Naughty Nights: A Bad Boy Romance by Sophie Brooks Page A

unusually loud bang. I stared at it stupidly for a moment, but when the sound came again, I realized it was the door. Nobody’d knocked on it since the movers left.  
    I hurried to the door but didn’t open it. Unlike the hotel, there wasn’t a peephole. “Who is it?”  
    “Got an order of Lithuanian food for Ms. Darcy Squires,” said a familiar voice. What on earth?  
    Shaking my head to clear away the confusion, I pulled the door open. And there he was, a smile on his face, looking as he did all those nights when he’d greeted me from the other side of the front desk. There was no difference except he had a large, insulated bag slung over one arm.  
    “Hi,” I said, still shocked that Luke was here. He wore his white button-down dress shirt and black jeans and looked so good he nearly took my breath away. As I stood back to let him in, and managed to start breathing again, the aroma hit me—a pleasant but slightly unfamiliar smell. It brought to mind hearty food like meat, potatoes, and spices suitable for cold winter nights.  
    Luke looked extra tall standing in my living room holding the thick bag. “Nice place,” he said, looking around. And I thought so, too. It wasn’t decorated yet, but the living room was comfortable and cozy. “This is for you,” Luke said, and I took the heavy bag from him, bringing it into the kitchen.  
    Opening it, I saw several boxes with a handwritten sign on them: Liudvika’s Lithuanian Delights. “I thought you were kidding. Where on earth did you get that?”  
    “There’s a married couple up in tiny little Freemont, of all places. They immigrated here, and I’d heard that they sometimes cooked elaborate feasts for their neighbors. So I got in touch with them.”
    “But that’s like a hundred miles away, isn’t it? You drove all that way?”  
    “Took a couple hours off of work. But finding good takeout is one of my superpowers. You said Lithuanian was what you wanted, so it’s my job to get it for you.” The twinkle in his eye sent delicious shivers radiating across my skin, but I couldn’t relax and enjoy his banter. Not until I knew what his being here meant. “Anyway, they gave me heating instructions. It shouldn’t take long.”  
    He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me to read while he set the containers on the counter.  
    “This isn’t in English,” I said, frowning at the unfamiliar characters.  
    “Shit, really?” Luke peered over my shoulder. He was so close I could feel the heat from his body. “Sorry.”  
    “It’s okay. I think we can just put the food in a glass dish and stick it in the oven for a little while.”  
    “Sounds good,” he said. Once it was in, I set the timer and turned to look at him. But then I didn’t know what to say. He watched me carefully, like he was assessing my mood. Finally, he sighed. “Let’s talk.”  
    Luke took my hand and led me to the living room. He sat on the sofa and patted the spot next to him, but I settled a foot or two away, placing my bent knee on the sofa so I could sit sideways and face him.  
    “You’re pissed I haven’t been around,” Luke said, immediately sending me into protest mode.  
    “I know you have your classes. And I know work’s been busy.”  
    “Okay, let me rephrase that.” His gaze was so intent, and his eyes seemed even bluer than the last time I’d seen him. “You’re hurt because I haven’t been around.”  
    I thought about that for a bit. It was one hundred percent true, but did I want to admit that to him? But at this point, I didn’t have much left to lose. “Yes,” I said simply.  
    “I’m sorry.”
    “I know you’ve got a lot on your plate right now.”  
    “Yeah, I really do. That week after I got stuck in your room, I went to see a counselor at my college. Asked her if there was any way I could take an overload of classes next semester and graduate in May, not December. She said the only way to