Luke's Absolution (The Colloway Brothers Book 3) (7 page)

BOOK: Luke's Absolution (The Colloway Brothers Book 3)
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“I thought you were going to be a gentleman?” I manage to breathe when my lungs fill again.

A smirk tilts one corner of his mouth. My God, he really is sexy. “You make that hard, Addy.” He takes a slight step back, before adding, “You ready?”

I nod rapidly, breathing deep. “Let me grab my purse.”

When I return to the door, with my wrap and clutch, he takes my hand in his. Closing the door behind us, he leads us down the stairs.

On the three-flight descent to Cooper’s car, I decide to leave all thoughts and dreams and fantasies about Luke at the door and enjoy my first date with Cooper Jensen. We may not have the sparks that Luke and I do; maybe it’s more of a slow burn instead of a raging fire.

Slow is better, right? Right.

Riiiight.

Chapter 12

I
was just pulling
into the parking lot when I saw them.

I saw his hand on the small of her back.

I saw the way that dress hugged her curves like a walking wet dream.

I saw the way he looked at her like he knew he was the luckiest son-of-a-bitch alive to have such an incredibly special woman on his arm.

I saw her genuine smile as he opened the car door for her.

I saw him already falling.

Then I saw his murder in vivid detail play on a reel through my mind.

I have spent an entire week, since dinner at Gray’s last Friday, avoiding her. Trying to convince myself to leave her alone. Reminding myself that I’m not nearly good enough for her. Remembering the blood on my hands and the fact I don’t want to stain her with it.

But seeing her with Cooper Jensen has me seeing red. Blood red.
His
blood.

I may not be good enough for her, but the fact of the matter is…no one is. I’m good at walking away and I’m the motherfucking master at faking shit, yet after seeing her leave on a date with another man, I’m done. I’m not walking away from her, and I’m certainly not going to stand by and watch someone else snatch what’s mine out from under my nose.

Fuck that shit.

He’s not taking my color.

She is
mine
. And I don’t share.

I’ve wasted too much time pining away like a lovesick fool for this woman, pretending that I don’t want her. I want nothing
but
her. I’m done pussyfooting around. It’s time to up my game to a full-court press.

A better man would let her go, let her be with someone like Cooper Jensen. Hell, a better man would
push
her toward someone like him, which apparently I’ve unconsciously been doing.

But I’m not a better man.

And I’ve finally just accepted that the
only
way I can possibly be one is with her by my side.

Chapter 13


S
o when was
your last serious relationship?” Cooper asks, staring at me intently across the dimly lit table.

He’s taken me to a very romantic Spanish restaurant on the south loop of downtown Chicago. Dim lights dangle from the ceiling at varying levels, and the large arched windows give the open space a unique ambience. He managed to finagle us a fairly private booth in a less rowdy part of the restaurant.

Cooper ordered the chef’s luxury tasting menu for two, so sitting in front of us is a variety of cheeses, meats, olives, garlic shrimp, bacon-wrapped dates, some type of croquet, scallops, chorizo, and braised rabbit flatbread. It’s more than I could even comprehend eating, although I’ve enjoyed tasting almost everything. Except the rabbit. I just can’t force myself to take a bite of Peter Cottontail.

Sipping my bourbon, agave nectar, and blackberry cocktail, which contains a hint of mint and black pepper and is like sex in a glass, I think about how I’ll answer, deciding on the truth.

“Eight months ago.” Eight long, dry lonely months. Which is probably why I’m panting like a dog in heat every time I look at my sexy new roommate. I need to get laid. Maybe then I could forget about the fact I want to mount Luke and ride him into the sunset.

“What about you?” I ask, trying to get my mind back to the man in front of me. The man I
should
want instead of the insanely frustrating one my mind keeps drifting to.

“Two years.”

“Two years? Wow. By choice?” Two years is an awfully long time for a man like Cooper Jensen to remain single.

“Until recently, yes. Did your last relationship end badly?”

