"Thanks for dinner," I said, wishing this wasn't the end to what would have probably been a very good night. It was our first real moment alone all evening thanks to the dinner theater that was Liz and T.J. Dinner, more specifically the food, was great. I knew Luke could cook—his pancakes were the best on the East Coast. But this was not just cooking. This was flare and a little POW! This was gourmet. This was Luke showing off, and I loved every moment of it.

Instead of responding, Luke wrapped one arm around my waist, pulling me closer. I rose up on tiptoes and touched my lips to his. His grip on my waist tightened as he deepened the kiss, letting me know that he, too, was not ready for the evening to be over. We stayed in our bubble of lust and want for a moment, despite the screaming coming from Luke's bathroom, before one final kiss and a begrudgingly said "goodnight."

I slid into my Jeep and placed my cheesecake on the passenger seat before heading home. Thoughts of our first date filled my mind as I pulled into my driveway. Luke remembered the cheesecake. The very same cheesecake I practically had to force feed him that night along with a few sips of champagne. A grin bloomed across my face as I remembered what came next.

The front door was locked which told me that Rory hadn't yet made it home. Dean was picking her up, Rory mentioned, so I figured maybe they went to a late movie. I had the urge to call her cell to see what other shenanigans my parents tried to pull on her but decided to wait it out. I shrugged off my coat, hanging it in the foyer, and made my way to the kitchen. Wine sounded really good, but since I had a few glasses at Luke's, I opted for a bottle of water. I stood in my quiet, empty kitchen sipping slowly as my mind started to wander.

I knew something about the evening my parents planned sounded off. Rory was so excited about the fact that they had planned it together she didn't see the obvious red flags. She always wanted to believe that everyone had good intentions, but when it came to my parents, I knew better.

I placed my half-empty bottle back into the fridge and grabbed a fork from the drawer next to the stove. The cheesecake was calling my name. Plopping down on the couch, I reached for the remote and flipped through the channels. Jon Stewart's monologue was just starting so I decided on that as I picked up my container of cheesecake and dug in. A half hour—and half a cheesecake—later Rory was still not home. I couldn't wait any longer.

The phone call was brief yet infuriating; my parents really thought I was as naive as Rory. My rage at them was at a simmer. Why do they always think they know what's best for everybody? Why don't they think I'm capable of keeping my daughter on the right path or that my choices are what's best for me? Hell, I'm the one who helped Rory get into three Ivy League colleges, not them. Financially, yes, they were a big help. Huge. But throwing money at a problem doesn't always solve it, and I knew that better than anyone.

Before my rage could turn into a full on boil, I heard a car pull up outside. To my surprise, and shock, it wasn't Dean's truck but a limo. And there she was. My beautiful, naive daughter practically falling out of the car as two other guys started whooping and cheering her on. I stood frozen by the window until I heard the front door open and shut. What just happened? I thought.

"Nice jewels, Queen Elizabeth," I said as Rory walked into the living room. Her eyes were glassy and her cheeks flushed. She was drunk.

She giggled as she reached for the huge diamond around her neck. "Oh, shoot! I forgot to give these back to grandma! You think she'll be mad?"

Her words were slurred, and I felt my chest tighten. I've had my fair share of drunken evenings, I was no martyr, but this was not Rory. Something happened tonight. "Come here. Let me help you get those things off in one piece or else I'll have to put the inn up as collateral on a loan to pay your grandmother back."

We sat on the couch as I removed each piece of jewelry, setting them carefully on the coffee table until I could figure out when to get them back to my mother. Rory spotted my half-eaten cheesecake and picked up the container, helping herself.

I watched her for a moment before I gently asked, "So, what happened to Dean picking you up tonight?"

Rory paused mid-bite and looked up at me with those big doe-like eyes. She placed the fork back into the container and stared down at her lap. "We broke up," she said so quietly I almost missed it.

I grabbed the remote and muted the t.v just as Jon was introducing Kay Bailey. "What happened? I thought things were going so well."

Rory shrugged. "Apparently not. I mean, it's not like we've been able to see each other a whole lot lately. School keeps me busy, and he has work. Things are just…different." She said the word different as if she were just realizing it herself. And maybe she was.

"I'm sorry, hon. Sometimes things don't work out. No matter how much we might want them to, some things aren't meant to be." I smoothed a stray hair out of her face. There was this nagging feeling that this had something to do with the party tonight, but before I could question her further, Rory stood and said she was tired. She kissed my cheek and padded slowly to her room, shutting the door behind her.

I felt helpless. No mother liked to see their child in pain, and this was the second time in six months I had to witness it. Without thinking, I reached for the phone and called Luke. He answered after three rings, and I immediately felt better.

"Did Sid and Nancy finally leave?" I asked after he explained he had just gotten out of the shower.

"Not long after you left. I think you jinxed me with your angry make-up sex comment, though."

"Oh, god," I groaned. "What happened?"

I listened as Luke explained that the shouting got quieter and quieter until it was pretty much nonexistent. He was making a list of things he needed from Doose's for tomorrow's dinner, another surprise he said, when he heard what sounded like his bottles of shampoo and body wash hit the shower floor.

"Long story short," said Luke, "I got them out of there before things went any further."

"You do realize we won't be able to have sex in your shower for a while now, right?"

Luke chuckled softly—that deep, throaty kind that drove me crazy. "What about you? Did you ever get through to your parents?"

I sighed before explaining the rest of my evening including the short but futile conversation with Rory. I left out the part about her being drunk. Luke was a father figure to Rory, and I didn't want his opinion of her to be tainted, yet again.

We sat in comfortable silence for a moment, my mind whirring and processing everything. Luke being Luke picked up on my mood and said, "Hey, everything will be fine. And tomorrow you will come here and we'll forget all the craziness that happened tonight, and I promise to keep the door locked so that we have no interruptions."

