Miss Match (21 page)

“I scared you. Too much too soon.” He nodded. “I can understand that.”

“We’re going to forget this ever happened. Tomorrow things will go back to normal. The wedding has me on edge, and you’re struggling with your father’s death. We’re friends.
Best
friends. And you will always be my best friend. But Antonio’s the man I’m going to marry.”

“No. It doesn’t get to be that easy for you. I’m telling you right here, right now, that I’m throwing my hat in the ring. Because this” —he motioned between them— “is worth fighting for. You might not be willing to risk it. I was too scared to take a chance for a really long time. But now, the only thing I’m scared of is losing the possibility of us. So get ready for the fight of your life, Brooke. I’ll see you later.” He strode out the door without another word.

Brooke stared after him in shock, then mechanically closed the door. A hand caught and held it. She looked up into Zoey’s concerned eyes. “How long have you been standing there?” Brooke asked.

“Long enough. What are you going to do?”

Brooke shook her head and began to cry.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Luke walked away from Brooke’s apartment
door and down the hallway, toward the elevator. His hands clenched into fists as he tried to stop them from trembling.

There was no going back now. He’d laid it all on the line. He’d either made the best decision of his life, or the worst.

I have to win her. Antonio isn’t right for Brooke.

But how was he supposed to “win” Brooke? If eight years hadn’t been enough to convince her they were meant to be together, then what could he do?

Luke pushed the chipped button for down on the elevator. He walked on shaky legs to the limousine and climbed in.

The partition lowered. “Where to, Mr. Ryder?” the driver asked, watching Luke through the rearview mirror.

“Mitch’s,” Luke said. Even his words sounded shaky. “No, my place. Call Mitch and tell him to meet me there. It’s urgent.”

“Of course, Mr. Ryder.” The partition slid back up, and the limo purred to life.

Luke’s cheek still stung from the force of Brooke’s slap. He ran a shaky hand through his hair. He had no idea what to expect going forward. Breaking rules in the past had resulted in anything from snippy remarks to the silent treatment, and he’d gone way over the line this time.

I told her I’ll fight, and I will.
But hot chocolate and donuts weren’t exactly an amazing start.

“Stop it.”
He couldn’t get the image of Brooke screaming at him, shaking off his hand as though that would shake off his declaration of love.

She loved him. He knew she did.

Didn’t she?

Luke scooted across the bench seat to the mini cabinet in one corner of the limo. He fumbled for the bottle of Scotch and unstopped the top, sloshing it into a tumbler. He swallowed it in one drink and quickly poured another.

“We’re going to forget this happened. Tomorrow things will go back to normal.”

Luke slammed a fist against the window.
She can’t do this to me.
His feelings mattered, too.

During the fifteen minute drive, Luke’s fingers itched for a basketball or weight bar, desperate for the relief exercise brought. He jumped out of the limo as soon as it came to a stop and hurried into the building, ignoring the camera flash from someone hiding in the bushes. The elevator doors immediately opened. Luke stepped inside and the elevator attendant entered the penthouse key code.

“Welcome home, Luke,” Talia said in greeting. “Mitch is in the living room.” Luke barely registered that she hadn’t glitched on Mitch’s name, a positive sign that the overhaul was working. They’d been testing the updates in his penthouse, as well as at Ryder Communications.

“Thanks,” Luke muttered. Mitch’s apartment was only five minutes away, so he wasn’t surprised.

Mitch met him in the foyer. “What happened?” he asked, grabbing Luke’s arm. “The driver said you were with Brooke, then came out looking rattled.”

Luke shrugged off the hand and headed into the kitchen, grabbing a tumbler and filling it with Scotch.

“How many have you had?” Mitch asked, following him.

“This will be my third,” Luke said. He threw back the Scotch and reached to refill the glass.

Mitch’s hand landed on top of his. “Okay, calm down. I think you’ve had enough to drink. Do some yoga breaths.”

Luke didn’t know what a yoga breath was, but he closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
If Brooke saw you now, she’d be more convinced than ever you aren’t the one.

Mitch took the bottle and put it back. “Let’s go sit down. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Luke followed Mitch into the living room and sank into the arm chair. “I told her.”

“Told her what?”

Luke closed his eyes, but all he saw was Brooke’s horrified expression. “That I love her.”

“What did she say?”

“She slapped me. She told me we were going to forget it ever happened and go back to normal.” He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “How can things ever be normal again? I told her I love her.
Love her.
”

Mitch cursed, but his eyes were full of sympathy. He leaned forward, clasping his hands together. “You sure know how to take a bad situation and make it worse. In less than a month, we have to relaunch Talia. If we can’t do it successfully, Nathan will steal all our clients and we will be well on our way to working ourselves out of a job. That is what we should focus on. Not Brooke.”

“Do you know why I went over there tonight? To help her stuff envelopes with save the dates. For her wedding to Antonio. It’s really happening, unless I do something to stop it.”

“And we’re really going to be out of a job, if we don’t do something about that.”

Luke swore. “This is Brooke we’re talking about.”

“I know Antonio’s kind of annoying, but I think she really does love him. I’m sorry.”

Luke grabbed a candy dish off the coffee table and hurled it at the wall. It shattered, M&M’s and shards of glass dropping to the carpeted floor. “She loves
me.
We’re meant to be together.” He picked up a vase of fresh flowers—pink Gerber daisies, Brooke’s favorite—and threw it at the wall too.

Mitch grabbed Luke’s arm. “You need to calm down. Breathe.”

Luke sucked in a huge, gulping breath. Tremors shook his body as the adrenaline surged through it. “You have to help me. You have to help me convince her.”

“You want me to help you break up Brooke’s wedding.”

“Yes.”

