Overheard (3 page)

Yesterday’s encounter with Keith had only reinforced that she’d made the right decision. She still felt the uncomfortable burn of embarrassment that Luke had stepped in when Keith had gone over the line. She didn’t like Luke seeing yet another of her failures.

Her office door swung open, and she looked up to see Luke standing there. She blinked, wondering if she’d conjured him. She smiled welcomingly.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

He ambled further into her office, his thumbs thrust into his jeans pockets. Jeans that were tightly molded to his muscular legs. His leather jacket hung loosely to his waist, and underneath she could see he wore a simple T-shirt. Obviously a day he wasn’t meeting prospective clients.

“Hey, Gracie,” he said, returning her smile. “I was in the neighborhood and wondered if you wanted to grab lunch with me.”

Her smile widened. “Barbeque?”

He chuckled. “As if I’d suggest anything else.”

She made a grab for her jacket on the floor at her feet before standing. “As long as you’re buying.”

As she rounded the desk, his arm came out, and he pressed his hand to the small of her back to usher her out the door. It was an intimate gesture, one that puzzled her. He was usually all about punching her in the arm or pointing out a nonexistent spot on her shirt so she’d look down and he could chuck her nose.

They walked outside, and Gracie shivered slightly. Damn cold front had moved in overnight. The sky was overcast and gray, and a cold drizzle escaped in fine droplets.

She slid into Luke’s truck and sank into the heated leather seats with a contented sigh. She’d given him hell when he’d bought the truck. Top of the line, tricked out, no expense spared. He spent money like it was nothing. But then he did have a lot of it to burn.

“Cold?” Luke asked as he started the engine and turned the heat on full blast.

She grumbled under her breath and stuck her hands out to the vents. He knew damn well she was freezing her ass off. Anything below fifty degrees and she was breaking out the winter parka.

They drove a few miles to the Barbeque Shack and pulled into the crowded parking lot. Aside from a Mexican restaurant and a hole-in-the-wall burger joint, this was the only other place to eat without driving into the neighboring town. Which was fine with Gracie, because if it wasn’t grilled and slathered with barbeque sauce, it wasn’t worth eating.

Luke walked ahead of her treating her to a look at those very tight jeans stretched across a very nice ass. His hair was all messed up as usual, but that was Luke. The wind blew at it, ruffling it up and sending it scattering across his head. She nearly reached up to smooth it, but caught herself before she did.

He held the door open for her, and she walked by him, sniffing appreciatively as the mixture of leather and the smell that was Luke sifted through her nostrils.

Minutes later, they were sitting at a table by the window sipping their drinks and waiting for their order to come. Luke leaned back in his chair and gazed lazily at her.

“Tell me something, Gracie. How come you and I haven’t ever gone out?”

She nearly choked on her drink. She set it down with a plunk and wheezed as she tried to make the last swallow go down.

“What?” she gasped.

His eyes narrowed. “You heard me.”

“Well hell, Luke, I don’t know what to say.”

Her mind reeled as she stared at him. What on earth had possessed him?

“We like each other, right?”

“Well, of course,” she said crossly. She wasn’t sure she liked where this conversation was heading. Now was not the time for Luke to get some strange bug up his ass.

She was feeling oddly vulnerable after her latest dead-end relationship. Like she was some freak of nature, destined to never find a guy who understood her, much less one who could satisfy her.

“We get along great. We understand each other,” Luke continued.

Yeah, right. If he only knew. He understood she was a nice girl who kept picking the wrong guy. He had no idea that underneath all the sweetness was a woman itching to break out. She was tired of being good. The girl next door. She wanted to be bad. And she was damn sure tired of being viewed as little sister, good pal, hunting and fishing partner.

“Is there a point to all this?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “There is. I’m trying to figure out why we’ve never gone out on a date.”

She stared at him for a long second, debating whether to even go there. But she wasn’t a liar, and she wasn’t big on playing games. So she just told the truth.

“Because you never asked,” she said softly.

They were interrupted by the waitress bringing their plates and dumping them in front of them. Gracie was grateful for the break because Luke was looking at her like he could crawl right under her skin and see everything she was hiding.

The waitress took her sweet time in leaving, and as she started away, she slid a napkin across the table toward Luke. Gracie didn’t give it a single thought until Luke picked it up and looked over his shoulder, a look of surprise on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Gracie asked, finally breaking the silence between them.

Luke turned back around, shaking his head. “She gave me her phone number. Wrote it on the napkin.”

A surge of irritation rippled through her chest. “That’s probably one reason we’ve never gone out,” she muttered.

“But you were sitting right there,” he said, ignoring her comment. “How the hell did she know we weren’t here together, that you aren’t my girlfriend or something?”

