But committing to such a bold plan wouldn’t be easy. They’d have to spend lots of quality time together. And while Luke was absolute eye candy, she had no idea if their personalities would mesh. Tucker was a handsome man, but she’d learned fairly quickly that she didn’t want to hang out with him. And what if Luke met someone else in Mistletoe he truly wanted to date while they were fake dating? Stella knew he desperately wanted to get off the radar of a multitude of ladies in Mistletoe, but would this really accomplish it? And would it be worth all the effort? She just wasn’t sure he’d fully planned this thing out.
“It wouldn’t have to be for a long time. Maybe just for the summer,” Luke suggested. “That way we wouldn’t have to play our roles long-term.”
Stella knit her brows together as she thought it over. Was she crazy to even consider this? If she was being completely honest with herself, it sounded like a mutually beneficial arrangement. But it involved tricking the entire town, including her parents. She wasn’t sure that she could pull it off without cracking.
“I can’t lie to Lucy,” she admitted. “She’d figure things out in a heartbeat anyway.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to. One of my main reasons for wanting to do this is Nick. He worries about me, and I can’t watch him buckle under that weight. He has enough on his plate as it is. Miles should be his focus. Not me.”
Miles. Her favorite student. A genuine sweetheart. He was a plucky and warm kid. He and his father deserved peace after all they’d been through. Nick didn’t need to consume himself with worry over Luke. Doing so wouldn’t allow him to move forward in his own life.
Stella played with her fingers. “I’m going to have to sleep on it, Luke. I don’t want to make a rash decision.” It wasn’t her way to jump headfirst into things without pondering the pros and cons. That wouldn’t work for her.
“That’s fine, Stella. Personally speaking, I don’t want to be Mistletoe’s catch of the season. I want to be under the radar so I can…figure things out.”
Figure things out?She had no idea what he meant by his comment, but his voice sounded serious. Nick had discussed Luke’s heroic service in the military, along with the tragic details regarding the loss of two of his SEAL team members. From what she remembered, Luke had been wounded in the incident. Perhaps that explained the wrap on his leg and the reason he was no longer in the military. It must feel strange to be awarded a Medal of Honor when his friends had lost their lives.
“So how would this even work?” Stella asked. “I’m not saying I’m down with your idea, but if it will save me from intrusive matchmaking schemes and men like Tucker, I’m intrigued.”
Luke began waving his hands around. “We would show up together at a few town events, meet up for lunch or dinner maybe twice a week, and do our best to convince the good folks of Mistletoe that we’re booed up. It’ll be a piece of cake.”
“Then at the end of the summer our romance will fizzle out? Is that what you’re thinking?”
He nodded. “Yes, that would be the plan.”
She nibbled on her fingernail, an old habit she couldn’t seem to break when nerves got the best of her. “I don’t know, Luke. It sounds complicated. And isn’t it a bit unrealistic to think we could pull this off in a town filled with so many nosy residents? It wouldn’t take them very long to sniff us out.”
“I’m confident we could pull it off, Stella. It’s not as complex as you might think.” Luke unfolded himself from the love seat and stood up. His height added to his overall impact. He was an impressive-looking man, from his chiseled features to his well-honed body. “I should get going so you can think things through. Thanks for hearing me out.”
“Of course,” she said, standing up and walking him toward the door. When she pulled it open, Luke paused in the doorway for a moment before turning back toward her. She looked up at him, admiring the strong tilt of his jaw and his chiseled features. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t want to pretend date this too-handsome-for-his-own-good Navy SEAL?
He held out his cell phone. “Before I forget, can you put your number in my phone?”
Stella took the phone from Luke and quickly added her information. When she handed the phone back, their fingers touched, making Stella very conscious of his nearness. If the mere touching of their hands made her shiver, she couldn’t imagine what a kiss might stir up inside her. A little sigh escaped her lips. It had been such a long time since she’d been kissed. And she would bet her last dollar that Luke Keegan knew how to kiss a girl senseless. Her eyes drifted to his lips for what felt like the hundredth time. She was living proof of what it did to a person to go too long without being kissed.
