He did so.
Just like she’d always known, he was a hero. A genius! “You kept your promise and didn’t break any laws.”
“I kept my promise.”
She kissed him again, and it was a slow, excellent, soul-stirring kiss. However, he kept it very ... controlled.
She pulled back to study him some more. Her jubilation began to melt like spilled ice cream.
Ever since her injury, he’d handled her as if she were a Ming vase. She hadn’t noticed at first, maybe because she’d needed very cautious handling during the early days following the coma. Now the cautious handling was beginning to feel less like a compliment and more like a wall between them.
It was uncharitable of her to find fault with him. His behavior was exemplary. He’d been trustworthy, steadfast, good. He’d just brought the Vance brothers to justice, for goodness’ sake!
It was only that he was so perfect all the time that it was beginning to feel manufactured. She missed the imperfect, unscripted, blunt, sometimes surly version of him that she knew to be the true version.
He’d told her that he was taking the first steps toward regaining his faith and working through trauma. These past days, they’d endured a brutally hard trial together. They’d seen what the other was made of. And they’d gotten each other through.
She loved him. So many things were going well. Was it too much to ask to want to connect with the real him? “You know, right, that I’m regaining my strength? You don’t have to tiptoe around me anymore.”
“I know.”
She gave him time, but he didn’t offer more.
She leaned one shoulder and the side of her head against his chest.
He eased the swing into motion, and a few quiet minutes passed while she soaked in the feel of him and tried not to angst about how terrifying it was to love Luke.
Did he love her back?
He’d always said that he’d leave once the treasure hunt ended. The treasure hunt was now, very officially, at its end.
Would he leave?
She’d have no grounds to make him stay if he was set on going. The larger point was that she didn’t want tomakehim stay, even if she had that power. She wanted him to want to stay.
Stop borrowing trouble from the future. It was premature to agonize over Luke’s leaving. He was here now, and this line of thought dismayed her.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
She couldn’t blurt out,I’m thinking that my heart is on the line, which is unbelievably scary. So she broached something else that had been on her mind. “I’m thinking about all the damage done because my dad, Robbie, and Carla took something they shouldn’t have taken. It created a ripple effect that’s still going. The Vance brothers lost their sister because of it. Nine years later, I’m in rehab because of it.”
She felt him nod.
“Stolen things do harm,” she said in a meaningful way.
“Why do I think we’re now talking about me?”
“Because we are. You have quite a bit of money.”
“From stealing things.”
“And I wouldn’t want stolen things to doyouharm.”
“If you want me to, I’ll give it all away.”
“I don’t want you to do it for me. I want you to do it for you. It’s your money. Your decision. It’s not about me.”
Her dad had known she’d do the right thing with the gold. But she couldn’t force Luke to do the right thing with his money. His life had been rocky. His money likely gave him a sense of security.
