Overheard (Unspoken #2)(7)

“Hey, Gracie,” he said, returning her smile. “I was in the neighborhood and wondered if you wanted to grab lunch with me.”

Her smile widened. “Barbeque?”

He chuckled. “As if I’d suggest anything else.”

She made a grab for her jacket on the floor at her feet before standing. “As long as you’re buying.”

As she rounded the desk, his arm came out, and he pressed his hand to the small of her back to usher her out the door. It was an intimate gesture, one that puzzled her. He was usually all about punching her in the arm or pointing out a nonexistent spot on her shirt so she’d look down and he could chuck her nose.

They walked outside, and Gracie shivered slightly. Damn cold front had moved in overnight. The sky was overcast and gray, and a cold drizzle escaped in fine droplets.

She slid into Luke’s truck and sank into the heated leather seats with a contented sigh. She’d given him hell when he’d bought the truck. Top of the line, tricked out, no expense spared. He spent money like it was nothing. But then he did have a lot of it to burn.

“Cold?” Luke asked as he started the engine and turned the heat on full blast.

She grumbled under her breath and stuck her hands out to the vents. He knew damn well she was freezing her ass off. Anything below fifty degrees and she was breaking out the winter parka.

They drove a few miles to the Barbeque Shack and pulled into the crowded parking lot. Aside from a Mexican restaurant and a hole-in-the-wall burger joint, this was the only other place to eat without driving into the neighboring town. Which was fine with Gracie, because if it wasn’t grilled and slathered with barbeque sauce, it wasn’t worth eating.

Luke walked ahead of her treating her to a look at those very tight jeans stretched across a very nice ass. His hair was all messed up as usual, but that was Luke. The wind blew at it, ruffling it up and sending it scattering across his head. She nearly reached up to smooth it, but caught herself before she did.

He held the door open for her, and she walked by him, sniffing appreciatively as the mixture of leather and the smell that was Luke sifted through her nostrils.

Minutes later, they were sitting at a table by the window sipping their drinks and waiting for their order to come. Luke leaned back in his chair and gazed lazily at her.

“Tell me something, Gracie. How come you and I haven’t ever gone out?”

She nearly choked on her drink. She set it down with a plunk and wheezed as she tried to make the last swallow go down.

“What?” she gasped.

His eyes narrowed. “You heard me.”

“Well hell, Luke, I don’t know what to say.”

Her mind reeled as she stared at him. What on earth had possessed him?

“We like each other, right?”

“Well, of course,” she said crossly. She wasn’t sure she liked where this conversation was heading. Now was not the time for Luke to get some strange bug up his ass.

She was feeling oddly vulnerable after her latest dead-end relationship. Like she was some freak of nature, destined to never find a guy who understood her, much less one who could satisfy her.

“We get along great. We understand each other,” Luke continued.

Yeah, right. If he only knew. He understood she was a nice girl who kept picking the wrong guy. He had no idea that underneath all the sweetness was a woman itching to break out. She was tired of being good. The girl next door. She wanted to be bad. And she was damn sure tired of being viewed as little sister, good pal, hunting and fishing partner.

“Is there a point to all this?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “There is. I’m trying to figure out why we’ve never gone out on a date.”

She stared at him for a long second, debating whether to even go there. But she wasn’t a liar, and she wasn’t big on playing games. So she just told the truth.

“Because you never asked,” she said softly.

They were interrupted by the waitress bringing their plates and dumping them in front of them. Gracie was grateful for the break because Luke was looking at her like he could crawl right under her skin and see everything she was hiding.

The waitress took her sweet time in leaving, and as she started away, she slid a napkin across the table toward Luke. Gracie didn’t give it a single thought until Luke picked it up and looked over his shoulder, a look of surprise on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Gracie asked, finally breaking the silence between them.

Luke turned back around, shaking his head. “She gave me her phone number. Wrote it on the napkin.”

A surge of irritation rippled through her chest. “That’s probably one reason we’ve never gone out,” she muttered.

“But you were sitting right there,” he said, ignoring her comment. “How the hell did she know we weren’t here together, that you aren’t my girlfriend or something?”

Gracie burst out laughing. “Luke, are you feeling well today? I swear you aren’t yourself. Half the town is used to seeing us together. No one’s ever assumed you were interested in me.”

“Well, what do they know?” he growled.

He stared across the table at her, his blue eyes sparking with something she wasn’t used to seeing. At least not when he was looking at her.

“I’m asking now, Gracie.”