Dangerous Secrets (Tall, Dark & Deadly #2)(19)

Julie shoved her wet hair from her face. “Me either. It was a shock. They’re identical.”

Suddenly, he pulled her close and kissed her and all that ice and dread inside her thawed. She needed that warmth, his warmth, more than she needed to breathe right now. And while she was melting from the wicked heat of his tongue, he reached into her pocket and pulled out the note.

He leaned back and held it up.

Feeling defensive, she quirked, “I would have told you if you’d have given me the chance.”

His lips thinned in obvious doubt as he read the note. “We have to talk.” He glanced up at her. “That’s it and a phone number.” He shoved it in his pocket. “I’ll take care of this. After the wedding.”

“You’re being obnoxiously domineering,” she said. “I don’t like it.”

“And I like you better alive,” he said. “So if you want to be mad at me, I’ll take the anger.”

“What if someone else is in danger, Luke? What if–”

He kissed her again, and damn it, she managed to resist a whole two seconds before she all but moaned from the feel of his mouth on hers. The man was making her crazy, taking control of her life. “Don’t do this to yourself,” he ordered softly. “I’ll have someone find out more about her sister right away. I promise. You just focus on the wedding.”

“You promise?” she confirmed. “Because if anyone else ends up dead, I’ll never live with myself.”

“I promise and I never break a promise.”

She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat, because not only did she trust him, she realized she trusted Luke as she never had any other man. “We should go.”

Julie scooted out of his arms to face forward, confusion filling her. He acted like a big brother with kissing privileges, and avoided every chance he’d had to get her naked and in bed. She didn’t understand. Did he want her or not? And why did it matter to the point that it hurt thinking that he might not? What else explained his quick hotel departure, or leaving her apartment where they’d been alone with barely a kiss? Or suggesting he sleep on her couch not in her bed with her?

***

Several hours later Julie had donned a pale blue dress the color of the wedding theme. She’d headed to the church, where she’d spent the entire rehearsal avoiding eye contact with Luke, feeling every touch of Luke’s hand as they practiced walking down the aisle. She didn’t know what she was feeling or how to deal with it. She just didn’t know.

Avoiding eye contact at the dinner afterward proved more difficult. The group of twenty sat in a private back room of Eden, a favorite Walker restaurant. It lived up to its name with vines, flowers, and spectacular plants covering the ceilings and the walls.

Julie sat on one side of the long triangular table, to the left of the bride, while the groom was to her right. Luke had chosen a seat directly across from Julie, and beside him was Blake. Every time Julie looked at Luke she was struck by how delectable he looked in a royal blue button-down. Which was why, among other reasons, she kept her attention on Lauren. But she could feel Luke watching her, feel the tingle of awareness that touched every place his gaze landed.

Julie leaned in close to Lauren and discreetly indicated to her recently divorced father, a retired senator, chatting away with her soon to be husband’s mom. “Someone should warn him she’s seeing someone.”

“Oh good grief,” Lauren said. “Royce and my father are only just now starting to get along.” She slid out of her seat and headed over to her father, squatting down beside him.

Luke’s sexy rumble of laughter caught her attention and Julie’s eyes darted on their own accord toward him. A young brunette waitress with deep cleavage was blatantly flirting with him, and he seemed to be enjoying the attention.

Instantly, Julie felt the unfamiliar and very unwelcome flare of jealousy, the same feeling she’d felt in the hotel.

“Julie?”

Her eyes darted to Lauren, and she didn’t even realize Lauren had returned. “Sweetie,” Lauren said, “what’s going on with you and Luke? I know you don’t like me to bring up your past with him, but it is obvious something’s going on with you two.”

“We’re friends,” she said quickly, not wanting to talk about herself. Tonight was about Lauren. “Nothing more, and all is well.”

Lauren took a sip of her wine and studied Julie closely. “Maybe later tonight, when we’re alone, you might want to talk.”

Julie forced a smile. “About you and your soon-to-be hot new husband. You’re marrying the man you love tomorrow. I know you went to the spa today, but you never get your feet done, so I bought pedicure stuff, lotion, and candles.”

Lauren smiled brightly and gave Julie a big hug. “I love you, you know?”

Julie smiled into her hair, fighting emotion. “I love you, too.”

Feeling ever weepy, Julie let a busboy take her salad plate and reached for her wine, only to realize that her hand was shaking. She set the drink back down and somehow her gaze collided with Luke’s right when the waitress settled her hand on his shoulder.

Breaking eye contact, she diverted her gaze to the plate that had just been set in front of her. Suddenly the crowd was suffocating her. She needed space. Tossing down her napkin, she scooted her chair away from the table and excused herself. Making a beeline to the bathroom, her steps were hurried, her heart racing ridiculously fast for no explainable reason.