How about every relationship I’ve had. “Don’t they all?”

He chuckles, taking a sip of his own inventive concoction, which includes tequila, making me immediately think of last week and Luke’s insistence that I not drink it. I admit I may not have ordered it tonight with him in mind.

Sucker
. That’s me.

“Most, I suppose.”

“Yours?”

His expressive eyes answer before he verbally does. “Yes. Very badly.”

“I’m sorry.” I can relate all too well.

“Me too,” he replies, the pain of that last relationship still evident. “What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”

I look down and twirl the ice in my glass, the blackberry bits hypnotizing me. It’s been five months since I found out Aiden was engaged and I should be over the sting by now, but I’m not. Our lives always look clearer in the rearview mirror. We pick up the signs we missed while staring blissfully ahead into the sunrise of our future, which only served to blind us from reality. I missed the signs Aiden gave me, some of them blatant. I missed the signs Alison tried carelessly to hide. Love didn’t make me blind; it made me reckless and stupid.

I won’t make that mistake again.

“Well, let’s see…he told me he didn’t love me and started dating his old girlfriend three days after we broke up. He’s marrying her in two months.”

“Holy shit. That is bad.”

“Yeah. Good times.”

“How long were you with him?”

“Too long,” I sigh. Long enough to know that he didn’t love me the way I loved him, but I tried to overlook it. He never did the little things for me, like open my car door or pull out my chair or leave me goofy notes in the morning. He never helped me on with my coat or called me during the day just to hear my voice. I tried to brush it off, telling myself he just wasn’t romantic. Turns out that wasn’t it at all, as I ever so painfully found out.

“He proposed to his fiancée when they were on a getaway to Aruba. He had the hotel concierge draw a huge heart in the sand on the beach and fill it full of red and yellow and orange flower petals. The whole thing was surrounded by tiki torches. Then he took her on a long, romantic walk on the beach that night, ending there, kneeling down, and asking her to marry him. It was all graciously filmed by said concierge so it could be shared on every social media site possible.”

“Ouch. God, Addy, I’m sorry.”

I smile sadly, finally lifting my eyes. At least, they aren’t filled with tears. “I’m not. I was never first with Aiden.”

“You deserve to be first,” he declares passionately, taking hold of my hand across the table.

“Yes, I do,” I whisper softly. Our eyes lock and the heat that was just a hot summer’s day earlier has turned into a sizzling crackle. I think if I let myself, I could eventually fall in love with the man sitting in front of me.

On paper, he has every quality I’m looking for. Outside of his insanely incredible physical characteristics, I can already tell he’ll be an attentive lover, a devoted husband, a doting father. He seems mentally stable, has ambition, and owns a successful business. He’s not playing the field anymore; he’s looking for a mate.

Perfect in every way.

Then why does my mind keep wandering back to another man who has already penetrated my soul in ways I’ll never understand? On paper, he’s someone you would immediately discard and not because of the tattoos or the bike. He’s cocky, infuriating, and has a sketchy past. He’s aloof and uses sarcasm and deflection to protect himself from the judgment of others. He’s the most mulish person I think I’ve ever met. Even more than I am.

But it’s the glimpses of the man underneath that have me wanting more. He’s passionate and deeply caring. He’s sensitive, but would never admit it. He can be tender and devoted. He would protect the ones he loves to the death, if necessary. He loves his mother profoundly, as do all the Colloway brothers. Watching them together at Livia’s wedding almost brought tears to my eyes.

And I have a feeling that a night in the bedroom with Luke would show me I’ve never experienced true sexual pleasure at the hands of a man before. As explosive as we are outside of the bedroom, I know we’d absolutely combust inside it.

Luke Colloway is imperfect in so many ways, so why do I keep thinking he may be perfect for me?

“Probably bad form to talk about exes on a first date, huh?” Cooper asks, sensing I’ve gone far away. I have, but not for the reasons he thinks.

