Suddenly, Luke’s knuckles lift my chin, guiding me until I’m facing him, his lips mere inches from mine. “Daisy, there is a better chance of me calling your ex-fiancé myself and giving him the location of my cabin, than me allowing you to sleep on a goddamn couch when there is a perfectly suitable bed a few feet away.”
I’m shocked into silence, and it seems as though he’s in no rush to fill it.
Neither of us has moved an inch, and I can feel Luke’s deep breaths on my lips.
This is ridiculous. One of us should move away from the other right about now. But Luke only regards me as if he has all the time in the world.
What do you want?
I can almost hear him taunting me as his eyes stay on my lips a touch too long.
That should be enough to have me taking a step back.
To let him win this battle and move on with our night.
But lacking a backbone is what got me into this mess to begin with. And if there was a single person I could practice being assertive with, it would be Luke.
So with his words ringing in my ears, I finally break the silence.
“Luke.”
“Mm-hmm.” He hums slowly.
“I want you in that bed.”
His breathing halts, and I swear a million emotions flit through his eyes before they darken.
He releases a low groan before answering. “Thank you for telling me what you want, Daze. But my stance hasn’t changed.”
I can read between the lines, and I don’t hesitate to respond. “Well, I guess it looks like I’ll be sleeping with you tonight.” His eyes widen just like mine, and I take a step back, bumping into the coffee table. His arm is instantly at my elbow to steady me if need be. “I mean, we’ll be sleeping in the same bed. Sleeping. Like the mature adults that we are. Not that there will be mature adult things happening. Because that’s not what—”
His booming laugh breaks the tension and interrupts my pathetic word vomit, and I drop onto the couch, no longer having the energy to verbally spar. “Add that to the list of things you’re obligated to forget. Start a tab at this rate.”
His laughter eases as he settles back on the couch next to me. His eyes glimmer with delight as he picks up the remote and turns my way. “Never gonna happen.”
“Ugh, because you enjoy watching me squirm?”
“No, because it’s impossible for me not to memorize every single thing about you.”
He freezes midway to handing the remote to me. I think he just experienced his own version of word spillage for the first time. Ever.
He reverts back to the silence.
The place I notice he’s most comfortable in.
I take the remote out of his hand without looking at the TV.
“Daisy, I—”
“Luke.”
“Yeah?” he asks worriedly.
“I want to watchThe Parent Trap.”
The lines on his forehead smooth over as he leans into the back of the couch. He smiles as he nods at the TV. “Guess it’s settled then.”
“Yeah. Guess so.”
