SWNOVELS My Ex-Boyfriend’s Brothers: Chapter 17
“This is a pretty big wedding to tackle on your own.” Luke looked down at my feet and frowned. “Your feet are hurting, aren’t they?”
I frowned back at him. “No.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“Fine. Yes, they are hurting.” I sighed. “And it is a big wedding to tackle on my own, but I’m doing just fine.”
“Wait right here. Don’t move.” Before I had a chance to respond, Luke jogged back towards the front entrance of the lodge.
I stared after him, wondering what he was doing and why I was frozen in place, exactly where he’d told me to wait. Needing to feel like I wasn’t his good dog, I shifted to the side and crossed my arms. I didn’t know what I was thinking, or why I thought moving a few inches was somehow showing him, but it was what it was.
Luke came jogging back just a minute later. He wasn’t even winded as he knelt in front of me with a pair of slippers. He smiled up at me as he gripped the back of my right calf. “Up.”
I lifted my foot and let him slip my heel off just to slide the fuzzy slipper on. The only thing nicer than the soft slipper was his warm hand on my skin. I watched as he repeated the action with my other foot and then stood up, my heels in his hand. I didn’t know what to say. He’d gone back to the lodge to find me comfortable shoes. The act was so kind that I could’ve cried.
“My assistant has a friend who happens to be looking for work. He’s a personal assistant but he’s handled event planning before. He’ll be here this afternoon.” Luke glanced down at my heels and scowled. “They make shoes like this that aren’t painful. You shouldn’t be walking around in pain. No matter how good they make your legs look.”
I felt like I’d just fallen into a different reality. I held up my finger to stop him from saying anything else. “Why are you telling me about the guy looking for work?”
“You need help. I could tell you were feeling overwhelmed this morning. Dealing with Brad is a lot when you’re not his ex and it’s not his wedding. Devon will help during the wedding and if you like him, I’ll hire him on full time for you.” Luke pressed his hand to my back and led me further away from the lodge.
“I’m sorry?” I stopped walking. “You’ll hire him on full time?”
Placing my shoes down on a bench beside us, Luke moved closer to me and nodded. “You need help. I found help.”
“You found help.”
He tugged me along. “I found help. There’s no reason for you to do this all on your own. If Brad had agreed to pay you what you’re worth to start with, you could’ve hired someone to help you from the start, but since my little brother is a cheap asshole, I’m taking care of it.”
“Luke.” I growled out his name when he wouldn’t stop walking. “Luke!”
He looked back at me with an exasperated sigh. “I’m trying to take you on a date, Maggie. The vineyard is empty this time of morning and as someone who’s been waiting around for six years to get you alone, I’d really like to experience that.”
I gaped up at him. “You’re taking me on a date.”
He gave me a slow smile that transformed his stern face into something magnetic. “Trying to.”
“You didn’t ask.”
He shook his head. “You might’ve said no.”
“You got me shoes that don’t hurt my feet and hired someone to help me with the wedding and you’re taking me on a date.” I licked my lips. “Am I getting everything?”
“Pretty much.”
“Luke, that’s-”
He pressed his finger to my lips. “I’m overstepping boundaries. I’m butting in where I wasn’t invited. I’m not unaware of societal norms, Maggie. I just don’t care. I want to take care of you so I am. I want to take you on a date, so I am.”
I wanted to push him down for being so confident in asserting himself into my business and then I wanted to climb on top of him for the same reason. I couldn’t believe his nerve but I also found it incredibly sexy. It was a conundrum.
“You’re beautiful when you’re deciding whether or not you want to hit me.” Stepped closer, Luke cupped my face in his hands and stroked his thumbs over my cheeks. “You’re in control here, Maggie. If you don’t want to go on a date with me, say the word and I’ll walk you back to the lodge. I take what I want but only as much as you want to give.”
I might’ve swayed into his chest. I might’ve even gripped his suit jacket in my fists. He had no idea how much I wanted to give.
“I want to take care of you. With your business and with everything else. I want to take you on a real date that ends with you giving me your breakfast order the next day.” His grip on my face tightened slightly when my body grazed the front of his pants. “Maggie…”
I opened my mouth, so eager to say whatever he wanted to hear so he’d keep looking at me like he wanted to devour me. In the back of my mind, my conscience was screaming at me, though. I squeezed my eyes shut. “I can’t.”
He growled low in his throat. “Why?”
“I just can’t.” I gently pulled away from him and wrapped my arms around myself. It suddenly didn’t feel warm out. It felt chilly and miserable.
Luke blew out a rough breath. “I can accept a no, Maggie. I just want to know why.”
I groaned and turned back to face him. “Because! Both of your brothers have made the same move since getting here. Suddenly all of the good Heath brothers want me and want to kiss me and it’s ridiculous! You three are…you and I’m…me. Yet, you’re all here, making moves and kissing me. It’s like you’ve all lost your minds.”
Luke gripped the back of my neck. “Kissing you?”
My face flared. “Luke…”
“I’ll be damned if I’m the only one who hasn’t tasted you, Maggie.” He walked me backwards until my back hit the rough bark of a tree. “Tell me no.”
I opened my mouth but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to.
Luke groaned as he slanted his mouth over mine. He pulled back and let out a shuddering breath. “Look at me, Maggie.”
His eyes were more gold than green that close up. Our breath mixed between our mouths as he hovered there, on the cusp of devouring me.
“Ask me to kiss you.” He nudged my nose with his and ghosted his lips over mine. “I want to hear you ask for it.”