Book of Luke (Book 2) by Chrissy Favreau Page A

friend who I’d previously called
“mind-bogglingly hot” would seem kind of weird.
    I clenched my jaw. Then again, getting
pictures of his lonely ex-girlfriend who he couldn’t wait to see
was kind of weird, too.
    And more hurtful than he could ever
imagine.
    When Troy took my hand, my heart stopped.
Somehow I didn’t expect him to do something so direct. It felt kind
of intimate—and awkward.
    “You’re not going to take advantage of me,
are you?” I blurted.
    He pulled me into the chilly night air. His
eyes twinkled seductively as he grinned. “Not unless you want me
to.”
    I stared.
    “No worries, mademoiselle,” he said with a
wink. “I’m not a psycho.”
    Hearing that, I breathed just a bit easier.
Because, you know, he’d surely tell me if he was .
    I am so naive.
    We walked down the streets of the resort
town and turned up a trail that seemed to lead to the middle of
nowhere.
    “Is it much farther?” I asked minutes later,
increasingly nervous that absolutely no one was around. By
this point I really began questioning my judgement. I reached into
my pocket and turned on my phone like that’s going to save me from
impending doom.
    He squeezed my hand as we hiked uphill
through the snow. “Not much farther.”
    A few nerve-wracking minutes later we
reached an overhang, and the view was absolutely stunning.
    The snowy landscape shimmered beneath a
magnificent full moon, and majestic snow-capped mountain peaks
spread as far as the eye could see. Billions of stars twinkled in
the cloudless sky, interlaced with the Milky Way.
    “Oh my God!” The sight literally took my
breath away.
    “You like it?” he asked, leading me to a
nearby bench. Apparently this was a popular spot.
    “This is incredible!” Although the landscape
was stunning, I couldn’t peel my eyes off the sky. I sat beside him
on the tiny bench. “Thank you for bringing me here!”
     
    He sighed and looked at the heavens. “I come
up here for answers.”
    “Answers to what?”
    “Life. I really missed this place while I
was in California. At night I’d lie in bed and pretend I was
here.”
    “Did you grow up there?”
    “I grew up everywhere. My father is
French-Canadian and he doesn’t have a big family. My mother is half
Swiss, half American—she’s one of six children, and I have a lot of
cousins I’m close to on her side. Most of them are in Vermont, New
York, Florida…” He chuckled. “I have a cousin who looks like Matt
Damon.”
    My mouth dropped. “Really!”
    He nodded. “His name’s Greg Daniels, he’s my
uncle Jack’s.”
    I laughed. “Does your uncle drink a
lot?”
    “Yes, and I think Greg drinks more than he
does,” he said with a grin.
    “That’s not good…” There I was with a guy
who looks like a male model , learning about his cousin who
looks like a movie star —and somehow I was still
surprised!
    Troy cleared his throat. “Greg lives with my
cousins Derek and Jesse. I feel sorry for them.”
    “You don’t like him?” I asked with a
grin.
    “Trust me, he’s not very likable. Derek
likes him okay, but he’s in the minority. Greg did some messed up
things to my cousin Trevor.”
    “Like what?”
    He looked at me. “Ah, a story for another
day, eh?”
    We fell quiet. And after a while, his
silence made me wonder if I’d upset him.
    “My cousin Trevor lives in Alaska,” he said
suddenly.
    “Really? What part?”
    “Not sure. Some out-of-the-way place. I
haven’t seen him in a while, I used to visit him in Florida.”
    “Oh. Yeah, Alaska’s a big state,” I said,
stating the obvious.
    He looked at the landscape thoughtfully.
    “How long have you known Luke?” I asked
eventually.
    Troy crossed his arms behind his head.
“Feels like forever. I used to steal his girlfriends.”
    My eyes widened and I looked at him.
    He put his hands out and grinned. “Don’t
worry, I’ve stopped. He’s always been picky and I liked his. We
didn’t get along at first, it was more like a