His clever black eyes scrutinized her. “So you never let her form attachments simply because you don’t want her hurt?”
Tyler drew in a breath. It hadn’t escaped her notice that he hadn’t contradicted her about his leaving. She’d said
when
, not
if
. “I’m her only parent. I have to protect her.”
“Yes, and you do a damn fine job of that.” He circled her wrist, his firm fingers locating her jumping pulse. “But Tyler, you can’t cut off her friendships just because you assume they won’t last.”
She couldn’t think straight when he literally had his finger on her pulse. Was she too overprotective of Chloe? Wasn’t it a good thing that she’d opened up so naturally with Luke? “It’s just that I’m not used to her connecting so easily with a man that I, uh, I…”
“Have the hots for?” His lips quirked teasingly.
Heat slicked through her. His mouth was so sensual and inviting. Memories of what that mouth had done to her last night roiled her blood. She shuffled her feet, trying to rein in her bawdy urges.
“Yeah, okay, you’re hot.”
Laughter sparkled in his eyes. “Whoa, I’d better not let your compliments go to my head.”
She couldn’t help chuckling. “You should know I don’t hand out these compliments to just anyone.”
“Well, I have some very complimentary things to say to you too, hot thing.”
Winding his free arm around her waist, he drew her slowly in to him. His fingers laced with hers as he bent his head and began to whisper in her ear. The honeyed words slipped from his tongue and poured into her, as potent as the most intimate caress, coupling with his body twined around hers to reduce her to a melting pot of desire. She found herself leaning in, the better to soak in his verbal lovemaking. Oh boy, the things he could do with that mouth of his…
As he continued his murmuring, he pressed her up against the wall and roamed his hands over her curves. Soon, she couldn’t stop herself. She wrapped one leg around his and popped the top button of his shirt, angling closer to brush her lips against his skin.
Luke’s voice faltered. “We should probably carry this on in your bedroom, angel,” he muttered, lifting his head to stare into her eyes.
The question in his expression was too frank to miss. It was up to her. If she wanted, she could turn him down and send him away. If she did, she’d protect her daughter and herself. That would be the sensible thing to do. But hell, she’d never been the practical type. She’d always been bold, ready to follow her passions. And right now all her passions were screaming out for Luke.
“I hope you ate enough at dinner.” She hitched her other leg around him, causing him to cup his hands around her bum. “’Cause you’re going to need plenty of energy tonight.”
His face darkened with lust. “You’re on. Let’s see who tires first.”
Oh, she did love a challenge.
…
Luke pulled up at the Rocking Horse Motel, wishing he were anywhere but here. Worn cinder block buildings formed a U-shape around a central courtyard. His dad’s aging Mercedes sat outside one of the nondescript units. Hauling in a breath, he rapped on the faded door.
“Son, it’s good to see you.” Patrick Maguire greeted him with an unctuous smile. He was more informally dressed, without his jacket or tie, though he still had on a white dress shirt, pressed trousers, and polished shoes.
Luke grunted a greeting and reluctantly stepped inside. The unit was a nightmare of striped wallpaper, floral nylon bedspreads, and poo-brown carpet. An aura of greasy apathy hung over the joint. Luke had dossed down in some pretty dodgy places, but this motel gave him the creeps.
“How about a cup of tea?” his father eagerly offered.
Luke glanced at the chipped mugs and stained jug on the sideboard and shook his head. “Thanks, but I’m good.”
His father sank down on the vinyl sofa, so Luke had no choice but to take the matching plastic armchair. The armrests were sticky, and it smelled.
“Let’s cut to the chase,” Luke said, impatient to get the visit over. “Are you really destitute?”
His father lurched back, eyebrows lifting. “That’s a harsh term to use.”
“How would you describe your circumstances, then?”
Patrick clasped and unclasped his fingers in his lap. “I’ve had a run of bad luck. People I thought were trustworthy turned out to be otherwise. Investments I thought were fireproof failed. And then I became ill. You can’t control that.”
In other words, everyone else was to blame, and Patrick was just a victim of bad luck. “You drank and smoked,” Luke pointed out. “You couldn’t control that?”
“A man has to have some pleasures. Otherwise what’s the point in living?”
