Wrecked (Crystal Book Billionaires) (25 page)

No. Stuck wasn’t the right word. I was no longer “stuck” in Crystal Brook.

I was
happy
in it.

My phone buzzed with a text, so I closed out the gallery and went to messages. It was Rainy. At her name, a lump formed in my throat. I’d been so busy the last couple days I had barely thought of her. The text conversation we’d had while I walked Mr. Jingles was the last time we communicated.

Are you ever going to talk to me?

I sighed and walked back to the kitchen. I needed a drink of water and a minute to think about just what I wanted to reply. After pouring myself a glass, I sat down at the kitchen table and sipped it for a few seconds before picking my phone up again.

I don’t know what to say,
I wrote.
Other than I forgive you. I just want to move on in life.

There. That was simple, to the point, and completely true.

I watched Uncle Joe and Aunt Ginger through the window while I waited to see if Rainy would text back. The radio set up at the other end of the kitchen table began playing some super cheesy and slow eighties song, and Uncle Joe swayed up to Aunt Ginger, shaking his hips at her. She laughed and playfully slapped him, but he took her hands and dipped her down towards the ground.

I laughed a little at the sight. My aunt and uncle didn’t seem unhappy in their relationship, but I hadn’t yet seen the level of affection I was witnessing. It was adorable and uplifting to see two people still happy together after years of marriage.

My phone buzzed. Half a second later, I heard a car door slam. I craned my neck, listening for more sounds. Was it Luke?

I quickly read the text.

I’m not asking for your forgiveness.

“Oh my God,” I muttered, dropping my head and pressing my cheek against the cool table. “What do you want from me?” I asked out loud.

I tapped my fingers against the table and thought about it. Luke’s voice drifted in through the kitchen window, his words muffled. I sat up straight and peered into the back yard. He walked across the grass, a six pack of beer in one hand. Aunt Ginger and Uncle Joe swarmed around him, my aunt patting his arm adoringly and my uncle shaking his hand.

I didn’t have time for drama with Rainy. That chapter of my life was as good as closed. Surprise, surprise, I was actually thinking of staying in North Carolina. Like, of my own free will.

I don’t know what you want,
I texted back.
And I’m sorry this happened between us. I’d like to move on with my life now.

I set the phone back on the table and stood up. There. I was done. She would respond I was sure, but it didn’t really matter what she said. The chapter in my life in which Rainy was a star player had closed. I had moved on.

No sooner had I taken a step than another text came in.

“One more look,” I told myself. After that, I was going into the backyard to enjoy my Saturday with my family and boyfriend.

So you’re staying there?

I held the phone in my hand. There it was. The big question.

From outside, Luke laughed at something. Aunt Ginger and Uncle Joe chimed in, Uncle Joe’s booming laugh so loud it could scare the birds from the trees.

Yes,
I texted back.
I’m staying here.

With that, I put the phone back down.

I hurried out into the backyard, the butterflies in my stomach fluttering away. Somehow I still got them whenever Luke was around. In some ways each moment with him felt like our first meeting over and over again… minus the bike crashing into the recycling bin.

“Hi,” I called, stepping into the grass.

He turned and looked at me, and the instant our eyes met, a smile stretched across his face. I smiled in response, loving everything about that moment.
I
did it.
I
made Luke happy, just by my being there. And he did the same for me.

We gazed at each other silently, all of the possible things we could have been saying already being delivered by our quiet looks. Just being there together, holding each other in that sacred space… it was everything in the whole world.

“Who wants shish kebabs?” Uncle Joe practically yelled, interrupting the moment.

Luke turned and looked at him. “Sounds great.”

“Excellent,” I agreed.

Aunt Ginger took the beer from Luke’s hand. “I’ll go put these in the fridge so they can get cool. I was just going to mix up a pitcher of margaritas. Would you like one?”

“Sure. Thank you,” Luke responded, although he wasn’t looking at Aunt Ginger. He still gazed at me, his blue eyes sparkling even from halfway across the yard.

Aunt Ginger shimmied past me, and I walked slowly up to Luke, his eyes following my each and every step. A breath away, I stopped and gazed up at him.