His oh-so-perfect lips curved upward into a smile. “I’ll be in touch soon, Stella. Have a good night.”
Luke’s voice brought her back to her senses. “Night, Luke,” she responded, feeling a bit relieved that he would soon be out of her vicinity. He was pure temptation with his perfect lips, amazing facial features, and russet-colored skin. And she didn’t even want her mind to dwell on his perfectly honed physique. Like the commercial said, milk did a body good.
He walked off into the night, quickly disappearing into the darkness once he stepped away from her porch. As soon as Stella closed the door and walked past the living room, she spotted Luke’s sweatshirt. He’d accidentally left it behind. She picked it up and ran back to the front door, just in time to see the rear lights of Luke’s truck as he drove away. Stella fingered the fabric as the scent of pine once again rose to her nostrils. Longing swept over her and she didn’t quite know what to make of it. Being in Luke’s presence had the same effect on her as riding the tilt-a-whirl at the carnival.
It had been ages since she’d felt butterflies like this. Not since Rafe. And she couldn’t stop the niggle of fear that she and Luke would end in exactly the same way: with her heart smashed into a million little pieces.
Chapter Nine
Luke woke up the next morning to a picture-perfect late-June day. The sun was shining. Not a cloud was visible in the sky, which was so blue it reminded him of a robin’s egg. A slight breeze swept across his face. Waking up in Mistletoe was a far cry from being in Afghanistan. This time of year it was a hot eighty-six degrees over there, with Maine being a bit balmier in the high seventies. He couldn’t wait to take his first swim of the season soon at Blackberry Beach. Maybe he could ask Stella to join him, although she might not want to give her nosy neighbor any more fodder for gossip.
Last night Nick had asked him to watch Miles today while he was working a search and rescue. “You sure you’re okay with babysitting tomorrow?” Nick had asked. “They want me to head out to Acadia Park in the morning. My sitter can come on Wednesday and take over until I’m back.”
Luke hadn’t hesitated to reassure Nick. “I would love to hang out with the little man. I’m jobless and have no place to go at the moment, so you can call off the sitter. At some point I’ve got to figure something out long-term.” He sighed. “I never thought I’d be out of commission at my age. I planned to retire with gray hair and a gut.” In truth, Luke had always pictured himself being one of the longest-serving Navy SEALs. But life had a way of kicking you in the butt when you least expected it.
“Sounds like you have a lot of savings, which is great,” Nick said. Luke had told him about his healthy savings account as well as his retirement money. Losing his SEAL career wasn’t about money for Luke. He needed something to get up in the morning for—a vocation he could be proud of. Despite the inherent dangers of his career, Luke had always been proud of his service. Now, he had a gigantic void in his life, and he needed to focus on how to fill it up.
“I’m thinking about flipping some houses,” he’d told Nick. He’d come up with the idea after reading an article from theNew York Timesabout successful house flippers in the New England area. He knew he was probably grasping at straws with the house flipping idea, but he needed to do something to help jump-start his new life. There were so few career options open to him as a retired SEAL.
“That’s a big undertaking.” Nick’s expression had been shuttered, but Luke knew his brother well enough to read between the lines. He sounded skeptical. Luke couldn’t blame him. What did he really know about flipping houses other than watching the occasional episode ofFlip or FloporFixer Upper? It was all fun and games until he invested in a property he couldn’t sell. Or the repairs were too costly to turn a profit. Truthfully, the only thing he’d ever been passionate about was serving his country, and he could no longer fulfill the duties of his former job. He needed to find something to bring in an income stream and to keep him occupied. Life in Mistletoe might get stale if all he did was visit the Coffee Bean, hang out with his nephew, and play sudoku games.
“Honestly, I could totally see you being part of the search and rescue team,” Nick said, his gaze full of intensity. “Does that appeal to you at all? It’s totally in your wheelhouse as far as I’m concerned.”