Luke clenched the grubby armrests. “What exactly do you want from me? And tell me the plain truth, or I’ll walk out of here.”
Patrick sighed and crossed his legs. “I hear you inherited the house from your mother.”
As the meaning behind his father’s words dawned on him, Luke gaped. “Don’t tell me you want to move into Mum’s house!”
“I don’t see why not. You don’t live there, and it’s just standing empty.”
A growl rumbled in his chest. “And you think you can just wander in and put your feet up? In the same house you left Mum with five kids to look after? Do you know how she struggled to pay the rent? How she juggled two jobs and went without just to keep a roof over our heads? And now you have the gall to assume you can weasel back in when it suits you.” He heaved himself to his feet, glowering at his father. “Helen was right. To hell with you.”
As he brushed past the sofa, his father grasped at his hand. “Wait…don’t go.”
Luke stared down. The old man was quivering, genuine fear obliterating the habitual overconfidence. The hands that clung to him were spotted and frail, the black eyes that gazed up at him were moist and abject. Pain tore at Luke’s insides. He longed to fling his father’s hold aside and storm out of this depressing motel unit. No one would blame him if he did.
No one except himself.
Gritting his teeth, he snapped, “What?”
“I-I’ve got nowhere else to go.” His father kneaded his hands together. “I thought—I thought one of the twins would step in, but it seems they can’t help me at the moment.”
So he’d been trying to butter up Rosie and Mags, but in a crisis the sisters would always band together. Which meant he was the only hope for his father. But if he helped him, he’d cop some flak from his sisters.
“There is no way in hell I’m letting you live in Mum’s house.” He braced his hands on his hips to emphasize his point.
“It was just a suggestion.” Patrick seemed to shrivel on the cracked sofa.
How can this person be my parent?
Luke wondered. This pathetic, opportunistic liar was his father, the same man who’d given him his dark looks, his height, and, most perplexingly, his love of words and reading. Shaking his head, he walked across the room, unwilling to dwell on the similarities they shared.
He turned back to his father. “Do you want to settle around here or go back to Sydney?”
“This town is as good as anywhere else. I have a few old friends I might look up.”
“If you’re set on living around here, I’ll see about renting a place for you.”
Patrick sat up, hopeful. “What kind of place?”
“I don’t know.” Luke gave an impatient shrug. “An apartment or something.”
“A garage for the Mercedes would be good.”
So would a bit of humility and gratefulness
. The thought snarled through his brain, but he pushed it away. One thing he knew for sure—his father was never going to change.
“If I do this for you,” Luke continued, “you have to obey my rules. Number one is that you don’t approach Helen or any of my sisters. I won’t have you badgering them. Number two is that you don’t go near Mum’s house. Got all that?”
“Fine, fine.” Patrick nodded quickly.
Luke grimaced at the speed with which his father agreed. Now that the guy had got what he wanted, he wasn’t interested in contacting his daughters or revisiting his old family home. He was only interested in himself, as always. Luke spun around and headed for the door. He had to get out of here before he changed his mind.
“You’ll hear from me in a week or so when I’ve organized something. In the meantime, I’ll take care of your motel bill at the front desk.”
“Luke…”
Pausing in the doorway, Luke glanced back. “Yeah?”
His father’s cheeks grew slightly mottled. “Um, I don’t suppose you have any spare cash on you?”
Luke’s gut constricted. So much for hoping his father had something personal to say to him. He’d be waiting a long time for that. He rummaged in his wallet and slapped a couple of fifty-dollar notes on the side table. Then, feeling like he’d been royally screwed, he quit the motel room.
…
“Wishing you hadn’t let me drag you along?” Tyler asked Luke as they sat in the beer garden of the Red Possum while Ally and Nate went to place their orders at the bistro.
Luke turned to face her. “No, I’m glad you’re so bossy.” He ran the tip of his forefinger lightly down her arm. “And I’m glad not to be alone this evening. I’d just work myself up for nothing.”
Warmth spread through her, not only from the caress of his finger, but also from the knowledge that Luke had trusted her enough to confide in her. He’d told her about his horrible visit with his father that afternoon. He hadn’t exactly gushed, but from the stress lines pulling at his face and the darkness in his eyes, she’d filled in the blanks. She’d longed to hug him fiercely and take him to her bed so she could make him forget temporarily, but Chloe had been in the house, and she was due to meet Ally and Nate in half an hour. So she’d more or less ordered Luke to come along, and to her surprise, he’d agreed.
