Once she’d cleaned the apartment, she had about an hour until Luke came over. She hopped in the shower, and shaved in all the important places, just in case. She blow-dried and curled her hair, threw on some makeup, and stared into her underwear drawer. Lace or practical? Sexy or cute? He is so not seeing my underwear tonight.

Embry was startled out of her thoughts by her phone. She grabbed it and saw that she had a text from Luke. He was on his way. Crap. She grabbed a lace set, threw on a silky, mint button-down blouse, dark skinny jeans, nude flats, and a gold chunky necklace. Embry took the wine out of the freezer and was in the bathroom giving herself a spritz of perfume when the doorbell rang.

“Coming!” She smoothed her shirt and headed for the front door. She pulled open the door, and instead of Luke, she was face to face with her creepy upstairs neighbor.

“Hey, Embry,” he said, leaning against the doorjamb. He gave her a thorough once-over, which left her feeling as though she needed another shower. “Looking good.”

“What can I do for you?”

Reggie had seen Embry moving in and taken it upon himself to be her one-man welcoming committee. Since then, he’d stopped by her apartment randomly, trying to convince her to go out with him so he could “show her the sights.”

“All dressed up and no place to go?” Reggie asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Um, no …”

“Actually,” said a familiar raspy voice, “she has dinner plans with me.”

Embry turned to see Luke walking up the stairs, grocery bag in hand. He looked sexy as hell in tan, pressed khakis and a dark blue button-down that made his eyes look even more amazing, if that was possible. Reggie backed up, and Luke slipped in through the door, bending down to give Embry a kiss on the cheek before walking into the kitchen to put down the groceries.

Luke came back to the door and put his arm around Embry’s waist. “Hey, man, I’m Luke. Nice to meet you.” He stuck out his free hand for Reggie to shake.

“Reggie,” he said, shaking Luke’s hand. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around, Embry. Have a nice dinner.”

“Bye, Reggie,” Embry said, relieved that Luke had saved her from an awkward conversation. She shut the door and turned around right into Luke’s chest. She lifted her gaze up to him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Luke replied, tucking a stray hair behind Embry’s ear.

“Hey,” Embry said again, sounding more breathless than she would’ve liked.

“Hey,” he whispered, his eyes burning into hers.

He hooked his finger beneath her chin, gently tilting her head, and before she had time to think, his mouth was on hers. He ran his tongue lightly along her bottom lip until she opened for him, their tongues tentative, exploring. She thought her knees would give out at the sensation. Luke deepened the kiss, his hands roaming her curves as his hard body covered hers. Embry reached up, digging her hands into his perfect hair. She was a second away from climbing him and wrapping her legs around him.

Luke pulled back slightly, causing Embry’s hands to fall to his chest. He gently nipped and sucked at her bottom lip before dragging his mouth from hers. Staring at her with desire in his eyes, Luke braced his hands on the door on either side of Embry’s head, clearly trying to calm himself. She could only focus on the warmth of his chest beneath her hands and the sweet taste of him lingering on her lips.

Luke leaned his head against his shoulder and looked down at her. “I’m sorry, Bree, I just … I’ve been wanting to do that since I laid eyes on you in the hallway. Was that okay?”

Embry nodded, her hands playing with the buttons on his shirt. “More than okay,” she said quietly. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she knew they were true. She felt safe with Luke.

“Good,” he said, placing a sweet kiss on her forehead. He grabbed her hand and led her toward the kitchen. “Let’s get you fed then.”

“Want to see the apartment first? I can give you a quick tour if you want,” Embry offered.

“Sure, beautiful. Lead the way,” he said, a smile lighting his eyes.

Embry led Luke around her apartment. The front door opened into a living room/dining room combo with an open kitchen to the left. Through the dining room was the hallway to the guest bedroom/office, bathroom, and the master bedroom at the end. The master bedroom had its own bathroom. Both the living room and bedroom had sliding glass doors that led onto a sizeable balcony.

“Nice setup you’ve got here,” Luke said, looking out from the balcony. “No roommate?”

“Nope, just me. I was supposed to live with Morgan; her parents own the apartment. But her boyfriend asked her to move in with him, so I got the place to myself.”

“You don’t get too lonely all by yourself?” he asked.

“Nah. I don’t really have the chance to get lonely, Morgan still hangs around so much.” Embry laughed. “What about you? Do you live alone?”

“Yep. It’s just me. I bought a place over in Bayville.”

“So don’t you get lonely?” Embry asked, turning Luke’s question back on him.

“I’m working on that right now.” He smiled down at her and pulled her in for a quick kiss.

Embry hummed her approval.

Luke tugged her back into the living room. “Come on, let me feed you.”

Embry followed Luke into the kitchen and pointed out the essentials he’d need. As he acquainted himself with her kitchen, she went over to the island where Luke had set down the grocery bag. She peeked into the bag to see what he brought. Luke came up behind her and tickled her until she squirmed away from the bag.

“Hey, I just wanted to see what you were making,” she complained.

“Don’t worry about it.” He gave her a sly smile.

Embry planted her hands on her hips, challenging him. “I don’t like surprises, you know.”

“Then whoever was trying to surprise you wasn’t doing it right.” Luke gave her a cute smile that caused his dimple to pop. Then his face turned serious. “Didn’t you say you have work to do? I don’t want to keep you from it.”

“Yeah, I should probably try to get some reading done for crim law. I’ll be right here.” Embry motioned toward the couch. “Just holler if you need me.”

“Got it.”

Morgan was right; Embry couldn’t concentrate. There was a gorgeous man in her kitchen. When she wasn’t watching Luke, Embry was reliving the feel of his lips on hers. After reading the same sentence for about the tenth time, she put down her textbook and headed into the kitchen. She peered over Luke’s shoulder.

He sensed her and looked back. “Need something?”

“Nope. Just making sure things are running smoothly.”

“Is that so?”

“Yep. Quality control check.”

He chuckled. “I’m pretty sure I’ve got it covered.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Yes, go finish your work.”

Embry chewed her lip and tried her best to look innocent. “I can’t.”

“What do you mean? Do you need help with one of the cases?”

She shook her head and looked down. “I can’t concentrate.”

Luke grabbed her chin and brought her eyes to his. “What’s got you distracted, beautiful?”

A mischievous grin formed on her face. “Well, he’s about 6’3”, dark hair, blue eyes …”

“I’m distracting you, am I?”

“Mmmhmmm.” Embry nodded.

Luke pulled her in for a kiss. “Okay fine, you can help. Dinner’s almost ready, but why don’t you pour us some wine and grab some plates and silverware.”

Embry set the small glass table in her dining room, poured them each a glass of the chardonnay she had chilled, and plopped down on one of the stools in the kitchen to watch Luke.

His back was to her as he dished out the food and arranged their plates. He scooted past her to the table and called over his shoulder, “Grab the salad, will you?”