Gracie burst out laughing. “Luke, are you feeling well today? I swear you aren’t yourself. Half the town is used to seeing us together. No one’s ever assumed you were interested in me.”

“Well, what do they know?” he growled.

He stared across the table at her, his blue eyes sparking with something she wasn’t used to seeing. At least not when he was looking at her.

“I’m asking now, Gracie.”

She looked dumbly at him. “You want us to go out? As in a real date? I mean because we usually hook up on the weekends anyway.”

He dropped the napkin and leaned forward impatiently. “I mean you and me on a date. No Jeremy, Michelle or Wes. Friday night.”

She blinked in surprise. A peculiar sensation ran circles in her belly. She felt
nervous
. For God’s sake. This was Luke.

A real date. She sank back in her chair, still staring at him like he’d lost his mind.

“Well?”

“Uh…okay. I mean if you really want to. Friday night is okay.”

He smiled then, relaxing back into his seat. His blue eyes held a warm glow, a
triumphant
warm glow.

“All right then. I’ll pick you up around five. We’ll go into Beaumont to eat.”

She nodded, suddenly unable to taste the food she’d stuffed into her mouth. A date. With Luke Forsythe. Her best friend Luke Forsythe. Holy hell. Michelle was going to shit a brick when she heard this.

A mental groan echoed in her head. They’d never hear the end of it from Wes and Jeremy.

“He did what?”

Gracie winced as Michelle nearly shrieked her ear off.

“Holy cow, Gracie, you and Luke?”

“Yeah, I know,” Gracie mumbled as she put the phone back to her ear. Hopefully Michelle’s scream fest was over. “Do me a favor. Don’t tell Jeremy about this. Or Wes.”

“Well, of course I’m going to tell Jeremy. I tell him everything.”

I tell him everything
, Gracie silently mimicked. Hell.

“And then Jeremy will tell Wes, because he tells Wes everything. And then Wes will tell everyone because that’s what he does,” Gracie gritted out.

“Gracie, hon, I hate to tell you this, but within five minutes of you and Luke being seen out on a Friday night when everyone and their mama knows you both always come over here, everyone’s going to know anyway.”

“Fuck me,” Gracie muttered. “I don’t know why the hell I agreed to this. He’s got to be out of his damn mind.”

“Why, because he asked you out? I’d say that’s the first smart thing he’s done in a long time,” Michelle said loyally.

“I just hope it doesn’t screw things up for everyone,” Gracie hedged. “We’ve got a good thing. No need for Luke and me to fuck it up.”

“Oh, please. We’re big kids, Gracie. We can handle a little tension without freaking out and going our separate ways. Stop looking for reasons not to go out with him and just do it. You’ve got to admit he is one sexy beast.”

“You are so not helping here,” Gracie grumbled.

Michelle laughed. “Go. Enjoy yourself. You said yourself, you were tired of being with men who can’t satisfy you. I can’t imagine Luke disappointing a woman in bed. Not with his considerable equipment.”

“Michelle!” Grace’s admonishment nearly strangled her. “What the hell do you know about his equipment?”

“Oh, you are one lying bitch if you tell me you weren’t looking every bit as hard as I was when the men went skinny dipping two summers ago. That was before Jeremy and I got married, and I was staring every chance I got.”

There was a long silence then Michelle burst into laughter. “You were watching. Admit it, Gracie.”

“All right, all right, so I was watching. Hard not to when they were flopping around in the buff.”

“Uh huh. Now tell me you didn’t get an eyeful of his equipment.”

Gracie felt heat rush to her cheeks. She hadn’t thought about that time in a long while. But yeah, she remembered. She’d stared in pure feminine appreciation at the hard bodies and the gorgeous cocks. Watched while they got out and as the water ran down their bodies. Oh yeah, she’d looked. And looked. And lamented that she’d never had one that nice.

A ripple of awareness skittered over her body. Her nipples hardened, and the rings twitched in response.

“Yeah, I got an eyeful.”

There was a long pause before Michelle said, “This is a good thing, Gracie. Maybe…maybe Luke is exactly what you need.”

Gracie licked her lips and felt nervous jitters tickle her stomach. Maybe Michelle was right. After all, no man in her past could ever stack up next to Luke. Luke, well, he was in a class all by himself. So why wasn’t she looking forward to their date?

“Yeah, maybe,” Gracie mumbled. “Look, Chelle, I gotta run. It’s getting late, and I’ve got a ton of shit to do at the office tomorrow.”

They rang off, and Gracie sat there for a long time, thinking about her lunch with Luke. She felt edgy, unsatisfied. Horny as hell. Had Luke done that to her? Had the idea of going out with him in the capacity of something other than a buddy got her all hot and bothered?

