Do Date Your Handsome Rival (Jewel Family Romance Book 3) Page 4

  As this last thought swirled through her mind, she gasped for air and pulled back. Luke quickly straightened, looking down at her with shock in his blue eyes. Mar pulled in a ragged breath and wished she could kiss him all over again. Yet … love? Had she really gone there? Was she that desperate for love and family that she’d fancy herself in love with a man she hardly knew? It scared her. She’d dated a lot of men, tried her hand with different semi-serious relationships, but never fancied herself in love with any of them.

  Pulling completely from his arms, she forced a sassy smile on her face and said, “Thank you for fulfilling my wish.”

  Luke cleared his throat and nodded quickly, his blue eyes far too serious. “You’re welcome.”

  The moment between them had shattered. Mar wished they could recreate it, but she was too afraid. She’d assumed this would be a shallow, fun, light connection between them. They’d kiss and happily go their separate ways. The incredible power behind that kiss couldn’t simply be ignored, but she had no clue what to do about it. If she alluded to a tenth of what she was feeling, Luke would probably push her into the fountain and run the other direction. If there was any truth to the Internet search she’d done on him, he was a player who had never focused on any one woman. She’d known that going in. Why did it hurt so bad now?

  She walked toward the park exit and back to her house. Luke stayed by her side, and they chatted about all the fun things they’d done the past day and a half. It was a comfortable conversation. She shouldn’t notice that he didn’t touch her. She shouldn’t notice that neither of them referenced the kiss again. She shouldn’t be sad that he was leaving her tomorrow.

  As he left her on her doorstep with a smile and a thank-you, she noticed all those things and more. Somehow the emptiness inside her was even worse after experiencing a kiss and a connection like that, since she knew she probably wouldn’t feel either again.

  Chapter Five

  Luke frowned at himself as he got dressed for church Sunday morning in his suite at the Four Seasons. The last couple of days had been a whirlwind of activity and fun, orchestrated and directed by Mar. She was a bundle of energy, smart, successful, beautiful, fun, kind … everything he’d ever wanted in a woman. Their kiss last night had shaken him to the core, but obviously it was just another kiss to the spicy, sassy Marietta Valez. She’d flirted with him before and then after pulled away from him and thanked him as if it were all some fun game. He’d thought it was a fun game as well, up until he’d kissed her and his world had spun on its axis. He hadn’t experienced a kiss like that since … Tracey.

  Shaking his head, he knotted his tie and hurried to his computer. He wasn’t in the market to settle down with a woman, no matter how impressive or intriguing she might be. No matter that she felt like his missing piece when he’d held her close and shared the kiss to end all kisses. Gah! He was being dramatic and putting far too much stock in something that probably meant nothing. He’d flirted with and kissed dozens of women since Tracey, and all of that had been meaningless fun. Why was he so stirred up by Mar’s kiss?

  He had a few minutew before he needed to meet Isaac and Cosette in the lobby, so he settled down and checked the emails that had been cleared by his assistant and approved for him to spend the time reading. There were a few interesting businesses to look at, but one of them stood out. A well-known actress, Selena Sapphire, wanted to sell him her perfume business. It was named after her, which was probably most of the reason for its success. She wanted the liquid cash to boost her retirement and didn’t want to deal with the headaches of the business anymore. He looked at the attached profit and loss statements. It looked good, so he sent off a quick email wondering if she would be willing to meet with him.

  Luke stood and looked out over the cluster of downtown buildings as he thought about it. Cosette and Mar could advise him about the ins and outs of the perfume business. He would love to have any reason to discuss business with Mar. From the first time they’d talked at Cosette and Isaac’s wedding, she’d impressed him. She wasn’t just smart; she was levelheaded and saw things clearly. There were a lot of brilliant people out there who either had no solid work ethic, no head for business, or couldn’t see a vision. Mar could do all three, and more. Why did she have to be so perfect for him in every sense? Why had she pulled away from that kiss and then simply chatted as they walked back to her house as if their connection meant nothing, as if she had no clue that he wanted to drop to his knees and propose then and there?

