His Sister's Wedding (9 page)

"Sex," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "How long can that hold two people
together?"

"I'm betting at least as long as romance," Luke said dryly. "Love is overrated."

Lillie stared at him. He was wrong. How many couples celebrating their fiftieth wedding
anniversary claimed a great sex life had kept them together?

"Love is not overrated," she denied. "It's worth everything. I can't give facts and
figures to convince you because love isn't about logic. It's about caring for someone
else as much as you do yourself. It's about laughter and joy. And pain, sometimes."

She opened the car door. "Goodnight, Luke."

He got out of the car and strode silently beside her up the walk to her door, the
darkness enveloping them. She could feel his presence like a physical touch. It amazed
her how much such a common protective gesture warmed her heart considering how depressed
their conversation had left her.

No matter how tempted she was by him, how he seduced her senses, she knew she couldn't
let Luke pull her into a loveless, passion-filled arrangement. And yet, regret clung
to her as stubbornly as the shadows around the bungalow.

"Goodnight, Luke," she offered again, bracing to withstand the seduction of his touch.

"Goodnight." He made no attempt to kiss her, but didn't turn to go.

Feeling awkward, Lillie inserted her key and wrestled with the door lock. For some
reason, it seemed more resistant than usual. She frowned as the key stayed stuck but
the door pushed open at her touch.

Lillie groped automatically for the light switch as the door swung open. Her hand
brushed the switch, flooding the room with light.

The debacle that met Lillie's shocked eyes surprised a scream from her throat.

Her living room was completely trashed. The drawers of her grandmother's antique desk
had been torn out and thrown on the floor. The television sat at an awkward angle,
cords dangling like a cardiac patient ripped loose from its monitors. The couch had
been shoved out of position in the crook's haste and a table lamp lay shattered on
the floor.

Fear blossomed in Lillie's stomach, an instant rush of acid through her veins.

From behind her, she heard Luke's muttered oath, then felt his hands firm on her shoulders
as he set her aside and strode into the house.

Moving quickly, he scanned the room before going into the kitchen. Within moments,
he walked back through the living room and checked the bedroom and bath.

"Call the police," he directed as he crossed the door to her adjoining office.

"All right," Lillie murmured, shaking all over as she went to the phone and dialed
the emergency number. She couldn't believe it. Someone had come into her home and
gone through all her things. A stranger ripped out the drawers of her desk and rifled
anything that took his fancy. Impossible images kept playing in her head. What if
she'd been here when the thief or thieves had broken in?

Her breath clogged in her chest, a tight bubble she couldn't release.

Her DVD was missing and it looked as if the thieves had found her father's small stash
of gold coins. Thank heavens she'd been wearing her mother's pearls.

"Emergency services," a calm female voice answered when Lillie's shaking fingers pressed
911.

"My house has been broken into," Lillie blurted out. She drew in a breath to keep
from sobbing.

"Is the intruder still there? Is he armed?" the operator asked.

"No, I don't think anyone's here. I just came home and found it like this," Lillie
said, trying to calm herself.

"Okay. Let me verify your address and we'll send a squad car out," the woman said.

Lillie stammered the required information, barely aware of Luke opening closet doors
as he methodically searched the house.

Hanging up the phone, Lillie felt reaction setting in. She wasn't so naive that she
didn't know terrible things happened in the world. But they'd never happened to her.
And reality bit a lot deeper than seeing the evening news.

She gazed around her, feeling as if she'd stumbled into a nightmare.

Hand shaking, she bent to pick up a pillow from the floor intending to replace it
back on the couch. Her hand stopped in midair. The sense of violation kept her from
touching anything.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked.

"I'm fine and the police are on the way," she said.

"What's missing?" he asked, scanning the room.

"My DVD, some gold coins. I don't know what else." She looked around the demolished
living room. "I haven't really checked."

"Why don't we go wait in the kitchen," Luke suggested, glancing down at her trembling
hands. "I'll make you some coffee or something."

Feeling tears gathering in her eyes as reaction set it, she let him lead her through
the open doorway to the relative sanctuary of the kitchen. In here, everything looked
the way she'd left it with the exception of the flour and sugar canisters having been
dumped in the sink.

Lillie sank into a chair at the table, brushing self-consciously at the tears streaming
down her face.

"Where do you keep your coffee?" He opened a cabinet at random. "You'll feel better
when you have something warm to drink."

"I drink tea," she responded automatically, sniffing back her tears. "In the second
door on the right. The tea pot is on the stove."

"No coffee," Luke muttered under his breath, rummaging till he found the tea bags
and cups.

"I'm sorry to be such a baby about this," she said, feeling awkward. "It's just that
it's such a shock."

"Don't be ridiculous," he said, filling the tea pot and placing it on the stove. "It's
only natural that you'd be upset. I'd be worried if you weren't."

"Well, you're being very nice about everything." Lillie stared at her clasped hands,
tears threatening again.

"Sweetheart," Luke said, pulling out a chair to sit next to her, "even tough guys
have their uses."

Lillie chuckled, smiling damply at him as his hand covered hers where they rested
on the table.

"You know," he said, "there are a lot of good practical reasons to be with someone
you can rely on. It's a lot easier to face the crummy things in life if you have a
man there with you. Someone to help shoulder the load."

She knew the point he was trying to make. "I agree, but I want that someone to love
me completely, dizzyingly. I don't just want a partner in a marriage that's more business
than emotion."

