Sherryl Woods - Seaview Inn

“In the morning, Mom, please,” Kelsey said. “I’m just not up to it tonight.”

“Okay, sure.” Hannah was a little too quick to cave in, proving just how reluctant she was to have this conversation. “Get some rest, sweetie. I love you.”

Kelsey bent down and kissed Hannah’s cheek. “Love you, too. Good night, Luke. I swear I’ll be better company tomorrow.”

“Your company is just fine,” he said.

She grinned. “You actually said that with a straight face. I think I like you.”

Then she was gone and Luke was left alone with Hannah, who looked as if she were near tears.

“You’re not going to cry, are you?” he asked worriedly. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she did. He could handle combat better than he could deal with a woman’s tears. His wife had known that and used it to her advantage more times than he could count. The only time it hadn’t worked had been when he’d reenlisted in the army.

“It’s entirely possible that I’ll bawl my eyes out before the night’s over,” Hannah admitted. “You can run for your life, if you want to.”

Since she’d offered him an easy out, naturally he felt compelled to deny he wanted one. “Now, why would I do that? I’m just asking for advance warning, so I can get you some tissues. As for running me off, in general, let’s just accept that I’m here for the duration, okay?”

“You are gallant, aren’t you? Kelsey was right.” She dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “Just for that, I will not cry. I’ll clean up these dishes and then make some iced tea. You want to join me for some on the porch?”

“Forget the tea,” he said. “I want some of that ice cream. How about you?”

Her eyes brightened perceptibly. “I’d forgotten all about that. What kind did you get?”

“Rocky road.”

She gave him a surprised look. “Was that a lucky coincidence or did you actually remember that was my favorite?”

He shrugged, his expression sheepish. “I remembered we ate an awful lot of it that summer I was hanging around here. It had to be somebody’s favorite.”

“Honesty. Wow, that’s a rarity. Most men would grab the credit for being that thoughtful,” she said.

“Only if they were trying to impress you, which I’m not.” His gaze met hers and he felt something shift. There was an unexpected spark that took him by surprise. If Hannah’s expression was any indication, she was as startled by it as he was. Talk about lousy timing. Both of them had way too much on their plates to consider adding another complication. Even so, it might be impossible to ignore this pull. It had been a long time since he’d been with anyone, an even longer time since he’d wanted a woman other than his wife. That had to explain this sudden spark between him and a woman who’d never been more than a friend. Whatever the reason, the reaction was undeniable.

“Maybe I should amend that,” he said quietly.

“Amend what?” she asked, a faintly breathless quality in her voice as their gazes held.

“I’m not trying to impress you yet.”

The moment seemed to last an eternity before she grinned and the spell was broken. “Let me know when you’re going to start trying,” she said lightly. “I think I’d better be prepared. Something tells me you’re a very dangerous man when you decide to throw yourself into something.”

He chuckled, relieved to be back on more familiar footing. Teasing her had always been one of his favorite pastimes. “Hannah Matthews, are you flirting with me?”

She blushed furiously. “You started it. Now, scoop up that ice cream, Luke. It’s gotten awfully warm in here.”

He deliberately held her gaze a bit longer, then grinned. “Indeed, it has.”

He retrieved the ice cream from the freezer, lingering with the door open in an attempt to cool down his overheated libido.

While he had his back to Hannah, he told himself he was an idiot. He was here to get his priorities in order. And her life appeared to be even more of a mess than his own. As much fun as flirting with Hannah—or a fling—might turn out to be, neither of them needed the potential heartache. He’d do well to remember that.

Besides, it had been years since he’d had a friend to confide in. That was the role he needed Hannah to play. This little zing he’d felt was an aberration. Tomorrow they’d go back to being pals the way they’d been years ago.

He was so busy formulating his plan that he didn’t notice right away that Hannah was staring at him with amusement. When he did, he muttered, “What?”

“That’s a lot of ice cream, even for you,” she said, gesturing toward the bowl, which must have had a whole pint scooped into it.

He grinned and shoved the bowl in her direction. “Actually that one’s for you. I recognize a woman in need of a chocolate fix when I see one.” He doled out a huge dollop of hot fudge sauce to prove it.

She eyed the bowl skeptically, then picked it up. “You could be right. Come on out to the porch when you’re finished.”

Luke told himself he ought to be anywhere except on the porch tonight, but when he had his own bowl filled with ice cream, he couldn’t seem to make himself climb the stairs to his room. Instead, he headed for the front door...and most likely straight for trouble.

* * *

“Why didn’t you tell me your daughter is pregnant?” Grandma Jenny demanded the second Hannah wandered into the kitchen in the morning following the aroma of coffee brewing.

Hannah wasn’t ready to have this conversation before she’d had caffeine. A lot of caffeine, in fact. She and Luke had been up way too late talking. They’d carefully avoided any repeat of the flirting that had gone on earlier, sticking to memories of old times, catching up on news of friends they’d each kept in touch with. He’d done a better job of that than she had. After a couple of hours of talking about old times and old friends—yet somehow avoiding any mention of Abby, who’d been so integral to both their pasts—they’d said a casual good-night and gone their separate ways. As they’d climbed the stairs, they’d kept a careful distance apart, pretending that the spark they’d both felt earlier had never happened.

Now Hannah deliberately ignored her grandmother, grabbed the biggest mug she could find and filled it to the brim with strong, fragrant coffee. Only when she’d had several sips did she dare to meet Grandma Jenny’s expectant gaze.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Luke staying here?” Hannah retorted, hoping to buy herself a couple of minutes, since she didn’t have any real answers about the whole lousy situation.

“Don’t try that with me,” Grandma Jenny said. “I told you yesterday why Luke’s here. Now I want to know why my great-granddaughter has shown up here with a baby on the way. And don’t deny it. I’m not so old that I can’t recognize the symptoms.”

“I wasn’t going to deny it,” Hannah said. “But to be honest, I haven’t asked her a lot of questions yet.”

“I left the two of you alone last night precisely so you could talk.”

“Never happened. She went to bed. Luke stayed.” She gave her grandmother a defiant look. “I asked him to.”

“I see.”

“I doubt it,” Hannah replied. “I was so thrown when Kelsey told me about the pregnancy the other night, I couldn’t think of anything to do except get her here so we could talk about it. Now that she’s here, I don’t know where to start.”

“The father seems like a good place to me. Where’s he in all this?”

Hannah shrugged. “Not a clue.”

“Don’t you think maybe you should ask?”

“I’ll get around to it. With Kelsey, it’s better to let things unfold at their own pace.”