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bridge of her nose. Things were getting too heavy too quick. A few more words and looks from Luke and she was afraid she’d start believing him.
    “Do you want your lunch or not?”
    He smiled and took the bag. “Only if you’ll come in the orchard and share with me. We can talk more about us.”
    “I can’t stay long,” she said, swaying on her feet. Once again, Luke Jacobs with his lethal smile and confident swagger had her attempting to balance with trembling knees.
    “I don’t need long.” He took her hand and led her deep into the orchard, not stopping until the only things that surrounded them were rustling tree branches swaying in the breeze.
    She sat beneath a Golden Delicious. Luke dropped the bag and gently pushed her to her back, instantly wedging himself between her legs. The grass tickled her shoulder blades, and Luke’s weight on top of her felt amazing. Like she was safe. Secure beneath him.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Making sure you hear me,” he said, hovering over her.
    Oh, she was hearing him. She was also lifting her hips, wondering just how far they were about to go. But Luke stayed still, simply looking at her, and all she could see was him.
    “I want you, Annabelle.” Putting his forearms on either side of her head, he balanced his weight atop her.
    She could see his biceps bulge in her peripheral vision, and that safe feeling enveloped her once more.
    “Do you want me?” he asked.
    “Yes,” she whispered. That was a simple question with a simple answer. The rest—like tomorrow or details—didn’t enter her mind then. She wanted Luke.
    “Good.” He grinned. “Because right here”—he skimmed her cheekbone with the back of his hand—“with you, is where I want to be.”
    Her lips trembled. She wanted to respond. To argue with him and point out all the reasons that this was a bad idea. That while she felt a deep connection to him, they were very different people living in a town that recognized those differences.
    “You and me together … it isn’t going to look right. People will talk.”
    “I know you have a lot riding on your reputation, Annie. I don’t want to complicate that.” Only Luke would think about her reputation in this. His was spotless while hers was comprised of past mistakes, and everyone was watching to see how badly she would mess up again. “I’m not interested in keeping you, or us, a secret.”
    He adjusted his hips, and the scrape of his jeans against her thighs made her body buzz like a freshly lit firework. She locked her legs around his middle and hugged him close. Fully clothed, lying on the ground, she just clung to him, wanting to somehow feel all that strength he offered.
    “Luke …” It was the only word she could form. What else could she say? Could she really tell him no? Tell him she’d rather stay away from him than try and see if they could be more? That would be a lie. Because she did want more. But it wasn’t that easy.
    She couldn’t control what people would say or think. She didn’t want to give anyone any reason to stand against her. She relied on Sweet Hill for her livelihood. A town that loved everything Jacobs. If she so much as breathed wrong in their direction, it could be a problem. People would know. And it would affect her business.
    “Please, Annabelle.” His mouth was over hers, so close it was as if they were breathing for each other. So much heat and longing was in his eyes that she dared not deny him anything.
    She was already so far past gone for Luke, she was ready to concede. And she’d do it with a smile on her face. Because right then, he looked at her in a way no one ever did.
    “Yes,” she said.
    With her thighs wrapped around his waist, she squeezed tighter and let herself enjoy the moment. The feeling of being totally and completely wrapped up in Luke Jacobs.
    He whispered her name and kissed her. Soft, slow, and totally consuming. The connection that she felt two years ago, and again last