“We could do better,” I quip, dragging my attention back to him once again.

“So we shall.”

We spend the next three hours nibbling, chatting, and laughing. By the time we leave, it’s nearly eleven.

“Home?” he asks as soon as we get in the car the valet has pulled around. I can hear the hope in his voice that I’ll want to extend our date, however, I have an early morning. I’ve promised Mrs. Ruffalo that I’ll take her to get her meds and pick up a birthday card and gift for her great-grandbaby who’s turning two. Madge likes to get an early start. I’ll be lucky if she lets me sleep until eight, even though I’ve told her repeatedly the pharmacy doesn’t open until ten on Sundays.

“Yes, sorry. I have early plans tomorrow.”

“I hope not a breakfast date,” he teases.

“Sort of, “ I joke back.

“Really? Am I going to have to spend the night protecting my turf?”

I laugh, thinking of how Luke would react if I invited Cooper in and dragged him back to my bedroom. Probably about the way I would react if he did the same. Both scenarios would likely end in violence. “Unless you’re worried about an eighty-five-year-old grey hair stealing me away from you, I think my virtue’s safe.” But my virtue is most definitely not safe with the man behind my front door.

“Eighty-five? Wow, you get around.”

“Why do you think it’s been eight months?”

Laughter fills his Camry. “Secret’s safe with me.” He crosses his heart and kisses his closed fist in promise and I chuckle at the gesture.

As we wind through the streets of downtown Chicago to the interstate, Cooper reaches over, plucks my hand from my lap, and brings it to his lips for a light kiss. He looks over at me briefly and the longing I see in his eyes makes my heart flutter, but it also makes my guilt prick for some stupid reason.

Twenty-five minutes later we’re pulling up in front of my apartment building. He rushes over to my side, opening my door. Extending a hand to help me out, I take it and find myself inches away from him once I’m fully standing. He looks like he wants to kiss me and I’m not sure if I want him to. As stupid as it is, I’m still remembering the feel of Luke’s lips on mine last week and I don’t want another man’s to replace them quite yet, even though that’s exactly what I need to do.

“I had a great time.”

“I’m walking you up. This date began at your door and will end the same way. Unless you have other ideas.” He winks playfully and I smile.

“I thought you were trying to be a gentleman?”

“I thought we already covered that. You make that very hard.”

“How so?”

“By just being you, Addy,” he says lowly.

I sigh, wondering why I can’t force myself to feel the same way about him as I do Luke. I want to. Somehow I don’t think Cooper Jensen will hurt me the way I know Luke Colloway could. Feeling eyes on me, I look up to my living room window to see the shades fluttering slightly as if someone was just standing there. Suddenly, I’m getting anxious for this date to end.

“I think I can make it myself, Mr. Jensen.”

“Back to that, are we? I think I’m going to have to change that, Ms. Monroe,” he declares under his breath. Grabbing my hand, he leads me up the walk and inside the building. I’m surprised to find the light that’s been out in the entryway for months now working and wonder when Ruis, our lame-ass super, fixed it. I’ve complained about it no less than six times. I don’t remember it working last night, but, of course, I’ve been otherwise occupied, what with my head mixed up and all.

When we make it to my front door, I turn toward Cooper, leaning against the cool wood for support. “Thanks for a great evening. I truly enjoyed it.”

“Me too,” he murmurs. Stepping closer so our bodies are almost flush, he cups my cheek. His thumb lightly strokes my jaw, making my eyes involuntarily close. “Addy…I want to kiss you.” His voice is low and needy.

My heavy lids open just as his lips descend on mine. They’ve barely made contact before I’m falling backward through the air, crashing into a strong, unyielding male chest. Corded arms band around my middle, holding me tight and I barely notice the look of confusion on Cooper’s face before I hear
him
.

“Hi, honey. I’ve been waiting for you,” a guttural voice rumbles directly in my ear.

BOOK: Luke's Absolution (The Colloway Brothers Book 3)
8.28Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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