Alpha Hero - Hope Ford Page 0,67

tonight when the little girl finds her family - it has a little more meaning to it now.

6

Carly

I knew this was a bad idea. From the minute I got into the truck with them, I knew that Anna was up to something. She’s playing Little Miss Matchmaker and her brother isn’t doing anything to stop her. We ride to the restaurant talking about any and everything.

It gets a little awkward when Anna starts talking about my car. She was all excited about the park assist camera that looked like it was on top of the car looking down.

“That is a nice car,” Luke comments.

I try to shake it off and mutter, “Thanks.”

When I don’t expand, even though I know he’s wondering how I have a car like that, he doesn’t ask, but he looks at me curiously.

At lunch, I try to pay for my meal and I completely insult Luke. I try to tell him I can pay for my own, but he seems really worried about showing me that he can pay for the meal. It got so heated that I didn’t even offer to pay for the movie. I guess I never thought about it before, but I’ve always paid my own way. Always. Even on previous dates I’ve had. Money seems to be a sore subject with him and I plan to not bring it up again.

After lunch we go to the movie, and Anna insists on me sitting next to her brother. So I’m sitting in the middle. Anna is engrossed in the movie and I don’t even think she’s blinked once.

The feel of Luke’s thigh pressed against mine in the dark theater makes me jerk my leg back from his.

I draw my attention to the big screen and reach into the bucket for some popcorn. Instead, though, I’m grabbing Luke’s hand. I try to draw back, but he doesn’t let me. Instead, he holds onto my buttery hand and lets it fall to his leg, holding me there.

Unsure of what to do, I reach with the other hand for some popcorn and turn my body towards him. When I do, I can’t help but notice that he’s staring at me. We sit like that for so long, I can feel the heat rush my body and the sweat trickle between my breasts.

He releases my hand then and surprised, I sit back in the chair and stuff my mouth full of popcorn. The feel of his arm going around me and cupping my shoulder has my whole body tightening. He pulls me to him and when I lean into him, he kisses the top of my head, inhaling me at the same time.

We sit there just like that for the longest time and it’s the safest and happiest I’ve ever felt in my life.

Luke

It’s no time at all before I have to go to work. We left the movie theater and even when Carly tried to pull her hand from mine, I held on to it. I’ve thought about it a lot today, being out with her and Anna. I liked being out with them. I liked having Carly’s hand in mine. It felt like it was us against the world. And even though I don’t know a lot about her, I know enough to know that I want her and I want to see where this goes.

This is the first time I’ve ever brought a woman I liked around Anna and I know it’s under weird circumstances with her kid sitting and all, but I just feel different when I think of Carly. She makes me look at the world in a whole new way.

I held her hand to my truck and I held it to walk her to her apartment. She said she needed to grab some stuff for tonight, but I know she just needed time. That’s fine. I’ll give that to her, but I plan on making her mine before the week’s over. Any thought I had of protecting my and Anna’s hearts is out the window now. After seeing her with Anna today, I know she would never hurt her. All I have to do is take care of mine now.

I get dressed for work and wait in the living room while Anna cleans up her room. She’s excited for tonight’s sleepover and it gives me a little peace to see her smiling again. When Carly walks in, I can see the insecurity on her face. She’s nervous and won’t look