“Oh, definitely.”
“Doyouthink it means something?” Tara bit her lip. She sort of hoped he was getting up the courage to ask her out, but she also feared it. Technically, she should be ready to date again, but how could she be ready when she was out here hiding from her ex and his family?
Luke sighed. It wasn’t a good sigh. It was the sigh you let out before delivering bad news. “I have to confess something. Running into you tonight was less of a coincidence than the other two times. I did make the appetizers, but as a personal favor to Amelia. She invited me to the party.”
Ah, he knew her ex. It was written all over his face.
“You’re friends with Derek too, then?”
“Yeah.”
“And Jody.”
“Yeah.”
She tapped the console between them. Thinking he was going to ask her out had definitely been a misread. How sorry he must feel for her, what with her aunt’s machinations, and all along knowing about her wedding and why it never happened.
Luke reached out and touched her hand. “What are you thinking right now?”
“That I need to leave this town.”
“No.”
“It’s not big enough for the both of us,” she said in her best cowboy voice. “This is Derek’s town.”
Luke laughed. “No, it’s definitely not Derek’s town. And I would miss you if you left.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I like what I’ve seen so far.” Their eyes met and she couldn’t deny they had chemistry. It was such a shame it could never lead anywhere.
“But you proved my point with your confession. You were supposed to be some random guy, but you’re not. Everybody around here knows Derek. He’s the handsome firefighter who does all the charity work, and was quarterback of the football team, and led them to the State Championships his senior year. I used to love those stories. Except they left out Jody being there for all of it. Nobody mentioned her. Especially not him.”
“That was wrong of him.”
“Because he wasn’t over her.”
“Because he wasn’t over her.” Luke confirmed. His face turned frustrated. “We should go out.”
“Really?”
“Right now.”
Her elation came to an abrupt halt as a new thought took hold. “Did Derek put you up to this? So I wouldn’t come to the party? You’re the Luke he used to talk about, Luke Carrington, the one who was always too busy to hang out with us. You were even going to be one of the groomsmen, even though you never showed up to anything.”
He shook his head, looking taken back. “I swear Derek didn’t put me up to anything. I wouldn’t be a part of something like that. But yeah, I am that Luke, the super busy, bad friend one. I was living with my parents at the time, had my house rented out, I was doing my internship during the day and working most nights. Sorry we never met before, I guess.”
They both laughed awkwardly. Meeting him while engaged to Derek would have been completely different than meeting him now, but she wasn’t about to admit it.
“You should go to the party. I hope you don’t feel like you’re not welcome.”
“I’ve been dreading it, to be honest, but I feel like I should go, like it will prove I’m fine with everything and I’ve moved on.”
“Have you?” There was so much concern in his question, it sort of embarrassed her. So many well-meaning people had questioned her on that very thing, to the point where she constantly had to examine the answer for herself.
“I don’t want to see him, but it’s not because I’m afraid he has any power to hurt me anymore. It’s just awkward.”
“Well, how about this? I’m going to leave, and you can make whatever decision you want about the party. But can we exchange numbers?”
