Hey hey guys! I just want to thank you all for the great reviews…of course I had to continue this fic after that. You all rock! I could never let it end like that, the javajunkie part of my conscience would have me shot ). So here is the next part, I'm thinking there will be one or two more parts…I'll see where it takes me as to whether it will be 1 or 2 more.

Hope you enjoy, x x

Part Four

Lorelai walked into the diner the next morning holding the leather jacket in her hands, rubbing her hands up and down the smooth inside. Desperately trying not to let the fact that he would be wearing this same jacket out on a date that night get to her…it seemed like a loosing battle and she wasn't sure why.

"Morning" Lorelai said loudly when she came into the diner, her attention immediately falling on Luke who was serving a customer at the counter.

"What can I get you?" Luke asked when she sat in her usual stool at the counter.

"Coffee, pancakes, bacon and some coffee. Oh do you have any pie?"

"You're not having pie for breakfast" Luke stated matter-of-factly.

"I am a customer, you can't tell me what I can't have." She replied indignantly.

"As the proprietor of this establishment I reserve the right not to serve, so no pie. There's pie baking at the minute, you can have some for lunch" He grumbled pouring her a cup of coffee which she grabbed and inhaled almost as soon as Luke had stopped pouring.

"Here" Lorelai said quietly passing the folded up jacket across the counter.

"Oh uh thanks. I'll just get your food" Luke said taking the jacket and walking quickly behind the curtain to the stairway to hang it up before disappearing into the kitchen. Lorelai drank her coffee quickly and grabbed the pot to pour herself another mug, trying to make a list in her head of things she needed to do at the Inn to take her mind off Luke's date. 'Why does he like blondes so much now?' 'Did Rachel put him off brunettes…her hair wasn't that dark though was it? Maybe he wanted Nicole to dye her hair blonde before'

Luke appeared about five minutes later with her food, he knew it wasn't fair to other customers but he always tried to get Lorelai's food as fast as possible…he tried to tell himself it was because they were friends, but his conscience argued otherwise.

"So uhh you're going out tonight then?" Lorelai asked as she sat in front of Luke eating her pancakes while glancing at him every few seconds as he sorted through bills.

"Yeah"

"So uh where are you going then, tonight I mean" she asked, trying to make her tone as casual as possible.

"I'm just going to a friends for dinner" Luke shrugged before walking away to serve another customer.

'She's cooking him dinner! God it's probably going to be romantic and he'll get all dressed up for her… He probably likes women who can cook' Lorelai said, her mind now reeling at possibilities of the evening Luke had ahead. She hated the knot that had grown tighter in her stomach, the headache that was starting to come on and even worse she hated that she couldn't put all the Luke thoughts out of her mind. 'Why do I care so much who Luke dates?' Lorelai asked herself, but she knew the answer to that…it had just been ignored for so long that she had been able to perfect the skill of talking herself out of the answer.

"So you and that guy from the bar the other night…you two seem to be getting on well" Luke said quietly when he appeared at the counter a few minutes later. Apparently the lull had just begun and he couldn't help but wonder what was going on between the two of them, must have been something since he had been at the inn.

"Steve…uh yeah he's a nice guy." Lorelai replied with a small smile.

"Good…that's good" Luke grumbled as he started to wipe down the counter.

"I don't think we're going to go out though." Lorelai said quickly, feeling like she wanted to kick herself after for telling him that, it's not like he cared she told herself.

"Uh really, how come?" Luke asked as casually as possible, keeping his head down as he wiped down the tables. An activity he had perfected while she was around to keep himself from doing or saying anything stupid.

"Uhh y'know just not my type" Lorelai said shrugging and taking a big drink of coffee, avoiding his gaze.

"Oh okay" Luke replied, walking around the diner and started cleaning off the other tables. He needed to put a little distance between them so she didn't catch the very slight smile that was playing on the sides of his mouth.

"Well I have a to-do list longer than Kirk's resume at the Inn so I should go" Lorelai said taking some money out of her bag and leaving it on the counter before she stood up.

"Alright, bye"

"Yeah…bye. Oh Luke?" Lorelai said turning back to Luke.

"Uh-huh?" he said lifting his head so his eyes met her gaze.

"Have a good time tonight" she said in a quiet almost shy voice. The bell rang loudly in the quiet diner as she walked out and climbed into her jeep, not looking back once as she walked away. Luke stood at the window wiping down a table, wondering why Lorelai had been acting so strange with him. Especially at breakfast…she seemed different to him in some way, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was. There was a nervousness about her and he wasn't sure why; in the end he put it down to stress over everything at the Inn.

