My mother and Lee were soon lost in a conversation about all the hiking trails in the area. I listened halfheartedly as I tried not to look at Luke. Tried and failed. At least a dozen times. Lee’s husband kept him engaged in conversation nearly the entire time.
When Lee finally decided they needed to get out and take advantage of the day, Luke leaned back in his chair, dabbed the corners of his mouth with his napkin, and looked at my mother. “Joanne, thank you so much for the lovely breakfast. I need to be heading off.”
My mother beamed at Luke. “Of course. Leave your plate, we’ll take care of it.”
Luke nodded, smiled, and then stood. “Ron, thank you.”
Daddy smiled politely. “Of course. Have a good day, son.”
Son? Son? Did my father just call him…son?
When my father caught me staring at him, he shrugged. I turned and looked at Luke. My throat felt like it was clogged up with cotton.
When he looked at me and smiled, my insides warmed. “Brighton, enjoy your day.”
All I could do was nod. I had woken up this morning honestly praying yesterday had been a dream. In case it hadn’t, I took time to fix my hair, put on a bit of makeup, and dressed in something other than yoga pants and a Willow Tree B & B T-shirt.
I watched as Luke pushed his chair in and started out of the dining room. I wasn’t sure how long I stared at the empty doorway before another guest excused themselves, and I pulled myself back into the moment.
Two other guests remained, and I somehow managed to engage in the conversation, when all I really wanted to do was run up the steps, throw open Luke’s door, and ask him what in the hell he was doing here. Was he trying to torture me? Because if he was, he was doing a fine job of it.
I heard Lee, her husband—whose name I hadn’t caught—and Luke all chatting as they walked through the lobby area and out the front door.
“Excuse me,” I said as I quickly stood, nearly knocking over my chair in the process. My mother and father both stared at me with surprised expressions. I would have to deal with them later. Right now, I needed to talk to Luke.
I bolted out the front door and down the steps. The parking lot for the bed and breakfast was to my left, so I headed down the side path where I saw Lee and her husband get into a Ford Explorer. Lee waved, and I lifted my hand and waved back. Luke was opening the door to a black Toyota Camry. I called out his name, and he stopped right before he was about to slide in.
“Whose car is this?” I asked.
He looked at the car, then back at me. “It’s mine.”
“Where’s your motorcycle?”
“Back in Boston. I didn’t really want to draw attention to myself, so I bought this car.”
“Draw attention to yourself?” I repeated.
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Then why did you tell my parents who you were?”
“One of the guests recognized me, so I thought it would be best to fess up. When I said I was looking for a bit of privacy, they all understood.”
I worked at swallowing the words that seemed to be stuck in the bottom of my throat. “And you didn’t tell my parents about us?”
He tilted his head slightly. “No.”
I nodded and realized I was wringing my hands together.
When he looked down, I dropped my hands to my side. “Are you heading to the set?”
“Yes.”
“How long will you be here? I mean, how much longer is filming? If…you’re planning on staying here the whole time.”
“We’ve got a week left, then it’ll wrap up. We only needed to be in this location for a few scenes.”
My heart dropped, and I tried like hell not to show it. “A week?” Ugh. I hated that my voice sounded so pathetic. We stood there and stared at one another before I finally cleared my throat and asked, “Why are you here, Luke?”
His shoulders relaxed some as the corners of his mouth rose slightly. “I wanted to see you. And talk to you. I told you that yesterday.”
My stomach flipped, and I had to fight the urge to throw myself at him. “Okay.”
Luke’s brows rose. “Okay?”
“Yes,” I said with a firm nod. “We can talk.”
When his mouth twitched, I knew he was holding back a smile. “Are you free for a late lunch? If Kyle doesn’t mind, that is.”
Oh man, you really dug a hole for yourself, Bree. “Kyle and I aren’t dating.”
“No?” Luke asked with obvious mock surprise.
I glared at him. “I think you already knew that, though.”
He let out a soft laugh. “I had an idea, but your father confirmed it last night when he laughed his ass off and said you’d rather have your eyes ripped out than date Kyle Larson.”