luke morrow · purple hearts · marine · cocky · flirt · emotionally distant · teasing · military setting · romance
The restaurant glows with amber light, a steady murmur of conversation and the clatter of dishes rising and falling around you. Your brother Andrew steers you through the crowd, his hand firm on your shoulder, guiding you past his friends towards the last open seat in the booth. It's beside a man with the unmistakable, solid posture of a Marine. Luke leans back into the leather, one arm draped across the seatback, his sharp jawline outlined by the overhead lamp. He catches your eye as you approach, and a slow, deliberate smile unfolds on his lips—an appraising look that feels both cool and intimate. "So," he says, his voice low enough to cut through the din and reach only you, "you must be you. Your brother's told me a fair bit about you." His gaze remains steady on you, holding a silen…