Bidding Wars (Love Strikes) - By Lacey Wolfe Page 0,23
it. Perhaps if he hadn’t withdrawn his offer and she won fair and square—but she hadn’t. If he hadn’t backed out, it would be his house. He must realize that as well.
And because he had dropped out, did that hurt his chances of getting custody of his son? She would hate to feel as though it was because of her that Sammy had to stay with his mom. Was his mom really that bad? Or was Luke just an overprotective parent? If Sammy’s mother was that horrible, it wasn’t as though he would have left him there.
She let out a loud groan. Once again, she was letting her mind get carried away, worrying about things that she didn’t need to worry about. It was Luke who walked away. She had no reason to worry about Sammy, his mom, or that whole situation. She was getting too involved in this.
Giving Tigger one last ear scratch before she got up, she headed into the kitchen to clean up from dinner. After she loaded her plate and fork into the dishwasher, she glanced around her small home. In thirty days it was going to be just her in a big house. It would still be just a few dishes a day. Very bare cabinets. Right now she was in a two-bedroom house; soon it would be four. And only one room would be used, with a big king-size bed that she always curled up on the left side of. It never even looked as if she’d slept in it.
What was she thinking?
Her eyes got heavy, and she knew what was coming. The tears. She sunk to the floor, buried her face into her knees, and cried. She was tired of being alone. And tired of feeling sorry for herself. Maybe she could cry it all out. Then move forward.
There was a knock at the door, and her head jerked up. Was someone here? God, she hoped not. She was a big blubbery mess. Maybe whoever it was would go away. It was Girl Scout season. It was probably some cute little girl selling cookies. Did she want cookies? Yes, she wanted cookies. The chocolate ones that tasted like mint.
Another knock came.
Ugh. Molly pulled herself up by the counter. She grabbed a napkin to blow her nose and then went to open the door. Only, it wasn’t a girl scout on the other end like she hoped; it was a drop-dead gorgeous blond man.
“Luke, what are you doing here?”
“Have you been crying? What’s wrong?” He stepped inside her house.
She closed the door behind him and wondered if she should dart to the bathroom and splash some water on her face. “I stubbed my toe.”
“You look like you’ve been sobbing. Go sit down, let me have a look at the toe. You might have broken it.” He took her hand and led her to the couch, promptly making her sit, and then lifted her foot.
“I didn’t stub my toe.” She looked over his shoulder, not wanting to look him in the eyes.
“I can see that. Why are you upset?” She could hear the concern in his voice.
“I thought the ball was in my court. Why are you here?”
Still holding her foot, he lightly rubbed her arch. Oh God, it felt really good. Pleasure traveled up her leg and right to her center. “I had to see you. It was driving me crazy that you hadn’t called. I had to come find out if you were thinking of me.”
She tried to come up with a coherent response, but couldn’t. He laid her foot in his lap and then brought her other one up to rub it.
“I bet your feet must ache, being on them all day, helping all those sick kids. I think it’s amazing what you do. You have a real knack with kids.”
She nodded. It was all she could do. Her head rolled back, and she let the sensation take over. A moan escaped her lips. What he was doing to her felt too damn good.
“You’re making it really hard not to climb on top of you and kiss you.” He glanced up at her.
She giggled.
“That’s much better. You’re laughing and smiling now. Now, tell me why you were crying when I got here.”
“I don’t want to.”
He stopped rubbing her feet. “If you open up to me, I’ll continue to massage your feet and ankles.”
“Luke…”
“You can trust me. Talk to me.”
She took a deep breath. “I want you to have the house.”
* * *
Luke