the christening, that she thought Ethan and Mia thought of her as only an employee.
“I am their employee …”
“Whatever,” he said, getting up. “And I’m just a person you happen to know. Be honest with yourself. Know your worth. Accept it.” He walked to her, his eyes capturing hers. He stopped in front of her, his body mere inches from hers. Immediately her breathing became ragged. “You are more than that baggage you insist on carrying around, but for whatever reason, you don’t see it.”
“Why do you do this to me? Why do you make me want to forget my past? It happened. I can’t forget it.”
“I don’t expect you to forget it. But you learn from it and move on. Your past shouldn’t hold your future hostage, Allie.”
“My past is bad, Luke,” she said, her eyes swimming in tears. That was the first time she’d admitted something about her past. He had guessed something painful, but having it confirmed wrenched the heart she’d stolen from him.
He caressed her cheek. “I’m beginning to realize that,” he said, kissing her forehead. “I’m not an enemy, Allie. I’ve been doing all this because I really do care for you. I hope you see that. All I want is for you to let me in there,” he said, pointing at her heart. “Give me a chance.”
The tears fell from her eyes. “You’ll run away.”
“Give me a chance, Allie. Give us a chance. You won’t know unless you try,” he said breathlessly, his face hovering close to hers. “Try, Allie.”
Then he kissed her so softly, so tenderly, he could feel the concrete wall around her heart start to crack. Her notebook fell to the ground with a loud thud and her arms wrapped around his neck. He pushed her against the door frame, increasing the intensity, his tongue dueling with hers. She sighed when his hands touched her under her breasts, holding her in place.
“Allie, I’m not going to run away. I’ve been pursuing you for over a year. That should say something. I’m serious. So please …”
“Okay.”
“What?” he exclaimed, not believing what he just heard.
“I’ll try, Luke, but I’m scared.”
“It’s okay. I’ll be there for you during this journey.” He smiled widely. “Um … I don’t have Kaitlyn this weekend. Would you go out with me? You know, on a date?”
“Yes. I’d like that.”
“Saturday?”
“Sounds good,” she answered, her eyes fixed on his mouth. Leaning in to taste her lips, he was rudely interrupted by Mia bellowing his name from upstairs.
“Saturday, then,” he said, kissing her yet again before he left to see what Mia wanted.
Mia
“What is it, Mia?” Luke asked as he entered the twins’ nursery.
She looked up at him and smirked. He had totally been downstairs sucking face with Allie. “Haha … I know that face, Luke.”
He looked at her questioningly, remaining silent. She knew he knew, but he wasn’t giving in as easily as she wanted him to. He knelt down beside her. “What face?”
“I used to see that exact face after the many times we kissed: the bruised lips, your flushed cheeks, and in this case,” she said, swiping her finger along his lips, a smile on her face, “a bit of her lipstick. Good job, Luke.”
He sat down on the colorful, plush carpet, watching Pierce and Rory playing with their toys. Mia sat next to him, leaning against his side, knowing he needed support.
“I finally got her to say yes to go out on an actual date with me … just took me over a year to get to this point,” he said, rolling a ball to Pierce.
“Sweets, the best relationships take time and are definitely worth the effort and wait.”
“Look who’s the wise one now.”
“Now? I’ve always been the wise one. You’ve been the pretty one,” she retorted, laying her hand on his cheek.
“Haha!”
“This is the part where you say ‘Mia, you’re pretty too.’”
He laughed even harder. She grabbed the ball from the boys and threw it towards him. It landed about five feet to his left. Her aim was nothing like her husband’s. Maybe she should get some pointers …
Luke reached out for the ball and the boys took the opportunity to climb on him and tackle him.
“Aww, they love beating up on Uncle Luke already,” she said. “I’m so proud.”
“Pierce, Rory, Uncle Luke wants to show you how to deal with your Mommy.”
She didn’t even have a chance to be curious before he reached over, grabbed an ankle, and yanked her over to him. “Tickle, mama!”