Sunset Seduction - By Charlene Sands Page 0,50
with me.”
That was not going to happen. Luke wasn’t going to let Casey badger Audrey into leaving. She was pregnant with his child. They had things to work out. Luke’s fist balled up. He spoke with menace in his voice. “You can go anytime you want. But Audrey’s not leaving until I talk to her.”
“She told you she’s not marrying you.”
“And you think you’re gonna bully Audrey into leaving with you?”
“I don’t bully her.”
“You’ve been bullying her since the day I met you. She was too young and dependent on you to fight back. But, man, you were clueless when it came to her. Audrey’s not a kid. She’s all grown-up. Somehow your radar missed that, Case. She’s old enough to make up her own mind about things. She’s old enough to decide about her life and her future. I slept with her, yes. It was a mistake on my part, but believe me when I say this—she made her decision to be with me. She wasn’t forced or bullied. So you may think I’m a bastard, and I may very well be, but don’t think for a minute I’m going to let you ramrod her into going home with you.”
Luke rose then. The world tipped a little. His head spun, but Luke knew his limits and this wasn’t it. He wasn’t hammered enough not to see the truth. He had to stand his ground now. He pointed his finger right down the nose of his friend. “You let Audrey decide what she wants to do.” He turned and grabbed the door handle. Right before he walked inside, he added, “And don’t you even think about getting behind the wheel of your car tonight.”
Casey poured the last drop of Scotch into his glass and muttered, “Hell, Luke. What do you take me for? I’m not that dang stupid.”
Luke grinned, satisfied, although he didn’t know why he was feeling so darn good. He had a reluctant bride on his hands and a baby on the way.
* * *
In the morning, Audrey walked into the kitchen at the usual time. Luke was at the table, sipping coffee, the food on his plate untouched. He gazed up with bloodshot eyes. The bruise on his face had faded some, but it hadn’t gone away. There was a round blotch of color just under his right eye. She wondered what Ellie had said about it or if she’d asked at all.
Luke looked sorely hungover. He’d taken the news of her pregnancy like a man, demanding marriage and then drinking himself into oblivion when she’d refused his nonproposal.
“Ellie made breakfast,” he said.
A dish of French toast, scrambled eggs and honey-smoked bacon greeted her. Well…thank goodness the sugary and savory scents mingling in the air didn’t make her queasy. She might actually be able to handle a bit of breakfast this morning.
“Would you like some coffee?” the plump, white-haired woman asked, coming toward the table with a steaming pot in her hand.
“No, thanks, Ellie. I’ll have juice today. Everything looks delicious.”
The housekeeper nodded and turned on her heel. A few seconds later, a glass of orange juice appeared in front of her. “There you go. And for you, Luke?”
“I’ll stick with coffee this morning. If you’re through here, I’d like to speak with Audrey privately.”
“Surely,” Ellie said, pouring more coffee into his cup. “I’ll be back later to straighten up the kitchen.”
“I’ve got it, Ellie,” Audrey said. The housekeeper was a one-woman dynamo. Every pot and pan she’d used to cook the meal was already cleaned and put away. Just the tabletop dishes remained. “There’s just a few things here. I’ll load the dishwasher.”
“Well, thank you,” Ellie said, wiping her hands on a dish towel, giving her a smile. “You’re a dear.”
The housekeeper left the room and they sat silently. That was fine with Audrey. She took a few bites of crisp bacon and forked her way through half a piece of one-inch-thick cinnamon-and-pecan French toast. Her stomach didn’t rebel and she considered it a good way to start off the morning.
“Casey leave?”
She nodded. “I said goodbye to him this morning.”
“He try to get you to go with him?”
“We talked,” she said. Her brother hadn’t pressed the issue. They’d actually had a civilized adult conversation this morning. She hadn’t gone into a lot of detail, but she explained to him about what happened at the cabin and owned up to the blame. Casey didn’t fully buy it. Her brother didn’t want to let Luke off the hook,