The Guy Next Door

Luke had always been partial to blondes with brown eyes.

By the time Darcy reached the lab waiting area, workers whispered and checked him out. She was irked that Luke had garnered the interest of every female in the lab.

She tried to exhale her irritation as she approached, brushing her not-blond hair out of her not-brown eyes.

“Hi, Darcy. I saw you back there in the lab, looking professional in that lab coat,” Luke said.

“Yeah, it’s a real fashion statement, all right.”

“I’m serious. You worked hard to get here.”

Her stomach tumbled and twirled, pleased he’d noticed. “Thanks. So, what’s up?”

“Looks like we’ll be working together on the Food4Kids auction.”

“So you’re definitely taking Grace’s place?”

“I figured it’s the least I can do to honor my mom. And I have some ideas. Wanted to see if you’d like to have lunch to discuss them.”

Still hesitant to spend too much time with him, yet certain she could handle it, she gave a firm nod. “It’s a great way to honor your mom. I was just about to take my lunch break.”

He held up a bag from the local sub sandwich shop. “Brought your favorite.”

“You don’t know my favorite anymore.”

He widened his eyes at her, looking quite pleased with himself. “Really? You don’t give me enough credit.”

“I no longer order ham and cheddar.”

“No ham and cheddar with mayo, mustard and tomato?” he asked with a cocky grin.

She shook her head, admittedly pleased he at least remembered her old favorite. “See? You’ve been gone too long. Things have changed.”

“Then I’m glad I ordered you the turkey and Swiss instead. With light mayo, honey mustard, spinach and green peppers.”

“How on earth?”

He shrugged and glanced across the room awkwardly. “I care enough to find out what you like.”

Her stomach swooped up and around, doing a few curlicues in the region of her heart. She opened her mouth but, unable to find words, she snapped it shut.

The fact that he knew her new favorite sandwich really should not make her so happy. She was acting ridiculous.

Luke suddenly gave her a big flirty wink—a Luke Jordan trademark, as if the whole embarrassment thing had been for show. “I also had to promise Mike a place to stay when he comes up for a concert in Nashville.”

Of course. Mike. The owner of the sub shop where she’d eaten regularly for the past year.

She snatched the bag out of his hand with a laugh. “You’re incorrigible.”

“The weather is perfect. Let’s go outside.”

She joined him as they headed outside to a picnic table near a walking path for employees.

As he set out the sandwiches and chips, she realized she hadn’t been on a picnic since their college days. They’d frequently eaten together while studying, sometimes in the quad on a blanket. Of course, their last picnic had been a disaster.

“The last picnic I had was when we ate pizza outside the dorm during finals senior year,” he said.

Why did he always seem to know what she was thinking as if their brains were somehow connected? “Me, too. And you ruined that one by bringing along what’s her name.” Which had hurt Darcy’s feelings. Before that day, they’d always kept their friendship separate from dating relationships, had protected their time together.

He grinned and held his hand over his heart. “You wound me. You don’t even remember her name.”

Snorting a laugh, she reached for the can of Coke he’d sat in front of her and popped the tab. “You probably don’t, either.”

He belted a hearty laugh as he pulled Grace’s notebook out of the bag and flipped it open. Then he attacked the wrapping on his ham sandwich. “I think an auction is a great idea for a fund-raiser, but I wonder if maybe we should do more this year. Maybe host a dinner or even a formal dance to coincide.”

She threw her hand up. “Whoa. I only signed on for the auction, which has always included a covered-dish dinner right after church. What you’re suggesting sounds like a ton more work. As it is, I barely have time to breathe.”

“I figured we might as well give attendees other opportunities to contribute. No matter what we end up doing, I’d like to have a special time to honor my mother.”

She envisioned table decorations, caterers, a band. “All great ideas. Honoring Joan would be fantastic. But I can’t let this project eat into my part-time hours at the mall. If you want to do a dinner or dance, maybe I could talk Chloe into taking over for me. She has a lot of business contacts in town.”

His nose scrunched. “That might not go well.”

