Waterfront Weddings Read Free Page A

considering his size. But whenever he had permission to get in his and Summer’s bed, the dog insisted on taking up as much space as his large frame would allow.
    He tucked the pillow beneath his arm. He’d sleep downstairs in the guest room tonight. He paused at the door and glanced back inside the bedroom. Summer hadn’t stirred through all of the commotion. Either she was sleeping soundly or she had nothing to say to him.
    Luke headed to the laundry room downstairs, stifling a yawn.
    Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Chapter 3
    S ummer waited until she heard Luke’s foot hit the squeaky spot on the stairs before she sat up. As soon as he had gone into the bathroom, she remembered his work uniforms needed to be washed. She might be the worst wife ever, but she’d sooner walk across hot coals than admit to him that she’d forgotten. He probably thought she’d done it out of spite over his impromptu boys’ night out, and she’d let him think so. Served him right.
    She leaned back against the plush pillows and put a hand on Milo. She’d read somewhere that stroking a dog’s fur helped to calm people when they were under a lot of stress. She’d certainly put that theory to the test over the past few months. Her stomach knotted as she thought about Saturday’s barbecue. It had been weeks since she’d seen her family. And she knew it would be a fight to convince Luke to go with her.
    She rolled over and burrowed further underneath the covers. Sometimes she wished she could stay there forever.
    The next morning, she grabbed her pink robe and padded downstairs. Milo trailed along behind her, stretching and yawning as he went. “Hey,” she said, stepping into the kitchen.
    Luke stood at the counter, slapping turkey onto a slice of bread. He covered it with the heel of the loaf and shook his head. “We’re out of bread.”
    “Good morning to you, too.” She grabbed her favorite mug from the cabinet and filled it with coffee. Luke’s sweet gesture wasn’t lost on her. He didn’t drink coffee, so the fresh pot had been made just for her. But she didn’t mention his kindness. It made her feel too bad. She couldn’t even remember to get bread for his sandwich, yet he’d made her coffee.
    “Mornin’.” Luke slid his sandwich into a ziplock bag. He leveled his brown eyes on her.
    Those brown eyes might have been the reason she fell in love with him in the first place. Summer could still remember the day they met. She’d been sitting in the hammock in the backyard, reading
Pride and Prejudice
and wondering if she’d ever meet a man like Mr. Darcy. She hadn’t realized anyone was watching her until he cleared his throat. She looked up to see Luke standing there, a sheepish grin on his handsome face. “Hey,” he drawled softly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
    She quickly closed the book. Her friends made fun of her for reading too much, especially when they caught her with her nose buried in the classics. “You didn’t.”
    “I’m Luke. Luke Nelson.” A shadow crossed his tanned face. “I’m helping my uncle this summer. He owns a landscaping company.” He motioned toward the push mower. “Hope it doesn’t disturb your reading.” He smiled. “That’s a great book.”
    At that moment, Summer looked into Luke’s chocolate brown eyes and felt her heart skip a beat.
    They were seventeen at that first meeting. At thirty-four it was hard for her to fathom that she’d known Luke for half of her life. And there had been lots of times over the years when Luke’s slow smile and beautiful eyes had made her heart skip beats. But that happened less and less these days. Sometimes it seemed like she barely knew him anymore.
    “I’m sorry I forgot the bread.” She took a sip of coffee and watched him grab a bag of Doritos from the pantry. “I’ll go to the store on my way home today so you’ll have lunch tomorrow.”
    He put his sandwich and the chips into his lunch bag. “Don’t bother. I’m