Goodness and Light Read Online Free PDF Page B

agreed.
    “I warned you.”
    “Come on, do another one,” Debbie said.
    Elena put out a hand. “Please don’t use the obvious puns on RAM or motherboards .”
    Lucas looked at her sideways. “Please. This isn’t my first program.”
    She snorted and let him continue. Luke took her hand and leaned in real close. “Baby, you overclock my processor but trust me, there’s no part of my body that’s micro or soft.” He delivered the final words with his eyes locked on hers.
    Elena stared into his dark eyes and felt herself melting, weakening, and might have leaned over the table to fuse her mouth to his had Debbie not burst into laughter, breaking the spell. She laughed, too, to hide her growing discomfort.
    Luke stared at her, his dark eyes strangely guarded. She stopped laughing when the waitress dropped two bills on their table along with a snarky comment about starting a collection, and saw Luke’s face redden. He squirmed, swallowed hard, abruptly grabbed the two scraps of paper and headed to the register.
    When he returned to their table, she avoided his gaze, busying herself with hat, gloves, coat, and purse. The man—with his volunteer efforts and enthralling smile and kindness to strangers—nobody could be this good, she decided. Maybe it was all just a ploy. Maybe he was nothing more than veneer. Well, she had neither the time nor the interest in diving beneath that surface.
    She shoved her hand through the shoulder strap of her bag and extended it in farewell. “Well, thank you for the cocoa and the company. I suppose we’ll see you at the Remembrance event—assuming Kara doesn’t go into labor, of course.”
    “Nice meeting you.” Debbie held out her hand.
    Luke put up his hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa—did you hear what I said earlier? Nobody walks alone.”
    Here we go. “Look, Lucas. I’m sure you’re a great guy, but I’m only here for a few weeks and I’ve got a packed schedule with work, shopping, building the crib for Kara’s baby, not to mention all the details we still need to finalize before the big night. I appreciate the attempt, but I’m just not interested.”
    Beside her, Al and Debbie exchanged a knowing glance.
    The smile—that patently potent source of power—fled. His eyes cooled and his shoulders straightened. “Never said I was interested, Elena. All I said was nobody walks alone.”
    She bit her lip. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
    He turned his back and strode to the exit.
    Uncomfortable, the remaining three followed.
    “Damn, it’s friggin’ freezing out here,” Debbie complained. “No gloves again, Luke? Who got them this time? Homeless guy? Some kid on the subway?”
    Lucas didn’t respond. Elena glanced up at him, saw the tight expression on his face and didn’t press. The wind was biting so they walked in silence at a fast clip, exchanged terse goodbyes with Al and Debbie at the subway station and said nothing more on their brisk walk back to Kara’s building.
    “Goodnight, Luke. Thanks again.” Elena opened the door and turned back to wave.
    Big mistake.
    In the glare of a streetlight, she instantly saw that Lucas wasn’t quiet because she’d turned him down. No, Lucas was quiet because he was pissed. A slow and steady rage had been bubbling beneath that veneer of his—his jaw was so tightly clenched, she marveled that his teeth hadn’t cracked under the pressure. Guilt burned in her gut. With a resigned sigh, she started her apology. “Luke—”
    “’night,” he said. Hard to have been more brief.
    “Wait!” She called when he strode away. He halted, but didn’t turn. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean –”
    “Don’t sweat it,” he cut in. “Players like me just move on to the next name in the contact list, baby.”
    Okay. She had been a bit presumptuous on that point. “I apologize for making—”
    “Noted. Goodnight.” He turned, waited for her to enter the building.
    His icy tone shot straight through her and all she could