Page 74 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

It was all Lucki could do to keep her eyes on the hymnal, her lips moving in sync to the upbeat hymn, and her feet from prancing nervously on the hard wood floor of the choir loft. At her left, Bess Johnson kept sidling her glances that warned her to quiet her tapping toes.

Bess was fifty if she was a day: prim, proper, and head teller of the First National Bank of Harbor Falls. She sat with her back as rigid and straight as the columns of her accounting books. She despised little children, sloppiness, and men in general. It was a good thing; Lucki couldn’t imagine Bess ever having sex. Too messy.

Bess laid a silencing hand on Lucki’s knee. Lucki glanced at her peripherally and ceased the tapping.

She couldn’t help it. When she was angry she couldn’t sit still. Her mother used to accuse her of havin.

“anties in her panties.”

And if her mother were here, she’d probably be giving her the evil eye from the sanctuary as she’d done so many times in her adolescence.

But she and her Daddy were gone, off on another excursion in their camper RV. Any place but Florida, her father had said. So far, since he had retired, they’d done Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon loop, and trekked down the beaches of the east coast in search of supposed buried pirate treasure. Jim Stevenson was so disgusted with the retired mentality of half the state, he’d decided at sixty-two he was going to eke out the last of the daredevil in him before h.

“kicked the bucket.”

And he’d dragged her mother off with him. Although at fifty-eight, Elaine was as spry as the day she turned eighteen. She still ran three miles a day, did her yoga routine before bed every night, and consumed more vegetables than the frozen food section held at Ralph’s.

This time, they planned to white-water raft through some nearly unnavigable river in the Rockies, take a five-day pack trip into some long-forgotten gulch, and end up somewhere in New Mexico that advertised bungee jumping and ski diving for the older set. Lord only knew what else they’d get into.

Lucki prayed her parents would make their way back to Harbor Falls in one piece, although she didn’t expect to see them until late summer.

The source of her aggravation, however, was not the fact that her parents were out trying to capture the last of their youth, it was the fact that Missy Hawkins couldn’t seem to find an empty pew anywhere in the entire church, except for the seat next to Sam.

Damn, I thought I’d gotten rid of that woman last week.

Lucki immediately sent up a silent prayer. Forgive me Lord for saying such awful words in your house. Please. It’s just that Missy....

Lucki shook her head and tapped her foot a little louder against her metal chair. She shouldn’t be bothering God with her problem concerning Missy Hawkins.

And just what is my problem with Missy Hawkins?

Your problem is that Missy is too darned attached to Sam Kirk. Your friend. Your neighbor. Your....

What the heck is Sam to me, anyway? And why do I even care if he sits in church with Missy Hawkins? Of if he dates her? Or even if he decides to take her to his....

Bed.

No.

Not picturing that.

Something cold traveled up inside Lucki as she realized where her thoughts were leading her. The tapping grew louder as she contemplated the thought of Sam and Missy. In compromising situations.

In his bed.

The tapping echoed within the sanctuary walls.

Bess nudged her hard into a rib and threw Lucki a scornful look. Lucki squealed then immediately slapped her hand over her mouth. Reverend Peters paused shortly, glanced to the choir, and then resumed his monotone sermon.

Her cheeks flamed.

A few seconds later, she caught Missy Hawkins smirking at her from her seat next to Sam. Thoughts flew through Lucki’s head the likes of which she had no business thinking in church.

****

“So,”

Lucki said hours later as she and Sam sat swinging on her front porch.

“what’s the deal with Missy anyway?”

She turned to Sam sitting next to her, who stopped the swaying motion of the porch swing with one solid planting of his feet on the plank porch floor.

“What do you mean, what’s the deal with Missy?”

“Well...”

Lucki shrugged her shoulders.

“I just wondered how serious this thing is with her? I mean, I got the impression that you two were pretty close there for a while, and then after the fiasco at church last Sunday, I hadn’t heard you mention her or, to be exact, I hadn’t seen her hanging around, so I guess I thought she was out of the picture, but then this morning—”

Sam cupped a palm over Lucki’s mouth.

“Will you just shut up about Missy Hawkins?”

Lucki stared into Sam’s eyes. It was difficult to read what she saw there. Confusion? Frustration?

She attempted a nod. Sam slowly removed his hand.

“I guess I just—”

Sam clamped his hand back over her mouth. As he leaned closer, Lucki studied the intense expression of his eyes.

“Listen to me,”

he said rather curtly.

“Missy Hawkins and I are not an item. I don’t love Missy. I don’t even want to date Missy anymore. I never really wanted anything serious to come of our relationship in the first place. She wanted it more than I did... Do.”

