Embry brought the salad bowl over and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw an impressive meal laid out in front of her. “Luke, is that—”

“Spinach and feta stuffed chicken breast,” he said.

“And mixed greens with baked goat cheese? This is one of my faves. How did you know?”

“I might have run into Morgan today, and she might have given me a few ideas.”

“I can’t believe you did this. That was unbelievably thoughtful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, beautiful. Come on, dig in.” Luke gestured to the table, and they both sat down to eat.

Embry groaned with pleasure at her first bite of chicken.

“You like?” Luke asked.

“More than like. This is delicious!”

“I’m glad. Enjoy it,” he said with a small, satisfied smile.

“Where did you learn to cook?” Embry asked between bites.

“My mom is an amazing cook. I used to avoid other chores by following her around and helping in the kitchen. I guess I picked up a few things along the way.”

Embry nodded and sipped her wine. Before she could ask more about his family, Luke changed the subject.

“So who was that Reggie guy? A friend of yours?”

Embry snorted. “Not really. More like the neighborhood welcoming committee.”

Luke gave Embry a curious look.

“He’s my upstairs neighbor. He stopped by to welcome me to the community when he saw me moving in. Now he drops in all the time to try to get me to go out with him. I’ve told him repeatedly that I’m not interested.”

“Is he bothering you?”

“Eh, he’s a little creepy but probably harmless.”

“Just be careful. Let me know if he makes you uncomfortable.”

“Thank you. And thanks for earlier. Maybe he’ll back off a bit now.” Not wanting to continue talking about her creeper, Embry shot questions at Luke. “So tell me more about you. Brothers? Sisters? Mom and dad? I don’t even know what kind of law you practice. Or how old you are.”

Luke laughed and raised an eyebrow. “One, none, alive and well in Georgia, general practice, and thirty-one.”

Embry smirked. “Smart ass. I was looking for a little more than that.”

Luke shrugged and gave her an evil smile. “Your turn.”

“Fine. What do you want to know?”

“The same. Parents, siblings … age, sex, Social Security Number,” he joked.

Embry chuckled. “I grew up in Westhampton Beach. My parents still live there. Only child. And I’m twenty-five.”

“Only child, huh? Did it get lonely?”

“No, never. I grew up with Morgan. She has a busload of siblings. I was never bored or lonely. I kind of hightailed it out of town when I graduated high school. Other than short holiday visits, this is the first time I’ve really been back since I left five years ago.”

“Anxious to get away and experience life, huh?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Embry mumbled. Desperate for a change of subject, she decided to try again to get more information out of Luke. “Tell me about your brother. Older or younger?”

“Camden, Cam. He’s four years older than me. Married; my sister-in-law, Lori, is pretty amazing.” Luke’s face lit up with a huge smile. “I have a niece, Mac. Mackayla. She’ll be three in a few months. They’re all in Georgia, near my parents. I don’t see Mac as often as I’d like since I moved up north, but we have Skype dates.”

“Awww, Uncle Luke,” Embry said, smiling sweetly.

“That’s me.”

Embry eyed Luke’s empty plate. “Are you finished?”

“Yup.” Luke patted his stomach, drawing Embry’s eyes to that area and leaving her thinking about what he’d look like without the shirt. “That was pretty damn good if I say so myself.”

Embry stood and cleared the dishes, bumping Luke with her hip as she walked by. “Pretty damn good indeed, Chef Luke.”

After cleaning up the kitchen, Embry grabbed the bottle of wine and their glasses and headed to the couch. She pulled her legs beneath her, sitting sideways on the couch. “So …”

“So,” Luke responded, settling next to her. He eyed the law book on the coffee table and glanced at Embry, his eyes darkening. “Do you have a lot more work to do for tomorrow? I don’t know how much longer I should continue to distract you.”

“Actually, I’m all set for tomorrow,” Embry admitted. “I’m ahead; I just like to keep up with the workload so it stays that way.”

Luke nodded and shifted toward her, stretching his arm out along the back of the couch. Suddenly shy, Embry played with the hem of her shirt. Luke’s fingers grazed her cheek, and she looked up into his intense blue eyes. With no more small talk to distract them, the desire between them was palpable.

Before she could react to her own impulses, Luke’s hand wrapped around Embry’s nape, pulling her in for a searing kiss. He started gentle, his tongue making slow, lazy passes through her mouth. She felt her need grow as the passion between them took over. She came up on her knees, her hands traveling up his chest and gripping his biceps. He paused to look at her. She was sure the desire in his eyes matched her own. His arms came around her as his mouth connected with hers.

“Mmm,” he hummed against her lips. “You taste so good.”

Luke’s raspy words were Embry’s undoing. She tugged him closer, deepening the kiss.

He pulled back, tugging gently on her bottom lip before letting it go. “But as good as you taste”—he said, resting his forehead on Embry’s—”we have to slow down.”

It had been over a year since Embry had been with anyone, and as much as she knew she should take it slow, she couldn’t help herself when it came to Luke. She felt drunk with need and embarrassed by how quickly she had gotten carried away.

“Sorry, I … um …” Embry hopped off the couch and turned toward the kitchen.

“Hey.” Luke’s strong arms circled her from behind. “Don’t be sorry. I liked it.” He turned her in his arms so she was looking up into his beautiful blue irises. “I more than liked it.” He gave her a sweet kiss on the nose. “I just … I like you. I want to get to know you. I want to do this right.”

Embry saw the sincerity in his eyes and relaxed in his arms. “Okay,” she said, chewing on her lip. “I like you, too.”

“Good.” He tugged her lip out of her mouth and nudged her toward the kitchen. “Because I don’t go out of my way to buy Chubby Hubby for just anyone.”

“You didn’t!” Embry slapped Luke’s chest playfully.

“I did.” Luke moved toward the freezer and pulled out Embry’s favorite ice cream. “Go grab some spoons, beautiful. Let’s have some dessert.”

“Bowls?” Embry asked as she pulled two spoons from the drawer.

“Nah, live dangerously. Straight out of the carton,” Luke said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Embry shook her head and laughed. She plopped on the couch, cozied up next to him, and dug her spoon into the ice cream. After taking a bite, she pointed her spoon at Luke and narrowed her eyes. “You, Mr. Brody, are good. How did you sneak this by me?”

“I have my ways,” Luke said with a sly smile.

They ate their ice cream and finished off the wine, laughing and joking.

Luke checked his watch and sighed. “I should probably head out, let you get some more studying done.”

“Okay. I should review my notes for tomorrow’s classes.”

Luke stood and pulled Embry into his arms, hugging her tight. “Thank you for tonight, beautiful.”

She pulled back to give him a surprised look. “I should be the one thanking you. This was an amazing first date.”

“I’m glad you thought so.”

“You set the bar pretty high for yourself though,” she joked. “I’ll expect nothing less than a private chef next time.”

“As long as there is a next time, you can have whatever you want,” Luke said.

Embry loved how sweet he was even when she was giving him a hard time. “I’d like that.” She pushed up on her toes and touched her lips to his. They were startled out of their moment by Embry’s phone blasting Morgan’s ringtone. “Sorry, let me just grab that quick. Morgan’s probably checking to make sure I’m still alive. I was supposed to give her on-the-minute updates.” Embry answered her phone saying, “You have either the most amazing or the most horrible timing ever.”