Page 40 of Falling Hard
"That you didn't understand the type of love I was looking for. Turns out, we’re just two of the best poker players out there."
13
IT'S BEEN YOU ALL THE TIME
After sleeping soundlyfor the first time in weeks, I woke up to the smell of breakfast. Whatever Dorothy was cooking smelled delicious. I was nervous because Luke was somewhere in my home. It was no longerJust Luke,who slept over all the time in a spare bedroom. Now he wasLuke, my fiancé,who still slept in the spare room, much to my annoyance. He stayed over last night after we cleared the air. We agreed that everyone was right, the two of us should've just put our cards on the table long ago. Rejection is a powerful deterrent, it seems.
I walked down the hall barefoot toward the kitchen and was greeted by Dorothy standing with her hands on her hips. "Ms. Olivia, please tell Mr. Luke to let me into my kitchen."
I peered around her and saw him in an apron, covered in flour. Luke, cooking? My heart swelled. I couldn't fight my smile. I took in the sight as long as I dared. He stood at the stove flipping pancakes, like he'd done it a thousand times. His blond hair was a mess. He wore a white t-shirt that clung to his chest and back.
"Tell Dorothy to take the morning off," he said.
Noticeably, he wasn’t asking. I looked from him to Dorothy. "Take the whole day off. I won't be needing you today. With pay, of course."
She stared at me, then Luke, and smiled. "It’s finally happening. After all these years, I never thought I'd live to see the day."
"What does that mean?" I asked defensively.
"You two finally got out of your own way and found yourself together."
"It was her, Dorothy, not me. Liv was the one making things difficult," Luke said as he plated the food.
Dorothy chuckled and left us. I couldn’t help but notice the pep in her step.
"Let's eat," Luke said.
"I’m not a big breakfast eater. You know that. I'll just have some coffee," I said.
"Fine, don't eat my romantic meal I made with love. I'll just toss it all."
"What, why, wait?"
Luke pouted.
"Fine, I'll eat, you win again."
He chuckled. "It's always about winning with you, isn’t it? You can win the next ten rounds. Does that make you feel better?"
"It would be even better if I had a choice," I said, taking my seat at the table and shoveling eggs into my mouth.
"Is this about last night?" He opened his mouth like he was going to say more but thought better of it.
I shook my head.
"Liv, I’m sorry. Last night just seemed so unreal, and I figured we both needed a minute to take it all in. Today, all the cards are on the table."
My cheeks burned as I eagerly imagined what it would be like to finally make love to Luke.
"God, I'm no saint. Last night took all the resolve I had," he added.
"You owe me big," I said.
His mouth quirked at the innuendo. "You mean the world to me. I'll gladly spend my life paying for my sins."
Unable to help it, I chuckled. "Good, because if not, I'd have to–"
"What would you do?" Luke asked, his tone reminding me of the way it sounded when Rick was here.
