Free A Beautiful Wreck (Second Chance #3) by CeeCee James

don’t know about that. Living on love sounds like a bad country song.” He grimaced. “You ready to get going?”
    Nodding, she stood up and gathered the blanket around her. Back in the car, she pushed the recline button, and the seat fell back with a clunk.
    The car’s engine hummed smoothly as Luke headed down to Freymere. After a minute, she yawned. Closed her eyes.
    The next thing she knew, Luke was gently shaking her shoulder. “Hey,” he whispered, as if trying not to scare her. “Wake up, Principessa.”
    Cassie opened her eyes, forgetting where she was for a moment. Shifting, she turned towards him. “I did not just fall asleep.”
    “Yeah, you did,” he said, with a slight smile.
    She sat up and looked around. “Where we going now?”
    His face lit up with a big grin. “You’ll see.”

Chapter 11
    “ Y our place , really?” Cassie glanced around the parking garage as she shut the Camaro door. “That’s your surprise?”
    “Patience, Principessa.” Luke reached for her hand and led her into the lobby.
    Cassie’s hand felt strange inside his. It had been so long since a man had grabbed her hand and confidently led her anywhere. Guilt stabbed her, making her want to pull away. “I’m not sure I think patience is a good thing,” she murmured.
    He smirked back at her and drew her up the stairs. After fumbling with the keys for a minute, he finally opened the apartment door.
    Walking down the little hallway, she entered the studio area. The house was cleaner then when she’d been there before. The carpet had stripes from being vacuumed recently.
    She wandered over to look at the bookshelf, and checked out the books. Tucked into one of the shelves was a silver ornate frame that held a picture of a dark-haired young woman. The woman squinted as she smiled into the camera, her hand lifted to ward off the flash.
    Cassie traced the scrolling artwork of the frame with her finger. She held it up with raised eyebrows to Luke.
    “That’s Jennifer.” His words were clipped, as he spun for the kitchen area. His hand trailed down the neck of a bottle of Crown Royal sitting on the counter. He pushed it away and reached for something under a stack of mail.
    Cassie carefully returned the frame to the shelf, aligning it with its dust-free outline. “She was beautiful.”
    He gave a noncommittal grunt.
    Cassie looked around the apartment for the thing she’d seen the last time she’d been there. Still tucked in the corner was the black Gibson guitar. “You play?” She pointed at the instrument.
    Following the direction of her finger, he nodded. “It’s been a while.”
    “I’ve always wanted to play. Does it have a name?”
    Luke raised his eyebrow curiously. “How’d you know it has a name?”
    She shrugged. “Don’t all great guitarists name their guitars?”
    He walked over to the Gibson and hefted it off the stand. His fingers softly strummed a chord. “Lucy. She’s pretty out of tune now. I need to get some new strings.” Sighing, he set it back. “I have something I wanted to show you.”
    Luke stepped back toward the counter and picked up the thing he’d been fumbling for earlier. A patch. Gold threads fluttered from its unraveled edges like sunrays.
    He walked back to the bookshelf. “It’s for compass navigation.” His eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Leif and I were competing over who would get theirs first. That little creep won.”
    Cassie reached for it. She spun the patch in her hands, imagining seven-year-old Leif’s triumphant smile when he received it. “I bet he really rubbed it in.”
    “Yeah.” Luke laughed. “He sure did. He gave it to me, later, when we found out I was moving.”
    “Awww,” Cassie murmured. She passed it back. “I have something for you too.” Sliding her hand into her pocket, Cassie caressed the pendant. Her fingers closed around it as she drew it out.
    “Another gift?”
    She held it out to him.
    Arching an eyebrow, he slowly opened his hand.