No, he and her sister hadn’t gotten along since he’d pursued her one summer in college. Luke finally captured Chloe’s heart—breaking Darcy’s—but the big breakup later that fall ruined his and Chloe’s friendship.

“You’re both adults now,” Darcy said. “Surely you could work together for charity.” Yes, they were all adults. So how could the mere suggestion that he work with Chloe still hurt?

“I’d rather work with you.” He looked into her eyes, and like some kind of terrible magnet, his gaze tugged at her heart.

Losing herself in those amazing brown eyes was an all-too-familiar feeling. Even at twenty-five, she was still vulnerable to his charm.

She couldn’t allow it. He would distract her. Hurt her. She had to stay focused on her goals.

“We’ll have to work around my two schedules.” Darcy forced her attention to her sandwich. She needed to work the two jobs to pay off student loans early so she didn’t have to rely on her mother. Noreen was finally acting happy again, and Darcy suspected she’d been seeing someone. She needed to give her mom some space, and despite what Grace said, Prince Charming wouldn’t just show up to sweep her off her feet.

Darcy glanced across the table. Luke with his flirty winks and his flattering words would only set her heart down the wrong path.

“Let’s just stick to doing the auction and lunch. We can manage.” He slapped his hand on the notebook. “So, have you looked at the list of tentative donors?”

“I helped compile it. Now we need to call each one to confirm and arrange a time to pick up the items. We can split the names.”

“I can do the calling. I’ll be around the house helping Dad, so my schedule will be flexible.”

“Sounds good. I’ve already arranged to pick up an unassembled portable basketball hoop from Mr. Lipscomb at the sporting goods store. Can you help with that on Sunday after church?”

“Sure. I’ll see if I can arrange some other donation pickups for Sunday afternoon since we’ll already be out.”

Oh, goodness. She thought of all the hours she, Grace and Joan had spent together on this project over the years. “We need to meet soon to approve the quarter-page newspaper ad, and to try to land some radio spots. Also we have to set up the fellowship hall. We’ll have quite a few late evenings.”

“No problem.” He smiled, then, distracted by his food, he took a big bite of his sandwich.

As they finished their lunch, she told him a little something about each of the donors, and about the Colorado ski trip that had been donated, their big-ticket item. By the time he walked her back inside the hospital, they had a basic game plan.

With the notebook in one hand and the other shoved in his pocket, Luke studied her. “I know how hard you work, Darcy. You give a hundred percent to everything you do. I’ll try my best to make the auction work easier on you, to keep it from eating away all your free time.”

He looked so serious. So earnest. From flirty charmer to sweet, caring best friend in the span of a lunch break. Both equally appealing, neither safe for her heart.

But Food4Kids needed her. Needed them as a team.

For the kids, and against her instinct for self-preservation, she would spend time with her friend. She could do this. “Thanks, Luke. I look forward to working with you.”

Chapter Three

Fifteen minutes to closing time. Darcy glanced around Glitzy Glenda’s, empty of customers, hoping to make it an early night. Maybe a few minutes to read that novel that sat untouched, gathering dust on her nightstand?

She folded one last scarf and placed it neatly on top of the stack, enjoying the sense of accomplishment that came with tidying up. Saturday nights could sometimes be a nightmare, but an older crowd had hit earlier than usual. Though she enjoyed working with preteens and young teenagers, they tended to travel in packs, tearing through the place like a tornado, leaving a swath of destruction in their wake. Something Darcy couldn’t relate to at all.

She’d never had a pack of girlfriends in high school. Never enjoyed shopping for jewelry, purses and hair accessories. She’d been tomboyish, a late bloomer who’d spent all her spare time with Luke, fearing he’d see her differently if she suddenly showed up wearing dangly earrings and eyeliner.

Certain he’d never think her as pretty as Chloe.

Shaking off old memories, she headed toward the cash register. One last quick walk around the shop and—

The entrance chime sounded. A group of giggling girls set upon tables of jewelry, and Darcy’s hope for an early evening quickly fizzled. “May I help you girls?”

