“Let’s keep things status quo. But no more working off the clock. Write up a contract for me.”
Sage waved his comment away. “I do a few pro bono cases a year. Consider this one of them. Besides, it’s not for you. It’s for Doreen Riley. Google puts her somewhere between Mother Theresa and Oprah”
“And I’m not Google-worthy?” He loosened the knot around her waist, sliding his hand under her robe and against her skin.
“Oh, I Googled you. Nice photo spread you did for the Twelve Months of Firefighters calendar.” Easter was her new favorite holiday. Seeing a shirtless Luke cuddling a baby bunny not only turned her on, it made her go soft in spots that were always hard.
“Not one of my proudest moments.” His hand traveled north, skimming her sides before roaming into the valley between her breasts.
“I was rather fond of it. You raised ten thousand dollars for your station. Impressive. But I also saw a few other headlines.” His touch distracted her, making her sound breathless, as if she couldn’t concentrate. Which she couldn’t. Not wanting him to think he had that much of an effect on her, she continued to quote the research she’d done on him. “You saved an Iraqi family during a roadside bomb, throwing your body in front of the woman’s children. You’ve rescued countless people from burning buildings.”
“And kittens. Don’t forget about the kittens stuck in the treetops.”
“Hm. I missed those articles.” She had embarrassed him, but he deserved the praise. Sage, on the other hand, had never done anything noble and Google-worthy.
“I’ll help you, I promise.” Of course he would. Luke Riley was the giving sort. In the community. In his family. In bed.
“Perfect. Get an invite list to me by the end of the day tomorrow.”
Luke nuzzled her neck and licked her earlobe. “Should I bring it by tomorrow night?”
“Oh,” Sage moaned. “Let me…check my…calendar.” Luke found her mouth and devoured her once again. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him as he carried her up the stairs. “Yes. Yes, I think I have an opening,” she said as they both fell into bed laughing.
Chapter Seven
Luke
The days before the party were hectic but fun. Luke was right out straight between work, checking in on his sisters and mom, keeping track of RSVPs, and finding time to be with Sage. He had yet to take her out on a real date. With both their busy schedules, the only time they had to connect was when Luke wasn’t working a night shift. He spent those evenings sprawled over Sage in her king-sized bed.
They talked shop over breakfast before she ran off to her yoga course or business meetings. Naked yoga should have been enough exercise for her, but she was starting to show and was self-conscious of her growing body. Luke liked it. Her curves softened her. Made her more vulnerable.
The day before his mother’s surprise party, he made a final walk-through of the inn with Sage—a twenty-minute appointment she squeezed in between other meetings when he wanted to stay and test out the guest rooms. Everything seemed to be in place, but what the hell did he know?
Blake was in town just for the party. He had to fly back to Texas Sunday morning to finish constructing a crazy-ass obstacle course run, and Graham had flown into Portland the night before. His mother never expected her kids to be home for her birthday and they’d all pretended to forget about it a few weeks ago. Granted, Rachael’s crisis was more important than anything else at the moment.
Celebrating his mother’s contribution to the world was the perfect distraction from the stress going on around them.
Colton Skyped in the morning of the party and Graham and Blake promised to bring Lucy, otherwise she’d be late or a no-show. Meanwhile Luke had the honor of driving his mother and Rachael. His sisters were both reluctant to come to the party, for very
Sage waved his comment away. “I do a few pro bono cases a year. Consider this one of them. Besides, it’s not for you. It’s for Doreen Riley. Google puts her somewhere between Mother Theresa and Oprah”
“And I’m not Google-worthy?” He loosened the knot around her waist, sliding his hand under her robe and against her skin.
“Oh, I Googled you. Nice photo spread you did for the Twelve Months of Firefighters calendar.” Easter was her new favorite holiday. Seeing a shirtless Luke cuddling a baby bunny not only turned her on, it made her go soft in spots that were always hard.
“Not one of my proudest moments.” His hand traveled north, skimming her sides before roaming into the valley between her breasts.
“I was rather fond of it. You raised ten thousand dollars for your station. Impressive. But I also saw a few other headlines.” His touch distracted her, making her sound breathless, as if she couldn’t concentrate. Which she couldn’t. Not wanting him to think he had that much of an effect on her, she continued to quote the research she’d done on him. “You saved an Iraqi family during a roadside bomb, throwing your body in front of the woman’s children. You’ve rescued countless people from burning buildings.”
“And kittens. Don’t forget about the kittens stuck in the treetops.”
“Hm. I missed those articles.” She had embarrassed him, but he deserved the praise. Sage, on the other hand, had never done anything noble and Google-worthy.
“I’ll help you, I promise.” Of course he would. Luke Riley was the giving sort. In the community. In his family. In bed.
“Perfect. Get an invite list to me by the end of the day tomorrow.”
Luke nuzzled her neck and licked her earlobe. “Should I bring it by tomorrow night?”
“Oh,” Sage moaned. “Let me…check my…calendar.” Luke found her mouth and devoured her once again. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him as he carried her up the stairs. “Yes. Yes, I think I have an opening,” she said as they both fell into bed laughing.
Chapter Seven
Luke
The days before the party were hectic but fun. Luke was right out straight between work, checking in on his sisters and mom, keeping track of RSVPs, and finding time to be with Sage. He had yet to take her out on a real date. With both their busy schedules, the only time they had to connect was when Luke wasn’t working a night shift. He spent those evenings sprawled over Sage in her king-sized bed.
They talked shop over breakfast before she ran off to her yoga course or business meetings. Naked yoga should have been enough exercise for her, but she was starting to show and was self-conscious of her growing body. Luke liked it. Her curves softened her. Made her more vulnerable.
The day before his mother’s surprise party, he made a final walk-through of the inn with Sage—a twenty-minute appointment she squeezed in between other meetings when he wanted to stay and test out the guest rooms. Everything seemed to be in place, but what the hell did he know?
Blake was in town just for the party. He had to fly back to Texas Sunday morning to finish constructing a crazy-ass obstacle course run, and Graham had flown into Portland the night before. His mother never expected her kids to be home for her birthday and they’d all pretended to forget about it a few weeks ago. Granted, Rachael’s crisis was more important than anything else at the moment.
Celebrating his mother’s contribution to the world was the perfect distraction from the stress going on around them.
Colton Skyped in the morning of the party and Graham and Blake promised to bring Lucy, otherwise she’d be late or a no-show. Meanwhile Luke had the honor of driving his mother and Rachael. His sisters were both reluctant to come to the party, for very
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