Free Gift With Purchase by Jackie Pilossoph Read Free Book Online

want to answer it.”
    Luke nodded and began putting cream on my knees. It was so weird. It hurt, but I liked being touched by him. It wasn’t sexual, but it wasn’t platonic either. There was something about him that made me feel safe, secure, and very protected.
    “The truth is, I haven’t dealt with it at all. I don’t date. I don’t work. I don’t do anything.”
    “Come on, you have to do something. What about your daughter?”
    “Actually, yes, I take care of my daughter.”
    “That’s something. That’s everything.”
    “I also make salsa frequently and compulsively, and I work in my garden.”
    “Your garden?”
    “Yeah. I love planting things. Flowers, plants, vegetables… There’s something very therapeutic about taking care of plant life. Watering it, feeding it and watching things grow. My garden’s awesome. You should come see it sometime.”
    “I should come see your garden?” he joked, “That sounds like a pick up line.”
    I burst out laughing, and then Luke laughed too, and there was a moment of familiarity and friendship that was odd, but very pleasing. For me to talk to a complete stranger about my dead husband was saying something about the complete stranger. Or maybe this whole thing was timing. Or maybe I felt safe with Luke because he was bandaging my physical wounds. I wasn’t sure how the hell I’d just gotten here, to a magical place, ironically, again in someone else’s kitchen, but here I was.
    I liked Luke. I liked him a lot. Did I want to rip his clothes off and attack him like I did with Preston? No. But I sensed the potential for something deep, something meaningful, the start of a friendship, perhaps?
    How my life had changed so much in just a matter of a few days was amazing. The widow, who for a year felt sadness, not to mention guilt beyond belief, who felt unworthy of any kind of pleasure in life, had met two people all of a sudden, two guys who had awakened her in very different ways. One, an attraction so powerful, causing a sexual desire like none I’d ever experienced, and the other, a safety net, someone who I almost instantly valued as a respected friend. Both men made me feel good about myself but in very dissimilar ways. They had one thing in common, though. Both of them infatuated me.
    At this moment, I heard a dog barking. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back,” said Luke, standing up and leaving the room. A minute later, probably the cutest little beagle puppy I’d ever seen appeared, frantically running through the kitchen doorway, attacking me.
    “Emma, meet Lucky, the newest member of my family. Lucky, this is Emma.” As I made a huge, genuine fuss over Lucky, I instantly fell in love with her. She was white with big, floppy, light brown ears and black and brown patches all over her back.
    A few seconds after Lucky showered me with kisses and smelled me, she went over to Luke and nestled her head into his rib cage. “This dog is so attached to me,” said Luke with a chuckle, “She won’t leave me alone. She’s touching me like twenty-four seven!”
    I could understand how Lucky felt. Like me, this pooch had instantly seen something in Luke that she liked, something she desperately wanted to hold onto. I felt like asking Luke to leave, so Lucky and I could have a private chat. I wanted to say to this furry little creature, “I really like your owner.” I wanted to ask her, “Is he a good guy? Does he bring girls here? What have you seen? Is he genuine?”
    “I’m so rude. I didn’t even ask you if you wanted anything to drink,” said Luke, “How about a bottled water?”
    I looked at my watch and saw it was 5:30. “Actually, I have to go.”
    “Late for a big date or something?” he joked.
    “Actually, I am.”
    “Oh,” he replied, seeming a little surprised. This was the first awkward moment we’d had yet.
    “It’s my first date since my husband died.”
    Luke smiled, “I think that’s really great. I mean it.”
    At this very