Mitch sighed. “This doesn’t seem right, man.”

“
Please.
”

“Okay, okay. But we’ve got to balance this with keeping Ryder Communications afloat, and keeping our jobs. Now how are we going to convince Brooke you’re the one?”

* * *

“I can’t believe he said he loves you,” Zoey said. She shifted on the couch, causing Brooke to sink toward the middle.

Brooke sniffed, throwing another tissue in the general direction of the trash can. Their normally tidy living room was starting to resemble the disaster zone that was Zoey’s bedroom. Tissues overflowed and spilled onto the beige carpet, and a few had even landed perilously close to the save the dates that were still spread across the floor. “How am I supposed to see him tomorrow and keep matching him up with these women and pretend that all of this is normal?”

Zoey rubbed small circles on Brooke’s back. “Maybe you don’t.”

“What?”

“Brooke, this is
Luke.
He’s here and he loves you and you love him. It’s perfect.”

“Zoey, I’m engaged.” She motioned to the living room floor. “I’m addressing save the dates. I love Antonio.”

“I know. But you love Luke too, and you’re lying to yourself if you deny it. The two of you fit. You’re different around Luke. Less uptight. More fun. Lighter. He brings out the happiness in you. With Antonio, you act more moody and stressed.”

Brooke shook her head before Zoey finished speaking. “The stress is because of the wedding, not Antonio. I will not be Luke’s first real relationship. I won’t be the girl he makes all the rookie mistakes with. Our friendship—”

“Don’t give me that crap. You tell your clients all the time that a deep friendship is a great foundation for a lasting romantic relationship. And eight years is a pretty solid foundation.”

“Luke is a fantastic best friend. But that’s all we’ll ever be. I have a fiancé that I really do love.” Brooke held up a hand. “I know you don’t understand it or agree with it, but I do love Antonio. Yeah, he’s kind of oblivious at times. And yeah, he has some old fashioned ideas about gender roles. But he’s sweet and kind and he loves me. He’s a responsible adult who knows how to be in a relationship. We’re seventy-one percent compatible.” She let her hands drop to her side. “I’m not gambling my happiness on Luke. My chips are solidly on Antonio’s number.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Antonio held Brooke close,
nuzzling her neck. She buried her face in his shoulder and held him closer. Light poured in from the floor to ceiling windows in his studio apartment, illuminating the space where they stood. The sun felt like summer on her skin, and the smell of turpentine and oil paints was familiar and safe. Brooke wanted to stay in that sunlight, basking in the comfort of Antonio’s embrace, forever.

“I’m going to miss you,” he said.

Brooke tightened her arms around his neck. She needed to leave for work. She’d only stopped by Antonio’s for a moment to wish him luck on his business trip to San Diego. But she didn’t want to let him go. “I’m going to miss you too.”

He captured her lips with his own, pressing a hand against her back to urge her closer. She tried to focus on the kiss, to be present in the moment.

Antonio pulled back. “You’ve been quiet. Is everything okay?”

Brooke knew she should tell him what had happened last night with Luke. But if she told him, he would never let her see Luke again.
And I probably shouldn’t.
She didn’t know if their friendship could ever recover from what had happed. But she wanted it to.

“Brooke?”

She blinked. She’d been lost in thought again. “Yeah, sorry. I’m stressed about work.”

“Have you had any luck finding another date for Luke?”

“There are plenty of willing candidates and I’m trying to find the right one. I don’t want another disaster like the football game.”

Antonio kissed Brooke again. “You’ll figure something out.”

Brooke glanced at her cell and groaned. “If I don’t leave now, I’ll be late for work.”

Antonio let her go. “I should be going too. I’ll walk you to your car.”

At work, Brooke scoured the list of potential matches the computer had populated, looking for the one that would be just right for Luke. Maybe if she found him a girlfriend, their relationship could go back to normal.

Why, Luke? Why did you have to say you love me?

She wished she could rewind time and go back to the days of denial. Life had been so much easier then. So much simpler.

Brooke scanned the list of qualifications for Bachelorette #1. She loved cats . . . definitely not the girl for Luke, despite a seventy percent compatibility rating. Brooke closed out her profile and began reading the next one. She loved the bar scene. So
not what Luke needed right now.

Brooke stopped on the profile of Michelle. She looked sweet and wholesome, an elementary school teacher who loved football and had a passion for Star Wars. A white personality, so she probably wasn’t competitive. Brooke kept reading, but she already knew that Luke would go on a date with this woman. Hopefully that weekend. Charlotte was annoyed Brooke hadn’t already scheduled a date for Friday.

Brooke walked over to Raine’s cubical. Raine looked up from her computer. “Hey, Brooke.”

“Hey. Do you have a sec?”

“Sure.”

Brooke perched on the edge of Raine’s desk. “I looked through Michelle’s profile, and I think she might be a good match for Luke.”

Raine nodded. “Okay. What qualities is Luke looking for?”

“He needs someone who isn’t only interested in his celebrity status. Someone who is calm and can balance out his more bold personality.”

Raine nodded. She turned to her computer and pulled up Michelle’s profile. “Michelle isn’t the celebrity gossip type. And she definitely isn’t the type to drink when nervous.” She flashed Brooke a grin. “I think they’d be a great match, and the computer agrees. Sixty-nine percent compatibility. Let me call her right now and see if she’d be interested in a date. When were you thinking?”

“Friday night hopefully.”

“Yeah, we need to give the press something new to talk about.” Raine picked up her phone and dialed a number. Brooke’s stomach tied in knots as she listened to Raine’s side of the conversation.

A few minutes later, Raine hung up the phone. “Michelle’s excited to meet Luke and looks forward to the date. I told her I would call her back in a few hours with more details. What did you have in mind for Friday?”