Luke's Promise

He bent and brushed his lips across hers. “Buck up,” he whispered. “The worst is over.”

Her mouth tingled and her skin flushed from the brief touch of his mouth. Oh, help. What had she done?

This time would be different, she told herself firmly. This time she had nothing to prove—though she did have an agenda, one she hadn’t told him about. One she prayed she’d have the courage to act on.

And this time, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she wasn’t in love with him.