Lucki continued to watch Sam’s eyes as they slowly played over her face, watching as he lazily slid his palm from her mouth. His gaze settled on her lips and Lucki felt an extreme urgency to wet them with her tongue. Her chest lifted in a quick breath.

“Is that right?”

she asked quietly.

“Yes.”

Sam cleared his throat.

“That’s exactly right.”

“Oh.”

“Uh-huh,”

Sam huskily returned.

For a fleeting, crazy moment, Lucki thought that Sam was actually going to lean forward and kiss her on her lips. For another sinfully, desirous, stupid second or two, she wanted him to kiss her. On the lips. Then she came to her senses, jerking back into an upright position on her side of the swing.

“Well, then I think you’ve made the right decision. I’m just not sure Missy is aware of that decision. Believe you me, Sam, that woman is nothing but trouble.”

Quickly, she glanced off and stared into the night.

Sensing Sam pull his posture erect, sitting on the right side of the swing, Lucki swung her feet and waited for him to make the next move. Repeatedly, she told herself that what she thought was going to happen a few minutes earlier, that Sam was going to make an attempt to kiss her, was the most bizarre, unheard of thing she’d ever contemplated in her entire life.

Sam Kirk kiss me? How utterly insane. What a joke. Ha! Tell me another one.

Sam cleared his throat.

“You think J.J. is going to do all right at parks and rec?”

Lucki, jerked out of her ridiculous musing about the possibility of Sam kissing her, turned abruptly toward him. “What?”

Sam stared.

“I asked you about J.J. So, he really did okay the rest of the week?”

Lucki nodded in agreement.

“He did fine, Sam. By yesterday afternoon, he was spiking that volleyball in the faces of the opposing team. He’s relentless. But they’re all friends now. That’s the way it is with kids this age. One minute they’re fighting, the next they’re best of friends.”

Sam didn’t look convinced.

Smiling, Lucki poked him in the ribs.

“Really, Sam. Everything is fine. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

After taking a deep breath and exhaling, Sam let his shoulders drop. Lucki could almost see the tension rolling off them.

“I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is to hear that,”

he said.

“To tell you the truth, Lucki, I’ve been worried about him. I’m glad it’s working out. The clinic is taking up so much of my time this summer, and my time with him would be so limited. I don’t know how I’m going to repay you.”

Lucki smirked. “I do.”

Sam threw her a puzzled look.

“What? How?”

Facing him, Lucki playfully punched his shoulder.

“Have you forgotten already, Sam Kirk? I need that date for the Fourth of July Picnic. You promised me you would find someone. Well, have you?”

The sheepish look on Sam’s face registered with Lucki immediately.

“I... Well, uh....”

“You haven’t, have you? Have you even tried?”

Sam’s eyes grew wide.

“Oh, yeah. Really, I have, Lucki.”

Narrowing her gaze, Lucki settled back into the corner of the swing and crossed her arms.

“And I’m gonna sprout fairy wings and fly off to Never-Never Land.”

Studying him, Lucki fully realized that Sam hadn’t lifted a finger to help her out.

“I really need that date, Sam. Please try and help me. Okay?”

It was almost as if Sam bristled at her pleading, although she didn’t know why he should be angered at her request. After all, they’d made a deal. Right? And she had lived up to her end of the bargain.

“I’m working on it, Lucki.”

His voice had lost some of the easy banter they’d shared before.

He rose and stepped toward the porch steps. A shadow cast over him as he moved away. It was late, the moon was just a sliver in the sky, and the streetlamp seemed to be dimming each night lately. Most of the time Lucki liked sitting on her porch in the dark. At this moment, though, she desperately wanted to see the expression on Sam’s face.

“Are you leaving?”

“It’s late, Lucki. We both have to work tomorrow.”

Lucki breathed deep and stood as well, then headed for her own front door.

“Guess I’ll see you in the morning when I get J.J.”

He waved as he stepped down one concrete step.

“Yeah, in the morning.”

“Sam?”

He turned. “Uh-huh?”

“The Fourth of July is only two weeks away.”

An awkward silence fell between them for a few lengthy seconds.

“I know when the Fourth of July is, Lucki.”

Damn. Lucki wished she could see his face. Should she reach inside her door and turn on the porch light?

“I know.”

He took three steps down the sidewalk. “Sam?”

“Yes?”

“J.J. has a baseball game Thursday night. Can you come?”

Lucki heard the shuffling of his feet, still wishing she could see his face.

“Yeah. I can make it.”

Lucki breathed a soft sigh. “Good.”

