I Want It That Way: a retro romantic comedy (Carolina Classics Book 3) by Karen Grey

Author:Karen Grey [Grey, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Home Cooked Books
Published: 2023-05-24T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

DANI

Luke’s arm draped protectively across my shoulders is something I could get used to. I never wanted to be a woman who relied on anyone—especially not a man—for anything, but, well, no one’s ever offered. For some reason, the way he stepped up to take care of things feels okay. Like he’s just pitching in. Not because I can’t take care of it myself, but because he’s there and why not share the burden if you can?

Not something to get used to, missy. This is a temporary solution to a specific problem.

Still, I can’t quite make myself shrug out of the embrace any more than I can forget the feel of his mouth on my neck the other night, and when he suggests grabbing breakfast, I don’t say no. Since it’s Saturday in the summer, there’s no sense in going to the Causeway on Wrightsboro Beach, so we head for Salt Works instead. It’s busy, but we manage to snag a couple of seats at the counter.

Once we’ve ordered, he swivels on his stool to face me. “I think we might need to reevaluate.”

Disappointment floods my systems so fast I have to hang on to the counter to remain upright, but I quickly rearrange my face to hide it. “I get it. Like I said, go ahead and do what you need to do to file for divorce. I mean, it’s only been a couple days. Maybe we could even get an annulment.”

He places a hand over mine, the one currently fiddling with a teaspoon. “Dani, I’m not backing out. But I think we need to make some decisions about who to tell and what to tell them.” He looks around the restaurant and then lowers his voice to continue. “Your roommates think our marriage is for real. What are you going to tell Violet?”

I pick at the fraying edge of the plastic menu with my free hand as I do my best to shift gears. “I can’t lie to Violet. Not just because she’s my best friend, but because she’ll see through it.”

He leans so close, I can see that his blue eyes have tiny brown freckles in them. “Can you trust her to be discreet?”

“Vi? Yes. I mean, she has to be for her job. But also, she’s a good egg. She wants what’s best for me.” Then I realize that he might be more concerned about his own reputation. “But also, she won’t sell the story to some fan magazine. You don’t have to worry about that.”

He rubs a hand over the dome of his skull, a new gesture that seems to have replaced pushing his hair out of his eyes. “I honestly don’t give a shit. There are other people in my life who do, but I’m thinking about you. I know you don’t want to deal with the circus of being publicly attached to”—he lowers his voice even further and leans even closer—“that guy Lukas.”

I don’t care what his real name is or where

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