Luke laid his newspaper down and locked eyes with Nick. “What’s up with you? You’ve been staring at me for the last ten minutes.” Luke had tried to ignore it, but it was getting on his nerves. They were hanging out in the living room after Luke prepared his famous chicken parmigiana with a side of seafood chowder and homemade biscuits. He wasn’t exactly sure, but he thought Miles might have gone back for seconds. It had brought Luke back in time to his teen years when his grandfather taught him everything he’d known about cooking. The night had been going smoothly until he’d noticed Nick’s pointed stare.
“I was waiting for you to tell me something, but it seems you’re not going to do it.” Nick’s tone hinted at annoyance. Nick sat back in his chair and propped his feet up on the coffee table. His stern expression reminded Luke of their father.
“What are you talking about?” Luke asked. He wasn’t sure if Nick was playing a prank on him or being serious.
Nick jutted his chin at Luke. “You and Stella. The town grapevine is in overdrive about your relationship. Guess I’m the last to know.”
Relationship?Him and Stella? They were just friends and nothing more, even though he viewed her as the most beautiful woman in Mistletoe. No doubt in the entire state of Maine. But he barely knew her other than rescuing her fancy poodle and providing her with a getaway car during the awkward situation with her ex. That did not put them in the romance category.
A buzzing sound filled the air. Nick picked up his cell phone and studied the screen, his brows knitting together as he read. He held up his phone. “See. I’m getting tons of texts and calls. The same women who wanted to date you are now waving the white flag and surrendering. Listen to this.”
Nick hit play on one of his voicemail messages. “Hey, Nick. It’s Gillian. I heard the news about Luke and Stella. I don’t want to step on any toes, so disregard my previous messages about Luke. Thanks.”
Luke groaned. “What news is she talking about? This is insanity.” He flexed his fingers. “Gossip should be outlawed in Mistletoe.”
Nick shook his head. “You won’t get any argument from me on that one.”
Luke folded theMistletoe Gazetteand placed it down on the side table. “Surely the residents have better things to talk about than who I’m spending time with. Why do they even care?”
“Evidently they don’t have anything more pressing to discuss,” Nick said, a smile playing around his lips. “And they’re invested in you because you’re a hometown boy. And a hero. Your Medal of Honor designation made headlines all over the state, but particularly here in town. You’re the perfect mix of brooding hero and heartthrob.”
Luke stiffened. He hated the H word. Losing two of his men in a mission gone wrong hadn’t made him feel heroic. Getting a medal for valor didn’t erase his feelings of guilt and shame. On the surface Luke knew how he came across—brave, rugged…and heroic. Nick was one of the few people who knew that there was a lot more to him than met the eye.
“Oh, wait. There’s more messages.” Nick hit play again on his voicemail. “Hey, Nick. It’s Laura Jean. I wish you’d told me that Stella had already scooped Luke up. Thanks for wasting my time.” Luke shuddered at the anger that emanated from Laura Jean’s voice. Clearly he’d dodged a bullet.
“Whoa. Sounds like Laura Jean needs to chill out. I haven’t seen her since high school. She’s acting like we were engaged or something.”
Nick held up his phone. “I’ve got at least six more messages. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for you and Stella. She’s amazing, but a lot of women in town are disappointed.”
Luke needed to set Nick straight and let him know there was absolutely nothing going on. “Sorry about that, but Stella and I are—”
“A perfect fit,” Nick said, leaning forward and clapping Luke on the shoulder. “I approve. Stella is simply incredible. Miles adores her. He’s given her the title of Best Teacher Ever.”
“Yeah, she seems to be,” Luke said feebly. How was he going to get off this runaway train? Now Nick was all excited. He knew that his brother worried about him and his future. Nick wanted him to stay in Mistletoe, settle down and find a career that didn’t involve explosive devices and a high risk of not making it back home. Luke couldn’t blame Nick for not wanting to endure any other losses after losing Kara.
“I wish you’d told me sooner,” Nick continued. “And here you had me thinking you weren’t interested in dating.” Nick coughed. “Or am I jumping the gun? Maybe the two of you are just spending time together and seeing where things go. Nothing wrong with that.”
Luke didn’t know why he wasn’t setting Nick straight. The happy expression etched on his brother’s face was one he hadn’t seen in quite some time. Nick usually looked worried, even when they Skyped during his deployment. He had so much to worry about in his personal life in addition to being employed in a very high-stakes profession. Search and rescue had one of the highest burn-out rates of any job, not to mention the high stress level and trauma. Nick shouldn’t have to be concerned about his older brother.
“I wasn’t sure what to say,” he hedged. Much like right now. He had no clue how to break it gently to Nick that he wasn’t dating Stella. But maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe he could allow Nick to believe he was coupled up with the most beautiful sweetheart in Mistletoe for a little bit, as long as the woman in question didn’t have any objections. It would be nice to have Nick stop worrying about Luke’s single status.
He and Stella had grown up together, but they’d never really been friends. He recalled a shy and introverted young girl who’d never really put herself out there. He was ashamed to admit that he’d really never given her the time of day. Luke had been way too busy being popular and hanging around with his football player friends. His life had consisted of family, football, and friends and not necessarily in that order.
“Bro, don’t worry about it. I’m actually relieved. It felt awkward being in the middle. Looks like I won’t be fielding any more phone calls from your admirers. Judging by all of my messages, they’re either pretty ticked off or waving the white flag.” Nick flashed a wide grin. “Either way you can focus on finding a new career path and acclimating to life stateside.”
Nick was right. The women of Mistletoe would no longer be hounding Nick about fixing them up with Luke if they thought he was taken. The pressure. He didn’t have to worry about women stopping him at the coffee shop or on his morning run. He wouldn’t have to avoid certain establishments in town like the Bookworm or the artist shanties by the marina. The female attention he’d been receiving had been pretty intense. Not to mention awkward! A small part of him had been flattered, but it overwhelmed him at the same time. Because of the Navy SEAL moniker, women tended to have certain stereotypes and expectations about him. It was rare that a woman took the time to peel back his layers.
If everyone in town believed the story about him and Stella, the heat would be off, and he could focus his energy on trying to connect with the family members of the two SEALs on his team who’d perished, as well as figure out what he was going to do with the rest of his life.
But it wouldn’t take long for people to figure out that he wasn’t romantically involved with Stella if they were never seen together. He and Stella had one big thing in common. They were both single and not looking for a relationship. At the same time, folks in Mistletoe were trying to pair them both up with people. What if they could use the town gossip to their advantage? What if this turned out to be a huge gift for both of them?
Luke needed to get her on board with his plan. Stella had mentioned being hounded due to her single status. Didn’t she tell him that she just wanted to be left alone by the town matchmakers? That she wasn’t ready to date? From what she’d said, even her parents were trying to fix her up.
Luke realized he didn’t have her cell phone number. So much for them being a power couple in Mistletoe. Just the thought of it made him smile. If he was going to be mistakenly paired up with someone, he couldn’t really complain about the fact that it was Stella. He liked her brand of sweet and sassy.
Now he just had to track her down and convince her that the two of them could be Mistletoe’s hottest fake couple of the summer.
Chapter Eight
