of excuse. Maybe he wouldn’t show. Or maybe she could get out of here fast enough to leave before he got here. God, she was a coward, but there was something about that man that ignited feelings in her she didn’t want to experience.
She grabbed her purse from the storage closet and made a mad dash for the back door, hoping her friends didn’t see her. No such luck. Theresa hooted and hollered as Molly scooted out the door, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She then stopped dead in her tracks. Luke was standing there. Wow, he was sexy. He’d been hot in a uniform and scrumptious out—especially in her dream. “What are you doing back here?”
“The receptionist, Kim, let me know you’d be coming out this way.” Luke grinned. “She also said you were looking forward to our date.”
She was going to kill Kim when she got back. “You might need to get your hearing checked.”
Luke chuckled. “Want to ride with me?”
“Will you promise to get me back in time?”
He leaned closer to her. “Dr. Hancock said you can take as long as you needed for lunch. As one of his top nurses, he said, you work too much and deserve some fun.”
“You talked to Dr. Hancock? Who else did you chat with?”
“I came in and everyone was so friendly. They all spoke very highly of you. Theresa let me know if it didn’t work, I could look her up.”
If her cheeks weren’t flushed before, they were now. She couldn’t believe all this had happened and she never realized it. Oh yeah, she’d been lost in daydreams all morning. Maybe running away wasn’t such a bad idea now that her co-workers had thoroughly embarrassed her.
He pointed out his dark blue truck. As they walked across the parking lot, his hand brushed her lower back, sending chills up her spin. At his vehicle, he opened the door for her and stood back. She stayed put a second, wondering if she should drive her own car to the lunch date. She gazed into his eyes, and a rush of heat washed through her. Her heart pounded. Looking away, she climbed in.
“You won’t regret it.” He leaned in for a moment and then shut the door.
Once he was in and they were buckled, she turned to him. “Where are we headed?”
“I’m taking you out to celebrate.”
“What are we celebrating? I don’t know what you and I would celebrate.”
“You’re buying a house. We have to rejoice.”
Was he serious? He wanted to take her out to celebrate him withdrawing his offer and giving her the house. “This is a little weird, don’t you think? I’m only buying the house because you backed out. I’m pretty sure you would have won otherwise.”
He shrugged. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I had already maxed out my offer.”
He was silent. She was sure regret was racing through his head. And why wouldn’t it? He most likely just learned that it would be his house right now if he hadn’t backed out.
“You never know. Maybe mine was already maxed out as well.”
“Luke, yours wasn’t. I remember what you said that night at the bar. If knowing what you know now changes things, I understand if you want to end this date.” Part of her hoped he would, and the other part was curious to see where this was going to go.
“I made a choice about the house and I don’t regret it. Now, let’s have a good time.”
His tone had changed slightly. A little less upbeat. But he was being a gentleman and pretending it didn’t bother him. She let it go though; the home on Maple Street was a touchy subject. She didn’t want to get into anything with him. After all, as he said, he had made his decision to let the house go. She still couldn’t pinpoint his exact reasons though, despite what he’d told her last night. She’d love to think it was because of her, but surely that wasn’t the case.
They pulled up to a nice-looking restaurant. The name wasn’t familiar to her. She was feeling a little snarky. “Please tell me this isn’t the place that makes Sammy sick when he eats there.”
He let out a full laugh. “God, I hope not. I’m pretty sure this is a higher class of food.”
She giggled and it felt good. As Luke came around the truck to open her door, she found herself smiling. She worried her face muscles might be sore tomorrow.
He took her