opened herself up yet to the idea of love. Gazing at him, she wondered if she could love again. Over the past year, during her pity-fest, she never took the time to actually heal. Was she ready for the type of relationship he was looking for?
Of course, she could be overthinking things again. She was about to start a new life, and having him in it would be great, but she had to know she was ready. And that was one thing that held her back all along in their time together. She still wasn’t certain she was at that point in her life where she was ready to open her heart. And if she opened her heart, it wasn’t only to Luke, but to Sammy as well.
“I need some time.”
“For what?” His tone was laced with irritation.
“To figure it all out. I’m sorry this isn’t as easy for me as it is for you.”
He raked his hands through his hair. She was hurting him. He’d basically told her he loved her, and she wasn’t reciprocating.
“If I’m going to enter into a serious relationship with you, then I need a little time to sort things out. Can you give me that?”
He huffed. “Do I really have a choice in the matter? If I told you no, then it would be over. If I agree, you could still choose this to be over. The ball has been in your court this entire time. I’ve been walking a fine line around you, hoping I’d showed you how much I care. Yet I still haven’t gotten through to you. I wish you’d just throw caution to the wind and stop thinking so much and do what feels right.”
Molly didn’t know what to say back to him. Taking life by the reins was easier for him than it was for her. Yes, she deliberated a lot—maybe more than others—but it was who she was.
“Please, just give me some more time.” She looked down at her hands. “You need to concentrate on Sammy right now anyway.”
“I can handle you and Sammy.”
She moved closer to him and took his hand. At first he was tense, but as he gazed into her eyes, she could feel it leave his body. His eyes changed from hurt to love in a heartbeat. She knew right then that if she took a chance with him, she wouldn’t regret it.
She tugged on him. He came right away. His lips claimed hers and once again, the world felt right. Even though they were just kissing, she had never felt more whole in her life. A tear began to form behind her eyelids. She wasn’t going to cry, she told herself. At least, not in front of him.
Pulling away, she lifted his hand and left a light kiss on it. “Please be patient with me. Give me some time to sort my emotions out.”
“It doesn’t look like I have much of a choice, does it?”
“Thank you.”
He stood and headed toward the door. She followed right behind him. “Luke, take this time for Sammy. I have a feeling things are going to be hard for him. I don’t know the details of what happened with his mom, but Sammy’s going to need you a hundred percent.”
He nodded. He likely agreed, even if he didn’t want to admit to it. Before he left, he leaned forward and placed his lips to her cheek. He lingered a moment before he finally left without a backward glance.
She stood in her doorway and watched as he drove away. She had to keep faith that if it was meant to be, he’d wait for her.
Chapter Twenty
A few weeks had passed and Molly was days away from getting the keys to the Maple Street house. She’d been so busy training the new nurse and packing that she really hadn’t had time to think about the move. But when she did, her mind clouded with Luke. How was he? How were things going with Sammy? God, she missed them both like crazy.
She’d texted him once, over a week ago, to say she missed him—and he said the same. She missed her dinners with him, their lunches, everything. But she made a promise to herself that she was going to get through the move and into the house before she attempted a relationship. She also had to come to terms that if she and Luke did marry, they could never have kids. She’d had a therapy session earlier in the week to