"So you're waiting?" Luke questioned, brows lifted. "If you'd have been home tonight,
you might not have lived to meet Mr. Right. What good is love then?"

"I'm not going to settle for half a relationship," Lillie said, tugging her hands
free of his to brush away the traces of her tears. "Just because I'm afraid to live
alone? The jerks who broke in didn't know that I'm single."

"You have an initial on the mailbox instead of a first name," he pointed out as she
got up to get the kettle off the stove. "It's almost always single women who do that."

"So I should marry for convenience just to get a man's name for my mailbox?" she questioned
with exasperation.

"There are other benefits. Don't you ever get lonely? Tired of coming home to an empty
house?

Don't you ever want to wake up and hear someone else's voice in the morning?"

Lillie arranged the tea bags in the cups with infinite care, not wanting to turn to
face him, not wanting him to see the longing in her eyes. Loneliness was a frequent
visitor and there were days when she hungered for the simple warmth of a hug.

"You're the kind of woman who needs a family," Luke continued. "Kids of your own to
bake cookies for, a daughter who’s wedding you'll coordinate someday."

Not responding to the evocative images his words conjured up, she poured the hot water
over the tea bags. The soft sound of his step told her he'd crossed the kitchen to
stand behind her. She felt the warmth of his nearness, her body coming alive as if
plugged in.

"There are a lot of good things to share together," he said softly. "Things that don't
have anything to do with romance."

Luke turned her around to face him, his hand urging her chin up. "I want you more
than I've ever wanted a woman. Isn't that enough?"

Looking up into his handsome, rugged face, surrounded by his tender protectiveness,
Lillie could see how some women allowed themselves to settle. At that moment, she
only wanted his kiss, only wanted to lose herself in his touch.

Just then, she heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.

"They're here," she muttered, turning away from Luke with hands that shook still,
but for a different reason than before.

Two officers stood on the front porch, one of them looking absurdly young in his neatly
pressed uniform.

"Are you Lillie Parker?" an older, heavy-set officer asked.

"Yes," she said, holding the door open.

"This is your house?"

"Yes, Officer."

The policeman turned to Luke. "And your name, sir?"

"Luke Morgan. I brought Miss Parker home about one o'clock."

The officer made a note on his pad before turning to Lillie. "Why don't you tell us
what happened," he suggested, his tone becoming almost fatherly.

Lillie summarized the sequence of events as briefly as possible.

"Okay." The officer made a final note on his pad. "Miss Parker," he hesitated as he
looked down into Lillie's tired face. "Uh, do you live here alone?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"Well, I don't think you ought to stay here tonight, Ma'am. That front door lock is
useless. We'll double our patrolling in this area, but you'd be better off spending
the night somewhere else until you get that lock fixed."

Lillie looked at him, startled. With everything that had happened in the last two
hours, she hadn't considered something as mundane as where she'd sleep tonight.

"Of course. Thank you, Officer. I appreciate your concern," Lillie said, still struggling
with the unreality of the whole situation.

The policeman smiled, his face slightly flushed as he muttered a goodbye and left
the house.

Luke shut the door behind the police and turned to face her. Tall and broad, with
an evening stubble shadowing his face, he looked both menacing and comforting to her
senses.

"You okay?" he questioned for what seemed like the dozenth time that evening.

"Of course," she said irritably. She drew in a shaky breath and sank down on the couch.
"I'm grateful it wasn't worse. But I feel so...invaded. Some strange man in my house,
going through my things...."

"Don't think about it," Luke recommended, sitting next to her and finally drawing
her into his arms. "Everything is okay now."

"Not only have I been burglarized," she tried to keep from sniffling, "but now the
police want to ban me from my own home."

"You're welcome to stay at my place," he said, meeting her gaze steadily.

Stay with Luke? All night? Just the thought sent her already jangled nerves jumping.
Lillie swallowed as the air in the room seemed to heat. "I don't think...that's a
very good idea."

It sounded way too interesting.

"I think it's a very good idea. But if you want, I promise to keep my hands to myself,"
Luke offered softly, a smoky shadow in his eyes.

The trouble was that she didn't want him to keep his hands to himself. Lillie tipped
her head up to meet his gaze. She felt herself leaning towards him infinitesimally,
drawn by the comfort of his arms and the banked fire in his eyes.

His mouth descended on hers, the warm brush of his lips gentle on hers. With a whisper
of a sigh, she sank against him, falling into the dark whirlpool of his kiss. He held
her against his heartbeat, the solid reassurance of his arms surrounding her.

The cluttered, violated room dissolved around them as she drew in Luke's scent and
let his touch flood her. With butterfly softness, he grazed her lips, the warmth of
his breath fanning her cheek.

"I promise you'll be safe as a lamb at my place," he teased softly. "No more bogeyman
to disturb you."

Lillie had to laugh even as the blood in her veins began to tango a sensuous rhythm.
"I'm sorry to be such a baby about all this," she sighed.

"Hey," he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "You'll be all right. You're
just a little shaken."

Lillie felt a smile curl the corner of her mouth. How many times had she heard her
father say the same thing when her mom was panicking about an overbooked caterer or
a bride who couldn't make up her mind about a color scheme?

"Stay at my place tonight," Luke invited again.

Staring up at him from the warmth and security of his arms, Lillie battled temptation.
More than anything, she wanted to go with him, to spend the night in his arms. But
she wasn't sure she'd want to face the morning light and the reality that she'd given
herself to a man who couldn't love her.