I smiled despite my sullen tenor. "Sounds good. Goodnight, Luke."


The next morning I took Rory shopping as promised. I was hoping she'd use the opportunity to fill me in further on what exactly happened at that party. She didn't. But she did reassure me that she was doing okay despite the breakup with Dean. Third time was not the charm.

By the evening, I was getting more and more excited to spend some quality time with Luke. Work kept the both of us pretty busy, but we squeezed in as much time as possible whenever possible. On my shopping trip with Rory, I slipped into Victoria's Secret as she perused the new releases at Barnes & Noble. I had a drawer full of lingerie, so technically I didn't need anything new, but there was nothing like a little retail therapy to take your mind off of your problems. Or in my case, Rory's problems.

There was a certain piece of lingerie that I had never been brave enough to own. Surprising, I know, but some men can't deal with a little kinkiness. Luke was not that man. The aforementioned garment was a black, sheer mesh and floral lace corset with a matching G-string. It was incredibly sexy, and I couldn't wait to see Luke's face when he saw me in it. It was colder outside than I thought it was going to be, so instead of an easy-to-pull-off dress, I had to opt for something a little warmer, more practical. Dressed in jeans and my dark blue turtleneck sweater, I headed for Luke's.

When he opened his apartment door, a delicious smell hit me; I couldn't quite place it but it was definitely mouth-watering. He greeted me with a kiss, slow and deep, sending a tingle straight to my core.

"What smells so good?" I asked as I removed my coat and hung up my purse.

Luke locked the door—as promised—and walked back over to the stove. "Parmesan risotto with lamb shanks."

"He says like it's no big deal," I quipped as I peeked over his shoulder at the pot of creamy rice. "You do know Sookie is famous for her risotto, right? You have some stiff competition, my friend."

"I think I can handle it." The timer on the stove dinged, and I watched as Luke grabbed his oven mitts. He pulled out what looked like a crusty cake and set it on top of the counter where a trivet was waiting.

"And what is that?"

"That," said Luke as he closed the oven door, "is a pastry-wrapped brie with raspberries."

"Okay, Señor Fancypants, I think you've outdone yourself this weekend."

Luke grabbed a pack of crackers and some baguette slices and placed them on a plate. He went to the fridge and pulled out a small bowl of grapes, setting it next to the plate. "I bought way more lamb than I thought I needed yesterday, so I figured I'd cook the rest of it tonight. You don't mind, right?"

"Are you kidding? You're talking to the girl who can eat a cheeseburger everyday for lunch."

"True," said Luke before taking a quick sip of his beer. He offered me one as I sat down at the table, and I said yes. "How was shopping?"

We talked a little bit about our day: how I couldn't get much out of Rory and how he had to drive out to Woodbury to buy the brie because Taylor had no idea what Luke was talking about. As much as I loved date nights with Luke, this was even better. It was just us—unless his brother-in-law was busting in. I'm a dinner-and-a-movie girl to the fullest, but there was something so comforting about keeping things low-key and hanging out in his apartment. As an added bonus, it wasn't so bad to be with a guy who loved to cook and more importantly, he loved to cook for me.

After dinner, Luke let me slice open the brie. We both watched as creamy, melty cheese combined with raspberry jam flowed slowly out of the pastry shell. I dredged a slice of baguette through the puddle of cheese as Luke gingerly dipped one of his grapes before popping it into his mouth.

"You can do better than that. Here," I said as I grabbed a cracker and scooped up a pile of cheese. I held it up to his mouth and waited for him to open it. When he didn't, I smiled sweetly and said, "Please. I have a surprise for you, but you won't get it unless you eat this."

Luke grinned. "I have a surprise for you, too, but if you make me eat that, you won't get it."

My eyes narrowed, but I couldn't help but smile. Luke wasn't exactly known for his surprises—unless you count kissing me after a screaming match on the porch of the Dragonfly. It was safe to say that I was intrigued, so I shoved the cracker into my own mouth and stared him down as I chewed. I took a sip of beer to wash it all down and said, "Let's see what you got."

Luke stood, holding my gaze, and walked around the table. He held out his hand and pulled me up flush against him. "Wait here," he said, low and gravelly in my ear.

Confusion set in when I watched him walk to the bathroom and shut the door. "Odd time to go to the bathroom," I mumbled as I stood there. After a minute or so, I walked over to the bed and sat down on the end. "Is this part of the surprise, because I gotta tell you—"

The bathroom door opened and out walked Luke. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped as I took in the sight of him. He was undressed down to his boxer briefs but it was the top of his head I was focused on. He smiled. "What do you think?"

"When did you…where did you?" I stuttered as I stood and walked over to him.

"Costume shop in Woodbury."

My grin widened. "I can't believe you found a Mountie hat."

He pulled me close and tipped up my chin, placing a soft kiss on my lips. "You like it?"

"Like? About ten different dirty scenarios popped into my head when you walked out here, so what do you think?"

Without answering, Luke kissed his way across my jawline, then down my neck, and then to the sensitive spot underneath my ear. I melted into him, completely forgetting about the surprise I had for him as well. It wasn't until he snaked his hand under my sweater that I remembered what I was wearing underneath. He stood back as I pulled my turtleneck up and over my head. I made quick work of my jeans, pushing them down over my hips. Standing there in all my corset-and-thong glory, I said, "Surprise."

Luke's eyes roamed down my body as my heart rate kicked up a notch. "I'll say."

Smiling devilishly, I hooked my pointer finger into the front of his boxer briefs and pulled him closer. I flicked the brim of his hat and said, "Let's see if you can keep this thing perfectly balanced."

Spoiler alert: He did.