CHAPTER 14
CLARA
The next morning, I awoke in bed but made no move to get out from under the covers. Luke was out there in the penthouse, and I didn’t know how to behave around him anymore.
Last night’s kiss had been for the cameras, of course. I had told him we needed to start doing more “couple things” in public if he wanted people to see him as a reformed ladies’ man, someone steady who could be trusted with more responsibilities. I never could have expected that, though.
The damn kiss had felt so real, my knees went weak and the breath fled from my lungs. I forgot we were in a studio, on live TV, with people watching all over the country.
Knowing I couldn’t avoid it any longer, I threw some pants on and headed out of my room. The sound of the TV came from the living room and I found Luke there on the couch, watching highlights from some game or another. In pajama pants and a white undershirt, he looked like a normal human and not a robot in a suit for the first time.
He looked at me over his shoulder and turned down the TV. “Morning, sleepyhead.”
I growled at him and he laughed.
“I guess you need coffee,” he said. “You and Kerri worked pretty late last night. I’m glad she brought you home.”
I wrestled with his fancy espresso maker. The thing had worked for me on my first night here, but this morning it was fighting me. “She’s a fun lady. And she saw our little show yesterday, and she wouldn’t stop gushing about how romantic the kiss was.”
Luke smiled and looked away from me. “That was one for the books.”
It sure was. I might have urged Kerri to work late last night, not wanting to come back to the penthouse to face Luke. This thing between us was becoming more intense than I had expected. A kiss on national TV had not been part of the plan.
I hadn’t planned on liking it so much, either.
Had he felt the same explosion of heat when his lips touched mine? Had he been thinking about me all night like I had been thinking of him?
I doubted it. This was all a show for him. It was supposed to be that way for me too, but it seemed I wasn’t as in control of my motions as he was. He didn’t seem awkward at all this morning. I was the one getting confused about what this arrangement was and was not.
Itwasa huge opportunity for me to make a boatload of money, giving me a chance to finally pursue my dream of working on stage design in New York. Itwasn’ttrue love. I was attracted to him, of course. He was hotter than the sun. He might have been attracted to me too, but not enough to try making any of this real.
That was for the best. He had his career to think about and I had mine. I didn’t want to ruin things for either of us. What I needed to do was stay focused and not forget the plan. Fake it for a few weeks and then go our separate ways.
Luke came up behind me at the counter and I froze, not sure what was about to happen. Maybe the kiss had changed things for him, too.
“Here let me help,” he said, reaching around me to pull a lever on the espresso machine. “Sometimes this gets a little stuck.”
His arm brushed my shoulder while he reached over. He smelled like a woodshop, even though I doubted he had done any woodworking since he left Harrison City. Was it the lingering traces of his cologne or did he just smell like a man?
I breathed him in but tried not to let him see.
Luke grabbed a mug from the cabinet and placed it on the counter in front of me. “So listen, I have the day off, and honestly, I feel like I owe you for the magnificent performance yesterday.”
Performance. Right. “You don’t owe me. It’s all part of the deal, right?”
“Well, yeah, but still. We can do whatever you want to today.”
I grinned at him. “Is that a promise?”
Luke eyed me, curious. “Within limits,” he said. “I still have a reputation to upkeep. So no streaking through Central Park or anything.”
I let out a big, playful sigh. “Well then, forget it.”
He laughed, and for a second I thought he might wrap his arms around me. Or maybe that was just insane wishful thinking. It had been a couple of years since I’d been with anyone romantically. Maybe that was why I kept hoping for something more with Luke.
An hour later, we were in Central Park, fully clothed. They were having a big Christmas Market in one of the sections, and I insisted we check it out.
Booths had been set up in neat little rows, with Christmas lights strung between them. A million wonderful smells hung inthe air. Hot cocoa, kettle corn, and funnel cakes. But it wasn’t just food vendors.
