulled up a browser and searched his
email as I wondered who Nikki is, and how badly she could ruin my
life.
    “Check it out,” he breathed, showing me the
screen.
    I wanted to ask if I could check out his
texts instead, but I glanced at the email.
    “The Realtor got back to me, he said he can
do a showing. Do you like this one?”
    I looked through the pictures, but my mind
wasn’t quite there. “It’s great,” I said weakly.
    He looked confused. “I can find something
else…”
    “I like it,” I said, still preoccupied with
Nikki. He set the phone down on his lap, and followed my gaze to
it.
    “Adonia? Is something wrong?”
    My stomach was doing somersaults. “Of course
not.” I thought quickly. “I just realized my phone’s in the
room.”
    He seemed to relax a bit. “Oh.”
    “I like it, though,” I said of the house,
just to change the subject.
    He nodded, silent for a moment. Our eyes
locked, and I knew he could tell something was still bothering
me.
    He leaned into my ear. “I love you,
Beautiful.”
    I bit my lip and pulled him close. It was
plain as day that he loved me. But I kind of wondered if I’m the
only one he loved.
    His lips brushed my forehead and his arms
squeezed me tight. I picked up his phone and looked through the
pictures. The place had a jacuzzi, a bright bedroom, walk-in
closets, and skylights. What was there not to like?
    Eventually, the heat of the flames began
making me drowsy, and the hot chocolate didn’t help.
    ~ ~ ~
    I woke up in the suite, not remembering how I even
got there. Luke laid beside me, fast asleep, and I realized he‘d
carried me up.
    My hand glided beneath his shirt, across