One, a redhead with pretty hazel eyes set off by the perfect application of makeup, fastened a double strand of faux pink pearls around her neck and admired it in a mirror. “We’re just looking.”

Two of her friends, squealing at fifty decibels, darted to a table of wristlets.

“Oh, look,” screeched one. “The exact shade of green as my new Keds!”

“Buy it. Have you got your mom’s debit card on you?”

“Yeah.”

“Ashley, wait. Come look at this one first,” called a girl from the other side of the store.

Meanwhile, two others stacked bracelets up the arms of a third friend.

There appeared to be a half-dozen of them dressed in stylish clothes, their hair about the same length and all flat ironed. At some point that evening, they’d eaten at a nearby restaurant because several of them had to-go cups they’d set down and quickly forgotten.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh as the image of that novel beside her bed faded into oblivion.

A crash sounded in the back. “Uh-oh,” said one of the girls.

Crashes followed by uh-oh’s were never a good thing.

Darcy rushed to the back and found a rack of earrings turned over and gold and silver hoops scattered across the floor.

“I’m so sorry.” The girl’s mortified expression sent her friends into a fit of laughter.

“Don’t worry about it,” Darcy said.

While the three girls meandered to the next table, chattering and playing around as if nothing had happened, Darcy scooped up packs of earrings. The chime sounded again as someone else entered. Great.

“I’ll be right there,” she called.

The last of the earrings had landed under the display case. She got on her hands and knees and, with a grunt, made one last-ditch effort to reach them.

“Need some help?”

Luke. And she heard the grin in his voice.

“Luke Jordan, if you were a real gentleman, you’d already be down here helping me.”

“You’re right. My apologies.” He chuckled as he knelt down beside her and reached underneath the display, his breath tickling her neck as he angled his head out of the way.

She bolted to her feet. “A pack of…uh…earrings. Do you feel it?” She touched her neck. How many times had they wrestled around or goofed off without her ever once thinking about the feel of his breath against her skin?

And now—

“Is this what you’re looking for?” He stood and handed her the earrings.

“Yes. Thank you.” The fact he could set her on edge made her angry. At herself. And, though unfair, at him.

She tugged her shirt back where it belonged. Straightened the collar. “I need to check on my customers.”

“Go ahead. I’ll wait at the cash register.”

She caught up with the six girls near the front and tried to feign calmness she didn’t feel at the moment. “Are y’all ready to check out?”

“I think so.” The redhead still wore the necklace.

“So you decided to go with the pink pearls? They look great on you.”

She fingered them, looking around at her friends for confirmation. “I do like them.”

“They’re too classy for you,” said one of her supposed friends with a sneer before turning to the brunette nearby and laughing.

The girl looked stricken as she removed the necklace. “But they’re kind of expensive.”

“Come on, let’s get out of here and see if the yogurt place is still open,” said the mean one. She was the obvious leader, because everyone followed without questioning her order.

They also left without purchasing anything. Instead, they all set their items on a table near the door before quickly exiting to catch up with their boss.

Darcy growled as she rolled down the metal gate that closed off the shop from the mall.

“Tough night?” Luke asked.

“A little slower than usual, but that last group was typical. I’m afraid I’m not good at sales with the younger crowd.” She nodded to the discarded items. “They were going to buy those, but the pack leader declared it was time to go.”

“Next time, tell her to back off.”

Darcy laughed. “I’m sure that would go over really well. I’d probably get reported to my boss by a credit-card-­toting teen.”

His eyes sparkled with mischief, as if he’d love to see the event. “Yeah, but you might make the sale.”

The main problem was that all these girly things were new to her, something she’d always been too embarrassed to admit she loved and longed to wear. “You know me. This feminine stuff is a steep learning curve.”

He looked her up and down with an intensity that made her squirm.

“You look plenty feminine to me. A natural beauty. You don’t need all this sparkly—” he gestured around the shop “—paraphernalia.”

Stunned, Darcy looked into his eyes. He’d always complimented her on being smart, but never had he praised her looks or femininity. Even that afternoon at Grace’s, he hadn’t said she was pretty.

