He slid his palm against her cheek and threaded his fingers in her hair. She closed her eyes as his mouth brushed her ear. “It’s not a punishment.”
Her body shivered right to the bone. He smiled, It was weak, almost tortured.
“Where are you going?” She found her voice after he’d already turned and started back toward the house.
“I have a lunch date.”
Panic stomped on her lungs forcing her mouth open in a silent gasp. How dare he say that? How dare he do that? She was too old to stick out her tongue and pound her feet so she flipped him the bird as he walked away. In her peripheral vision she caught Felicity looking out the back window. Jessica rotated her wrist and flattened her hand, palm up, then waved with a smile. Felicity’s shoulders bounced a bit. Jessica sighed, relieved that Luke’s mom found the humor in her immature gesture.
“Ready to tear something apart?” Tom called from the door of the shed.
“Absolutely.”
They ripped the siding off the shed. Then Tom gave Jessica instructions on residing it. She took down three dead trees with an ax, envisioning Luke’s head as the trunk. By the time they finished the small projects inside the house, Jessica felt like a certified handywoman.
“You’re a natural, young lady.” Tom handed Jessica a cool lemonade as she pulled off her gloves. They stood side by side on the deck, watching the sun sink into the lake.
“I had fun.”
He laughed.
“I’m serious. I used to work on cars and motorcycles with my dad. We still do occasionally. I love tearing things apart and putting them back together.”
Tom sighed, keeping his gaze to the lake. “You’re good for him.”
“Luke?”
He nodded. “Taught him everything I know. I thought he’d stay around here, buy some land, and open up his own B&B. He originally went to college to pursue a business degree. Then …”
Jessica’s brow furrowed. “Then what? Did something happen?”
Tom nodded with a painful squint.
“Dinner will be ready in about an hour, if you two want to get showered up,” Felicity called from the kitchen.
“Okay.” Tom smiled at Jessica as if he wasn’t just about to tell her something important. “That’s her way of saying we’re smelly and dirty.”
“Yeah, we probably are.” She stepped inside as Tom held open the screen door.
After grabbing her toiletries, she went into the bathroom and peeked her head into Luke’s room. He was on his bed reading a book, looking casual in his shorts and T-shirt—both ironed and devoid of wrinkles of course.
“Hey.”
He looked up, slipping his bookmark in his book. “Hi. My mom said you were a huge help to my dad today.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose. He taught me a lot.”
Luke nodded. “He knows his stuff, that’s for sure.”
They looked at each other for a silent moment. It felt like a stare-off. He was daring her, taunting her to ask about his lunch date.
“Did you have a good day?”
He smiled, a little too much. “Yes, I did. You’d better get in the shower. Dinner will be ready soon.” Luke opened his book up and began reading again. “You’re staring.” He kept his eyes on the page.
“I’m thinking.” Jessica replied.
“About all the things in this room that you could use to kill me?” Luke continued to focus on his book, not showing a bit of true concern.
“I did that yesterday and found six possibilities. But I just spied four more. That’s ten, Jones. So maybe you should lock your door tonight.” She freed her tangled mess of dark hair from its ponytail holder as she slid the door shut. At the last second, Luke glanced up. Jessica held her scowl until the lock clicked ending the showdown.
Livid.
Her level of frustration continued to escalate with each word he didn’t say about his lunch date. Really, who brings a girl to meet—or not meet—his parents, and then goes out on a lunch date with someone else?
The shower was supposed to calm her nerves, cool her off … but it didn’t, even when she turned it to completely cold. By the time she stepped out and wrapped a towel around herself, she felt contemptuous heat simmering beneath her skin. Jessica was about to blow.
“Did you have wine?” She slid the door open until it jerked to a stop in the wall pocket.
“Excuse me?” Luke looked up, keeping his eyes on hers, in spite of her wet, naked body wrapped in a towel.
“Did. You. Have. Wine. At. Lunch?”
He smirked. “Get dressed. It doesn’t matter.”
Jessica took several steps closer. Luke tensed but continued giving his full attention to what must have been the most spellbinding book ever.
“It matters to me.”
“Why?”
“Because if you had wine then you were trying to impress your ‘lunch date.’”
“So what if I was?”
Luke had perfected the I-don’t-answer-to-anyone attitude.
“I’m serious, Jones.” She snatched his book and stomped back to the bathroom, depositing it in the toilet along the way. “Lock your fucking door tonight!”