Page 57 of The Edge of Summer
“What the fu—” He cuts himself off as his eyes land on Sophia, registering her presence. “What was that for?” he amends, glaring at his twin.
She shrugs. “Just because.”
“Children,” Maggie chides, “behave.”
Beside me, Sophia covers her mouth with her hand, hiding her giggles. She always finds it funny when they bicker in front of us. Because my siblings and I are all so far apart in age, we never really had the same type of sibling relationship that the Bowmans do. Clara and Gabe are only three years younger than Luke, so they all grew up together. Sometimes I envy that closeness.
“Can I do anything?” I ask Maggie, just as I always do.
She gives me a stern look. “You can sit your butt at the table and relax. John and I have it under control,” she says, just as she always does.
When Gabe sees my sister looking around for his daughter, he gives her an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Soph. Abbie was with her mom last night. She should be here soon.”
Sophia nods and quietly climbs into her usual chair. I take my own seat, noting the absence in the spot next to mine. The question is on the tip of my tongue, but I don’twant to make it seem like I’m looking forward to seeing Luke. That would be weird. I mean, we agreed to keep hooking up, but we forgot to discuss whether we would hide it from people. Namely, his family.
I don’t have much time to ruminate on this before footsteps sound down the hall, and my heart starts to beat in traitorous anticipation. This will be my first time seeing Luke after my visit to the fire station three days ago. As it turns out, finding time to have casual sex is hard when you’re the guardian of your two siblings. Who knew?
Luke kisses his mother’s cheek and claps his father on the back, and then he takes his seat. For some reason, it feels like he’s sitting closer to me than he usually does, like his chair has been moved. I can’t say I hate the proximity, but it does wonders to my focus. In that, it totally wrecks it. I’m thankful no one directly addresses me because I find it very hard to follow the conversations taking place around me.
Abbie’s mother drops her off shortly after, which brightens Sophia’s mood considerably. Then the food is set out and we all fill our plates. After the girls are finished eating, they run off to play, and I’m left alone with the Bowmans.
No one acknowledges it, but everyone at the table notices when Luke’s arm casually drapes across the back of my chair partway through a conversation. It’s subtle—so much so that I don’t catch it at first. But then I see the way Clara’s gaze is fixed over my shoulder, studying her brother’s actions. I can feel my cheeks heat under the attention.
Why does he have his arm there? And why do I not mind it?
The only logical conclusion I can come up with is that it’s some kind of manipulation tactic. Well, two can play at that game. Beneath the table, I set my hand on Luke’s knee. He glances at me, confusion in his eyes, but the look quickly morphs into understanding when my hand begins to move. My fingers trail slowly up his thigh, and I revel in the way his muscles tighten from my touch. He goes still and I continue to set a slow pace, exercising every bit of control I have in this moment. Just as the tips of my fingers reach the crotch of his pants, his hand clamps over them, stopping their movement.
“Delilah,” he warns beneath his breath.
My lashes flutter as I look up at him, faux innocence in my expression. “Yes, Chief?”
He slowly releases my hand. “Coy doesn’t suit you.”
“I don’t know…” My lips tug into a grin. “I think it suits me pretty well.”
My fingers find the zipper on his pants, and I pretend to tug on it. Luke stands abruptly, his leg banging against the table in his haste. The empty dishes rattle. His family stops mid-conversation to look at him in varying degrees of bewilderment. I hold my tongue.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” Maggie asks.
Luke nods jerkily as he white-knuckles the edge of the table. “I’m fine. Delilah just has to show me something on her car,” he says. “We’ll be back.”
“Since when are you a mechanic?” Gabe asks, amusement twinkling in his eyes.
Oh, he definitely knows something is up between us. I want to be embarrassed, but I’m enjoying this too much. Seeing Luke all riled up because of me will never get old.
“Finn has shown me a few things,” Luke counters.
“Do you need any help?” John asks, evidently none the wiser to what’s really going on. “I know my way around under the hood.”
Clara’s eyes go impossibly wide, and she has to stifle a giggle behind her hand. She pats her father’s arm. “I think Luke has it covered, Dad.”
“Alright,” John says. “Holler if you need anything.”
I have to bite my fist to stop from laughing as Luke grabs my other hand and tugs me behind him. He leads me through the house and right out the front door. When he notices my struggles to keep up with his long strides, he slows his pace.
“What’s the rush, Chief?” I ask.
He doesn’t respond. We wordlessly pass the cars in the driveway and start down the walkway on the side of the house. A couple of guests staying in the bed and breakfast sit on the back porch, and Luke waves as we walk by. Off to the side of the yard, a wooden shed sits on a concrete foundation. When we reach the door, Luke pulls it open and then gestures for me to walk ahead of him. Inside, the shed smells overwhelmingly like potting soil.