“You look beautiful,” he breathed.

I tried to keep back the smile. “You say that a lot.”

“So stop being so beautiful.”

I guffawed.

Luke reached up and ran the back of his fingers down my cheek. “And now you’re blushing,” he said so low only I could hear it. “Which makes you even more beautiful.”

I reached up and pressed my hand against the one still on my cheek, conscious of my uncle nearby but not able to even find embarrassment enough of a reason to pull away from Luke’s touch.

“I left something in the car,” Luke said. “Want to walk with me to get it?”

“Sure.” I looked over his shoulder. “We’ll be right back, Uncle Joe.”

He had turned back to the grill by then and waved an acknowledgment over his shoulder. I followed Luke around the side of the house, along the area my bedroom looked out on.

“What did you leave in the car?” I asked.

Instead of answering, he stopped walking and slipped his arm around my waist. Before I could even stop my own feet from moving, or before I could properly process what was going on, Luke spun me around and pressed my back up against the house.

His mouth met mine, gentle and tender. It was the sweetest kiss we’d shared yet and in it, I felt everything I hadn’t yet said but hoped to one day.

We’re in love,
I realized with a jolt.
This is what it’s like to be in love.

I’d never known. I’d wondered before, with other people, if maybe it was happening. But the truth was that falling in love wasn’t something you wondered about. You couldn’t question whether it was real or not because when it did come, it hit you like a ton of bricks, taking not only your breath away but all the things in life you only thought were getting to you. The worries, the problems. Suddenly nothing else mattered, and, at the same time, everything became perfect. Everything became holy. You saw, so clearly for the first time, how each and every moment was full of grace… and how there really were circumstances that were meant to be.

Like Luke and me.

“Luke,” I gasped into his mouth.

“Yes?” he whispered before going back to kissing me.

I broke off again. “Did you really leave something in the car?”

I felt his grin stretch across my cheek. “Of course not.”

His fingers ran across the bottom of my shirt, grazing the strip of skin right above my shorts. A tremor rippled through me and I let out a quiet groan of pleasure.

“I can’t wait to get you alone later,” he said.

“What?” I responded, trying to be coy. “This isn’t being alone?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You want me to do to you right now what I was planning to do later?”

I bit my bottom lip, trying to be as seductive as possible in an attempt to tease him. “Sure.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“Try me and see.”

His hand went up to my waist line again, then trailed down, pressing delicately over the top of my jeans. I sucked in a ragged breath.

“That’s all?” I asked.

Luke smirked. “You’re going to drive me crazy. Don’t ask me to take you out of here just yet. That would be extremely rude.”

“Then how about a quickie inside? I think I left my bedroom window unlocked. We could just climb through there.”

I was being half serious. The fire raging in me was growing with each second, Luke’s mere presence being enough to feed the inferno.

“Don’t tempt me,” he growled, stepping away. “One more look from you and I’m in danger of bending you over that picnic table.”

“Just make sure to move the pickles out of the way first. I drove all the way to the store today just to get them.”

He smiled and shook his head. “You’re dangerous.”

It was probably meant to turn me on, but it did the opposite. His proclamation reminded me of what he said when we kissed in his kitchen. He’d whispered it into my ear then, and it had been a woeful statement. He’d really believed I was bad news.

And now he seemed not to.

I licked my lips, a sudden chill coming over me. Nothing like the good kind that Luke’s touch elicited, it was cold and damp. It felt like having a bucket of well water dumped on top of my head. Could Luke really change his mind about me so quickly? And, better yet, could he be justified in doing so?

No. I’m still that person he saw when I had a meltdown about being in Crystal Brook.

Was he just suddenly okay with that?

Instead of walking away, like I thought he was about to, Luke stayed planted and looked at me.

“I want to talk to you later about something,” he said. “Even before I peel those shorts off of you.”

A maelstrom of emotions took me over, the lust, pain, and love all mixing up together into a muddy mess.

“Luke,” I whispered. “There are some things I want to talk about too.”