  Glancing back at his computer before he walked out, he saw that Selena had replied quickly. She wanted him to come meet with her on Monday, at her summer home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

  The air whooshed out of Luke’s lungs, and he sat back down. Jackson Hole. He hadn’t been back since he’d walked away shortly after high school graduation. His mom liked the family to get together once a quarter at her and Dad’s different homes, but Luke always managed to miss the Jackson Hole reunion. He’d loved growing up in the beautiful, remote spot. He’d loved the Teton mountains, exploring on mountain bikes, dirt bikes, snowboards, and skis.

  There was only one reason he’d never returned. Tracey Littlefield. He’d fancied himself in love with her the spring of their senior year. She was a gorgeous blonde who had quickly captured him. She had a lot of attitude and fire in her. They’d gotten out of control and gone too far the night of prom, and the guilt afterward had about killed him. He’d begged her to forgive him for losing control and told her they couldn’t date any longer. Not that he didn’t want to be with her, but he felt too much guilt for his mistake, for not treating her with respect like his parents had taught him. She’d cussed him up one side and down the other and stormed away.

  Luke had worked with his pastor to repent and eventually started feeling as if he’d been forgiven. He’d started making plans for school and starting the businesses he’d always dreamt of. The weekend before graduation, Tracey had found him at a friend’s house and told him that she was pregnant, upending his world again. He’d been in such shock that he hadn’t responded at all that night. He’d stared at her, openmouthed, until she’d again cursed him and stormed away.

  Again he’d gone to his pastor, and they’d worked through changing his life plan to focus on marrying Tracey and raising their child together. He was excited to be married to Tracey and to be a father. He could still be a successful entrepreneur and an amazing father.

  He’d sought Tracey out the night of their high school graduation, prepared to tell her his plan, propose, and hope she said yes. Before he could get a word out, she’d informed him that she’d miscarried the baby and he didn’t need to worry about the baby any longer; nor would he need to worry about her, as she’d be marrying Mike Birmingham after graduation. He’d been as stunned as he’d been by the pregnancy bombshell. Sick and disoriented, he hadn’t said a word as she’d turned her back on him.

  He’d left town a couple of days later and never returned. Was it time to go back and face his past? He hadn’t heard any more about Tracey. It wasn’t like their families ran in the same circles. His parents stayed in Jackson Hole most of the summer, but if they ever saw Tracey, they didn’t say anything to him about it. He’d never told his parents about his mistake, so they had no reason to suspect that he still sometimes reminisced about a girl they’d probably thought he’d only had a high school romance with.

  When he thought about Tracey, he sometimes felt a longing for what might have been. It was silly, as he’d only had a few days to wrap his mind around it and he’d been so young, but he’d wanted to be a husband and a father. He’d wanted that baby more than any of the companies he’d started or acquired throughout the years or all the money he’d made. He still worked to push away that ache and that need.

  Scrubbing at his beard, he shut the laptop, said a prayer to forget the memories, and hurried from the room to meet Isaac and Cosette before heading to the church to meet Mar. Demons from the past had succeeded in almost makin
g him forget about that dynamic kiss with Mar. Almost.

  Jackson Hole. It’d been over nine years now. He still didn’t know that he was strong enough to go back.

  Mar noticed a marked difference between the Luke who’d kissed her last night and the Luke she sat by in church Sunday morning. He’d given her the kiss to end all kisses, and then they’d both pulled away and not discussed it. She’d hoped that maybe today she could feel him out, see if the kiss had meant anything to him or if he’d kissed so many women that a simple kiss couldn’t touch him. Yet there was nothing simple about that kiss.

  Church and brunch went well, but Luke was a little distant. Maybe he was stirred up by the kiss, but it seemed like something different was going on. Throughout brunch, he asked her and Cosette multiple questions about their business, complimenting them over and over again on their success and ingenuity.

