Overheard (Unspoken #2)(24)

“She’s wiped out,” Jeremy whispered. “She was pretty upset when she got here.”

Luke raked a hand through his hair and swore under his breath. What a mess. His gaze drifted back to Gracie, drinking in her appearance. He’d been so goddamn worried when she’d tore off in his truck. He and Wes had driven the entire way home afraid they’d find her wrecked on the side of the road.

“I’m going back to bed with my wife,” Jeremy said. “I don’t know what all is going on between you and Gracie, but I know she’s hurting.”

“Thanks for calling me,” Luke said softly.

“No problem. I know how worried you were about her.”

Luke watched as Jeremy left the room and then he went to kneel beside the couch where Gracie lay. His chest tightened when he saw the evidence of her tears. Tenderly, he stroked her hair away from her cheek then he leaned forward and kissed her lips.

God, he didn’t like to see her hurting. He never had. She had a way of twisting him up on the inside that no other woman had ever managed to do.

He hated to wake her up. God knew she could use the sleep. So could he. But they had to talk. He had to make her understand.

“Gracie,” he whispered. “Gracie, sweetheart, wake up.”

She stirred, twisting her head slightly, a frown marring her face. Then she opened her gorgeous eyes and looked at him in confusion. Hurt filled her gaze, and he felt like someone sucker-punched him.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered.

He stroked his hand over her face, wanting to touch her, reassure himself that she was really okay.

“We need to talk, Gracie.”

She nibbled at her bottom lip then slowly nodded. “I know,” she said quietly.

“Will you come with me?” he asked. “I don’t want to hash everything out here with Jeremy and Michelle in the next room, and I don’t imagine you want to either.”

She pushed herself up on her elbow and struggled to sit up. He curled his hands around her waist and helped her upright.

“Okay,” she agreed.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He’d overcome the first obstacle. Getting her to listen. Now he just hoped he’d be successful in all he had to convince her of.

She stood up, a little shaky on her feet, and he reached out to steady her, but she stepped away. He collected her jacket and held it open for her.

She walked ahead of him out the door, and he carefully closed it behind them. He hurried for his truck, knowing she’d be cold.

He started the engine and turned the heat on high before backing out of the driveway. They didn’t speak as he drove toward his house. He didn’t know whether to be grateful she wasn’t yelling at him or worried that she was so quiet.

A few minutes later, he parked in his garage and looked over at her. “Come in so we can talk?”

Gracie stared at Luke for a long moment. He did look worried about her, and she hated that she’d acted so stupidly. She was still embarrassed as hell, but she’d just made things worse by running.

She finally nodded and opened the truck door to climb out. Luke waited for her in front of the truck and ushered her inside.

He had a gorgeous house. He’d moved into a spec house he’d built when he started developing the neighborhood. She’d always thought it too big for him, but it would be perfect for a family.

She sighed and directed her thoughts away from a family Luke may or may not have in the future.

Luke guided her into the living room and gestured for her to sit down on the couch. She perched on the edge, just wishing they could get the awkwardness over. She needed to beg forgiveness for being such a dipshit, and maybe, just maybe, they could one day go back to being friends again.

He stood a few feet away, looking uncomfortable. Poor guy probably didn’t know what the hell to say in the face of her assumptions. He was probably trying to figure out a way to let her down easy.

She sighed again. “Look, Luke, I’m sorry.”

He looked startled by her apology. He started to speak but she held a hand up. “Let me finish please.

She looked down at her hands and sucked in a few steadying breaths. Then she looked back up at him.

“I overreacted. I know that. And I made some assumptions I had no business making. It’s just that I wish you’d been level with me from the get-go. Just told me what you’d planned. You didn’t have to go through the whole charade of getting close to me. I thought…” She took another deep breath, willing herself not to crack. “I thought you were coming to care for me as more than a friend and that this weekend was a natural progression of that relationship. Silly, I know, but not knowing that you’d overheard my conversation and made plans to surprise me, well, it’s the only conclusion I could draw.”

He stared at her, mouth open. Then his eyes sparked. He was angry. Hell.

He strode over to where she sat on the couch and knelt down in front of her.

“Luke, I—”

“Gracie, shut up,” he said fiercely.

She blinked in surprise.

He blew out his breath in an angry puff then he yanked her to him, kissing her roughly, passionately. She had no time to react, and she was too shocked to do so.

He pulled away from her and collected her hands in his. “Gracie, I love you.”

Her mouth fell open. “But—”