“You did the right thing about your father,” she said. “I don’t know if I could be that magnanimous, but you can.”
“So I simply accept that he’ll never change?” Luke’s eyes grew bleak. “That the only reason he sought me out was for what he could suck from me?”
“That’s his loss. He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on.” She paused, and his troubled expression made her lean into him, instinctively wanting to offer him physical comfort. “Luke, you’re doing your best. More than your best.”
He pulled her closer. “Am I? But what about Helen? She’ll accuse me of being disloyal to her and my mum.”
“You’ll have to tell her, of course.” Sighing, she rested her head on his shoulder.
“Yeah.” His body relaxed against hers as he shifted to better accommodate her head. “This is nice. I thought we weren’t allowed to do this kind of thing in front of Chloe.”
Lifting her head, Tyler checked on Chloe, who had run to the play corner of the beer garden as soon as they had arrived. She and another young boy were busy drawing on the chalkboard. “She’s too preoccupied to notice,” Tyler said, wanting only to return to Luke. The angles of his body were made for her, the way they matched her shape so perfectly.
“Good, because I wouldn’t want her to see this.” His breath warmed her skin as he lifted her hair and nuzzled at her neck. Her pulse leaped, all her senses instantly ensnared by the lure of his lips.
“Um…” She closed her eyes in sheer bliss as his mouth coasted over her earlobes.
“Harrumph.” Someone nearby cleared her throat ostentatiously.
Tyler blinked up at Ally and Nate standing at the table with amused expressions on their faces. Luke disentangled himself from her hair without the slightest embarrassment, offering the other two a wry smile.
“Didn’t realize the service here was so quick,” he said, keeping his arm around Tyler’s shoulders.
Nate slid the tray of drinks onto the table and pulled out a chair for Ally. “We could come back in five minutes if now’s inconvenient.” He winked at Tyler.
“After five minutes it could be even more inconvenient.” She grinned back at Nate.
Ally passed the drinks around before exclaiming, “Shoot, I left my phone at the counter!” and hurried off.
Nate waited until she was out of earshot before leaning toward Tyler. “Everything’s set for Sunday. Cake, flowers, food, rings.” He downed a quick gulp of beer. “It’s been bloody difficult keeping it secret. I keep fearing I’ll let something slip.” He fixed an anxious gaze on Tyler. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing, or is she gonna be furious with me?”
“She’s going to love you for doing this,” Tyler said straight away. “You didn’t hear this from me, but she’s still got the heebie-jeebies about weddings. You’re doing a wonderful thing, Nate.”
“Thanks.” He gave her a grateful nod before turning to Luke. “I hope you’ll come to the wedding. It’s at two this Sunday at Clifton Gardens, no need to dress too fancy.”
Luke raised his eyebrows, no doubt surprised by the invitation as he and Nate had just met. “Well, thanks for asking me.”
“How could I not? I know all about you, mate.” Nate grinned at Tyler. “Ally tells me everything, you know.”
Tyler chewed her lip. She
had
been blabbing on a bit to Ally about Luke, she supposed. More than a bit. Plus, she and Luke had just been caught in a rather intimate embrace. Little wonder both Ally and Nate considered her and Luke something of a couple. She cast a sideways glance at Luke, wondering if he was made uncomfortable by the assumption. As if to confirm her doubts, he removed his arm from around her shoulders, and her heart stuttered for a few numbing seconds, but then his hand glided onto her thigh, and the warm pressure of his fingers ratcheted up her heart rate.
“It’ll be a pleasure,” he said to Nate.
Before the wedding talk could continue, Ally returned to the table, and the conversation became more general as they drank and chatted and shared a few plates of appetizers. A while later Tyler and Ally were left alone at the table when the two guys went to the bar for another round.
“I love looking at his bum.” Ally sighed, propping up her chin on her hand as she stared after the two men.
“Mm, me too…” Tyler murmured, her gaze fixed in the same direction.
“What!” Ally straightened for a second before relaxing again. “Oh, I see. You mean Luke.”
Tyler chortled. “It’s all in the eye of the beholder.”