Country Brides - Debbie Macomber [109]
“Kate!”
Just as he spoke the ottoman started to roll out from under her. She flailed her arms in a desperate effort to maintain her balance.
Kate had never seen Luke move faster. His hands closed around her waist in an iron grip. Her cry of alarm caught in her throat as she was slammed against his solid chest.
“Of all the stupid, idiotic things I’ve ever seen—”
“I would’ve been perfectly fine if you hadn’t called my name.” Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely breathe.
Luke’s hold relaxed. “You ’re all right?”
She nodded.
He closed his eyes, exhaling a ragged sigh. When he opened them, he assessed her carefully; apparently he concluded that she was unhurt because he gave her an impatient little shake. “Whatever possessed you to climb up on that ottoman in the first place?” he demanded.
“I couldn’t reach the trophies.”
“Couldn’t you have asked me to get them for you? Why do you have such a difficult time accepting help from me?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted softly.
Still he held her and still Kate let him, trying to resist the comfort she felt in his arms. Her hands were braced against his powerful shoulders, but then she relaxed, unconsciously linking her fingers behind his neck.
Neither moved for a long moment.
Slowly Luke ran a provocative finger down the length of her cheek, and Kate’s eyes drifted shut. She felt herself drawn inexorably toward him. Her lips parted and trembled, awaiting his kiss. When she realized what she was doing, she opened her eyes and broke away from him so quickly that she would’ve stumbled had his hands not righted her.
Embarrassed now, she stepped back. Luke brought down the trophies and handed them to her, but she saw that his eyes had become distant and unreadable.
“That’s enough packing for tonight,” she murmured, her voice breathless even while she struggled to sound cheerful and bright.
He nodded slightly, then without another word stalked from the room. Kate didn’t know what possessed her to follow him, certainly the last thing she should have done.
“Luke?”
He stopped halfway through the kitchen and turned toward her. His eyes were steely and intense, and just seeing that harsh edge drove her to take a step backward in retreat.
“You wanted something?” he asked when she didn’t immediately explain.
“Just to say…” She could barely talk coherently. It occurred to her to ask if he loved her the way a man loves his wife, but she lacked the courage. “I thought maybe, I mean, I wanted to know if there was anything I could do for you before I left the house. Paint the living room…or something?”
“No.”
Briefly she toyed with the idea of following him outside. For all his words about wanting her to stay, he couldn’t seem to get away from her fast enough. The thought of not having Luke for her friend anymore felt crippling. Her pride was the problem. Luke had told her repeatedly that she needed him, and she knew now that she did. But not in the way he meant. Not just as a friend who was willing to offer her the protection and peace of marriage, a friend who felt obliged to take care of her.
“I don’t want you to move from the ranch,” he said.
Her heart was begging him to give her a reason to stay—the reason she longed to hear. “Luke, please accept that I’m only doing what I think is best for my life.”
“I know that, but dammit, Kate, why are you being so stubborn? Why do you resist me when all I want is to make things easier for you? We could be married, and you could settle down in the house, and nothing needs to change. Yet you insist on causing all this turmoil in your life.”
There wasn’t anything Kate could say.
“You can’t tell me we aren’t physically attracted to each other. The electricity between us is powerful enough to light up Main Street.”
“I…know.”
“Say it, Kate. Admit that it felt good when I held you just now.”
“I…”
Luke reached for her then, and Kate felt as if she’d lost some strategic battle. When his mouth