Chapter Eleven
Mia
Luke jumped out his van with grace I could only dream of. His dirty boots hit the ground and he was in front of me before I could blink.
“What are you doing here?”
I flinched before I checked myself. I hadn’t expected a rapturous reception, but the words stung all the same. And I didn’t have a sensible response cued up, so the truth spilled out of me instead.“Gus said you were having a bad day, so I brought you a pizza.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s the only thing you eat when you’re pissed off.”
He stared blankly at me and my humiliation was complete. I backed away, leaving the pizza box on the step. “Anyway. I hope you choke on it.”
I fled to my car, cheeks burning, though I couldn’t blame him. I had no explanation for the throbbing in mygut that had driven me to his doorstep about ten seconds after Gus had left for the night. The worry that had lanced my chest when he’d told me how rattled Luke was. God, what was it about this man that turned me into an irrational idiot? Did I care that he was stressed? That he’d missed lunch and worked way past clocking off time, something Iknewhe did when life was too heavy for him to handle?
Hell no.
“Mia, wait.”
No.
“Mia.”
Stop saying my name.
Luke reached over my shoulder and shut my car door. “Wait. I’m sorry, you just caught me off guard.”
“Surprise,” I muttered sarcastically.
Luke chuckled and I wanted to punch him. “Don’t start.”
“Start what?” I spun around. “I brought you sustenance so you don’t starve to death for the sake of whatever bullshityou’re sulking about, and now I’m leaving. There’s nothing to start.”
Luke’s hand remained on my car, his strong arm millimetres from resting on my shoulder. “Bullshit?”
I shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t care.”
“Then why not let me starve?”
“What good would you be to me then? We had a deal, remember?”
Oh my God, shut up.
Luke smirked. “Did we? I thought I’d delivered my side.”
He had. And more. But the devil inside me couldn’t let go. Couldn’t admit that I’d rocked up on his doorstep for the simple inexplicable reason that I needed to know he was okay. “Who said it was a one-time thing?”
“You didn’t say much at all.”
Not with words. We’d both said plenty in other ways. I shivered as his continued closeness worked its way under my skin. “Look, I thought youmight be hungry, so I brought food. Eat it and weep, I’m leaving.”
Luke shrugged and let his hand drop. I forced myself to turn away as he drifted back to his house. I was halfway into my car when he called my name.
I glanced around. “What?”
He smiled a little. “Girl, just come eat with me.”