  As they walked out into a chilly San Francisco June day, Mar hid a surge of disappointment. The weekend had been fun, but she had obviously not impressed Luke, or he wouldn’t have written their kiss off and then gotten more distant as today progressed. She kept telling herself it wasn’t a big deal; she was busy and fulfilled and didn’t need what Isaac and Cosette had, though she was thrilled with her friend’s happiness. At the same time … This was Luke Jewel. He was handsome, brilliant, successful, fun, thoughtful, and had kissed her in a way she’d never felt before. There was also the fact that she was decidedly lonely without Cosette around. That must be what it was. Maybe the kiss hadn’t been as incredible as she remembered it. Maybe she was simply tired of being lonely.

  They all paused on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, Friends with Benedicts. Mar knew the plan. Isaac, Cosette, and Luke were catching an Uber to pick up their luggage at the hotel and then on to the airport, where Isaac and Cosette would catch a commercial flight back to Florida and Luke would get on his private jet and go back to his home base in Colorado. She’d walk home. It wasn’t far, only a few blocks away. She’d go home and be lonely the rest of this beautiful Sunday. Maybe she’d walk to the Presidio and watch other people have fun with their friends and family.

  Mar gave Isaac a quick hug and then clung to Cosette. “Thanks for coming,” she whispered in her friend’s ear. “It meant the world to me.”

  “I loved every minute,” Cosette said. She drew back and squeezed her hands. “I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

  “Love you,” Mar repeated. She craved those words, and only Cosette had sincerely given them to her. A dozen or more men had tried to profess their love to Mar, but she’d recognized that it was fake and they were only hoping for more action. If a man ever uttered those words with sincerity, she’d be in huge danger of falling and never getting back up. She’d thought those words last night when she was kissing Luke.

  Shaking the desire for him away, she turned to Luke, and he extended a hand. A hand? No hug? She wasn’t going to beg for another kiss with Isaac and Cosette looking on, but surely he could give her a hug.

  They shook hands, all formal and stupid, and he smiled placidly at her. “Thank you for being our tour guide. It was a great weekend.”

  “It was,” she agreed. Was that all she was to him? A tour guide? Okay. She could handle it. So why did it hurt so bad? “Thanks for coming,” she forced out.

  He released her hand and stepped back. “Take care,” he said. His voice sounded warm and friendly, but she was horrified to be written off so easily. What had she expected? She knew from all her online research that he’d never even had a girlfriend, never went on more than one date with a woman. Why did she think she was so special? Past experience should’ve drilled into her that she wasn’t special. At all.

  “That’s our Uber,” Isaac said, pointing.

  Mar held on to her smile as she got one more hug from Cosette and they all disappeared into the black sport utility. She waved until the car turned down the block and disappeared from sight. Blinking quickly, she held the tears at bay as she turned and slunk away. She intended to walk back to her house, but he knew she’d get depressed if she went inside. Even though there was the usual chill in the air, the sun had burned off the fog and she could sit and read in her rooftop garden. No … sitting just wouldn’t work for her right now. She headed the other direction.

  Why was she always alone? She sniffled and kept walking down the city streets and through the beautiful Presidio. Just as she’d guessed, there were numerous people enjoying the open green spaces of the park and the beach areas on this Sunday afternoon. She bought herself a mango lemonade and walked around, pretending she was heading to find her friends or family and not miserably alone. Somehow it stung even more after sharing that beautiful kiss with Luke. She knew that no one would ever measure up to him—and not just in kissing ability—and he’d easily walked away from her.

  The lemonade burned its way down her throat, or maybe that was the stupid tears she was holding back. She hated crying. It had been a sign of weakness that other children pounced upon in foster care and school, and Mar was not a crier.

  She finally threw the lemonade away and headed for home. Somehow, being alone was more miserable when everyone else seemed to have someone.

  As she approached her house, she saw a black sport utility on the curb and a man facing the door. She stopped on the sidewalk and squinted from a block away. Somebody was visiting her? That was weird. She wasn’t currently dating anyone, and while her neighbors were friendly when she saw them, they weren’t “bring over a plate of cookies” friendly. Her heart leapt as her gaze trailed over the man’s strong back in a white button-down dress shirt. Could it be …?

