Unless he was lying about his age.
“Emery is my age,” Luc replied, and my entire body jolted. “And I was more than capable of helping her out.”
My eyes narrowed on his profile. Seriously. It was like he was inside my head, because I knew damn well I didn’t ask that question out loud. Wait. Could he be?
No. I’d never heard that any Luxen could do that.
A half smile appeared as his gaze slid to mine. Our stares connected, and the effect was instantaneous. Everything around us faded, and there was just us, and this . . . this sensation of falling. I couldn’t look away as this feeling surfaced, rushing to the top.
I’ve been here before.
My breath caught as a wave of tight shivers rippled over my skin. That thought didn’t make sense. I hadn’t been here with him before.
Luc inhaled sharply, and he moved without me noticing. He was closer. His warm breath danced across my cheeks and then my mouth. Air hitched in my lungs for a second time. Those well-formed lips of his parted, and now I really wished I had my camera. And I . . . I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what those lips felt like—tasted like—because that brief kiss-that-wasn’t-a-kiss hadn’t told me what I needed to know.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asked in a soft voice.
The hold that seemed to have forged itself out of the tense air around us was broken. I snapped out of it, jerking back and nearly smacking into the window. What was going on in my mind? Nothing but stupid—a whole lot of stupid.
My gaze swung across the table.
Heidi and Emery were staring at us like they were watching one of those really terrible but addictive reality shows.
Warmth exploded across my cheeks as I decided staring at the table was an awesome thing to do. My heart was pounding in a silly way. What in the world was I thinking? Luc was attractive. In all honesty, he was truly beautiful, and he apparently had a nice streak in him. Somehow he’d taken care of Emery and Kent when they needed help the most, and I’d seen him with Chas at the club, but I wasn’t even sure I liked Luc.
I wasn’t even sure he liked me.
Thankfully, the food showed up at that moment, and I focused on shoving as much waffle into my mouth as humanly possible while Heidi and Emery chatted. I stayed quiet, as did Luc, but every part of my being was painfully aware of his every movement. When he picked up his glass or cut into the omelet he ordered. He’d shift, and I’d catch that woodsy pine scent of his, and when he did speak, the deep timber of his voice echoed through my veins. By the time breakfast wrapped up, every muscle in my body was stiff and sore. I felt like I’d run a marathon as we filed out of the restaurant.
I lingered behind, giving Heidi and Emery some space as they walked ahead. Luc apparently was of the same mind, because he slowed his long-legged pace, walking beside me.
Walking beside Luc was . . . interesting.
People had one of two reactions when they neared Luc. They either gave him wide berth, nearly stepping into the street to avoid brushing up against him, or they did a double take, male and female. Their gazes would glance over him and then bounce back and they wouldn’t be able to look away. With his sunglasses on and contacts in, no one should be able to tell what he was by appearance, but it was the vibe he emitted, even with his lazy swagger.
We didn’t speak, not until we neared the entrance to the garage. Luc easily glided in front of me, stopping so we were standing next to the building, away from the foot traffic.
My heart was tripping all over itself as I lifted my chin. “Do you need something?”
“I need lots of things,” he replied, and warmth cascaded through me, because my mind belly-flopped right into the gutter. The grin that appeared made me wonder just how apparent my thoughts were. “They seem to really like each other.”
“Oh.” I glanced around him. Heidi and Emery had already entered the garage. “I think they do.”
“You know what that means?”
“They’ll start dating?”
Luc chuckled as he stepped in. “We’ll be seeing lots of each other.”
“I don’t know about that.” I folded my arms.
“I do.”
I tilted my head to the side and lifted a brow. “I think you’re wrong.”
“Hmm,” he murmured, looking out toward the street as a car zoomed by, blaring its horn. A moment passed and then his head turned back to me. Even with the sunglasses, I could feel the intensity of his gaze. “You don’t like me, do you, Evie?”