Page 70 of The Hookup
“How old is she?”
“Twenty-five.”
Another one, she thought. Luke’s sister was a few years younger than her and on her second husband.
She was going to ask him how his mother died, and when, and how old he was, but she didn’t dare to there.
“I’m going to head home,” she said.
“But you haven’t had a drink or…”
She shook her head, sliding her arms into her jacket. The last thing she wanted was a drink. It had been a mistake to come here. Lately, either her rose tinted glasses had come off, or the stark reality she had realized during the past few weeks had made her question and examine each and every interaction with Luke more painstakingly than ever.
He was nothing like the carefree and friendly man she had met at the bar on Tobias’s private island. If anything, he was so Jekyll and Hyde that it sometimes made her uneasy. This wasn’t a hookup, as much as it was a mistake, and as soon as his sister’s wedding was over, she was backing out of their arrangement. She could have dumped him no, but she didn’t like to let people down.
That was her downfall, her Achilles tendon.
He looked pensive, as if he was on the verge of telling her things, but right now, she had neither the patience nor the energy to want to hear it.
“I don’t like talking about my family.”
“I noticed.”
“You’ll meet them soon enough.”
“I know.” She slid out of the booth and stood up. “It was good seeing you,” she said. He looked so lonely as he sat there, not even getting up for her. Not that she expected a hand shake or anything, just an acknowledgement that she was going.
At least she knew that the kiss on her cheek when he’d seen her earlier had been solely for Marie’s sake.
Chapter 23
“We’re late!” Kay cried, for what must have been the fourth time that morning.
He floored the gas pedal. “We’ll get there in time.”Just in time. He’d planned it so that they would be the last ones to arrive at the church. So that they could sneak in the back once everyone was already seated.
“But the wedding starts at eleven.”
“We’ll get there.”
“But it’s…”
He slammed his foot on the accelerator. “We’ll get there. It’s no big deal if we’re a few minutes late. Don’t stress me out, Kay.” She fell silent.
He winced as a spurt of pain shot along his neck. It was becoming more frequent now. Pressing his fingers to it, he felt the pain intensify. Maybe he should have returned the doctor’s call after the blood tests for the STD check had come through. The doctor had wanted to run a few further tests, but Luke didn’t have time. Miami and LA had been more important then.
It wasn’t ideal, but he already hated the idea of coming face-to-face with people he would rather not ever see again.
He reminded himself that he was only doing this for Amanda. On top of the family headache, he had a pain in the front of his neck which was spreading up towards his ear. A blasted wisdom tooth, no doubt, or he was coming down with something.
He had considered staying at a hotel near the wedding venue, because the four-hour round trip, coupled with the stress of seeing his father—and dealing with all that other stuff—was too much to deal with on top of his pain. But the idea of staying over made his stomach roil, and he decided to go with his original plan of driving to New Haven and back in one round trip. No matter what, he was determined to see the wedding through because he owed Amanda that much.
He glanced over at Kay who was turned completely silent. Damn it, he didn’t want her in a mood. The whole point of bringing her was to make things easier for him, and he didn’t need for her to look like a sour puss on his arm.
“We might be ten or so minutes late,” he said, trying to get a read on her mood. “It shouldn’t be a problem. Amanda’s hardly going to be at the church on time.” But Kay didn’t say a word.
Maybe his plan was going to spectacularly backfire. Maybe he should have hired an escort, because at least she wouldn’t have gotten pissed. Nor would she have complained that they were running late. And unlike Kay, an escort wouldn’t have been interested in meeting his family. She would have seen today’s wedding as payment for a day out. Kay probably thought it was a step up in their relationship.
In the end, theywereten minutes late. As they got out of the car and headed towards the church entrance, he saw his old man. Silas Hunter stood at the top of the short flight of steps. He was an imposing sight. Even in his early sixties, the man was fit, and large, and as terrifying as ever. Luke inhaled deeply, forcing himself to hold it together. His father liked to screw with their minds, and he’d screwed with his mother's mind the most, chewing her emotions to mincemeat before spitting her out. A shiver rolled down his spine. After all these years, the big bastard still had the power to make him feel like a frightened teenager again.