Lorelai finished putting the games and DVD's on the shelf before going to check on the rooms to check they were all made up properly…minus the doors of course. There were so many things on her mind that she needed to do, finish hiring kitchen staff, get the dragonfly pillows done, get the Inn software installed on her laptop as back-up storage…too many things to list.

The phone rang at the front desk, Michel wasn't there to answer it, surprise surprise. 'Why would he be? It's only his job' Lorelai thought picking up the phone and rhyming out, 'Dragonfly Inn, this is Lorelai speaking…' The voice on the other end of the phone surprised her, the guy certainly didn't give up easily; she had to give him that.

"Hey Steve…sorry I've been crazy busy with the Inn…thanks I'm glad…tonight? ...I don't think I can make it tonight… I do work too much, trust me I tell my staff that all the time" Lorelai said laughing down the phone. 'Maybe I should take a break tonight' she thought, wondering why she was keeping this guy at arm's length. He was good-looking, very charming, had a good job, he seemed like a nice guy. 'Why is that not my type?' she asked herself remembering back to the conversation with Luke that morning.

"You're very persuasive…Oh it's a good thing…Okay sure I'll have dinner with you tonight…Seven?" Lorelai said before giving him directions to her house. Smiling to herself when she hung up, it was her first date since she was with Jason; she just hoped they were nothing alike.

Luke didn't know why he kept looking at the door whenever the bell rang through the diner; every time he looked up he was greeted by the face of yet another townie…except not the one he was waiting for. She usually came for lunch around that time and he had promised her some pie…he didn't like to admit he was disappointed when the late afternoon lull began and she still hadn't come in. 'She's probably swamped at the Inn' he reasoned to himself, remembering all the times throughout the past few weeks she had come in looking frazzled and stressed about the grand opening.


6.50pm that night…

The front doorbell rang and Lorelai cursed upstairs at Steve's early arrival…didn't he know you never turn up early for a date? Pulling on her shoes she rushed downstairs and opened the door to her date who was standing outside in a nice black suit, 'Very GQ' she thought.

"Hi Steve"

"Hey, I know I'm early, thought it would take me longer to get here" he explained.

"Well ten more minutes I could have looked prettier but your punishment for being early is my current state" Lorelai quipped, grabbing her coat and bag which were hanging on the banister.

"You look beautiful"

"Uh thanks" she said with a smile.

"Ready?"

"Yeah sure let's go"

That evening Luke spent most of his time catching up with his old friends, one's he hadn't seen in years. They didn't look a lot different, just older. It was their lives that were different; they were married, some with children. Even Dan had kids…Luke had never pictured that. Even though he was having a great time it was still slightly depressing for him, it reminded him that he was divorced and single. Too scared to ask out the one woman who he knew would make him happy…he felt slightly pathetic. At that moment Luke decided it was time; time to take the plunge, time to stop being too scared to try. It was his sister's wedding in two days, it was the perfect opportunity.
Lorelai sat in silence as Steve drove her home; silence, not something she was used to but he seemed to talk enough for the both of them. The date hadn't been the best, it turned out he was a little too cocky and self-serving for her taste. She now knew how much money he earned a year and how he was planning to buy a summer house in the Hampton's … great conversation. The whole evening she had made a mental list of things she could do when she got home from the date and things she needed to do for the Inn, the test-run was coming up and she was wasting an evening on this bad date.

Steve walked Lorelai to her door, she wished he hadn't when she looked back now but he had. When she reached the door she turned to him, thinking a hug would show him that he hadn't made the best impression. Unfortunately he got the wrong idea and leaned in for a kiss, she opened her eyes wide when his lips touched hers and pulled back from him almost immediately.

"Night Steve" she said in a tone that she hoped he would realise was a final goodbye one. Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye she turned her gaze to the driveway where she saw a figure standing near the bush at the side of her house just off the street. 'Please no' she thought.

Luke got home from Sarah's around 10.30 that night; he had excused himself early explaining that he had early deliveries the next morning. Technically it was true but really he wanted to take his chance when he had gathered enough courage to do it. If he left it until the next day chances are that he would back out of it. So grabbing the pie he had promised her for lunch and putting it in a to-go box he started the walk to her house. He walked slowly as he planned out what he would say…it was only his sister's wedding and he did need a date. Part of him was scared but a bigger part was a little exhilarated that he was finally taking his shot.

When he reached her house he was surprise to see a black Porsche sitting outside in her driveway, something he hadn't expected. His attention moved to the two figures on the porch, Lorelai and the guy from the bar. 'Not your type…yeah right' Luke thought as he watched him move in for a kiss. It was the last thing he wanted to see but somehow he couldn't pull his eyes away and watched their lips meet before she pulled back. 'At least it was a short one' he reasoned; but as short as it was it was burned in his memory. It burnt away any further intention he had of taking that chance; not tonight…not now.

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