CHAPTER 36

I LIKE BEING Stuck...

The room still smelled faintly of rain and skin. Abigail lay curled into Luke’s chest, her hair spread across his shoulder like a dark veil. His fingers were idly stroking along her spine, tracing lazy patterns that made her hum softly.

It was the kind of quiet that felt full, not empty the kind where every heartbeat, every breath was enough.

“You’re warm,” she murmured sleepily.

“That’s because you’re clinging to me like a koala,” he teased.

She smiled without opening her eyes. “Maybe I’m afraid you’ll disappear.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, his voice low, almost solemn. “You’re stuck with me, like I mean forever with me alone”

She tilted her head up and kissed his jaw. “Good. I like being stuck.”

For a while, they didn’t talk. The world outside seemed to have melted away; the rain had finally stopped, leaving only the occasional drip from the eaves. Luke kept his arm wrapped around her, his thumb brushing against her side.

At some point, he rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him. She laughed softly, her palms splayed against his chest.

“You’re going to crush me,” she said.

“You’re light. And besides” his hands slid to her waist “I like having you here.”

She bent down, kissed him gently, then rested her forehead against his.

It was easy to forget time like this just lying there, touching, teasing, talking about nothing. Who would have thought that the almighty Luke Vandell would soften to her, get to treat her like he couldn't live without her. Like she was his world, like she was his life oxygen that needs to be by him all the time. It seemed like she was in a dream and if so, she wanted to remain in it without waking.

The mood was soft, even playful. At one point, Abigail traced the faint scar on his ribs with her fingertip. “How’d you get this?”

“Motorbike accident,” he replied. “Years ago. I wasn’t half as careful then as I am now.”

She smirked. “You mean you were reckless.”

He grinned. “I mean I didn’t have you yet and besides being a spoilt child. Now I’ve got something worth being careful for.”

Luke’s voice was steady, but his eyes carried a shadow. “It wasn’t just a scrape, Abigail. The bike spun out on wet asphalt, and I hit the ground hard. They told me later I was lucky my helmet stayed on.”

She felt her stomach twist. “Luke…”

“I remember lying there, hearing sirens, thinking this is it. And then thinking of you.” He gave a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes. The last part of what he said was a joke and Abigail knew but asides the joke, when he said he had something worth being careful for now, she knew he meant it. “Maybe that’s why I drive like a saint now. One bad decision on two wheels taught me how fragile everything.

Her chest warmed at that, and she kissed him again, slow and lingering.

They were still tangled together, bodies warm under the covers, when Luke’s phone buzzed on the nightstand.

He reached for it lazily, not really wanting to break the moment. His gaze flicked to the screen and the name there pulled a faint crease into his brow.

Adrian.

Abigail noticed the subtle shift in his expression. “Your friend?”

“Yeah.” His voice was neutral, but she could hear the slight tension beneath it.

He hesitated before answering, then pressed the phone to his ear. “Adrian.”

Abigail sat back slightly, watching his face as the deep voice on the other end began to speak. Luke’s features were still, but his jaw tightened just a fraction.

“I see,” he said after a pause. “And you’re telling me this now?”

She couldn’t hear Adrian’s words, but whatever they were, they had clearly altered Luke’s mood. The warmth from a moment ago seemed to drain, replaced by a sharp focus that had nothing to do with her.

“Yes… I’ll think about it,” Luke said finally. “No, not now. I’ll call you back.”

He ended the call and set the phone down, but he didn’t immediately look at her.

Abigail reached out, brushing her fingers against his arm. “What happened?”

“Nothing urgent,” he said, but his tone lacked the softness it had carried minutes earlier.

“Luke…”

He exhaled slowly, then glanced at her. “ d

Don't….Fine adrian wants to meet. He says it’s important.”

Her brow furrowed. “Is it business?”

“Not exactly.”

There was a beat of silence, and she could see his mind was somewhere else entirely.

The air between them felt different now not hostile, but no longer light and playful. Luke swung his legs over the side of the bed, standing to reach for his shirt.

She stayed where she was, the sheet draped loosely around her. “You’re not going now, are you?”

“No,” he said. “But I’m going to have to, soon.”

The way he said it calm, clipped told her this wasn’t something he could easily dismiss.

When he turned back to her, his gaze softened a little. “Don’t overthink this. It’s just… Adrian has a way of bringing complications with him.”

She arched a brow. “And you think I can’t handle complications?”

A faint smile touched his lips. “I think I’d rather keep you away from his kind of complications. It's a bit too much for you to handle ok. It's my business to handle”

She slid off the bed, crossing to him. “Luke Vandell, you can try to protect me all you want, but if your friend is bringing trouble, maybe I want to see what you’re up against.”

He looked at her for a long moment, then brushed a hand over her cheek. “We’ll see.”

Even as he kissed her again, she could feel it that subtle wall that hadn’t been there before Adrian’s call.

Something had shifted.

And though Luke was still holding her close, part of him was already somewhere else.