a bit. If Luke responded, she couldn’t see it, or she knew she’d rush over to him. She hated that she was having to choose, and she knew Luke would tell her she could have both; however she didn’t feel like that was true.
* * *
Luke looked at the message as it came in from Molly. Something in his gut told him there was more to the message, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. His screen lit up, showing a call from his agent. Letting out a sigh, he had a feeling he was about to get his answer.
“Hey, Dale.”
“Hey, I wanted to call and let you know I just got off the phone with Diane, Molly’s agent.”
“And.”
“It’s a no-go. Seller declined Ms. Harper’s request.”
“Did Diane say if Molly was going to go ahead with the purchase of the home?” He hoped his agent would say yes.
“She did. The appraisal has been ordered, so I suspect with the way things are moving right now, Ms. Harper should be moving into her home in a few weeks.”
“Thanks for calling and letting me know.”
“Yeah, no problem. Did you want to set up a time to go look at more places?”
Buying a home right now didn’t seem like something he wanted to do. As crazy as it sounded, he wanted to see how things played out with Molly. “Not at the moment. I have a lot going on with my son and a custody battle, unfortunately. I’ll get back to you when I’m ready.”
“No problem, man. Pass my number on to anyone you know looking to buy or sell.”
“I certainly will. See ya, man.”
Leaning back in his chair, he wondered why she didn’t want to come over. Was she worried he’d be upset? Hadn’t he proven to her yet that he wanted her, not the stupid house? It was just a house. He wanted her to have it—that’s why he backed out. He saw the joy it would bring her, and he wanted that for her.
The only way to know what was going on it her head was to ask. Her mind worked overtime most of the time, and he couldn’t understand why. Then again, she wouldn’t be the woman he was falling in love with if she wasn’t who she was.
He dialed her and waited for her to answer, but she didn’t. He left a voicemail for her to call him back. He then thought maybe sending her a text was the best way to get through to her.
I don’t care about the house. I care about you. Call me.
Chapter Eighteen
Monday morning, Luke sat at his desk with a mix of emotions. Frustration and sadness were two of them.
He’d called her once more on Saturday and texted several times. But she never responded. He tried to understand why she was upset, but he couldn’t. The woman was getting her dream home. Sure, she had her heart set on them going head-to-head again, but it wasn’t his fault the seller declined her request. So why was she taking it out on him?
Several times over the weekend he had debated packing Sammy up and going over there, but he hadn’t yet told Sammy about him and Molly. The kid had an idea, and Luke didn’t hide his feelings, but until he knew for sure what he and Molly were, he wasn’t confirming anything to his son. And it didn’t look as though he was going to be able to stop by anytime this week either to see where her head was at. Leslie sent him a text on Sunday an hour before Sammy was due home stating that she’d be out of town all week and he needed to keep their son.
Leslie hadn’t called once over the weekend either. He didn’t care, but his son did. Sammy asked about her frequently, wanting to know when he was going back to his mom. Sammy had cried himself to sleep on Saturday night because he missed her. When Luke told him he was staying longer, Sammy didn’t object, but he could tell it hurt. Sammy wasn’t seeing a lot of his mother these days, even when he was with her full time.
Luke sent Leslie a text message letting her know they needed to talk about their son and his living arrangements. At the moment, he wasn’t sure if she really cared. Perhaps last week while her son was away, she realized how much more she liked her life without him. She always said