Luke's Would-Be Bride. Sandra Steffen

at ease. Since he didn’t want to scare her away, he tugged on her hand, drawing her with him to the curb.

      Without releasing her fingers, he said, “Why don’t you say you’ll have lunch with me.”

      “Lunch?”

      “Yes, lunch. Come on, Jillian. I just saved your life. In some cultures that would make you mine.”

      Her chin came up, and her hand stiffened in his. If Luke lived to be a hundred, he doubted he would ever see a more serious expression on another person’s face. He felt his own eyes narrow and his adrenaline kick into overdrive, because he recognized the look of a woman gearing up to speak her mind.

       Chapter Three

      Jillian tried not to bristle as she shot a quick glance at the people who were out and about on the narrow main street. She could hear Cletus McCully’s rusty old voice a half block away and an occasional grumble from the man who’d nearly run her down. Two women were standing beneath the diner’s faded awning across the street, and a handful of men were watching from the shade next door.

      She remembered Luke telling her how the people of Jasper Gulch liked to gossip and realized that he was still holding her hand. This wasn’t the place she would have chosen to have this conversation, but she supposed saying what she had to say in front of the town’s watchful eyes had its merit.

      After a long pause she firmly, deliberately, pulled her hand from his. “You may have saved me from serious injury, Luke. But my life is very much my own.”

      He looked as if he would have liked to argue, but shrugged instead. “All right, Red. I can respect that. Now, how about that lunch?”

      “My hair is not red.” Jillian’s mouth dropped open, his slow grin sending the air whooshing out of her lungs. What did she care what color he called her hair? And why did it feel as if her heart was doing a pirouette inside her chest?

      “Red, gold, brown and amber. It’s beautiful. Now, do you want to stand here and argue or do you want to go inside Mel’s Diner—where it’s air-conditioned—and have lunch?”

      For a full five seconds Jillian couldn’t speak. Feeling inordinately warmed in ways she preferred not to examine, she crossed her arms, doing everything in her power to conquer her involuntary reaction to this man.

      “I’m not having lunch with you, Luke.”

      “Aren’t you hungry?”

      She released a huff of air at the poor impression he did of looking innocent. “Yes. No. I mean, my hunger has nothing to do with it.”

      That got his attention. His eyes narrowed and he lowered his chin. “Would you care to explain what this does have to do with?”

      Actually, she’d rather not, but didn’t see any way around it. “Look, if I have lunch with you, people will get the wrong idea about us.”

      “And what idea is that?”

      “They’ll think we’re a couple.”

      He no longer looked as if he was trying to appear innocent. The mixture of surprise and curiosity on his face was definitely the real thing.

      Jillian took a deep breath. She was doing this badly. She couldn’t blame Luke for jumping to conclusions. She had, after all, come to a town that had advertised for women, so it was no wonder he’d assumed she would be interested in dating the local bachelors.

      Trying for a conciliatory tone of voice, she said, “I know this seems odd, but I didn’t come to Jasper Gulch to find a man.”

      He made that sound again, the one a man makes when he’s holding on to his temper by a thread. His gray eyes darkened to the color of thunderclouds, and his voice dropped an entire octave as he said, “Let me get this straight. You saw the ad for Bachelor Gulch, so you moved here. But you aren’t looking for a man.”

      “That’s right.”

      “Then would you mind telling me why you’re here?”

      “I came to help Lisa get settled, and to help her find the man of her dreams.”

      “Lisa’s looking for a man. But you aren’t.”

      “Yes. No. I mean that’s right. Lisa is, I’m not.”

      He didn’t move a muscle, not even to blink. He was still looking at her incredulously, but all in all he’d taken that better than she’d expected.

      Glancing at all the people who were watching this little interaction, she considered walking away without saying another word. She hated to do that to him. He’d given her a job and was a member of this town, had in fact been one of the people responsible for bringing new women to Jasper Gulch. How would it look to have one of those women stomp on his ego in front of more than a dozen residents?

      She hadn’t wanted the people of Jasper Gulch to get the wrong impression about her and Luke, but now she realized that as long as Luke understood, she didn’t care what anyone else thought. His reputation and social standing were on the line here. It just so happened that she knew exactly what to do to save them.

      With quiet assurance, she laid her hand on his forearm, reached up on tiptoe and whispered a kiss along his jaw. In a voice meant for his ears alone, she said, “This is for the people watching. I’m really not in the market, Luke, but believe me, if I was, you’d be a fine choice.”

      Without waiting for him to reply, she stepped back, turned on her heel and hurried across the street.

      * * *

      Luke came out of his befuddled state just as Jillian disappeared inside the new clothing store on the other side of the street. His arm felt warm where she’d touched him, and he swore he could still feel the gentle brush of her lips on his jaw.

      She’d kissed him right here on Main Street in front of God and everyone. Not on the mouth. And not out of passion. She’d kissed him so he could save face.

      It had worked. Cletus McCully and Roy Everts were both grinning from ear to ear while Opal and Louetta Graham whispered behind their hands. Even Ed, the town’s only barber, was giving him a thumb’s-up signal from beneath his red-and-white barber pole next door.

      A slow heat that had nothing to do with the noon temperature washed over Luke, and his blood began to do a slow boil. He didn’t want charity, and he damned well didn’t need it.

      He’d always prided himself on being somewhat of a lady’s man. Somewhat, hell. He felt downright smug about his ability to ignite a woman’s desire and expertly take her to great heights of pleasure. Sure there had been a noted lack of women out here these past few years, but he’d never had any trouble impressing the members of the opposite sex. He’d known his share of women in college and a few since. And not one of them had ever kissed him one second and told him she wasn’t in the market the next.

      The market?

      He wasn’t real estate, dammit.

      He swallowed, hard, the set of his chin and the fury in his expression draining the grin from Cletus McCully’s wrinkled face. Luke knew his sudden trek across the street was met with more than one pair of raised eyebrows, but frankly, he didn’t care. He strode to the opposite curb and over the cracked sidewalk in front of the new clothing store. Without breaking stride, he gave the door a swift yank.

      Several of the area bachelors looked up when he entered, but he didn’t stop to chat. He didn’t even bother saying hello. In fact, he didn’t slow his pace until he came within a few feet of the red-haired woman who was poking through a carton near the back of the store.

      He knew the instant Jillian noticed him. She turned to face him, folded her arms and settled her weight on one foot. Luke scowled all over again. If she