“Accept the compliment, say, ‘Thank you,’” he teased, his smile softening.

Flames crept up her neck. “I need to clean up this mess.” The pink pearl necklace clacked as she jerked it up and hung it on the display.

“Fine. Ignore me.”

“I’m not ignoring you.” Darcy snatched up the neon green wristlet the girl had left behind and headed to the table of spring clearance items. “I don’t tend to trust compliments from a man who’s said those words to half the female population.”

He followed, laying a hand on her arm to still her movements. “I wasn’t giving you some cheap, recycled line. I spoke the truth, a truth you need to take to heart.”

What Darcy needed to take to heart at the moment was the fact she had to be careful around him, especially when he was being kind and supportive.

Being a good friend.

Darcy was strong and capable. Why go all weak-kneed just because he said she’s a natural beauty? “I accept your compliment.”

Luke smiled, a victorious smile. “Good. While we’re having this heart-to-heart, let me add that I hate seeing you killing yourself working two jobs when you don’t need to, and then volunteering at the church on top of it.”

Picking up the last of the discarded items, Darcy headed to the other side of the store. “You’ve already stated your opinion. And as I’ve already told you, I need to pay off my college debt to prepare to live on my own.”

“Your mom is worried about you, and so am I.”

“Did my mom send you?”

“It was my idea to come tonight.”

But he hadn’t denied her mother’s involvement.

Whether or not she had sent him, Luke hadn’t come by because he wanted to spend time with her. “Ah, I see. You dropped by to make sure I don’t get robbed making the deposit.”

“Your mom mentioned you carry cash to the bank each time you close.”

Darcy shook her head. “I appreciate you caring, but I’m perfectly safe. The night deposit drop box is located inside the front entrance of the mall, so I don’t even leave the premises with money.”

He ran a hand through his hair, causing a curl to drop across his forehead. “And you refuse to call mall security to escort you?”

“I walk with employees from several other stores.” When the timing works out.

“All of you sitting ducks, targets for someone armed and possibly desperate.”

Frustrated that he didn’t seem to be listening to her, she marched to the front of the store and raised the gated door. “You can either trust my judgment, or you can leave.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Then don’t show up when it suits you and start butting into my business. You’re not my keeper.”

Color streaked across his cheekbones, a sure sign he was majorly frustrated. His jaw sawed back and forth. “No, I’m not. I’m your friend. Your best friend. And that should count for something.”

Of course, he had to go and play the best friend card. They rarely did, only in dire circumstances. Darcy had pulled it once when he was dating a girl who ended up in juvie. He’d used it when she’d been sixteen and made plans to attend a party where there would be drinking, and another time when an overly charming lead singer of a band had asked her out in college.

He must be truly worried about her safety.

Begrudgingly, she reclosed the gate. “Wait here.”

Once again, his victory smile flashed, but at least he had the decency not to verbally gloat.

“I won’t be long closing out the cash register since we hardly sold anything.” She sighed. “If I can’t make the sale when these hoards of kids show up on the weekends, I’m afraid my boss will fire me.”

“And that would be a bad thing because…?”

His sarcastic grin made her smile, too. “Oh, hush.”

Leaving him to guard the place, she batched out the credit card machine, counted the cash and checks and filled out the deposit slip. She tucked the deposit in a lockable bank bag and then placed the cash register drawer, holding a set amount of money for the morning shift, in the safe.

Darcy quickly collected the to-go cups the girls had abandoned and emptied the trash. “I’m ready.”

Luke took the trash bag from her, dumped it in a large rolling bin mall management provided near the shop entrance, and then waited in the mall as she turned off the lights, set the alarm, pulled down the gated door and locked it. He looked around, alert, ready to defend her.

She laughed, but his action set up an ache in her chest that haunted her all the way to the night deposit box. She loved that he cared about her. Yet she longed for more.

Longed for something Luke couldn’t provide.

With a flourish, she tossed the money bag in the bank depository and closed the door, proving her shop closing ritual was safe.

