Free Just a Little Honesty by Tracie Puckett Page A

leave town,” he said quickly. “It was only partially because I didn’t trust him.” He blinked his brown eyes a few times and watched for a reaction, but I didn’t give him one. “There was always something about him that rubbed me the wrong way, yes. But that wasn’t the only reason I didn’t want him around.”
    “Okay?” I asked, pulling my feet up and tucking them under my legs. Luke seemed to relax as he saw me get comfortable; he let his shoulders fall, and he eased himself back in the chair.
    “In all honesty, Julie,” he said, and this time he closed his eyes for a few deep breaths. “I was jealous.”
    I had to watch his lips carefully as he said those three little words; Luke had never been one to show any sign of insecurity, nor had he ever come close to admitting his faults. I didn’t know what to make of his sudden honesty, and quite frankly, it scared me a little. I’d thought I’d known everything there was to know about Luke, and all of a sudden he started dropping bombs left and right.
    “He was the one,” he said, not giving me time to respond to his admission. “Your Uncle Charlie doesn’t look at Derek and see the things I see. He sees the individual, and I see the potential. Derek worships you, and that’s just what Charlie wants. He wants you surrounded by people who’ll throw themselves at your feet. He wants you to have an easy life, a life free of risk. Derek was everything he could’ve asked for; there was no question that he could make you happy. But I’m the risk. I want to challenge you, Julie. I want to make you question things. I want to make you smile, make you angry. I want to make you feel more than just content. I’m not going to walk behind you or in front of you. I’m going to stand beside you. And no, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you skip through life making foolish decisions or ignoring consequences. It just means that I care enough to help you learn… and help you understand that life isn’t always about getting your way. But that’s not what your family wants for you… and I struggled to accept that. So, no, I didn’t want you cozying up with Derek. I didn’t want him anywhere near you,” he said, and I finally sensed some finality coming. “Because I didn’t want him to have you.”
    I watched his eyes as they traced my face, and his hand slowly slipped from my wrist to my fingers.
    “Now,” he said, trying to clear his throat, but he seemed to struggle with it. “Can I ask you a question?”
    “Sure.”
    “Do you love him?” he asked, and it was almost as if he’d lost his voice.
    “Luke—”
    “Back then, in the months before he left,” he said. “Your feelings for Derek were strictly platonic.” I nodded, and he looked as though he’d never doubted that fact. “But things seem different now that he’s home. I just… I want to know what’s changed.”
    “I don’t know,” I said. But it wouldn’t have mattered what I said. I knew very well what Luke was fishing for. He wanted me to admit that he’d been right. He wanted to hear it—straight from my mouth to his ears—that I had feelings for Derek.
    “Julie,” he said, now sitting at the very edge of his chair again. His fingers gently traced the naked ring finger on my left hand. “Do you wanna get married?”
    “Whoa,” I said, jerking my hand back. And as soon as I pulled away, his face dropped, and he shook his head.
    “No, no, no,” he said, trying to take it back, but I kept it far from his reach. “I’m not asking you to get married.”
    I sucked in a breath and held it for a minute, but the panic couldn’t drain from my face. “Try again.”
    “I’m sorry,” he said, dropping his head as if he couldn’t believe he hadn’t found a better way to phrase his question. I kept my hands planted firmly in my lap as Luke took a few deep breaths to start over.
    “When we started dating in December, I was overwhelmed with work and reconnecting with