The Risk of Falling

Chapter Seven: A Very Different Morning

The next day, walking the same route I did the day before, I passed the hotel where Luke bolted from.

I was smiling at the memory when I caught sight of a figure leaning against a newspaper box out on the sidewalk.

I halted in my steps as my jaw dropped slightly.

“The sun’s out today at least,” Luke said as he straightened away from the newspaper box and walked toward me. 

“I see you’re dressed this morning,” I said wryly, raising a brow at him. “You shouldn’t be here though in case that woman’s still around. She was ready for murder.”

He grinned and I was again struck by how handsome he was.

I’d spent the night before trying to make sense of the day I had yesterday and whether Luke Hedenby was real or a figment of my overworked, Theodora-tortured imagination.

With him towering over me by a little over a foot, his clean, fresh scent filling the air around us and his eyes sparkling blue in the bright spring sun, he looked larger than life.

Oh, yeah. He was real, alright.

“Don’t worry. Based on the crazy amount of scathing messages she left on my phone yesterday, she’s on her way back to Michigan. She said something about taking back her old fiancé although I don’t imagine I’ll be getting an invitation to that wedding.”

“If there’s even going to be one,” I said with a scoff before tipping my head in the direction of Cleo’s Cafe where I was going to do a coffee stop for me and Jillian. “I would never take back anyone who cheated on me. Infidelity is a total deal-breaker.”

“I agree if you’re at the point of meeting up at the altar,” Luke said as he opened the door of the cafe for me. 

It was a little cozy place already packed with people grabbing breakfasts to-go.

I joined the line, Luke following behind me, and I turned to face him, my arms crossed over my chest. 

“And when would you disagree that it’s a total deal-breaker?” I asked, very curious to hear his answer. 

He shrugged. “Well, if you’re both in a mutually non-exclusive relationship and everyone’s clear on what their expectations are, then I don’t see a problem.”

I grimaced. “Of course, you won’t. You see, normal people, like me for example, would never find themselves in a mutually non-exclusive relationship because we wouldn’t want to have one in the first place.”

“Never?”

I nodded. “Never. I know the world is changing and liberating itself with each passing day but I guess I’m still pretty old-fashioned about that. If I’m in a relationship, it better be damn exclusive.”

His eyes widened slightly and I forced myself to relax.

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “Okay, so maybe I’m a little opinionated on this matter. It’s not unexpected, I guess, when your father runs away with the new town bank teller and your mother not so accidentally walks in front of a speeding car. People who love each other don’t hurt each other like that. If you can’t commit your heart and your life, don’t commit at all.”

Even with the sounds of the kitchen and the random chatter around the cafe, I heard and felt the silence between us.

That confession slipped out of nowhere. I barely talked about my parents. 

“How old were you?” he asked softly.

I looked away. “Thirteen. My grandpa took me in after that.”