Would he know the right people when he came across them?
Yes, he believed he would.
Was he afraid of being caught?
Not really.
When the world looked at him it saw a young man; charming, handsome, smart, funny, well educated, employed, with a good family. It didn’t see the monster that lurked inside him.
* * * * *
11:46 A.M.
Luke was feeling a little dejected this morning.
Summer had turned him down flat when he asked her out, and he wasn’t going to harass her. He didn’t want to, but he had to move on. He was interested in her, and he was sure she was interested in him too, but he couldn’t force her to agree to date him, and trying to was just going to be a waste of his time and hers.
There were plenty of other women out there.
He was just so tired of continuously meeting the wrong ones.
Surely there had to be someone out there for him, so why couldn’t he just meet her already?
He had really thought that Summer was the one. She was just what he was looking for, and he’d felt that zap of attraction when they’d first met, then the sizzle between them when they met again at Nick’s house. He knew she felt it too, but she was in denial, and he had no idea how to convince her that he wasn’t a bad guy and that she didn’t have to be afraid of him.
Whatever had happened to her in the past had really left her fearful of men and relationships. Both Nick and Aggie had told him that she never dated, kept to herself, didn’t let people get too close, and never ever talked about her past.
It was time to accept that dating her wasn't to be.
For all he knew, the perfect woman for him could be right around the …
“Oof,” he grunted as he walked headlong into someone for the second time in as many days.
“Ugh,” the woman he’d crashed into gasped as she stumbled. She was carrying a baby in her arms, a cup of coffee in her hand—which sloshed all over her—and two bags over her shoulders, both of which she dropped in preference of clutching her baby tighter.
Quickly, he grabbed hold of her before she and her child could wind up on the ground beside her bags. “Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going,” he apologized once he had the woman steady on her feet again.
“No, it was me, I'm in a hurry, running late as usual,” the woman added, trying to balance the baby, who had started crying, while brushing off the coffee from her coat. “Shh, honey, don’t cry again.”
“Here, let me take him for a moment, I'm great with babies, I’ll calm him down for you,” he offered.
“You don’t have to.” She shot him a tired and harried smile.
“It’s my fault he’s crying, I walked right into you guys,” he reminded her. The woman looked like she needed a break. He didn’t see a ring on her left hand. Being a single mom to a young baby was tough, and she looked like she hadn’t slept in months, which he was sure she hadn’t.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” The woman looked relieved to give up her sobbing little burden for a moment.
“Of course.” He smiled and took the baby when she handed him over. He stooped to retrieve the pacifier, which had fallen out of the baby’s mouth when he’d crashed into them, then lifted the baby so he could look at him. “Hey, big guy, sorry for walking into your mommy and waking you up.” He tickled the baby’s tummy making him gurgle. “What’s his name?”
“Timmy,” the woman said as she gathered up her bags.
“What is he, like four, five months?”
The woman gave her son a tender smile. “He’s four and a half months exactly. How did you know? Do you have kids?”
“No, not yet, can’t wait to though.” Luke had dated a woman a couple of years ago who had three little kids, and he’d loved spending time with them almost more than he’d enjoyed spending time with their mother. It had really hit home for him how much he wanted not just a partner but a family. He wanted children of his own. He wanted to give them the stable home life he had never had. He wanted to prove to them—and maybe to himself—that you really could have someone who would stand by you no matter what happened.
“You’re a natural.” The woman nodded at her son who was now content and falling asleep in his arms.