Sunset Seduction - By Charlene Sands Page 0,51
yet he hadn’t argued with her. She’d asked him to leave the ranch and let her finish the job she came here to do. It was clear Casey didn’t want to do that, leaving her in the hands of Evil Luke and all, but he finally nodded in agreement. It surprised the hell out of her when he kissed her cheek, got in his car and drove off without giving her a lecture.
“And you’re still here.”
“Casey doesn’t decide my life, Luke. I think I made myself clear yesterday.” She pushed her plate away. Her stomach couldn’t handle any more. “I’ve got a job to do. I plan on finishing what I started.”
He nodded and sipped coffee. “I’m glad you’re not leaving. I want you to stay.”
Endorphins sprang free and she was struck with impossible hope and joy. She fought the warm feeling for all she was worth. Luke was only saying that because of the baby, she reminded herself. A short time ago, he regretted her being on Sunset Ranch.
“I plan to stay.”
“Well, then, it’s settled.”
Luke could be an ass at times, she decided. “Only because I’m settling it.”
His eyes narrowed on her. They looked patriotic—red, white and blue. “Touchy.”
“Yeah, well…that’s what happens to pregnant women. We get touchy.”
“I’ll remember that. Are you an expert now?”
“I’ve been reading up.” On the internet. There was an abundance of knowledge there, but some of it was scary stuff. She made a decision to look up the facts only and not get sucked into the thousands of pregnancy blogs and nightmare stories or else she wouldn’t sleep nights. It was a classic case of TMI. “I made an appointment with a doctor.”
“A local doctor?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “For now.”
Relief registered on his face. “I’d like to go with you.”
At least it wasn’t a demand. “I figured you would. Okay, we’ll go together. The appointment is late tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m not going to keep you away from the baby, Luke.”
For all her misgivings, Luke was a good man, and he’d be a wonderful father. She hadn’t any doubts about it. “But you won’t marry me?”
The breath whooshed out of her. Tears stung behind her eyes. How many times would she have to refuse the very thing she’d been dreaming about her entire life? How many times would she have to hold her head up high and fight for the one thing she wanted, above all else, for her and her baby…a life filled with true love. “I…can’t.”
“Why not, Audrey? We’re having a baby. That changes everything.”
“Your parents had a loveless marriage, Luke. And you never wanted that for yourself. They married for the child’s sake.”
“They lived a decent life. They raised a family. What they had wasn’t terrible.”
A sigh climbed up from the depth of her heart. “Did you just hear yourself?” The sting behind her eyes burned now and she struggled not to break down in tears. Audrey couldn’t resign herself to being a wife to Luke that way. “Do you want something that only isn’t terrible?”
Luke stared at her. He heaved a heavy sigh. His shoulders rose and fell. “We’ll both love the baby.”
Audrey stood up and leaned over the table. Sophia told her she’d know when the time was right. She’d know when she had to tell Luke the ultimate truth. And the time had come. Audrey couldn’t put it off anymore. She’d lived with this for ten years. It was finally time to come clean. Luke was beginning to soften her resolve. She was beginning to think about how easy it would be to marry him. To live in this big house and see him every day, raise their child together and get along with him the same way they always had, as friends.
She warred with it in her head for long, drawn out moments. It was the hardest decision she ever had to make. And it was breaking her heart a thousand times over. But she couldn’t go through with it. Luke had been her dream, one she would completely sully by going halfway. It had to be all or nothing with Luke. No halves when it came to Lucas Slade.
“You don’t love me, Luke.”
Luke’s breath caught in his throat. Her bluntness surprised him. He rose to face her from across the table.
She was glad he stood. Glad she could look him straight in the eyes and give him the truth. “But you see…I love you. I have for ten years. It wasn’t just a childhood crush. It wasn’t just a