Holding the half-asleep infant in his arms was enough to melt his heart, and despite his earlier declaration to leave Summer be and move on, all he could think about was her and what it would be like to hold their child. He couldn’t seem to let Summer go.
She held out a hand. “I'm Megan, by the way.”
“Luke,” he replied as he grasped her hand and shook it, hoping for the same spark he’d felt when he touched Summer. He’d met Megan the same way he’d met Summer, and if he could just feel that same spark, it would be so much easier to get Summer out of his head and ask Megan out. He could see she was interested. He knew when he was being checked out.
“Nice to meet you, Luke.” Megan smiled at him.
He wanted to open his mouth and offer to take her for coffee to replace the one he’d knocked out of her hand, but something was holding him back. Summer had made it clear she wasn't interested, nor was she ever going to be interested, so asking out Megan shouldn’t be an issue. She was pretty, she seemed to be a good mother, he was sure she was smart and sweet and kind, everything he wanted, and yet instead of asking her on a date, he handed her back her son. “Here you go, I don’t want to hold you up anymore.”
Megan’s brown eyes looked confused, sensing his mixed messages. “Thanks for calming him down,” she said as she took Timmy. “Do you want to …?”
“I would, but …”
“But there’s someone else?” Megan asked with a rueful smile.
“Kind of, I'm not sure yet,” he replied honestly. He wasn't sure he was ready to give up on Summer just yet, no matter how resistant to the idea of dating him she was.
“Okay, whoever she is she’s a lucky woman. Do you live around here?”
“My brother lives just up there.” He nodded up the block.
“Well, my nanny lives just over there. If things don’t work out with this woman you know where to find me.”
“Yeah, I will,” he said. If things with Summer didn’t work out then he might consider asking Megan out.
“You’re going to make a fantastic dad one day, Luke,” Megan said, then turned and walked up the front path of the house across the street.
That was quite possibly the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him. Maybe he should ask her out. Summer was only going to turn him down again, and Megan seemed genuinely interested. Still, he couldn’t make himself do it. Summer’s face filled his mind. He wasn't sure what exactly it was about her, but she had certainly gotten under his skin.
When Megan and Timmy disappeared inside the nanny’s house, he walked up the block and found Nick in his front yard watching him.
“Did you ask her out?” his brother asked.
“No, I couldn’t.”
“Summer?”
“I know she said no when I asked her out, but I just can't stop thinking about her.”
“She’s never going to say yes to dating you.”
Luke had thought that he was making progress with her last night. Although she hadn’t been happy to see him, and even less happy with the prospect of being left alone with him when her friend Hope left, she had softened when he’d been talking about his childhood. She had lost people she cared about too, but she was afraid to move forward. He still believed that if he could just spend a little time with her, he could get through to her that whatever her fears were, she didn’t have to worry about them with him.
“She didn’t like you just showing up last night when she was having dinner with Hope,” Nick continued. “I knew Aggie shouldn’t have told you where she was. Summer is a private person. Aggie has been trying to get her to open up for the nine years they’ve known each other, and so far, she hasn’t. What makes you think you can get her to share her secrets?”
“I don’t know, Nick. I don’t know why I can't let it go, I just know that I can't. I feel something when I'm with her. Something that I haven't ever felt before. Would you have walked away from Aggie if she asked you to? I'm not saying I love Summer, I don’t know her, but I just know that I have this feeling inside that says I should keep persisting, that I should see where this goes. I'm asking for your help. Please.”
* * * * *
5:39 P.M.
“I think I'm just going to have dinner at home tonight,” Summer told Aggie as they drove home from work.
“It’s been ages since we’ve had dinner altogether,” her friend wheedled.
“I don’t know, Aggie.” She really needed some quiet time on her own. Seeing Luke again last night had really shaken her. When he had asked her out, she had so badly wanted to say yes. The word had almost slipped between her lips, she had only just managed to keep it in.
She couldnotdate Luke Sleigh.