  The man turned and started back to the car. Mar saw his face and gasped.

  “Luke!” she yelled, running toward him as if he were her lifelong love. Maybe he was. He’d come back for her. Her smile was so big her face almost hurt. She sprinted like she’d never sprinted, and in five-inch heels to boot.

  His head snapped toward her and he grinned, jogging her direction. She reached him and crashed into him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leapt into his embrace. His hands came around her back and held her suspended from the ground. He hugged her tightly for a few seconds, and everything was suddenly right in her world. Luke had come. He’d come!

  He still held her off the ground, but he tilted his head and asked, “Happy to see me?”

  “Yes!” Mar nodded vigorously, happiness coursing through her. He’d come back for her. Maybe he loved her like she thought she loved him. It was crazy, insane, but crazier things had happened. Oh, the good Lord was so blessing her for going to church and all the money she and Cosette donated to various charities.

  Luke set her on her feet, released her, and straightened up.

  “What are you doing here?” she gasped out. She was still out of breath from running. She liked to walk a lot, but she rarely ran. She left the running to Cosette. Now she was even more out of breath from the wonderful feeling of being held by Luke and then the awful feeling of him releasing her without a kiss.

  “I have a … business proposition for you.”

  Mar flinched backward as if he’d slapped her. That was why he’d come back? He’d implied last night that kissing her was more important to him than his businesses. Obviously not. She would’ve kissed him right now. She would’ve taken him in her house and kissed him some more. She’d kiss him anytime, anyplace, and he wanted to proposition her about business. The nerve! Her and Cosette’s business was flourishing. What could he possibly propose that would be intriguing to her?

  “What do you mean?” She hated to sound slow, but she felt disjointed and out of place. She needed someone more calm than her to please explain how he’d brought this around to business and why they weren’t kissing.

  “Would you be interested in taking a short trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with me and advising me on a business I’m looking at buying?” Luke looked the epitome of the professional, impressive businessman with his tailored clothes and his han
dsome face cracked in a placid, unemotional smile. Unemotional. She could give him some emotion.

  “I’ve got to work,” she said shortly, though the lame, needy part of her wanted to tell him yes, she’d go anywhere he offered to take her. Shut up, she told that weak-sauce part. She’d ignored that alter ego on so many occasions, you’d think it’d give up and wilt away.

  Luke’s smile grew into a beguiling grin. “Take a couple of days off, please. Jackson Hole is beautiful this time of year. We’ll go hiking, mountain biking, ride the ski lift up, and savor the view. There are amazing restaurants, and if you’re crazy enough, I’ll take you jumping off a cliff into the coldest, clearest water you’ll ever jump into. Please.”

  Mar studied him. What was his motivation? He’d left and then come back for her. Had he been trying to write off his feelings for her and then changed his mind? Was he inviting her to go with him so they could spend more time together, get to know each other, test out kissing again and see if it was as incredible as the first time? She convinced herself that what he wasn’t saying spoke as loudly as what he was saying. He wanted to be with her. Maybe the business he was buying was just an excuse to be with her so they could explore their relationship.

  Maybe she was a weak, insecure woman inside, but she couldn’t resist spending more time with him. That kiss had been too incredible, and she was sick and tired of being alone. Maybe, just maybe, she was worthy to be with someone as amazing as Luke. She’d never know if she didn’t say … “Yes!” she all but yelled.

  “Sweet. Pack a bag for a few days. Thank you.”

  She wished she dared throw her arms around his neck and kiss him, but she simply smiled and said, “Let’s do this.”

  He smiled back. “It’s going to be fun.”

  Mar hurried in to pack a suitcase. Fun? She liked fun, but that wasn’t all she was after with Luke; she wanted a lot more. She prayed that he wasn’t only asking her along for the fun. If he rejected her after this, it might break her completely.