Way to Her Heart - By Melanie Schuster Page 0,20

drive with a woman, but he was enjoying this one immensely. He looked over at her, neat and pretty in the passenger seat, and she looked like she was enjoying herself, too. Without giving it a thought, he reached over and took her hand.

“I’m glad you decided to come with me,” he said with a smile.

Sherri used her free hand to remove her sunglasses and returned his smile. “I’m glad you asked me. I haven’t been to Spoleto in years. This is a real treat for me.” She continued to look at him with an unguarded expression. “You have an absolutely lethal smile,” she teased him.

“Lethal? Is that a compliment or a criticism?” He laughed as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

“It’s a compliment, of course. You just have a really sexy smile. I hope I’m not stepping on some other lady’s toes by being with you.”

“Are you serious? I’m not in a relationship with anyone right now. Haven’t been for a long time,” he said firmly.

Sherri’s mischievous side was out in full force, apparently, because she didn’t give up. “Are you sure? You’re way too tasty to be flying solo. Why aren’t you involved with some nice lady? I imagine there’re a lot of women who’d like an answer to that question. You have all the components anyone could want in a mate. You’re good-looking, talented and ambitious and my little girl loves you, so that means you’re pretty much perfect. What’s the story, Lucas? C’mon, you can tell me,” she coaxed. “How in the world is a man like you walking around unattached?”

Lucas laughed loudly at Sherri’s bold statement. This had to be the most he’d heard from her at one time and the fact that the words and phrasing were warm with humor and flirtatious gave him a burst of enthusiastic encouragement. He seized the opportunity to gain more knowledge about the mystery that was Sherri.

“I should be asking you the same questions, sweetheart. How in the world is a stupendous woman like you going through life without a partner? As exceptional as you are, you should have a devoted husband who lives just to make you happy,” he countered.

She made a funny face, then laughed at him. “We’re not talking about me. This conversation is about you. We already know why I don’t date. I had my heart broken and my dreams of romance smashed to itty-bitty pieces by a man who didn’t want to own up to his responsibilities. Case closed. There’s no need to put your hand in the fire when you know it’s gonna burn you. And besides, I have a partner, or are you forgetting Miss Sydney?” She was smiling.

Lucas was relieved that he hadn’t insulted her with his clumsy phrasing. She poked his big biceps with her forefinger as she continued to prod him. “So don’t try to deflect this onto me. Tell me about Lucas. I’ll bet you and Damon have had girls falling all over you since you were in grade school. Did you ever pretend to be each other to trick people?”

“Yes, I confess we did. It’s one of the perks of being identical twins, but we never did it to get over on a female, not deliberately. But we were pretty mischievous—I’m not gonna lie. Jared called us Demon and Lucifer for a reason, trust me.”

Between their shared stories and laughter, the trip to Charleston seemed to take much less time, especially because Lucas never took his hand from hers the whole ride. They continued to hold hands as they walked around Charleston, enjoying everything about the festival. There was a lot to see. They toured art galleries, bought souvenirs for Sydney and saw as many sights as possible before having a delicious lunch of shrimp BLTs and she-crab soup at a popular restaurant.

The concert was outstanding, better than anticipated. The drive back to Columbia could have been a pain because of all the traffic, but nothing dimmed their good moods. They were engaged in conversation. The trip seemed to take no time at all.

When they arrived at Sherri’s condo, Lucas carried in the bags and Sherri took them to Sydney’s room. She returned to the living room to find Lucas in the kitchen pouring them each a glass of wine.

“Sorry if I’m being presumptuous,” he said as he handed her a glass.

“Don’t be silly,” Sherri said as she took a glass from his hand. “This is a good idea. Are you hungry?”

He waited until she