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12

Luke

I wasn’t the kind of guy who did drama I didn’t say crap like ‘shaken to the core’ I didn’t call a good cheeseburger ‘life-altering’ or refer to anyone as ‘the GOAT’ I knew guys like that I worked with some at the fire station Men who liked to overstate, just to htforward type I would describeI called hiot pissed off and punchedabout it It hat it was

Which made it difficult for me to describe the kiss precisely as it was

Because that kiss left me shaken to the core It was every over the top, Fourth-of-July fireworks adjective there was Incredible A Multiplied by about one billion I was reeling from it I released her, lifted ered back from the impact of the kiss, I took her hands in mine I held them, kissed them

“We can’t,” I said, hating every word of it for being true

“I know,” Sarah Jo agreed sadly “Ryan’s such aout”

“If we acted on our feelings, on this attraction, it would be devastating for hiht do, but we can’t risk it He’s already drinking too much”

“Yeah, I’d never forgive ot behind the wheel and had an accident,” she said miserably

“That would not be your fault It would be his choice, but we can agree that we don’t want to make his situation worse And he has been very clear with me that I shouldn’t so much as look at you”

“That’s just stupidWhat I’m concerned about isn’t his approval—it’s his reaction when he’s so out of control,” she said

“Well, I couldn’t give a shit if he approved or not I’m my own man But I’ toward the edge of a cliff, you don’t shove him off”

“It pisses ht nohen he couldn’t be bothered to consider ht?”

“You’re much more than that But I know this isn’t the ti with you Because he’s off the fuckin’ rails over the divorce We can’t keep hi But there’s a difference between trying to control hihted match when he has firecrackers strapped to his ass”

“Did you watch a lot of Road Runner cartoons when you were a kid? Because you’ve talked about running off the edge of a cliff and strapping firecrackers to your ass and I’ Looney Tunes vibe fro ood to laugh with her It was a release of tension, and there was so much tension between us