Dangerously Irresistible

CHAPTER EIGHT

~     T  H  E     A  N  N  I  V  E  R  S  A  R  Y     ~

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It was late into the night when I opened the door to the enormous apartment I shared with Jenna. 

 I stepped inside in a cacophony of sound and movement, dropping my handbag on the ground, kicking off my stilettos and yanking my arms free from my jacket.

 A small kick to the door with my feet shut it and I tossed my keys on top of the table in the foyer and carelessly brushed my heels aside with my feet before I shrugged off my coat completely.

 The coat was hung in the foyer closet before I headed inside the apartment, reaching up and untying the french braid I'd braided my hair into.

 I was still pulling out the braid when I opened my bedroom door with a plan to go inside, take a shower and collapse on my bed.

 I wasn't expecting anyone to be in there, Jenna was in Maui for a photoshoot. So, when I stepped into my room and saw Luke, his tall form lit up only by the lamps on the nightstands on either side of my bed, I screamed.

 It was an ear-splitting, shocked scream filled with terror but he barely flinched.

 "Luke," I spoke after I managed to calm myself down. "What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded.

 Luke didn't answer. I frowned at his silence and flipped on the lights.

 When I did so, I saw that he was sitting on my bed, clad in a white shirt, unbuttoned half-way down. The shirt was wrinkled and his usually perfectly coiffed hair was disheveled.

 He had a bottle of champagne in his hand, the sight of which made me frown harder. 

 Why the hell would he have a bottle of champagne in his hands? And more importantly, why the hell was he here?

 Did we have a date or something? I wondered and quickly racked my brain. But I was dead certain that we didn't.

 So, why was here?

 And why did he look so... So miserable and sullen? It was a stark contrast from his usual bright smile. It was disconcerting.

 "Luke? What're you doing here?" I asked, more gently this time.

 Luke raised his head and looked into my eyes. But instead of answering my question, he asked one of his own. "Do you know what day today is?"

 "Uh," I was thrown by this unexpected and strange question. "Wednesday?"

 Luke rolled his eyes in irritation. Another uncharacterized action. Luke never rolled his eyes! At least, not with that much irritation.

 "It's our three-month anniversary!" he reminded me, a little angrily.

 Oh, right! I slapped a hand to my forehead mentally. I'm dating him! It's our three month anniversary.

 Suddenly, the champagne made sense to me. Guilt swirled inside me, hot and heavy in my gut.

 "And you came here to surprise me, didn't you?" I asked even though the answer was obvious.

 Luke nodded and I watched with dismay as he raised the champagne bottle to his lips, tilted his head back and took a long drink.

 He stood up after and headed out.

 Wordless, I followed him out of my bedroom and into the dining room where my guilt increased.