She felt a date with BOB coming on. And later, as she relaxed after a BOB-induced orgasm, she was irritated to note that she’d fantasized about Luke the entire time she’d gotten herself off. And his damn equipment.

If that didn’t make her pathetic, she didn’t know what else would.

She looked down one more time at the black sweater she’d chosen. She looked good in black. It went well with her auburn hair. And if she’d squeezed herself into a pair of jeans she hadn’t been able to wear in several months, it certainly wasn’t because she wanted to look hot for Luke. She just didn’t want to look like a fat ass.

She blew a curl out of her face for the hundredth time and wished she’d used more hairspray. But then if they went anywhere with candles or little kerosene lamps on the tables, she’d go up in flames with as much shit as she had in her hair.

Finally, she heard Luke’s truck and headed for the door. She met him halfway across the lawn, and he looked at her in surprise.

“I would have come and gotten you, Gracie.”

She shrugged. “I’m here.”

He took a minute to look her over. “You look nice.”

She smiled at him and willed herself not to shake. “Thanks.”

He guided her back toward the truck and opened her door for her. He got in on his side and turned up the heat before backing out of her driveway.

She studied him as he maneuvered. He must have gone home and shaved because he usually wore a shadow by now. He wore a short-sleeved polo shirt that stretched tightly across his biceps. He worked out regularly with Wes, Jeremy and Jake, something they’d started a year and half back, and the results were downright yummy. She couldn’t wait for the summer when they’d run around shirtless. She hadn’t seen Luke’s six pack since last summer, and it had looked pretty damn good then.

“How does seafood sound?” he asked as he looked over at her.

“Sounds great to me.”

They lapsed into silence, and Gracie wondered if she were the only one who felt the awkwardness between them. If they were going over to Michelle’s, they’d be chatting it up, talking about the work week and the weekend ahead. But they were on a date. And that changed everything.

She let out a small sigh and slouched down in her seat. To her surprise, Luke reached over and slid his hand over hers. He tucked his fingers against her palm and ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

“Relax, Gracie. We can do this.”

“But
why
are we doing this?” she blurted out.

It just seemed so stupid to ruin the easy-going rapport between them. She snuck another glance at him to see him smiling. What the hell was so funny?

He left his hand over hers as they drove into town. When they reached the restaurant, he hopped out of the truck and hurried around to open her door. He reached up to help her down, and she landed close to him. Close enough to smell his cologne and to feel his body heat.

He tucked a curl behind her ear, his fingers glancing over her cheek. “You look beautiful.”

Her face grew warm. Before she could respond, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her toward the entrance. A couple. They were acting just like a couple, and it was weirding her out.

Once inside, Luke ordered fish and she ordered shrimp. They both ordered a beer and sat back to wait on the food.

“So how are we doing so far?” Luke asked as he watched her across the table.

“I don’t know, Luke. I feel like this is a test or something, only I don’t know the rules or what we’re supposed to be doing.”

He leaned forward and stared intently at her, his blue eyes glowing in the dim light. “You’re a gorgeous woman, Gracie. Why do you find it so hard to believe that I’d want to go out with you?”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Maybe because we’ve been friends for years and you’ve never even hinted at it before now?”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t ready.”

“And you are now?”

“Maybe.”

He took a long swallow of his beer and arched one brow at her. “If you’re so unconvinced then why did you agree to go out with me? What is it you want from this?”

Busted. He’d turned the tables on her completely. She licked her lips and thought about what to say.

“I don’t know,” she finally said. “Something about it intrigued me. Maybe a part of me lit up at the idea. I’m confused.”

“That’s what I love so much about you, Gracie,” Luke said.

She laughed. “What, that I’m a confused numb nut?”

“No, that you’re honest. You’re direct. There’s no pretense about you. It’s sexy as hell.”

She blinked in surprise. She hadn’t exactly expected him to say that.

The waitress delivered their food and Gracie dug in, glad to have a distraction from the current conversation. Luke was attracted to her, and she was damn well attracted to him, but it wasn’t as easy as going home and having sex. This was Luke. One of her best friends on earth. His respect meant a lot to her. So did his friendship. She didn’t want to do anything to fuck up either one.

If they had sex and things didn’t work out, how would it affect them? Could they really pick up and go on like it hadn’t happened? Continue to spend as much time together as they did? Go hunting and fishing and hang out at Jeremy and Michelle’s?

“You’re putting way too much thought into this,” Luke said mildly.

She looked up guiltily to see him watching her. “I’m sorry. I’m doing my best to ruin the evening before it even starts.”

“Just relax. We always have a good time together.”

She smiled. “Yeah, we do.”

“Eat up. We’ll take a drive. Go out by the lake and watch the stars.”

“That sounds great,” she said.