Chapter 6
1111 Words
CHAPTER 6
Shannon looked up from her colouring page at the kitchen table when the doorbell rang. Sara sprang to her feet and ran to answer it. Isaac and Jenna had only been gone for a few minutes, and as far as she knew they weren’t expecting anyone.
“Make sure you see who it is before you open the door, Sara.” After the situation with Eli over Christmas, they were all a little more cautious than usual. No one had heard from Jenna’s brother since he’d taken off with her stuff, her car, and her wallet, but it was entirely possible that he would show up again. They hadn’t heard anything from the police, which meant he probably hadn’t been arrested. She got to her feet and followed Sara to the front door.
“Uncle Lucas!”
Sara’s excited squeal had Shannon cringing. So much for escaping him with a change of location. Couldn’t the man just leave her alone?
The door swung open, and Shannon hung back as she watched the two of them together. “Hey, princess.” Lucas dropped a box of supplies then swept Sara up in a big hug and spun her around. “That’s a fancy dress you’ve got on there. Where’s your dad? Tell him I brought dessert.”
“He took Jenna out on a date. Auntie Shannon and me are having our own date. That’s why we’re dressed up. Do you want to be on our date too?”
Shannon could feel his eyes on her. “How could I say no to the two prettiest girls in Rivers End?”
He must have seen her wince a little at his words. “But it’s really up to your Auntie Shannon. If she’s okay with it, I’d love to stay. And I brought dessert…”
What was she supposed to do? Disappoint Sara? There was no real reason she could give that wouldn’t make her seem petty or mean, and he had just as much right to be there as she did. Just because he’d been gone for most of the past five years didn’t make him any less Sara’s uncle. “Sure. Sara, why don’t you go set another place at the table, and we’ll join you in a minute.” They’d have dinner, pretend to be nice to each other, and then he’d go. They could each go back to pretending the other didn’t exist. It’d be just like old times.
Sara took off at a run towards the kitchen, and Shannon sucked in a breath as Lucas stepped into her space. Her stomach fluttered—he smelled so damn good, like coffee and something with a hint of spice—and then she realized he just wanted to talk without Sara hearing them. Too bad, said her hormones.
“Shannon, relax. I know you’ve been avoiding me all week. I can see you don’t really want me to stay, but I also know you love Sara. And so do I. I’m back in town to spend time with my family, but I’m not going anywhere. I promise not to take up your whole evening with her.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding. Being mad at him for something he hadn’t done on New Year’s Eve didn’t make any sense. She had only herself to blame for how she was feeling. She’d thrown herself at him, while he’d kept his head, turned her down, and taken care of her. The fact that she felt vaguely disappointed about that was on her.
“How long you get to stay depends on what’s in that box.” Of course, flirting with him wasn’t exactly keeping to her strategy. This was going to take practice.
A slow smile lit up his face and set her stomach fluttering again. “In that case, let me take off my shoes so we can get this date started.”
He wasn’t sure what was harder: keeping up with Sara’s endless stream of questions or keeping his hands off Shannon. It was a big kitchen, but it seemed like every time he turned around he was bumping into her. And when he bumped, he wanted to grab.
Sara wasn’t the only one who had dressed up for their “date.”
Shannon’s dress was killing him. It wasn’t that it was fancy. Or overtly sexy. In fact, it was what she’d worn to work that morning. Not that he’d been watching her or anything, but he’d been up early working in the café and had seen her leave for the school.
The blue brought out her eyes, and the cut was fitted but classy. It hinted at what was beneath it without giving much away. It suited her and fired up his imagination. His memory. His hands itched to peel it off her and find out what she had on underneath.
But Shannon had made it clear as day that he was only here to spend time with his niece.
So he coloured with Sara while Shannon made dinner, and found himself watching her more often than he was comfortable with. Usually Sara had his full attention, but today he was hyper-aware of Shannon’s every move. That New Year’s kiss—and what followed—had flicked a switch, and now all he could think about was how to get her back to a place where she wasn’t mad at him or ignoring him, and was instead wrapped around him with her lips locked on his.
Putting a little extra distance between them had seemed like a good idea. Shannon had made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Not fancy, but one of his favourites, and Sara’s as well.
Now, as he put the dishes in the dishwasher, he could hear them in the living room and wished he was out there with them. Shannon’s voice was soothing, reading a story of some kind, interrupted by the occasional question or giggle from Sara.
If he was being honest with himself, he’d had a thing for Shannon for quite some time. Like, forever. But back then she was so far off-limits that there was no point in pursuing anything.
But now? She was no longer engaged. And she seemed to be thawing towards him. He’d had a taste and was a whole lot more willing to take a risk to see if there was more fire and passion where that had come from. He’d dated his fair share of women in the last few years. But no one could twist him up inside like Shannon could.
Lucas opened the box of goodies he’d brought and put a selection of cookies on a plate. He’d intended to get Isaac’s opinion on which ones to stock at the café. But he was going to take advantage of this opportunity to get Shannon and Sara’s opinions instead.
Especially if it bought him a little more time with his two favourite girls.
- Writer
