Page 37 of Legends Luke

She threw open the door with a wide smile, only to be met with Luke’s scowl. Her expression fell.

“You really should double-check who’s at the door before you open it.”

She rolled her eyes with an indulgent grin. “Relax. I have a video doorbell. I saw it was you before I answered the door. Do you want to come in or do you want to give me dirty looks from the hallway the rest of the night?”

His features relaxed as he stepped over the threshold. She didn’t step back, allowing him to invade her space. He leaned forward until she could feel his breath against her cheek. His lips brushed against her skin.

“You look beautiful.”

Her breath caught in her lungs, but she managed a soft thank you before she moved back to let him pass. He reached with his free hand to close the door behind him, securing the lock.

“I brought cobbler.”

He presented a tin dish covered with foil. She raised one corner and inhaled the sweet aroma of berries swimming in a thick filling and a pie crust baked to golden perfection.

“Perfect. I hope you didn’t go to a lot of trouble.”

He grinned. “As much as I’d like to take credit for it, a friend of the family made it for me.”

His proximity was wreaking havoc on her senses. His musky scentenveloped her, and his solid body towered over her like a protective shield. The blue of his collared shirt made his icy eyes brighter by comparison.

She reached out to take the dessert from him with a shy smile, hoping he couldn’t see how much he affected her.

“I hope you’re hungry because dinner just came out of the oven. We should eat before everything gets cold.”

“Lead the way.”

Melody directed him to sit at her small table while she plated the roasted chicken and vegetables. She grabbed the prepared salad from the refrigerator along with a couple of choices for dressing. He rose to help her, but she waved him back to his seat, explaining he was a guest and wasn’t expected to lend a hand.

“When you offered to cook dinner, I didn’t realize you would go to all of this trouble.”

She placed the basket of rolls on the table and took her seat. “It was no trouble.”

She passed him the salad while she spooned a portion of the chicken and vegetables on a plate.

He quirked a questioning brow. “I don’t believe you.”

She chuckled. “It really wasn’t. I couldn’t make anything fancier since I was at the office longer than I planned. I had to make something I knew would be ready in time.”

“We could have ordered in.”

“I know. I wanted to cook for you.” She motioned for him to dig in.

His smile was slight but lit up his eyes. “Thanks.”

She took a small bite of her salad, her cheeks heating a bit at his praise.

“So have you been busy today?”

She was cutting off a bite of chicken when she noticed he didn’t answer right away. Peeking at him through her lashes, she detected a slight hesitation before he replied.

“I was stuck in the office all day.”

“I’m guessing you’d rather work on cars than be in the office. You don’t have an assistant to handle the billing and scheduling, so you’re free to be in the garage?”

He shrugged and pushed his food with his fork. “Never saw a need. Chum helps out in the garage. The office stuff is computerized, and I’m good with computers.”

Melody had an odd feeling he was holding something back from her, but she mentally shrugged it off. “What’s a Chum?”

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