Bidding Wars (Love Strikes)(20)

“You’re a fine young man. And I’ll go eat with Kim while you two enjoy the break room.”

Molly rolled her eyes and then motioned for Luke to follow her. She felt like a teenager and her parents were giving their approval for her to go on a date. Once in the break room, she shut the door. Kim and the doctor weren’t the gossipers on the staff, but she still wanted some privacy from their prying eye and ears.

She grabbed two sodas from the fridge and offered one to him. He took it, and then they sat down. He handed her a bag.

“I’m starving. I usually keep a snack in one of my pockets, but I was running late today and forgot it on the counter.”

“I’m glad I packed you a meal that will hopefully stick to your ribs for the evening.”

“I hope. About seven tonight, we should get busy.”

Opening her bag, she pulled out the sandwich, along with a bag of chips, a yogurt, and leftover dessert from the other night. She smiled at his effort. This would definitely keep her satisfied through the rush.

“How has your week been?” She opened her yogurt.

“I’ve had better, but it’s getting better now that I’m here with you.”

“Rough day at work?”

“Work is fine. Stuff with Leslie and Sammy.”

She pulled the spoon from her mouth and swallowed the creamy strawberry-flavored yogurt. “What’s going on?”

“I met with my lawyer yesterday and didn’t get the news I had hoped for. Then to top it off, Leslie is retaliating and wouldn’t answer the phone last night when I called to tell Sammy good night. One of the officers called and said they saw her at her boyfriend’s workplace, but Sammy wasn’t there. I hope like hell she had a babysitter there with my son.”

“I’m sure she did.”

“You never know with her. She may have waited until he was asleep and left. This isn’t the first time I’ve called and not gotten an answer. I sometimes wonder if she’s ignoring me because she’s out and she’d left him alone.”

“Luke, stop. She loves Sammy. She might not be the best parent to have him full time, but I can’t see how a mother would do that.” If she had a child, she’d never leave it…ever. She couldn’t fathom a mother leaving a five-year-old at home alone.

He shrugged and looked as though he wanted to talk about anything else. It was a touchy subject, and she for one had no experience as a mother, so she couldn’t say for sure what a mom would or should do. She just knew that she’d never leave her child alone.

“Any word yet with the house?” He took a bite of his sandwich.

“Not yet. I feel awful about this. Maybe I should back out and give you the house so you can get your son.”

“Molly, no. The lawyer said if I own a home or not, it’s not going to help the case. Honestly, I think I’ll stay where I am at. The rent is cheap and I’ve been there since Leslie and I split, unlike her. She moves every year, without fail.”

“But it would be a permanent place for you and Sammy. How can it not help?” If he didn’t want the house, was she driving herself crazy for nothing?

He let out a frustrated sigh. “Can we not talk about the house? I know I brought it up, but whenever we talk about it, I feel like it pulls us apart. I don’t want that. I wish we could just forget about the house all together.”

She was taken aback by his tone. His week wasn’t going well and she wasn’t helping. And he was right, they didn’t see eye to eye about the place. “Yeah, that’s fine. What do you want to talk about?”

“I had a great time the other night with you. I want to have more times like that. I really like you, and I want to put everything behind us and make a relationship between us.”

She now let out the sigh. “I like you too, and a relationship has been on my mind lately…”

“But—”

“But, can there be a future between us if I can’t have kids? Do you want more? Have you thought about that?”

Luke was silent. He had probably been expecting a funny dinner date with her, and it wasn’t going that way at all. Instead, they were talking about everything that was tough between them. Maybe she should have left it alone and concentrated on cheering him up. But that would lead things to getting more serious and, before they could move ahead, they had to talk about this—even if it was a tough subject.

He took a sip of his soda and then put the can down on the table. “I do want more kids, but they don’t have to be mine. I’m happy with adopting. Are you?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Look at me.” He waited until she was staring into his eyes. “You don’t have to carry a child inside of you for nine months to be a mother. You’re one of the kindest and most generous-hearted women I know. You would be a fantastic mother, I have no doubt. Don’t give up.”

She didn’t know what to say, so instead she nodded in agreement and went back to her dinner. Luke wanted more kids, but would settle for adoption. Other than the house, there weren’t any other complications. She wanted to find out if he was still going to put in an offer if the seller agreed, but at this point, the topic was off limits and she didn’t want to push the subject anyway. Was this how it was supposed to be happening? The house was meant to be hers? She had to stop thinking about it and concentrate on the hunk in front of her. He had come here to eat with her, knowing he only had thirty minutes with her. Her heart fluttered, and a warmth spread throughout her chest.

“I think I’ll save dessert for later tonight when I need a sugar rush.” She folded up her paper bag and stood to put it in the fridge. When she turned around, he was close. Inhaling, she could smell the scent of his aftershave. She looked up and saw his eyes were locked on hers.

“I need to kiss you, Molly.” It came out in an almost whisper.

She could see the passion in his eyes. She wanted to kiss him as well, but it seemed too easy, and things were never easy.

“Stop thinking.” He leaned down and took her lips.

The moment his mouth claimed hers, she lost all train of thought. Moaning, she wrapped both her arms around his neck. He lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He pressed her back onto the cool refrigerator door as he deepened the kiss. God, this was hot; if they weren’t in the break room at her work, she’d be praying his hands would begin to slide under her top.

His lips tasted good. As they kissed her, he gripped her tightly with one arm as the other lightly caressed her neck at her hairline. She ran her hands through his hair, gently tugging on the ends as she probed deeper into his mouth with her tongue.

The kiss wasn’t greedy; it was sweet and sensual. It couldn’t go anywhere, but that didn’t mean her insides weren’t yelling at her to rip his clothes off and ride him like a stallion.

He was the first to break away. “God, I want you. Are you sure you have to work late?”

She smiled. “Sick kids need me.”

He pressed his lips to her neck and trailed down to her collarbone. She moaned in delight.

“I love the noises you make.” He looked back at her.

“I can’t help it. You do it to me.” She kissed his cheek.

“I want to do a whole lot more to you.”

She unwrapped her legs from around him, and he let her drop back down. “I need to get back to work. Dr. Hancock is set to leave soon. I’d much rather spend this time with you, but duty calls. Any plans this evening?”

“Dreaming about you.”

She walked around him and laughed. “Oh, stop.”

“What? It’s true.”

“Get out of here.” She opened the door. “I’m not a lovesick thirteen-year-old. That line isn’t going to work on me.”

He smirked. “When can I see you again?”

“I don’t know. Soon, hopefully.”

Just as he was about to speak, Dr. Hancock walked in and cornered him, asking him about his potato salad. She smirked at him, gave a small wave, and strutted out of the room. Luke was a big boy—he’d figure a way out of there without giving away his secret ingredient.



* * *





Luke pulled up to Leslie’s house. After leaving his dinner with Molly, he wanted to check in and see how Sammy was. Even though it had only been twenty-four hours since he’d talked to his son, it was twenty-four hours too long.

Leslie’s old sedan wasn’t in the driveway. He’d called first, but once again hadn’t gotten an answer. He’d called an officer in the area near where her boyfriend worked, and he confirmed that Leslie was there and Sammy wasn’t. It was now time to see if his suspicions were true. Was his son here alone?

He knocked on the door and waited. He heard a dog inside barking, and then a voice, but no one answered. So he knocked again and then called out his son’s name. He then heard the clicking of the lock, and the door cracked open. A girl who didn’t look to be much older than sixteen peeked through, with Sammy behind her.