He scowled at her flippant action. “I really don’t like the idea of you doing this several times a week.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to move back home and escort me each night.” She smiled sweetly, though the idea actually held appeal. Would he reconsider coming home?

His intense stare, as if he was possibly considering that option, made her heart race.

“You could do it, you know,” she said.

One side of his mouth hitched up. “Be your bodyguard each night?”

“No. Move back home. Open your own practice here.”

He shook his head as he opened the mall door, holding it for her. She pointed to her car, and they headed that direction.

“Can I ask you something without you getting in a huff about it?” he asked.

Which proved how well he knew her. “Probably not.”

His familiar chuckle, and the fact they’d been friends forever, made her miss the past, less complicated times.

“Why are you in such a hurry to move into your own place?” he asked. “Why not take your time, be a companion for your mom and give up the overtime?”

“I told you. I need to prepare to move out, to support myself. And having the student loans over my head stresses me out.”

“I can tell you’re worried about more than that.”

How could she explain her need to be financially independent in case she never married? “Mom needs her house and her life back. Needs her privacy, because I think she may be seeing someone. I should move on soon, but with bills to pay and no one to help me, I have to first plan and save.”

“Your mom would help if you needed her to,” Luke said.

“Sure, mom would let me live with her if I got in a jam. Even so, I need to be capable of supporting myself and don’t have any backup plan like you do.”

His eyes narrowed. “Backup plan?”

“If your business fails, your grandmother would help out, like she paid for graduate school.”

He straightened, offended. “My business isn’t going to fail.”

Her heart lurched. He’d always been sensitive about succeeding despite his dad’s doubts. “Of course it’s not going to fail. I only meant—”

“There’s your car,” he said coolly, cutting off her explanation. “I want to make sure you’re locked inside before I leave.”

Oh, man. She’d really made him mad. “Thanks for seeing me out safely.” She climbed in and locked the door.

He turned and walked away.

I’m such a rotten friend.

Luke rarely got mad. And when he did, it blew over quickly. But this time he was more than angry. She’d hurt him right where he was most vulnerable.

* * *

On Sunday morning as the congregation rose for the closing hymn for morning worship, Luke glanced at his dad beside him. They were standing in their regular pew in the middle of the sanctuary. Granny stood on the other side of Burt, singing her heart out.

All Luke could think about was that he needed to find a seasoned business partner—preferably his dad—and soon. He’d checked email that morning before leaving for the church and found a message from a client who had decided to leave the firm when he learned of Roger’s retirement, wanting a more experienced trial lawyer. And he wasn’t the first. Several others had already contacted Roger with concerns the past couple of days.

Luke tried to force his mind back to the music, to words that should inspire him and prevent his mind from wandering.

Staring at the hymnal, Luke recalled Darcy’s words from the night before. Did she truly think his business would fail? That he wasn’t capable of seeing it through the transition after Roger’s retirement?

The thought stung, but with his lack of work experience, she could be right. He couldn’t control whether clients left the firm. But he could control whom he hired and how he ran his business.

As Luke stared at the words on the page, the letters running together, he couldn’t help wondering what people would think of him asking his dad to come to Tennessee to join his practice. Would they think Luke hadn’t been able to succeed on his own?

No, he would be offering Burt an opportunity to start over. Thanks to Roger, Luke would be the one bringing clients to their new partnership.

As they filed out after the service, the elderly, squat gray-haired pastor of Appleton Community Church greeted parishioners at the door. Ever since Luke had moved to Nashville, he’d missed hearing sermons. Mainly because he spent Sundays at the office.

That needed to change. He needed to put God first in his life. He should find a place he felt as comfortable as he did in his Appleton church and attend worship more faithfully.

With light filtering through the stained glass windows, Luke inched along the carpeted center aisle with his dad and grandmother, greeting old friends. He hadn’t seen any of them since his mother’s funeral, and a few mentioned once again how sweet and fitting the service had been. Their comments made it difficult for Luke to speak.

Each time someone said something about Joan, Luke glanced at his father, wondering how he managed to hold himself together. Burt simply shook their hands and agreed.