A Heart Decision Read Online Free Page A

compliments of his dad.
     

CHAPTER 2
    The meal couldn’t be over soon enough to suit
Sabrina. Sitting on display between Luke and Ben, in front of
sixty-some-odd guests, gave her a good appreciation for how a
chimpanzee must feel in a zoo.
    Every time a breeze blew from Luke’s direction, the
scent of his aftershave made her head feel as if it might float
right off her shoulders.
    As luscious as the meal was, Sabrina couldn’t summon
up much appetite. Fortunately, Luke’s hollow leg kept anyone from
noticing how little she ate. As usual, at the end of each course,
he traded plates with her and polished off whatever she’d left.
She’d never understood how a man who inhaled the quantity of food
Luke routinely consumed maintained a body straight off a cover of Men’s Health .
    Was his appetite in bed just as voracious? It might
explain his reluctance to limit himself to one woman for the rest
of his life.
    After the waiters cleared the main course, they
placed a bowl of chocolate after-dinner mints on the table to
accompany the coffee. No doubt, desert would be birthday cake.
    Luke popped several mints into his mouth and closed
his eyes, releasing a low, carnal groan.
    The mental image of him gratifying his oral fixation
on her breasts tightened her nipples.
    The children’s shrieking jerked Sabrina out of her
fantasy as Dottie, Tyler and Annie’s housekeeper, released the
eleven kids she’d been holding captive in the house. As they made a
beeline to the redwood gym set in the side yard, Mandy and Noah
detoured to their table, squealing a duet. “Uncle Luke!”
    When Sabrina’s niece jumped into his lap and flung
her arms around his neck, he laughed. “Mandycakes, how’s my best
girl?” He ruffled her blonde hair and pulled Noah into a group hug.
“Hey, buddy, how’re all the animals on the ark doing?”
    Noah heaved a dramatic sigh. “One of the giraffes
has a sore throat.”
    Luke dropped his jaw in mock-horror. “No, way.
That’s an awful lot of throat to be sore.”
    Sabrina’s eyes misted over as Noah giggled at the
silly game Luke had been playing with the child since her brother
married Noah’s mother. How could a man who obviously loved children
be so adamant about never wanting a family of his own?
    “Will you do me a favor, Mandy?” Luke asked. “Would
you go to my Jeep and get the birthday present I brought for Aunt
Sabrina and bring it to the backyard? It’s in a crate on the back
seat.”
    Mandy raced around to the font of the house and
returned a few moments later with her face beaming, carrying an
armful of wiggling light gray fluff with a pink satin bow around
its neck.
    “That’s your idea of a birthday gift?” Ben chuckled.
“A living, breathing dust bunny?”
    Luke shrugged. “I think she looks more like a dirty
dust mop. I’ve been calling her Mopsy.”
    A lump formed in Sabrina’s throat as she took the
squirming puppy from her niece. Luke couldn’t have gotten her
anything more perfect. He knew she’d been wanting a dog for ages,
but her apartment complex didn’t allow pets. It touched her that he
remembered. Even the name he’d given the dog was something she
would’ve chosen. “Oh, Luke, she’s adorable. Thank you.”
    He stroked the dog’s long fur. “I found her
abandoned under an overpass last week with her brother Dusty. I
made sure her shots are all up to date.”
    Ben peered at the dog. “What breed of mutt is
she?”
    “The vet says the puppies are probably a cross
between a cocker spaniel and a Maltese. You know—sort of like a
cockapoo, only they have a Maltese parent instead of a poodle.”
    “So then Mopsy could be a cock-a-tease ,
right?” Mandy asked in wide-eyed innocence.
    Sabrina suppressed a chuckle as Tyler sputtered,
nearly drowning on a mouthful of coffee. “No, sweet pea.” He
coughed. “I don’t think we should call her that.”
    “How about a tease-a-cock ?” Noah naively
suggested as an alternative.
    Annie clapped her hand