He blinked rapidly and looked at me, catching onto my serious tone.

“Grace!” Aunt Ginger called. “Luke!”

“Later,” Luke told me. “We’ll go back to my place.”

I nodded, my throat feeling like it had closed up.

Luke went back into the yard, and I followed. Uncle Joe set a platter of shish kebabs laden with veggies and chicken on the table while Aunt Ginger put the finishing touches on the four place settings.

I took the spot closest to me, and Luke settled down across the table. The paper lanterns danced behind his head, and smoke from the grill filled the air. Everything about the moment was festive and fun, but I suddenly felt awful.

Would I be able to go through with what I planned for later? Would I be able to admit to Luke that I was an even worse person than he thought I was? That I’d purposefully sought him out, lied to him about my actions? All for the sole reason of landing a rich husband who would carry all my problems away so I could lay by his pool and shop four times a week.

A tiny voice in my head told me that he already knew and that he certainly didn’t care, but I knew that wasn’t true. Just like I hadn’t changed much since we’d met, neither had Luke Anderson. He was still the amazing human being he’d been on the very first day we’d bumped into each other.

“Oh!” Aunt Ginger said, throwing her hands up. “I forgot the salad.”

Luke stood up. “I’ll get it.”

“Thank you, honey,” she smiled, sitting down next to me. “I left it on the kitchen table.”

“Anything else I should grab?”

“No, that’s all,” she answered, practically glowing at him.

As soon as the back door closed behind Luke Uncle Joe spoke. “That Luke is a catch.”

“Absolutely,” Aunt Ginger agreed.

I sighed. “Yeah. I know.”

Uncle Joe started shucking the platter of corn, shaking his fingers to cool them off when he touched a cob that was too hot. “I talked to your father this morning.”

I stared at him, having to take a couple extra seconds to absorb what he said. I couldn’t get my mind off Luke, and my fear and anxiety about out talk later clouded my mind.

“How is he?” I asked after another beat.

Uncle Joe made a rasping noise. “He’s still not having any luck. Things aren’t going too good. I’m sorry to say it looks like you won’t be going back to Los Angeles any time soon.”

“That’s all right,” I said. “I really like it here.”

Out of the corner of my eye, Aunt Ginger beamed at me.

“It’s not just because of a boy, is it?” Uncle Joe asked. “Luke is great, but—”

“No,” I interrupted him. “It’s not just because of him. It’s nice here. People are more… real, as cliché as that sounds.”

Aunt Ginger nodded softly, the bobbing of her head like the movement of a butterfly’s wings. “We know what you mean. It’s why we moved to Crystal Brook. The community is strong here.”

“It is,” I replied, thinking more of individual people than of the whole community.

Luke. Brie. Tracey. They were all so different from Rainy, Madi, Eli, and all my old friends back in Cali.

“Luke,” Uncle Joe said, looking past my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

I whipped my head around. Luke stood behind me, the salad bowl in his hands. His face was blank as he stared at my uncle.

“Nothing,” he said.

Luke would have made a poor actor. Just from that one shaky word, I knew something was up.

He went to the end of the table and set the salad bowl down. “Uh, Grace. Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked, not looking at me.

“Sure.” I slowly stood on legs made out of jello. Clearly something had happened in the short amount of time Luke was inside.

Had someone been hurt? Perhaps something had happened to Community First? The pantry wasn’t exactly in the safest part of town. Could it have been broken into? Burned down?

The blood pounded in my hands as I followed him into the house. Unlike earlier, when my senses had become extremely aware of everything around them, now everything seemed to blur and fade away. The edges of the living room became soft and disappeared as Luke stopped at the couch and turned around to face me.

“What is it?” I asked, desperate to hear the answer but also terrified.

He ran a hand through his hair and stared into my face. Now that I could see his eyes, I noticed just how cold his expression was.

“I saw a text on your phone,” he began, then held his palm up as if to silence any objections. “I wasn’t trying to read it. I’m sorry about that. It was just sitting on the table, right next to the salad bowl. And I guess you got it right when I went in there because the phone lit up and the text started scrolling.”