In the next instant, Sam was gone.

****

At precisely seven-thirty the next morning, Lucki rapped on Sam’s back door. The warm, sweet smell of waffles and syrup greeted her through the screen. She caught a brief glimpse of J.J. wolfing down the last of his breakfast.

“C’mon in, Lucki,”

Sam shouted over the din of cartoon music coming from the small television.

Lucki entered the kitchen.

“Ready, J.J.?”

She glanced into his plate and almost drooled. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was.

“Sam, are those real waffles? I’m impressed!”

She lifted her gaze to meet his. He smiled back; the hint of anger she’d sensed from him last night gone. Secretly, she was glad.

Sam wore a chef’s apron over his doctor’s attire and whirled a thin spatula in the air.

“I’m a whiz with Mama’s waffle iron. Want some?”

Lucki thought about the half box of most-likely-stale donuts sitting on her truck seat. Ugh.

“Do you have plenty?”

she queried, cocking her face to one side.

“Won’t take me a minute, Ma’am. Have a seat.”

Lucki grabbed the seat next to J.J. and plopped down. The kid was still forking up the waffles.

“He do this all the time?”

She elbowed J.J. in the ribs.

Nodding, he smacked his lips and kept his gaze glued to the television.

“That’s why you won’t eat my donuts, huh?”

J.J. grinned and glanced at her, syrup running down his chin.

“That and the fact that I accidentally dropped them on the ground the other day when we were lining the baseball fields. They didn’t get too dirty, though.”

Casually, J.J. eyed his waffles.

“You little rat....”

“Waffles coming up!”

Lucki turned toward Sam’s voice as he laid a steaming plate of waffles in front of her. Reaching for the butter and syrup, Lucki gave Sam an appreciative glance.

“You sure know the way to a woman’s heart.”

“Really?”

Lucki glanced up from the blob of butter melting on her waffles. Sam stepped closer.

“What?”

“I said, really? Is this the way to a woman’s heart?”

Leaning closer, his elbows propped on the table, his face only inches from hers, Sam stared into Lucki’s eyes. Why hadn’t she noticed before how dreamy his eyes looked close up? They were the most perfect shade of gray. With tiny flecks of gold. She swallowed. Hard. The waffles were forgotten. Oh damn. What did I say? I surely didn’t mean....

“Uh...to her heart?”

“That’s what you said.”

“Well, it’s not like I have any experience in that area, you know.”

“You don’t?”

“Well, it’s just that...from what I hear...I mean other women say it’s kind of cool when men....”

“What do you think?”

“Me! Uh, well...waffles, uh, waffles are fantastic, you know? I mean, the way the butter and syrup pools in the little squares and... Well, when you bite into it...it’s kind of hard and soft at the same time and the goo just shoots out.”

Her words were mumbled, trailing off lower and lower, and making no sense. Try again, Lucki.

“I mean, a woman loves...um, waffles are so warm and sweet and sticky and...um, when someone else, like you know, a man cooks for her it’s kind of like, well, warm and sweet and sticky is kind of nice...sometimes, and women....”

Hell’s bells! What am I doing here?

“It’s seven-forty-five, Lucki. We better get going.”

Lucki barely registered the screech of J.J.’s chair as he pushed backward from the table. The only thing she registered was the amused look on Sam Kirk’s face.

She pushed away from the table too, averting his gaze.

“Gotta go. We’ll be late.”

“You haven’t eaten your waffles.”

Lucki headed for the door.

“Well, uh, save them for me, or something. Got a doggy bag? I’ll eat them for supper.”

Purposely, she didn’t look at Sam. If she did, her insides would go all haywire. How dare he look at her like that?

“I’ll cook you something else for supper. If you want. Something warm and sweet and sticky?”

Lucki stopped abruptly, her hands frozen on the wooden doorframe. Closing her eyes, she mentally pulled herself together. Sam was trying to get her goat. He was teasing her. Kidding her. He used to do it all the time! Stupid, idiot, Lucki! He was just playing games. Like when he talked her int.

“practice kissing”

when he was thirteen, just so they could get good at it when they wanted to kiss someone else later on, he’d said.

Yeah, right.

Well, two can play.

Turning, Lucki looked Sam square in the eyes.

“I usually like warm and sweet and sticky in the morning. Now later in the day? I’m more of a meat eater, something firm and hot and satisfying. I can really get into that. That is, of course, if you’re up to cooking tonight. Don’t do it on my account, though. I can manage quite well on my own.”

And with that, she left Dr. Sam Kirk with a silly, dumbfounded expression on his face.