Tessa inhaled so loudly that even she seemed startled. She slapped a hand over her mouth and stared at him with wide eyes. “You’re kidding.” The words were muffled by her fingers.
“No. Jamie told me to stay away from you because you’re a virgin. I tried, but—”
“I’m not!” she yelped.
“What?”
“A virgin!”
He cocked his head and raised a doubtful eyebrow.
“Oh, come on! If I were, do you think I’d have waited twenty-seven years just to lose it on a couch to a man I barely know?”
“Er…I thought maybe you liked me a lot?” He wasn’t sure how he felt about her laughter, but Luke chose to feel relieved.
“Well—” she giggled “—the look on your face when you pushed me off really takes on new meaning.”
“Yeah?”
“You looked fucking terrified.”
He was so shocked at hearing her say the F word that Luke burst into laughter.
“Need another glass of wine?” she asked.
Jesus, did he ever. But he glanced toward the back door as if he had a brain in his body and it had finally kicked in. “Thanks, but I think I’d better go.”
She said, “Wait!” but he was already moving toward the kitchen.
“I’m sorry, Tessa. But this is just…” He shook his head. “Too much.”
“I know,” she said as he opened the heavy pine door. “I know it’s crazy, but it was my brother. Not me.”
He opened the screen door and started
to step out.
“Actually,” she said sharply, “it was my brother and you. I had nothing to do with this. If you leave now, you’re just going to give me time to decide you’re too complicated.”
Luke froze, one foot hovering over the threshold. She had no idea. Actually…she did. She knew more about Simone than he’d told anyone.
“Or…” she drawled, “you could stay. And convince me to give you another chance.”
Hand braced on the doorjamb, Luke bowed his head and tried to calculate the correct decision. On one hand, his life was too complicated, and hers wasn’t very far behind. He didn’t need this right now. And she didn’t need to be dragged into his mess. On the other hand, he liked her. He liked talking to her. She made him feel better. And she wasn’t a virgin.
But no. That was exactly the reason he shouldn’t stay.
Luke made the best decision he’d made in years. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said, and he walked out into the night alone.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LUKE EMBRACED the next day with a foul attitude and fierce scowl. He managed to get through the two-hour monthly meeting without biting anyone’s head off, but it was a close call. And being civil to Simone was beginning to strain his sanity. When the Denver P.D. called and gave him an excuse to get out of the office, he jumped at it.
“Denver’s got seventy-five burglary files for us to go through. You want in?”
Simone didn’t look up from her computer screen. “No, you take it.”
He left without another word. He needed to get over his frustration with his partner, but today wasn’t the day. Today he was horny and pissed at the world, and he was better off working in another city. Not that he wanted time to think. He was sick of his own brooding, so he put on a Nirvana CD and cranked it up. Anyone else’s angst was better than his own.