Country Brides - Debbie Macomber [96]
“Sorry, folks,” Nellie muttered, replacing the broom.
“No problem,” Luke answered, and she threw him a grateful smile, then hurried over to refill their coffee cups.
The disturbance died down when Harry wandered down the street to find a more appreciative audience. Luke sighed as he stirred his coffee. “I don’t think your father has any intention of showing up tonight,” he began. “In fact—”
“That’s ridiculous,” Kate said, cutting him off. “Dad wouldn’t do that.”
“He’s trying to tell you something,” Luke insisted.
“I can’t imagine what.” She could, but decided to pretend otherwise.
For a long moment, Luke said nothing. “You ’re smart enough to figure it out, Kate.” He finished off the last bite of his pie and pushed the plate aside. “I ’ve got some things to attend to, so I’d best be leaving.” The corners of his eyes crinkled with amusement as he glanced out the café window. “Who knows, you might be singing me love songs in a couple of years if you don’t come to your senses soon.”
Kate ignored the comment. “My father will be here any minute.”
“No, Princess,” Luke said, and the smile left his eyes. He leaned across the table to brush his hand gently against her cheek. “But his message is coming across loud and clear.”
Kate stayed at the café another half-hour after Luke had gone and it took her that long to admit he was right. Her father had been giving her a message, this one no more subtle than the rest. Expelling her breath in disgust, Kate dredged up a smile and said goodbye to Nellie.
Kate didn’t see Luke again until Friday evening, when they met at the Wilkins home for her father’s wedding. Kate arrived with Devin, and Luke followed a few minutes later. Kate was busy arranging freshly baked cookies on a tray for the small reception to be held after the ceremony, when Luke walked into the dining room. Dorothea was with MinnieWilkins in the back bedroom, and her father and PastorWilkins were talking in the office.
“Hello, Kate,” Luke said from behind her.
“Hi,” she responded, turning to give him a polite smile. Her breath caught in her throat at the elegant yet virile sight he made. He was dressed in a dark, three-piece suit that did nothing to disguise his strong, well-formed body, and his light blue silk tie enhanced the richness of his tan. Kate suspected that Luke was basking in the wonder she was unable to conceal, and yet she couldn’t stop staring at him.
Her heart skipped a beat, then leaped wildly as his penetrating brown eyes looked straight into hers. She felt the tears well up, knowing that only Luke truly understood how difficult this evening was for her.
Many of her emotions tonight were identical to the ones she’d experienced at Clay’s and Rorie’s wedding. All day, she’d worried her stomach into a knot of apprehension. The acceptance and strength of purpose she’d so recently been feeling had fled. Tonight, she was reminded again that everything she loved, everything familiar, had been taken from her life. First the man she’d planned to marry, now her father, and soon, so very soon, her childhood home. It was too much change, too quickly.
Just as she had at Clay’s wedding, Kate forced herself to show pleasure, to behave appropriately. She was happy for her father and Dorothea—just as she’d been for Clay and Rorie. But why did everyone else’s happiness need to cost Kate so much?
Luke must have read the distress in her eyes, because he hurried to her side. “Everything’s going to be all right,” he told her quietly. He’d said the same thing at Clay’s wedding.
“Of course it is,” she agreed, braving a smile. She turned back to the flowers, although her fingers were trembling. “I couldn’t have chosen a better wife for Dad myself. Dorothea’s wonderful.”
Luke’s hands rested on her shoulders and began to caress them gently. “So are you, Princess.”
It demanded every ounce of fortitude Kate possessed not to whirl around and bury her face in Luke’s chest, to absorb his strength. But this was exactly