Luke opened the door, giving Elle a conflicted expression the moment he saw her tears. She knew it was time to be completely honest with him, even if it meant he ran as far away from her as possible. He and Whitney exchanged pleasantries before Whitney vacated the office. As soon as the door clicked behind her, Luke crossed the room to Elle, wrapping an arm around her.
“Baby, what’s going on? You’ve been crying.”
“I know. And I know I should tell you—”
“So tell me.”
“It’s . . . it’s difficult.”
“Listen to me, I can handle it. I promise.” He pulled away, his hands still holding her arms. “Things have been different with you. Tell me what’s going on. I feel like you’re slipping through my fingers.”
“I don’t mean to, I just—I’m not sure where to start.”
Elle sat in her chair and Luke eased himself against her desk, placing his hands in his pockets. “Have I done something? I know you think I’ve gone Hollywood, but I—”
“No, no.” Elle shook her head decisively. “This isn’t about that. It’s about me. About what I did, a long time ago.”
Luke flinched, but then his expression relaxed. “Knowing you, you’re being too hard on yourself.”
“Maybe you should wait until after you hear what I did. You might change your mind.”
“Fine. Hit me.” Luke smiled his boyish grin, and Elle knew right then and there she was safe with him. She could tell him anything, even what she did in Vegas.
“The owner of the restaurant . . .”
“Your ex-boyfriend.”
“Actually, he was my husband.”
Luke’s eyes widened.
“It was brief,” she added quickly, “but . . . it happened.”
Luke rubbed his chin with his fingertips. “Didn’t expect that, but okay. I don’t care that you were married—is that what you were worried about?”
“It’s more complicated than that. We did it on a whim, after dating for a while. And I broke it off almost immediately, like less than two days later. We were in Vegas and it was a mess. I hurt him so badly, Luke. More than I’ve ever hurt anyone.”
“Why did you marry him? You know, if you didn’t really want to?”
“I got all wrapped up in it, I guess. I didn’t want the relationship to end, but that’s exactly what happened. He couldn’t forgive me and cut off contact for ten years.”
“Ten years? Ouch.”
“I thought he was still in Chicago. The last place in the world I expected him to be was here.”
“Maybe he followed you.” Luke raised his eyebrows and leaned his head forward, his lips pressed into a thin line. Was he being protective of her? If so, despite the fact she knew he was way off base in his assumption, she liked it. She liked him being protective of her. It was sexy, yet subtle.
“No, he didn’t. He was just as shocked as I was.” Elle studied Luke’s expression. He didn’t seem convinced. “If you knew Troy, you’d know he had no intention of ever seeing me again. He has a child and her mother relocated. That’s the only reason he’s here.”
Luke pulled Elle from the chair, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling into her neck. A delicious shiver ran down her spine. Luke in protective mode was possibly the sexiest Luke she’d yet to encounter. She wanted to lose herself in his embrace as she always did.
“There’s more. The show you’re working on is, for all intents and purposes, our story. He’s Desmond and I’m Molly.”
Luke pulled back, running his hand through his hair and glancing around Elle’s office. “Wait, so you’re telling me this . . . all of this is about him?”
Elle looked down at the carpet. “Yes.”
“Are you still in love with the guy?”
“What?” Elle asked, taken aback. She had no idea how to answer that question tactfully. She’d never stopped having feelings for Troy. And part of her wondered if she ever would. “Are you seriously asking me that?”
“Yes.”
“This is ridiculous.” Elle returned to her chair and swiveled to open her desk drawer, retrieving a pen and paper, doing whatever she could to avoid the question. Luke grabbed the arm of her chair and brought her back to center. Once again, they locked eyes. The air in Elle’s lungs seemed to fly from her chest.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Luke said, gritting his teeth.
“Are you . . . jealous?” The corner of Elle’s mouth pulled up into a curious smile. She wanted to savor this moment with Luke, to forget the pain and anguish she’d