Read Online His Sister's Wedding by Carol Rose - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Carol Rose
Ads: Link
struggled with a sense of inevitability,
the inescapable feeling of connection with Luke Morgan. Nothing about it was reasonable.
He was a man who'd locked his emotions away so effectively, he'd shut out his own
mother.
And yet, it hung there between them, an awareness of possibilities, an ache for something
beyond passion. Everything seemed jumbled, her feelings toward him a tangled mess.
How could she want to comfort him when she wanted to strangle him? And through it
all came a drumbeat of longing for his touch.
Impelled by her nervousness, Lillie groped for conversation. "What did you think of
the band? They were really in good form tonight. Don't you think they would work for
the wedding? Not too stuffy, but not too wild?"
"The band is okay," Luke said, his words brief in comparison to her anxious chattiness.
He unlocked the car door for her.
"Good. Do you want me to schedule them for the reception?" she asked when they'd both
gotten in and Luke started the motor.
"I guess they'll do," he said indifferently.
His lack of enthusiasm wasn't very encouraging, but the awareness that hummed between
them kept Lillie from commenting.
They drove to her house in silence, the tension in Lillie tightening like a cord.
When Luke stopped his car in front of the bungalow, he turned off the engine and looked
at her, his face shadowed.
"Are you going to invite me in?" His words held the brush of velvet and moonlight.
It was just like Luke to ask her so directly, no pretense of coffee or a nightcap.
He looked at her as if they were already making love, his eyes dark and heavy with
desire. He looked at her as if nothing could be more natural, more right, than to
ask to spend the night in her arms.
Lillie shivered as the sensation of his kiss washed over her again. She couldn't invite
him in, even to offer him a drink. He was too much a temptation, and she suspected,
too easily able to sway her into doing what she shouldn't do. It scared her, the power
of his effect on her. The man who didn't trust feelings made her feel things she'd
never known before.
"I don't think that would be a good idea, Luke," she murmured, lowering her head so
he couldn't see the regret in her eyes. If he'd been a fraction more open to his feelings,
there might have been hope for them.
He didn't respond for a long moment.
"We still have a lot to do to be ready for the wedding," Lillie said, changing the
subject abruptly in hope of breaking the spell his presence cast on her.
His continued silence compelled her to look up, only to have her gaze caught by his.
"You're a beautiful woman," Luke said abruptly. "Why are you wasting your time waiting
for some unrealistic, idealized lover?"
Jolted by his comment about her being beautiful, it took Lillie several seconds before
his question sunk in. She felt herself stiffening. "I don't think its being unrealistic to want a man who's comfortable with his feelings and willing to commit emotionally
to a woman."
Although she'd started out calmly enough, her voice rose on the last word. It was
just like a man to declare himself out of the game and then insist on criticizing
a woman for how she played it. Luke didn't want love, but he felt he had the right
to criticize her for needing it.
"You're a dreamer, Lillie. A beautiful, sweet Pollyanna. But those kinds of dreams
can lead to all sorts of problems. They make you vulnerable."
"That's not true!" she fired back indignantly.
"Sweetheart, you want roses and poetry and long walks at midnight. Give you those
things and you'll fall in love. Do you know how easy it would be for me to pretend?
For any guy?" He leaned toward her, his face intense. "I could tell you that you're
the most beautiful woman in the world, that just seeing you makes me feel ten feet
tall. If I told you that I adore you, that I hear bells every time we kiss--you'd
fall for it, wouldn't you?"
Lillie heard the thunder of
the inescapable feeling of connection with Luke Morgan. Nothing about it was reasonable.
He was a man who'd locked his emotions away so effectively, he'd shut out his own
mother.
And yet, it hung there between them, an awareness of possibilities, an ache for something
beyond passion. Everything seemed jumbled, her feelings toward him a tangled mess.
How could she want to comfort him when she wanted to strangle him? And through it
all came a drumbeat of longing for his touch.
Impelled by her nervousness, Lillie groped for conversation. "What did you think of
the band? They were really in good form tonight. Don't you think they would work for
the wedding? Not too stuffy, but not too wild?"
"The band is okay," Luke said, his words brief in comparison to her anxious chattiness.
He unlocked the car door for her.
"Good. Do you want me to schedule them for the reception?" she asked when they'd both
gotten in and Luke started the motor.
"I guess they'll do," he said indifferently.
His lack of enthusiasm wasn't very encouraging, but the awareness that hummed between
them kept Lillie from commenting.
They drove to her house in silence, the tension in Lillie tightening like a cord.
When Luke stopped his car in front of the bungalow, he turned off the engine and looked
at her, his face shadowed.
"Are you going to invite me in?" His words held the brush of velvet and moonlight.
It was just like Luke to ask her so directly, no pretense of coffee or a nightcap.
He looked at her as if they were already making love, his eyes dark and heavy with
desire. He looked at her as if nothing could be more natural, more right, than to
ask to spend the night in her arms.
Lillie shivered as the sensation of his kiss washed over her again. She couldn't invite
him in, even to offer him a drink. He was too much a temptation, and she suspected,
too easily able to sway her into doing what she shouldn't do. It scared her, the power
of his effect on her. The man who didn't trust feelings made her feel things she'd
never known before.
"I don't think that would be a good idea, Luke," she murmured, lowering her head so
he couldn't see the regret in her eyes. If he'd been a fraction more open to his feelings,
there might have been hope for them.
He didn't respond for a long moment.
"We still have a lot to do to be ready for the wedding," Lillie said, changing the
subject abruptly in hope of breaking the spell his presence cast on her.
His continued silence compelled her to look up, only to have her gaze caught by his.
"You're a beautiful woman," Luke said abruptly. "Why are you wasting your time waiting
for some unrealistic, idealized lover?"
Jolted by his comment about her being beautiful, it took Lillie several seconds before
his question sunk in. She felt herself stiffening. "I don't think its being unrealistic to want a man who's comfortable with his feelings and willing to commit emotionally
to a woman."
Although she'd started out calmly enough, her voice rose on the last word. It was
just like a man to declare himself out of the game and then insist on criticizing
a woman for how she played it. Luke didn't want love, but he felt he had the right
to criticize her for needing it.
"You're a dreamer, Lillie. A beautiful, sweet Pollyanna. But those kinds of dreams
can lead to all sorts of problems. They make you vulnerable."
"That's not true!" she fired back indignantly.
"Sweetheart, you want roses and poetry and long walks at midnight. Give you those
things and you'll fall in love. Do you know how easy it would be for me to pretend?
For any guy?" He leaned toward her, his face intense. "I could tell you that you're
the most beautiful woman in the world, that just seeing you makes me feel ten feet
tall. If I told you that I adore you, that I hear bells every time we kiss--you'd
fall for it, wouldn't you?"
Lillie heard the thunder of
Similar Books
