Page 107 of Just Trouble

That’s a compromise I can live with. I get up and wash up, heading downstairs in my jeans and a shirt.

I find Luke in the kitchen seated at the counter, in his briefs and open dress shirt. He’s rolled up the sleeves and his hair is tousled, his feet braced on the bar stool so that his legs look taut and powerful. For a minute, I just stand and admire the view.

Then I realize that he has notes everywhere. The pad from my grocery list has been pulled into action and there are rows of sheets with notes. Some have phone numbers on them. Evidently, he is making his plan.

I go to his side, intrigued.

“How am I doing for a rookie?” he asked playfully and I smile.

“There’s a lot of software that’s good for this kind of thing. Maybe even apps for your phone.”

“That would be great. There’s so much to manage and I’m open to suggestions.”

I get a coffee and lean against the counter, watching him text a reply to someone. “What’s it like to grow up with no one having any expectations of you?”

“They all had expectations of me. Just not good ones.”

“You know what I mean. Unless your mom had ambitions for you.”

“The bar was low. Stay out of jail. Don’t get yourself killed. Be home when the streetlights come on.”

I shake my head, thinking it was probably a little higher than that.

“Why?” he asks, glancing up. “Was there a list of desirable achievements laid out for you?”

“Kind of. I was supposed to become a lawyer, which meant I had to get good grades.” I shrug then make a little incoherent sound of satisfaction as he leans into a good spot. “I liked school, though, so that wasn’t a problem.”

“What did you want to do?”

“I didn’t know, so following the plan seemed as good as anything else.”

He puts down his phone to give me his full attention. “How could younotknow?”

“Maybe if you’re really good at one thing, it’s easier in a way. That’s the thing you’ll do. But if you’re good at a lot of things, you have to choose, and that’s tougher.”

“No, it isn’t. You follow your passion.” Luke speaks with a conviction I admire. “You do what you really want to do.”

“Hmm.”

He casts me a smile. “I’ll guess that becoming a lawyer didn’t take top spot on that list either.”

I shake my head. “It’s okay. I like the intellectual challenge of it. The intricacies of the law fascinate me, as well as how it got to be the way it is. Rafe is the one born to do what he does.”

He puts aside the phone and turns to face me, then pulls me into an embrace. I’m standing between his thighs but I’m not going to give up that coffee. My hands are wrapped around the mug and Luke is smiling at me. I know he’s listening to me, which is even more sexy than all the good stuff he can do with his thumb. “So, what’s the plan for your new commercial property?”

“I’m still thinking. Because my dad’s not wrong that it’ll be tough to build a practice here, but I don’t want to do criminal law or go back to the city.” I say the thing I’ve never told anyone. “I actually didn’t like it at the big firm. Everyone was so competitive. It felt like being a gladiator.”

He chuckles. “Different clothes.”

“True enough.”

He’s studying me, serious, trying to help. I adore how earnest he is. “There must have been something you particularly liked to do.”

“I liked tutoring when I did it in high school. Helping people understand something that’s eluded them to date. It’s very satisfying to see the proverbial light go on.”

“You’re good at explaining the law.”

I look at him and he nods.

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