Sure enough, the rain had stopped as quickly as it had started. “Just be careful. The roads are slick.”
“I will.” She dashed to get her fiddle case out of the car, then laid it carefully in the wicker basket on her bike’s handlebars. “Bye, Luc,” she said with a cheerful wave, having recovered her spirits, for which he was grateful. He still felt like the worst of heels for almost making her cry.
“What was she doing here?” Loretta asked.
“Well, she said she was here to catch crawdads.” He pointed to the bucket, where the seven unfortunate crustaceans languished in an inch of brown water. “But I think her true purpose was to ask my intentions toward you.”
Loretta’s hand went to her mouth, stifling a gasp. “What did you say?”
“I told her you and I…that it wasn’t meant to be.”
Loretta rubbed the back of her neck. “I guess she needed to hear it from both of us. She was okay, wasn’t she?”
“She almost cried. I feel horrible.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I never had a little girl want me for a daddy before. It’s a weird feeling. Humbling. She’s an amazing child, Loretta. You’re so lucky to have her.”
“I know. And I’m a terrible mother.”
“Will you stop saying that?”
“How much time do you think would have passed before I missed her? I didn’t feed her lunch, I forgot all about her fiddle lesson.”
“And you forgot your own lunch, too, I’ll bet.”
Loretta put a hand to her flat stomach. “I guess I did.”
Luc grabbed her arm and dragged her inside. “I’m feeding you, no arguments. You’re a mess, you know that? You’re completely stressed out.”
She didn’t argue. She followed him meekly, sat where he instructed, and let him wait on her. This time he added baked chicken to the Brie and grapes and fixed himself a small plate, too.
“I’m overwhelmed,” she admitted after stripping most of the meat from a chicken breast and eating like a starving woman. “I thought I could handle coordinating the food and the dinner, but it’s too much for me. Just because I can bake a loaf of bread doesn’t mean I know how to do this job. I’m not good with numbers-it’s a wonder the bakery isn’t bankrupt, the way I keep my financial records.”
“You’re trying to do the work of an entire committee by yourself, in addition to running a business and raising a daughter. No wonder you’re overstretched. Let me help. Why don’t you concentrate on the vendors and let me worry about the dinner?”
He could tell she wanted to accept his offer, but she hesitated.
“It’s called delegating. As a committee chair, you’re allowed to do that. You can bring me up to speed tomorrow at our meeting.”
She looked like a bunny about to get snagged by a hawk. “Meeting?”
“To plan our booth?”
“Oh. Oh, right. I’ve completely lost my memory.”
“Stress will do that to you. Let me deal with some of your problems. Hell, let me talk to Bryan. You’ll have a firm price on those crawfish in no time.”
“Really?”
“I know how to deal with difficult vendors.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because I’ve been in the hotel business for-”
“No, I mean, why are you being so nice to me? When I’ve been perfectly horrible to you? Fickle and flaky and inconsiderate-”
“I thought you were done beating up on yourself.”
She looked down at her lap. “Someone’s responsible for the mess I’m making of my life these days.”
“I’m offering to help because I can’t stand to see you unhappy. You or Zara. I want to see you smile.”
She reached over and took his hand, squeezing it hard. “I’ll accept your offer, then.” When she looked up, her smile reminded him of the sun when it came out after a brief storm-intense enough to warm his cold heart.
Suddenly, he realized there was something that could keep him in one place, something that could stop him from wanting to roam the world. Something that was better than anything he might find in the far corners of the earth.
Loretta’s smile.
CHAPTER TEN
LORETTA FELT SOMETHING go ca-thunk inside her chest. Why was Luc looking at her that way? And why couldn’t she stop looking at him?
And why was she still holding on to his hand when she’d only meant to give it a squeeze?
The space in Luc’s kitchen seemed to shrink to the few cubic feet they occupied. Everything in her peripheral vision faded until there was only Luc’s face, with his slightly crooked nose and the scar on his chin and the sandy hair in need of a trim. It was a handsome face, filled with character and wisdom beyond his years.
She couldn’t stop herself. She reached up with her free hand to touch his cheek, as if she could hold on to that character and capture some of that wisdom for herself.
“Loretta…” The single word dripped with caution. But he didn’t pull away. “We just made a difficult decision, you and I, not to do this.”
“I know.”
“I’m trying to come to terms with it. So is Zara.”
Now he was pulling out the big guns. “I know.”
“I do not have enough willpower to say no to you.”
“Good.” She literally threw herself at him, kissing him with the longing and desperation that had been building inside her for days. It was no good denying herself, it just made her crazy. His response was not gentle. He stood and yanked her up so he could press her against the refrigerator. He kissed her like a crazy man, running his hands up and down her body. Her nipples hardened painfully against her bra.
“This is not fair to either one of us,” he said.
“I’ll make it fair. Any terms you want. I can’t stand it anymore. Please, where’s your bedroom?”
That put an end to his arguments. He swung her up into his arms and strode out of the kitchen and into a small suite of rooms that were obviously his living quarters. The décor was far more Spartan here than in the rest of the house, with white walls, a pine dresser and a plain iron bed.
It was the bed she focused on. There was no shy striptease, no laughter, no hesitation of any kind. She wanted possession. If loving Luc was wrong, then she didn’t want to do the right thing, the sensible thing.
He very nearly tore her clothes off, and did manage to pop a button on her blouse. It pinged across the bare cypress floor. Even as he stripped off her clothes, he kept kissing her…hot, undisciplined kisses. She felt no embarrassment, only a sense that this moment was preordained.
She wanted Luc. She wanted him for as long as he would have her.
He lifted her up and practically threw her onto his bed, the sweet, pastel-colored antique quilt a sharp contrast to the intensity of their feelings.
“Don’t move.” He stepped into the bathroom and came back out holding a plastic bag from a pharmacy in New Iberia. “After I left your place last week, I drove all the way to New Iberia to get these.” He dropped a large box of condoms onto the bed. He was letting her know, in no uncertain terms, that he’d had plans for the two of them, plans she’d ruined.
She knew she couldn’t change her mind again. Maybe Luc wasn’t the settling-down, marrying type, but that didn’t mean he had a heart of stone.
“We’ll use them all.”
At that, the last of his anger dissipated. He shucked his jeans and fell on top of her. The weight of him, his heat, his pure maleness met a need in her she couldn’t describe, hadn’t known existed until this moment.
She wanted him now, hot and fast. She knew he was ready-kind of hard to miss. She spread her legs and rocked side to side until he was settled between them. Grabbing one of the condoms, she ripped open the package with her teeth and handed it to him. “Do it now.”
Her hunger excited him. His eyes darkened, and she strained her hips upward to meet him, to urge him on. He plunged inside her.