Love In Between(43)

I nodded my head as I took a bite of my burger. “Yep, we made it official last night.”

“Dude, that’s awesome.” Sam smiled as he fist-bumped me.

When we finished our lunch, Sam went back to work, and I headed to Bernie’s to talk to Maddie. I walked in the bar and took my usual seat.

“Hey, Luke. What brings you in here today?” Maddie asked.

“I know you talked to Mom last night. I listened to her message this morning, and she knew about Lily.”

“I may have mentioned that you’ve met someone and that she’s really special. I hope you’re not mad.”

“No, I’m not mad at all. It actually bought me some time before the million questions Mom’s going to be asking me about her.”

Maddie set a beer down in front on me. “Luke, my boy, tell me you’re here to give me your decision?” Bernie said as he came from the storage room with a box in his hands.

“Not yet, Bernie, but I promise you’ll have my answer by the end of the week,” I replied.

“You’re actually thinking about buying the bar again?” Maddie leaned over the bar and asked.

“Yeah, I’m thinking about it, but I want to talk to Lily about it first. We were supposed to talk about it last night, but we kind of got distracted by a bathtub, a countertop, and a bed.”

“Whoa, stop right there!” Maddie said as she put her hand up.

I finished my beer and got up from the stool. “Later, Bernie; Lily and I will be in tonight. See ya, sis,” I said as I kissed her on the cheek.





23

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Lily

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I grabbed my bags and headed to the Explorer. Once I got inside, I inserted the key—nothing. The f*cking thing wouldn’t start. I took in a deep breath and calmly turned the key—nothing. “Damn—damn—damn it!” I yelled as I slammed my hands against the steering wheel. I pulled out my phone and dialed Luke. Please answer, please answer, I thought to myself.

“Hey, babe, are you on your way home?” he answered.

“I never made it out of the parking lot; my truck won’t start!”

“Sit tight, I’ll be there shortly.”

“Thank you, I—I’ll be here!”

I couldn’t believe what almost came out of my mouth. Just then, a text message came through from Gretchen.

“Sam and I will be joining you at Bernie’s tonight. Make sure you have your dancing shoes on, because we’re going to get down and dirty!”

I laughed as I replied, “Alright, but we have to get the guys to dance with us. If Luke dances, then he’s perfect. I love a man who can dance!”

I looked up and saw Luke pulling into the parking lot. I let out a sigh of relief when he was in his Jeep and not on his bike. Pulling up next to me, he smiled, and I gave him a small wave and a smile in return. I was so happy to see him. I got out of the Explorer as he got out of his Jeep, and I hugged him tight.

“I missed you,” I said.

“I missed you too. Now let’s see if we can get your truck running.”

I popped the hood and stood next to him as he fumbled with some wires. I was totally turned on by how sexy he looked, trying to fix my truck. He looked over at me.

“Go try to start it.”

I sat in the truck and turned the key—nothing. I got out and walked over to Luke as he was on the phone with the mechanic. After he hung up, he shut the hood of my truck and put his hands on my hips.

“They’re on their way to tow your truck back to the garage.”

I sighed. “I need a new ride.”

“The good news is that I get to drive you to and from work tomorrow.” He smiled.

“There’s no school tomorrow. The district’s closed.”

“That’s great! So I guess that means you don’t have to be home early tonight.”

“Nope, I can stay out late because it’s not a school night.” I smiled.

We walked over to Luke’s Jeep, and he opened the door for me. I climbed in and put my seatbelt on as we drove back to the apartment building.

We pulled up as Maddie and Charley were getting out of the car.

“Uncle Luke, Lily, guess what? My daddy’s coming to visit in a few days!”

I could see the tears in Maddie’s eyes as Luke looked at her, and she looked away.

“Lily, take Charley to your apartment; I want to talk to my sister for a minute.”

I took Charley’s hand and led her inside the building. I began to worry about the conversation Luke was going to have with Maddie. Obviously, no one likes Charley’s father. After a few minutes, they walked into my apartment; then Maddie took Charley home. Luke opened my refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of beer. He opened it and flung the cap across the counter.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked as I stood there with my arms folded.

“He hasn’t seen Charley in three years. He hasn’t paid child support, and he hasn’t sent her any gifts; nothing. The only thing the bastard’s done is made a few phone calls, talked to her for a couple of minutes, and made up excuses as to why he can’t visit her. Now, he’s coming here after three years and expects to take her for a weekend.”