Light Up His Life by Shanae Johnson

Author:Shanae Johnson [Johnson, Shanae]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Those Johnson Girls

Chapter Eleven

"You know that was a sign, right?"

Luke turned to Paul, but only for a second. He had to keep his eyes on the road. Not only did he need to worry about other cars, but he also needed to worry about pedestrians. Most were looking down at their phones and not flipping through a book.

"What are you talking about?" said Luke.

"That lingering handshake? Totally a sign that she wanted you to kiss her."

"It was not." Was it? "She did not." Did she? "It wasn't a date. Therefore, there were no signs."

Except maybe there were signs. When Luke had thought Elaine was cold and he'd gone to do the gentlemanly thing with his jacket, she'd stepped back. But she hadn't shrugged him off when he put his arm around her as they walked. In fact, she kinda burrowed herself into his side like he was a favorite pillow.

They had been silent as they walked. But it wasn't uncomfortable. It was pleasant. They'd said everything they had to say back at the restaurant, and man had they said a lot.

Then there was that handshake. Luke had certainly felt sparks. Perhaps, she had too. He’d heard her gasp, only because he'd been paying such close attention to everything about her.

Her lips had parted. Her gaze had dipped. Had they dipped to his lips? He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t take his eyes off her at the time to determine where she was looking.

Had it been a sign?

Luke was normally a good read of people. He had to be in his former line of work in the armed services. But it truly served him in his current line of work as a novelist.

Writing wasn't just about plot. It was about character growth and development. That's what truly got his readers hooked; that he could get to the heart of what his heroine, and even the villain, wanted. What motivated them to go after a goal. Which conflicts he could put in their path to test them and get them to grow. That's what got him five-star reviews.

But Luke couldn’t read Elaine. She was a walking, talking, reading contradiction. He knew he'd scare her off if he pushed. But man did he want to push. He just didn't want her running scared before he could pull her in.

"You might be right," Luke admitted.

"I know I'm right," snorted Paul. "I know women."

"Not this one. She's afraid of emotions. Her parents' love story sounded warped."

Luke told Paul what Elaine had told him about her parents’ divorces and remarriages. He could fill in the blanks that the Reynolds’s passion was destructive. He'd seen the end product in their daughter.

"That's interesting," said Paul. "Your parents' love story is on the other end of that spectrum."

"What am I gonna do?"

"Why do you even like this girl?" asked Paul.

Good question. "She's beautiful. She's smart.”

All surface-level observations.

“She's opinionated,” he went on.

Which might turn off another man, but he liked the challenge.

“She’s a strong woman,” he continued.

She had to be after what her parents had put her through as a child.

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