Chapter 13

Between the romantic ambiance in the bathroom and the yummy treat Lucas had left for her, Leanne felt almost like a princess. The piano music was soothing, and the Peanuts book was entertaining. Her fatigue melted away as she read and listened to the music.

She stayed in the aromatic water as long as she could, but she finally climbed out of the tub and dried off. Some of the tealight candles had already gone out, but she blew out the remaining ones and let the water out of the tub.

Wrapping her robe around her, she stepped out into the hallway and heard Lucas humming faintly. She wondered what he was up to, but went to her room, where she found a black robe lying on her bed next to a pair of slippers. She picked it up and burst out laughing when she saw the back of it. Linus and Charlie Brown sat in the pumpkin patch, waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. The slippers matched the robe.

Giggling, Leanne quickly put on a pair of black sweat shorts and a T-shirt and donned the robe and slippers. She practically skipped out to the kitchen, where she found Lucas frying something on the stove. She liked that he’d sort of made himself at home.

“Well, how do I look?”

He turned around and laughed when she struck a sexy pose and pulled her robe open a little. “You’re stunning, dahling,” he drawled. “No one can make the Peanuts look as hot as you do.”

She sashayed over to him. “Next time I’ll model my Looney Tunes pj’s for you.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “Next time, huh?”

She tugged on his polo shirt collar. “Yeah.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He kissed her cheek and returned his attention to the stove. “Hungry?” She smelled delicious and he wanted to feast on her.

“Starving.” She moved up to the stove and watched what he was doing. “I thought you said you couldn’t cook?”

“Well, I really can’t cook per se, but I make one hell of a sandwich,” he replied.

“And what’s this one?”

“Grilled green tomato, guacamole, and cheese sandwich on sourdough bread. Colby, Monterey jack, and goat cheese, to be exact. And I used tortilla chip butter on the outside,” he said.

“Now that’s what I call a sandwich.” Leanne’s stomach growled as she watched a piece of cheese melt and drip down the side of a slice of thick bread. “That looks incredible.”

“Wait until you taste it. Get a plate. This one is ready.”

Leanne complied and then watched him assemble another sandwich. She admired his deft movements and was amused by the concentration on his face. Once the second huge sandwich was ready, Lucas put their plates on the table and grabbed a couple of bottles from the fridge.

“This isn’t beer,” she said, picking up one of the bottles of Angry Orchard Cider as she sat down. “I’ve never had this.”

“This is their Stone Dry cider, and it goes great with sandwiches like this,” he said, twisting off the cap on his. “And there’s Key Lime pie for dessert. Dig in.”

Leanne bit into her sandwich and instantly fell in love with the combination of flavors. “Amazing,” she mumbled before attacking the rest of the sandwich.

He was right about the hard cider being the perfect beverage pairing with the sandwich. It was crisp and contrasted well with the tomato and cheeses. They didn’t talk much as they ate, simply enjoying the meal together.

“This would sell really well at the diner,” she said as she finished. “I’ll have to make it for Dad and see if he’ll let me add it to the menu.”

Lucas eyes widened. “Really? You think it’s that good?”

“Oh, yeah. I wouldn’t even suggest it if I didn’t,” she said.

“Wow. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Leanne smiled. “I wasn’t expecting to meet a man who can make that kind of sandwich, either.” She put her hand on his forearm. “You’re incredibly sweet for doing all of this. No one has ever done anything like this for me before.”

He put his hand over hers. “That’s a shame, but in a way, I’m glad. I want to show you how special I think you are.” He took her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. “And I’m not quite done with that yet.”

Leanne shook her head. “What more could there possibly be?”

He just gave her an enigmatic smile, kissed her hand again, and rose from the table.

She got up, too. “You’re not doing dishes. We’ll just stick them in the dishwasher.”

“Okay.”

Once they’d tidied up, Lucas directed her to the living room, where he made her stretch out on the couch. He lifted her feet, sat down, and laid them across his thighs.

Taking off her slippers, he asked, “Are you ticklish?”

Leanne was glad that she’d just had a pedicure done so that her feet looked nice. “A little.”

Lucas nodded and reached his arm over the side of the couch, where he found the small bottle of lemon shea butter foot massage lotion he’d placed there earlier. He’d bought it from Glenna, who’d gleefully taken a few minutes to show him a couple of massaging techniques when he’d told her what he wanted it for.

In disbelief, Leanne watched as Lucas squirted lotion onto one of his palms and sat the bottle on the coffee table. He really was going to give her a foot massage. The man was full of surprises.

As Lucas rubbed his palms together to warm the lotion, anticipation of feeling his hands on her skin filled Leanne. He picked up her right foot and started working the lotion into her heel. His touch was firm, yet gentle and Leanne let out a moan of pleasure.