“You’re more than just a cook,” he told her.

“I know that. But it hurt. When will her words no longer hurt, Luke? I’m a grown woman.”

“And she’s your mother. We’re all kids around our parents at times.”

“What was that shit about Ziggy? It’s like she’s completely forgotten the black eyes and broken bones.”

They hadn’t been dating when Ziggy ended up in the state penitentiary. He knew the man was a douchebag but didn’t know how bad Zoe and her family had it until after she opened up to him. Even then, Luke was sure Zoe left stuff out of her conversations with him. Luke had always counted the timeline of them dating as a blessing. If Luke saw Ziggy raising a hand to Zoe, it would have been him in jail.

“I know it sucks, but I don’t think there is anything to worry about. It isn’t like your mom can invite the man over for dinner.”

A look of doubt crossed Zoe’s features.

“What?” he asked.

She shrugged. “It’s probably nothing.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “What is it?”

“He’s up for parole.”

“Isn’t he up every year now?”

“Yeah, but . . . it isn’t like he killed someone. Fifteen to life in my book means after fifteen years it’s all a crapshoot.”

“Hasn’t it been more like twenty?”

“Seventeen.” Her voice wavered.

“You’re really worried about him getting out.”

She did what Zoe did . . . she tried to blow it off. “Jo says it’s unlikely he will ever be free. Prison fights and added time.”

That was a good thing. “You still worry.” Zoe always worried, even if she hid it from the rest of the world.

“After hearing my mom talk, I’m worried that if he did get out, she’d welcome him back.”

“You think she’d do that?”

“I don’t know what to think. I’ve always wondered why she never dated after he was sent away.”

“Did you ever ask?”

Zoe shook her head. “No. I asked her years ago if she divorced him.”

“And?”

“‘Of course,’ she told me. But sometimes she tells me things I wanna hear instead of the truth.”

Luke ran a hand through his hair, brushing it out of his eyes. “How can anyone stay married to someone like that?”

“I don’t know. He gives men a bad name.”

Luke remembered all the fear Zoe had early in life. How intimidated she was by his dad because of his size and how long it took to warm up to him. Luke had a brief conversation with his father a few months after he and Zoe started dating. From that day forward, his dad put every effort into making sure that Zoe knew she had a family with them.

“If Jo says he isn’t going anywhere, you have nothing to worry about.”

Zoe didn’t look convinced. “If he did get out, he’d come straight there. It isn’t like my mom moved or anything.”

He hated the anxiety in her voice, the tense muscles in her neck as she talked. “What can I do?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Listen, I guess.”

“I can do that.”

For the first time since they got off the bike, Zoe offered a smile when she looked at him. For a good thirty seconds they stared at each other without words.

“You kissed me,” she said, changing the subject.

“I did.” He knew the grin on his face said he wasn’t sorry. “You kissed me back.”

“I did.” She sighed. “I haven’t decided if that was a mistake.”

“It wasn’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

He took a step closer. “Because you showed up in my garage.”

Zoe tried to blow off her actions. “I needed to talk.”

“Your best friends were right down the street. You chose me.”

Luke was close enough to see her pulse beating from a vein in her neck. He felt like a vampire who needed to touch his teeth to that very spot.

He placed a hand on her waist.

She didn’t back away.

“I don’t want to hurt you again, Luke.”

“I was a boy when you left. I’m a grown man now.”

“I live in Texas. My life is there.”

He nudged her closer with a slight tug of his fingertips.

“I know where you live.”

Zoe looked up at him; the tip of her tongue moistened her bottom lip. The teasing smile she often wore was all but gone.

The moment he felt her hand find his waist, his world came into focus.

“This isn’t smart,” she uttered, her lips reaching toward his.

Luke didn’t confirm nor deny. He simply removed the space between them and gave the woman what she was asking for.

Unlike the hurried kiss in the airport, this one was slow and soft. A homecoming. She tasted like flowers and chocolate and gentle waves upon the shore. Her eyes fluttered closed and he pulled her in tight. Luke stopped thinking about roses and candy and relished the feeling of her in his arms. She was more assured than when they’d been together before, leading the way by opening to him, tasting him.

When she clawed into his back, Luke matched her hunger with his. Their tongues danced, their bodies rubbed in all the right places.

Her lips pulled away, her breath came in short pants. Luke found the spot on her neck he wanted to taste and gave a gentle bite.