Wilde For You (The Wilde Sisters Book 3) Read Free

briefcase and ushered her out of the lounge, his hand on her lower back causing chills to race down her arms. Before she had time to register where they were going, Luke was talking with the hostess who led them to a table in the back of the restaurant.
    “Wait. What are you doing?”
    “Eating dinner.” He pulled out a chair and gently pushed her down in it.
    “I didn’t say I’d have dinner with you.”
    “Well, it’s nearly six and you have to eat sometime.”
    The hostess asked for their beverage order and before Sage could reply, Luke cut her off again. “I’ll have an iced tea. And the lady will have…wine?”
    “Tonic water with lime, please.” After the hostess left, she hammered into Luke. “Don’t be so presumptuous. I’m working. I don’t drink when I work.”
    “When are you done working?”
    “Never.”
    “So you don’t drink?”
    Sage thought about her favorite nights. When she and her sisters got together for margaritas and nachos, which happened less frequently now that Rayne and Trent had two kids and Thyme and Grayson were married and raising his six-year-old daughter. “Occasionally. But I don’t have much time for socializing.”
    “Well then, it’s a good thing I came around when I did.”
    “Has anyone ever told you how exasperating you are?”
    Luke laughed, picking up his menu. “My brothers and sisters tell me all the time.”
    “I can only imagine what your house was like growing up. You probably bullied everyone to see things your way.”
    “Far from it. My mother ran a tight ship. We had our moments when we wanted to kill each other, but we’ve stuck by each other’s sides.”
    Sage found herself wanting to learn more about this beautiful man and his family, which was completely out of character for her. “How many siblings do you have?”
    “That’s a loaded question. Over the years I’ve had over twenty.”
    “Twenty?” Sage nearly shouted.
    “But really there’s just six of us. Mom is a foster mom. She took in lots of kids over the years but didn’t adopt them all, even though she wanted to.”
    “Were you a foster child?” Oh, foot. Mouth. “I’m sorry. That was rude and none of my business. Forget I asked.”
    “I don’t mind.” Luke shrugged and waited as the waitress delivered their drinks and took their order. When she left, he continued. “I’m adopted. All six of us are. Mom and Dad found out early on they couldn’t have children and started taking kids in when they were in their twenties.”
    “Are you the oldest?”
    “Yes. I’m thirty-two and Lucy, the baby, is twenty-two. Graham, Blake, Jack, Colton, and Rachael all fall in between.”
    “That must have been crazy during high school. A lot of raging hormones.”
    “And fights. The guys and I are fiercely competitive. Too bad they’re all ugly-looking skinny boys. I try to take it easy on them.” Luke laughed. “My mom is amazing. The patience of a Sunday school teacher, which she was, yet you never want to cross her path. You’ve never seen the evil eye until you’ve been on Doreen Riley’s bad side.”
    She liked the genuine smile on his face when he talked about his family. Especially his mom. It was obvious Luke held a torch for her. He glossed over his father’s passing away a few years ago and said his brothers and sisters had alternated taking care of their mom.
    “Lucy and I are the only ones who stayed in Maine, the rest of the herd is spread across the country. They try to come home during the holidays when they can, all except Colton, who’s in Afghanistan and has no control over his schedule.” He tore off a piece of roll, buttered it, and offered it to Sage. She typically didn’t eat carbs after lunch unless it was margarita and nacho night with her sisters, but she caved in and accepted the bread.
    “Family meals at your house must be crazy.”
    “We’ll all be at my mom’s for Thanksgiving next week. She’s getting older but still holds her own. We