Anything but Love

Luke escorted her to his car, although it wasn’t one she recognized.

“New?” she asked.

“Women shop for clothes when they’re bored,” Luke said. “With men, it’s vehicles or sports equipment. I also have a new set of snow skis.”

Rae almost smiled at that. Was Luke trying to strike a truce by sharing something personal? He’d been bored. That seemed unusual for a man who had dozens of friends and maintained close contact with his family. From all she’d seen and heard, Luke was always on the go, always involved with one or another social event. Always juggling multiple girlfriends. He also put in more than forty hours a week at the Sugar Shack. His life was full. How could he be bored?

Filing away the notion, Rae acknowledged another surge of heat as Luke helped her up into the dark blue Honda SUV. She was surprised by the brand. Most locals bought American. She was also surprised to see an iPod connected to an USB audio interface. Luke wasn’t much of a gadget guy. “Stocked with your playlist?”

“Audiobooks. Prefer listening to reading.” Stone-faced he closed the door and rounded the hood.

Rae’s chest tightened. They’d yet to address his reading disorder. She knew he was touchy about it. Most anyone afflicted was. She also knew he suspected she knew but she was determined to allow him to be the one to broach the subject. The last thing she wanted was to make him feel self-conscious or judged.

“Here’s the thing,” Luke said after climbing in and buckling up.

Rae waited. And waited. After what seemed like a lifetime she lifted a brow. “What? What’s the thing, Luke?”

“I don’t know.”

She blinked at him.

“I don’t know, dammit.” He keyed the ignition and adjusted the heat. “You blindsided me with this baby news. I need to wrap my mind around it.”

“No surprise there. No problem. Take your time and get back to me when you have a handle on your … thoughts.” The mention of the baby rattled her. She’d been in business mode all day, and she had this pending meeting with Rocky. She wanted to get it over with, wanted to know where she stood with the club. She did not want to be focused on the fact that she was pregnant with Rocky’s niece or nephew. Things were awkward enough. “My appointment?” Rae prompted.

“Right.” He shifted into reverse. “Where am I taking you?”

“Daisy’s house. I mean your sister’s house. I want to talk to her about the Cupcake Lovers.”

“Care to fill me in on how you think you can help them with their book deal?”

“Sure.”

“Really?”

“You look shocked. It’s not a secret.”

“Maybe not, but you have to admit you’re not the most forthcoming person in the world.”

“Guilty as charged.” Rae settled her purse in her lap and focused through the windshield as Luke pulled out of the snow-drifted lot and onto the plowed road. He’d offered a little something about himself. Maybe she should do the same. He was, after all, the father of her child. Even though they’d known each other for a year, they barely knew each other at all.

“Here’s the thing,” she said, borrowing Luke’s phrase. “I’m guarded. I’ve been guarded for a very long time. Because of my background, the life I’ve led, the people I’ve dealt with … I don’t trust easily. I’m not big on sharing my feelings because they usually end up getting trampled. I’m not fond of sharing personal information or even general opinions because they almost always end up twisted or manipulated or in the tabloids. That’s my story and it’s not likely to change anytime soon.”

She waited for him to jump all over that. You’re pulling the poor-little-rich-girl card?

He glanced over. “You’re also the most complicated woman I’ve ever met.” His eyes sparked with something she couldn’t quite discern. Curiosity? Wariness? “Sam came to see me.”

Hello, mental whiplash. “And?”

“He’s still hot for you, Rae. You have to tell him you’re off-limits.”

Luke’s revelation was unsettling on two levels. Rae addressed the latter. “Why?”

“Because you are. Because you’re pregnant. With my baby.”

“I know my situation, Luke.”

“He’s my cousin for chrissake.”

“Is that why you’re upset? Because Sam’s family? What if Adam asked me out? Or any other guy in town— local or transient? I’m a free agent, Luke. Just like you. Just because we hooked up—”

“If you say, it was just sex—”

“Well wasn’t it?” Rae worked hard to keep her heart out of her eyes as she met Luke’s gaze. She couldn’t deny to herself that she was infatuated with Luke, even though he’d been a jerk back in Bel Air, but she wasn’t about to admit her tender feelings, unless.… Was it possible he felt something, too?

Luke dragged a hand down his face then focused back on the road. “Getting back to Sam. Don’t you think it’s unfair to give him false hope? Thinking he might have a future with you, only to learn a month down the line that you’re pregnant with another man’s baby? My baby?”

Rae wasn’t altogether sure why Luke’s observation ticked her off. He was right about Sam. Not that she intended to lead the man on. “For what it’s worth, I told Sam I’m not interested in an intimate relationship. He promised he wouldn’t press the issue.”

“He doesn’t have to press. He’s patient.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s his secret weapon. Patience.”

Rae rolled her eyes. Luke made it sound as though Sam was a crafty Casanova. A game player. The man was, in fact, a straight shooter. Calculated seduction wasn’t his style.

Luke on the other hand … Luke Monroe was the biggest flirt in town. He loved women and women loved him. He had a long history of maintaining simultaneous casual sexual relationships. No doubt he had a playbook of various seductions. Rae was beginning to rethink her willingness to permanently relocate to Sugar Creek. She’d been thinking about how much she loved the area, the people. She’d been thinking this would be a nice place to raise her child and that her child deserved to know the love of her/his father.

She hadn’t been thinking about what it would feel like watching Luke carrying on as always with his revolving girlfriends.

Rae’s temples throbbed. She was fatigued. She was hungry. And she was more than a little frustrated with the situation. “Listen, Luke. I know how devoted you are to your family.” It was one of his most attractive qualities. “I’m not going to hurt Sam, if that’s what’s worrying you. My focus is on reestablishing Sugar Tots and hopefully helping the Cupcake Lovers. That, and reaching some sort of understanding with you regarding my baby.”

Luke steered the SUV into the driveway of the magnificent old Colonial that Rae had known as Daisy’s home. Thank God. She’d reached her emotional limit for today. Three-quarters to numb, at least she wasn’t as worried now about her meeting with Rocky.

“I’d mind,” Luke said as Rae unbuckled her seat belt. “If you went out with Adam,” he added when she cast him a questioning look. “Or anyone else. I can’t help it. It bothers me. You’re pregnant with my baby.”

Rae’s stomach knotted. She was picking up a theme here. A theme that revolved around her behaving in an expected manner. Not because Luke had feelings for her, but because she was the mother of his child. Period. She shouldn’t have expected more, but dammit, she’d hoped.

“If you think I’m going to be celibate for the rest of my life, think again.” She plowed on, needing him to know she wasn’t a doormat or easily manipulated. “I’m not saying I’m looking to get involved with someone now, but if an attraction happens to flare, I’m not going to ignore it.” She pushed open the door, heart pounding as she issued a parting plea. “Please don’t come inside and please don’t wait. I’ll call a cab when I’m ready to leave. And Luke,” she said, willing every fiber of dignity and calm, “don’t seek me out again until you’ve thought this out. Either you want to me to settle in Sugar Creek so you can play an active and constant role in your child’s life, or you don’t. This isn’t about us. There is no us.” He’d made that pretty clear as far as Rae was concerned. “This is about the baby.”