Charlene Sands - Sunset Seduction

Her gaze locked onto Luke and she met with his bluer than blue eyes. Heart hammering, her breaths came quick. She cursed silently and struggled to quell her jittery nerves.

“There they are,” Logan said as he walked over to her. “Good to see you again, Audrey.” He gave her a hug and then flashed a brilliant smile. He was a dark-haired, dark-eyed version of Luke, and just as devilishly handsome.

“It’s good to see you, too.”

“Pip-squeak’s going on twenty-five. Can you believe it?” Luke intervened.

“Tell me he doesn’t call you that,” Logan said.

Audrey would have been mortified if she didn’t know Luke was just poking fun. Luke had never called her that. When Casey would, Luke would tell him to show some respect. She sent Luke her fiercest glare. “Not if he wants to live to tell about it.”

Luke busted out laughing. “She means it, too.” He winked at her, just like he did when she was a kid.

Logan took Sophia by the hand and drew her into his arms. “I see you met my soon-to-be wife.” He kissed her cheek. “You two get acquainted?”

“We did, a little.” Sophia glanced at her with warmth in her eyes.

Audrey smiled back.

“Are you ready to sit down to eat?” Sophia asked. “I made paella Valenciana. I hope you like it, Audrey. It’s my mother’s recipe and Logan loves it.”

“It’s one of my favorites, too,” Luke said. “I can’t wait to dig in.”

“It smells delicious,” Audrey said. The flavorful scent of saffron and spices rose up to tickle her senses. She peeked at the concoction on the stove. A mixture of vegetables, rice, tomatoes and what looked like pork pieces filled a cast-iron skillet. “Can I help?”

“Sure,” Sophia said. “Why don’t you help me dish it into the plates and serve?”

“I’d love to do that.” Audrey was glad to work beside Sophia in the kitchen. It made her feel like part of a family, like she belonged.

Audrey filled the plates for Luke and herself and set them onto the table while Sophia portioned out enough for her and Logan. “Audrey, if you could toss the salad, I’ll put the bread on the table.”

“I’d be happy to.” Audrey took hold of the teak salad bowl and used the utensils to give the ingredients several good tosses. Once it was ready, she brought the salad over to the table set with earthen stoneware and very simple stainless-steel cutlery.

Luke opened a bottle of red wine. “Paella goes down easy with merlot.” He poured wine into all four goblets and everyone took their seats. Sophia sat next to Logan, which left Audrey to sit beside Luke.

It wasn’t a hardship being close to Luke. Somewhere between the paella and a half a glass of wine during the meal, her heartbeats had slowed to normal. The conversation was lively as she became better acquainted with the Slades and Sophia. She’d learned about Sophia and Luke’s tight friendship as children and how Logan had felt left out and jealous about it. Sophia didn’t go much further into detail but it was something Audrey was curious about. She planned on finding out more one day if Sophia was willing to share the information.

What a sucker she was. Or was she a glutton for punishment? Everything about Luke’s life outside the rodeo fascinated her.

“Luke’s still my best friend,” Sophia said. Logan gave her a nod of approval. “And I hear he was like a big brother to you, too, Audrey.”

Audrey gulped the last drop of her wine. Not the brother thing again. Mercy, she was tired of it, but Sophia was just making polite conversation and couldn’t possibly know how much Audrey hated the subject, so she answered her with equal politeness. “Yes, when Casey wasn’t around, Luke watched out for me.”

She glanced at Luke and found him staring, his gaze focused and piercing. Was he remembering that night when he’d rescued her by the bonfire? The night he’d nearly flattened Judd Calhoon on her behalf. Was he remembering all the other times he’d been there for her? His eyes stayed on hers for a few long moments and then swept down to her mouth. Heat curled in her belly and a memory flashed of that nothing-yet-everything kiss from this afternoon.

“My brother is the Goody Two-shoes in the family,” Logan said. “In this case, I’m glad he watched out for you two ladies.”

“Hey,” Luke said. “If a beautiful woman needs my help, I’m there.”

A moment ticked by. Then it hit Audrey. Luke had called her beautiful.

Good gracious. She had to stop banking on his every word. It wasn’t the first time he’d paid her a compliment. He was Mr. Nice Guy, she reminded herself.

After dinner, they had a second glass of wine, and though the men offered to help with the cleanup , Sophia shooed them into the family room to watch the baseball game.

“The paella was delicious,” Audrey said, bringing the empty dishes to the counter next to the sink.

“Thank you. I’ll share the recipe with you if you’d like.”

“I would love that. I just don’t know when I’d have time to try it out. Once my job is done here, I’ll be starting veterinarian school again.”

“Luke told us what you did for your brother when he broke his back. You dropped out of school to care for him.”

“Casey needed me. I wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s done so much for me and it was the least I could do for him. Of course, I’d hate for him to hear me say that...he and I butt heads a lot.”

Sophia rinsed the plates and nodded. “That’s what family is all about.” A hint of longing touched her voice. “I never had a brother or sister to butt heads with. Maybe that’s why Luke and I became such good friends.” Sophia was thoughtful for a few seconds, her gaze going somewhere distant. “My mother and I were very close, too. I miss her terribly.”

Audrey understood great loss, yet she didn’t know her folks enough to miss them with the kind of intensity she saw in Sophia’s eyes. More like, Audrey missed the idea of her parents. She missed big Sunday dinners and Christmas mornings and having a mother to come home to after school, offering snacks and hugs. She missed having a father to teach her to ride a bike and kiss her forehead when she did her chores properly.

“I’m sorry to hear about your mother, Sophia. I didn’t know my mom. She died when I was a baby, and shortly after, my father married Casey’s mom. But we lost both of them in a horrible tornado that passed through our town in Oklahoma just a few years later. It touched down and swept away everything in its path over one square mile.”

“Oh, that’s awful,” Sophia said, her eyes widening with horror.

It was the same incredulous reaction Audrey got when she explained the circumstances of the tragedy to others. Usually she didn’t like talking about it.

“How did you escape?”

“Casey and I were playing with friends on the other side of town. The tornado missed us. It’s weird, you know. One side of a street could be completely destroyed, and the other could be eerily untouched.”

Sympathy touched Sophia’s eyes. “I’ve seen it on the news and always wondered how that could be.”

“It was really hard and nightmarish on us, but we managed. We had no choice.” Audrey shrugged then. Life had been tough after that, but Casey had always provided for them. He had uncanny talent as a bronc buster and had made more than enough money on the rodeo circuit to keep a roof over their heads and plenty of food on the table. Audrey didn’t dwell on the past. She refused to spend her life feeling sorry for herself. “It’s been Casey and me ever since.”

Sophia smiled as she loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher. “I think we have a lot in common, Audrey. It’ll be nice having another female living on the ranch again.”