Sunset Seduction

She tried to lift her head up. Two Lukes appeared in her line of vision. She blinked one of them away and as she eased back down, Luke’s other hand cushioned her head. “How long was I out?” she asked quietly.

“Not long. Does this happen often?” he asked.

“This was the first time,” she said, feeling a little bit ridiculous. Four pairs of eyes—including the blonde woman’s—ogled her.

“You fainted.” Sophia spoke softly, holding a bottle of smelling salt in her hand. “Luke rushed over to you. He got to you before we had to use this. It was just a few seconds.”

A few seconds too many, she thought.

“What happened, honey?” Luke asked.

“I’m not sure. I got light-headed. Then everything went black.”

“Logan’s calling the doctor,” Sophia said.

“Oh, no. I don’t need a doctor.” Audrey made a move to sit up again and when twin Lukes didn’t appear, she figured she was good to go. His hand to her back, he helped hinge her forward slowly. “My head’s not spinning anymore. I think...it’s just...”

What was it? She didn’t know why she’d fainted. It couldn’t have been because Kat showed up attached to Luke at the hip. She’d seen Luke with other women before. No amount of nose twitching would make them disappear, though. And as a smitten teen, she’d daydream of trading places with the females on his arm. Audrey knew that this time it wasn’t Kat’s presence that made her see stars.

She’d been overly tired today and a little stressed. A reasonable excuse came to mind. “I might’ve caught a bug or something.”

“Now I’m sorry I woke you up for dinner,” Sophia said, her expression grim. “You probably needed your sleep.”

Logan entered the room with the phone to his ear. “I can’t get hold of the doctor. Maybe we should take her to emergency.”

Luke nodded. “Good idea.”

“No, it’s not necessary.” Audrey summoned all of her strength, planted her feet and rose to full height, refusing Luke’s extended arm for support. There. She wasn’t dizzy anymore. Whatever happened had been freakish, but it had passed. “I feel better already. I think all I need is a good night’s sleep. It’s a bug and I need to rest. Honestly.” She glanced at Logan first, then at Luke, giving him a pointed look. No way was she going to disrupt their evening by going to the hospital. Besides, she really did feel better.

The men darted glances at each other. “What do you think?” Luke said to Logan.

“I’m fine,” she said a little more firmly.

Logan shrugged. “She looks fine, Luke.”

Sophia added, “You can check on her during the night, Luke.”

Kat, who had been quiet throughout this exchange, raised a perfectly arched brow at that.

“You sure you’re feeling okay?” Luke asked, his genuine concern touching something deep and lasting in her heart. As if she needed another reason to worship him.

She nodded, did a pirouette right in the middle of the kitchen—ending with a flourish a gymnast would be proud of—and gave him a big smile. “I promise I’m okay.”

“As long as I’ve got your promise, we’re good. I’ll walk you to your room.”

She wanted to protest. She could walk to her own room, for heaven’s sake, but the envious look in Kat Whoever-she-was’s eyes made her accept his invitation. “Sure.”

She turned to Sophia and Logan, giving them each a big hug. And then, magnanimously, she put out her hand to Kat. “So good to meet you,” she said, as if she hadn’t just made a spectacle of herself by fainting.

“I hope you’re feeling better soon.” Kat cupped her hand and gave a little squeeze.

Audrey’s gaze shifted to her white knight. “If Luke has anything to say about it, I will.”

The comment flew over the men’s heads, but Sophia had a glint in her eye as Luke walked Audrey out of the kitchen.

Once they reached her bedroom, Luke turned the knob and opened the door. “I’ll check in on you later.”

“Not necessary, really.”

“I’m gonna insist, Audrey.”

She didn’t like the idea of Luke coming to her room during the night. Well, okay, she would like the idea if his motives were different. Regardless of his friendship with Casey, she wasn’t his obligation. She could fend for herself. He didn’t need to lose sleep over her.

When she paused for a moment he added, “Your welfare is my responsibility as long as you’re under my roof. You fainted tonight. We don’t know why.”

“I told you why.”

“You’re guessing, but you don’t know for sure.”

He wasn’t letting this drop. Mr. Nice Guy was also a Good Samaritan.

An idea popped into her head. “How about if you text me?”

He chuckled from deep in his throat and a boyish gleam lit his eyes. “You’re sleeping three doors down.”

“It could be fun. And you don’t have to be disturbed.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll text you. I’ve got your number.”

“Great. Well then, good night.”

“Sleep tight, Audrey.”

After closing the door to Luke, her lungs released a whoosh of air, and she slumped against the door as the last bit of her energy seeped out. She was more tired than she’d let on to the Slades. She’d never fainted before. What was that all about? She chalked it up to emotional angst seeing Luke again. By all rights she should feel exhausted after the highs and lows she experienced today. The lowest was finding out that Luke had no memory of their night together. That had been a crushing blow, and she hadn’t been allowed time to absorb the implications and heal her wounded heart and deflated ego.

Audrey undressed with deliberately slow moves, carefully peeling off her clothes. No sense tempting fate. A sudden move here or there and she might find herself on the floor again without a dashing prince to awaken her.

She hung up her blouse in a double-wide closet and folded her jeans in half, putting them across a captain’s chair in the corner of the room. She washed her face and brushed her teeth, then climbed into bed, giving Jewel a little nudge. “Why aren’t you a curl-up kind of cat?”

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