My Ex-Boyfriend’s Brothers (Ex Marks the Spot)

9. Maggie

9

***Maggie***

L uke nodded at Gregor and Gregor silently retreated to the kitchen while Luke turned his full attention on me, eyes narrowed. “You look like the kind of girl who deserves to be spoiled. You look like the kind of girl who needs a hearty meal if she’s going to keep all of those perfect curves. Whatever Brad did or said to make you think that eating a cheeseburger and ice cream is wrong, let it go. The real Heath men know how to appreciate a woman and all her assets.”

I stared back at him, in shock. He’d never said anything like that to me before. I’d only ever known him to be polite and professional. I wasn’t sure I could handle the version of Luke sitting in front of me. He was intense and it made my cheeks burn and my lady parts sing for attention. Which they had no right doing.

“How’s your mom?” Sitting back and continuing the small talk like he hadn’t just called my curves perfect , Luke took a big bite of his burger and spoke around it. “Last I heard, she was moving out of your apartment but no one said why.”

That killed whatever flutter my lady parts had been feeling. I let my shoulders fall as I took a long drink from my float to buy myself some time to build up the emotional barricades I needed to talk about Mom. “Um, yeah. She moved out. She had a stroke and needed full-time care. I wanted her to stay but… She didn’t want me taking care of her.”

“Shit, Maggie.” Blowing out a heavy sigh, Luke pushed his own float closer to me. “How’s she doing now?”

“Better.” I stared across the dining hall at the wall of windows overlooking the lake. It was so dark out that I couldn’t see the lake, but I knew it was there. “She regained her speech surprisingly fast. Her doctors don’t think much of the function in her right arm and leg will return, though. The damage was pretty extensive, I guess.”

“Did her insurance cover physical therapy?”

I laughed but it sounded pathetically sad. “No. It covered putting her in the worst nursing home in the state. They basically wanted her to just rot and die. I’m paying for her to be at a place that’s better than the worst but it’s a far cry from what she could have. I’m trying to have her moved to a place in Helena. The facility there has a really amazing team of doctors who are known for their work with TBIs.”

Without missing a beat, Luke offered more than anyone else ever had. “Tell me what you need and I’ll take care of it.”

I picked up a fry and sighed. “I really know how to bring a mood down, huh?”

“Fuck the mood.” He lifted his float to my lips. “Drink.”

Our gazes locked as I took his straw between my lips and did as he said. He licked his lips and I sucked in too fast, nearly choking on root beer. I pulled away and coughed, torn between laughing and crying. I chose laughter.

“You know what? I’m going to stay in my seat. You stay in your seat. Let’s just eat our meal in silence before I accidentally kill you.” He pulled the float to his mouth and drank from the same straw I’d just had in my mouth. “It’s been a while but I think I used to be smoother than this.”

Like a middle schooler, I was so focused on the fact that our lips had been in the same place that I almost missed what he said. I stopped with a fry halfway to my mouth. What did that mean? Was he trying to be smooth? With me?

“Eat, Maggie.” He was definitely laughing at me but for some reason, I didn’t mind. His grin was so devastating that I suddenly wanted to become his jester, just to see it all the time.

I downed my burger and most of my fries before coming up for air again. Somehow, being around Luke made my appetite ravenous. When I sat back and rubbed my stomach, I glanced up and saw that he was watching me. “What?”

“I’m just thinking.”

I raised my eyebrows. “About?”

“About how much harder it is to be a gentleman when you’re no longer dating my brother.” He stood up and leaned down so he was very much in my space. The rich scent of leather tickled my senses as he lifted his hand and used his thumb to wipe the corner of my mouth. “Open.”

My body was so eager to do whatever he wanted that I immediately opened my mouth. He eased his thumb past my lips and I watched a muscle in his jaw tick when I ran my tongue over it. I only realized what I was doing when a loud sound from the kitchen jarred me back to my senses. I slowly sat back and let his thumb slip free.

Luke sat back down and cleared his throat. “You had something-”

“You smell like a cow!”

He stopped talking and stared at me. “What?”

I closed my eyes and shook my head, officially mortified. “I meant that you smell like leather. I… I should get back to my room and get some rest. Like you said, it’s going to be a long two weeks.”

“Can I walk you to your cabin?” The fire in his gaze spelled out danger to my panties.

My voice came out squeaky when I answered. “I’m actually staying in the lodge. My room is not too far away. Thank you, though. I’m going to go.”

He watched me with a slow smile stretching his lips. “Goodnight, Maggie. Sweet dreams.”

I grabbed the plate with the cake and a fork. “Goodnight to you, too. And to Gregor. Tell him that I said thank you, please. And that I stole your cake. I’m sorry. It’s just that I need it. I’m going to leave now.”

The sound of his quiet laughter did funny things to my stomach as I booked it out of there. Like a wild animal, as soon as I got to the hallway where he couldn’t see me, I ducked my head and took a bite of the cake right off the plate. I couldn’t help it. Luke had just put his thumb in my mouth and I’d sucked it clean. My mouth had a lot of nerve. His thumb had a lot of nerve. I just wasn’t sure either of us had any sense.