Not the Only One (Book 1 in the Four of Us Trilogy)

Fifty-Five - April 29, 2018

Brooke

I yawned and rolled over, my arm draping over Luke's body next to me. I smiled, remembering the night before.

I opened my eyes to peer at him and saw he was still sleeping. I didn't want to wake him up, so I slid out of bed silently and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast – waffles sounded really fuckin' good.

I had been in the kitchen, mixing batter and pouring it onto the waffle iron, for about 20 minutes when I heard Luke's footsteps coming down the hall.

When he turned the corner, I felt something in my heart switch. My feelings for him were no longer just physical, sensual... they were deeper somehow... visceral.

His bedhead was adorably messy, his eyes bleary from sleep, his chest bare and pajama pants slung low on his hips. My heart melted.

"Morning, sunshine," I greeted him as he walked around to meet me by the counter.

He kissed my cheek. "Good morning, beautiful. What's all this?" he asked.

"I was hungry... figured you would be too."

"You figured right," he said, patting his bare stomach.

I grinned and pushed a plate of waffles toward him, climbing on the stool and pulling my own plate in front of me.

We ate slowly, savoring every bite. We didn't say much, but that was okay. I had so many emotions swirling within me that I wasn't really sure what to say.

I took his plate from him when he was done and we started doing the dishes. I glanced at him, scrubbing the mixing bowl. I grinned and splashed him with the water running from the faucet.

He jumped and looked at me with a glint in his eyes. "Oh no, Ms. Kane... you did not," he said, and I ran around the other side of the island.

"I did," I said, shrugging.

He stepped to the right and I stepped away to avoid him, but he faked me out and grabbed me around the waist. I giggled uncontrollably as he tickled me.

"Ahhh, Luke, I can't breathe!" I gasped between laughs.

"Should've thought about that before you splashed me," he teased, continuing to tickle my sides, tossing me gently onto the couch and hovering over me.

"Truce, truce," I wheezed.

He grinned and moved my hair out of my eyes, leaning in to kiss me, his lips barely brushing mine...

Beep.

"Shit," we both said, glancing over at the coffee table where his phone was laying.

"I better get it... it might be my parents," he said reluctantly, moving off of me to reach it.

He opened the text and I watched his face contort from placid happiness to concerned confusion.

"What is it?" I asked, sitting up and crossing my legs under me.

"It's Miles. Something really bad happened... he's frantic and needs to talk to me immediately," he said, looking up at me, his hazel eyes cloudy.

"Tell him to come over here," I urged. He nodded and his fingers flew across his screen.

"They'll be here in 10 minutes," he said, tossing his phone onto the recliner.

"I wonder what happened," I mused as Luke sat down next to me, putting his hand on my knee.

He shrugged, his shoulders falling against mine.

"Can we make out 'til they get here?" I asked.