He gave her a smoldering look, complete with a slight pump of his eyebrows and an alluring half-smile on his lips. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a quarter, placed the coin in her palm, and then gently wrapped his hand around hers. “Make it a good wish,” he said in a deep tone that reverberated through her.
She tried to act unaffected. “Of course it’ll be a good wish. I’m Marietta Valez.” She gave him a confident wink, as if her name meant anything. It didn’t. She came from nobody, and her name had no special significance. But it was hers, and danged if she wasn’t going to make something of herself. She already had with her and Cosette’s success.
Luke smiled.
She flipped her hair and walked closer to the fountain, incorporating all the sass she’d mastered over the years. Leaning forward, she kissed the coin and muttered a wish under her breath: “Please let Luke kiss me and want to be with me longer.” Then she tossed it in.
Turning back, she saw Luke watching her. She liked him watching her. She wasn’t a silly, young girl who fancied that a man like Luke Jewel was in love with her. Yet as he walked toward her with a meaningful look in those amazing blue eyes, she knew that if he wanted a kiss, there would be no complaints from her end. Maybe that was why men loved her and left her, if she didn’t ditch them first. She had no clue how to play hard to get. A psychologist would probably diagnose her with some kind of abandonment syndrome. Her parents had dumped her like yesterday’s garbage, not caring if she lived and died. She’d only felt love for a brief time as a child, before her adopted mother was killed and that family blown apart. Of course they would say she was searching for love any way she could get it. Whatever. She didn’t plan on falling in love with Luke; that would hurt too much when he left her. She only wanted a simple, flirtatious, and fun kiss. There was nothing wrong with a kiss.
He stopped right in front of her, and she tilted her head back to smile up at him. With her five-inch heels and his six-foot frame, not a few inches over six feet like his brothers, it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to kiss him.
Luke didn’t touch her, but he bent down closer and his warm breath brushed her forehead. “What did you wish for?” he asked.
Mar boldly ran her hands up his arms and to his shoulders. She lifted her eyebrows and said, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Luke grinned, and he must’ve taken her touch as a signal, as he wrapped his hands around her hips and tugged her closer. She went willingly, inhaling the delicious scent of his cologne, loving that he wore one of her and Cosette’s signature lines. It mixed wonderfully with his chemistry.
She licked her lips. Luke’s eyes dipped to her mouth, then slowly trailed up to meet her gaze. Her breath caught.
“I think you’ll tell me,” he murmured.
Mar laughed. “I’m not going to tell you, but …” She looked him over, deciding this was definitely happening. “If you guess, I might let you make my wish come true.”
He chuckled low and deep. His eyes were lit up with mischief and yet burning with desire. “Might?”
“Might.” She tilted her head and smirked at him.
“How many guesses do I get?” he asked.
“One.”
“One!” he protested. “That’s not right. Three, at least.”
“No confidence in your guessing ability?”
“I’m thinking about you. I want to make sure your wish comes true.”
Mar thought it already was. Now that she was bantering with him and enjoying the firm touch of his palms burning through her thin dress, she felt less alone at this moment than she had in months. Since Cosette had left her. If only she could develop something long-term with Luke. She and Cosette could be sisters-in-law, see each other all the time. She shut that thought down, hard. Luke didn’t seem to be headed for matrimonial bliss, and she wondered if she was too messed up from her past to ever be part of a long-term relationship.
“That’s mighty sweet of you,” she said with a fake drawl in her voice.
He laughed.
She pushed away the longings and worries and concentrated on this moment. He was looking at her with those too-blue eyes as if she were the only woman he wanted to look at like that. She doubted that was true, but she’d deal with that pain tomorrow. “Three chances.”
He grinned and bowed his head slightly. “Thank you. Hmm. First guess.” He slowly ran his hands from her hips to her lower back, pulling her in closer to him. Mar’s breath whooshed out, and she felt hot all over. His voice came out low and husky. “You wished for a million dollars.”
She laughed in surprise. “Nope. Not even close.” Maybe he had no clue what her wish was about, but the look in his eyes and the way he held her so firmly against him said different. “Try again.”
His eyes dipped to her lips again, and he slowly, tantalizingly rubbed his hands up and down her back. “So it’s not about money with you. Hmm.” His gaze was so hot on her that she felt flushed despite the chilly, humid air of a San Francisco summer night. “You wished …” He drew it out, and she could feel her heart thundering in anticipation. “For world peace.”
Mar’s eyes widened. She felt a dart of guilt. “No.”
Luke smiled, and she was ninety percent sure he was teasing her. “So not a philanthropist. I know you and Cosette donate a portion of your proceeds to humanitarian missions, so I expected more from you, but that’s okay.”
Mar knew he was teasing her now. She almost playfully slugged him, but this moment still felt too intense. If he didn’t guess right this time … no kiss tonight. Bitter disappointment coated her throat. If he missed this time, she’d be alone sooner than she hoped. “Last chance, buddy. You get it wrong and you’re out.”
He nodded, twisting his mouth as if in deep contemplation. “The pressure of this is killing me.”