Chapter Twenty-Five: For Love's Sake-1

*** I was groggy on Sunday. Typical when you get engaged at three in the morning and don't part with your brand new fiance until sunrise. Since Gramps was staying with me, Luke and I couldn't just go upstairs and 'celebrate'. I may have gotten reckless but I just couldn't do that with my grandfather under the same roof—in the same room since the only walled off space was the bathroom. Luke was prepared though. First, someone from Cleo's stepped out and handed us a pair of coffee cups and some steaming hot croissants. They weren't even open yet. This man, I swear. Then, a city bus slowly heaved to a stop in front of Cleo's and Luke promised my grandfather he would have me home by sunrise. He might have already prepped my grandfather with all his grand plans because Gramps just gave a knowing smile and waved us off before returning to the apartment. The bus was empty and Luke and I slipped into the back. We huddled together in a similar spot where we stood together that morning he waited for me by Cleo's before climbing aboard the bus with me. We kissed, we danced slowly to the soulful Norah Jones music playing inside the entire bus and cuddled in the back seat as we sipped our coffee and ate our pastries while the bus took us on a slow, leisurely tour around the city where we met and fell in love. We passed places we've made memories in—from the grocery store to the appliance gallery, the jewellers, the fast-food place, the wharf, Sonic, the hotel. There was something dreamlike and magical about that early morning bus ride, wrapped in Luke's arms, surrounded by memories, comforted by his low laughter and quiet kisses, and captivated by the streaks and flares of golden light that filled the dusty windows as the sun slowly ascended to the sky. "Sleep well, baby," Luke told me with a gentle kiss on my forehead after he walked me to my apartment door. "Tonight, we're going to a small, quiet dinner—just with family and friends—to close your birthday and maybe tell them the good news." I grinned. "They'll freak out. You know that, right?" "And some are going to try to change your mind," he said with a frown, a fierce light flickering in his eyes. "I know it's crazy, Max, but I've never been more sure of what I want than I am now." "I know you are," I assured him because astoundingly, I just felt it. It didn't make a lot of logical sense but now was the time to trust my heart a little bit more—and the man I was giving it to. "Don't worry, Luke. I'm in for the long haul." He pressed his lips tightly, his forehead touching mine. "You're not always going to feel that way." I didn't want this beautiful morning we spent together to end on an angsty note, with more doubts than certainty about a life we decided to spend together, no matter how quickly that decision happened. I tipped his chin up so he could look me in the eyes and said softly, "When that happens, I'll tell you and you're going to do something about it to remind me why I'm with you. Why, despite all the potential heartache and pain, I took this risk with you. And I expect that you'll do the same thing when it's my turn to screw things up." Luke gave me a small, reluctant smile, his arms circling around my waist and pulling me against him. "You never screw things up." "Just because I haven't doesn't mean I can't," I said. "But I think we owe it to each other to do our best not to get there, and if we do, to pull each other up instead of pushing each other down." He chuckled softly, nuzzling my cheek. "You're still being very logical about this but I like where this particular logic is going. Logic might be the very thing that'll save me with you in times when your emotions are about to drive me out the door." I wrinkled my nose, not sure if I was supposed to be flattered or not with that comment. "Well, it's not my emotions booting you out the door this very second. It's Gramps." Luke feigned a look of defeat. "Luke Hedenby, master seducer—thwarted by an old man. Oh, the things the paper will write about when they hear that." I laughed and gave him a playful shove on the chest. "Better that than an article about some other women you're dallying with." Luke's expression hardened, all humor wiped clean from it. "There will always be things in the media, Max, and some might even be nasty. You have to be ready for them. You'll have to trust me no matter how bad they look." Knowing how hard he already had been on himself this whole time the two of us were falling inward, I smiled and soothingly rubbed the spot I'd smacked on his chest. "Is this a warning, Luke?" My tone had been teasing enough for it to have been obvious but Luke's brooding expression didn't lighten. He took my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing my fingertips. In a low, dull voice, he murmured, "No. It's an appeal." The intensity didn't settle pleasantly in my gut—at least not today and not this soon and especially not for the kind of circus show I already had an idea to expect. I pushed up on my toes and pressed a kiss on his mouth. "We'll be okay, Luke." That mantra stayed with me for the rest of the day, even as that grim conversation with Luke kept replaying in my head. Something was bothering him and it was no surprise. Just because we finally decided to be together didn't mean that all the loose ends tied themselves neatly into a bow. One of those loose ends was the reaction our closest friends when we broke the news to them during dinner at the loft of the old hardware store that Elise and Marcel were converting into their restaurant. To say that some of them were surprised would be quite an understatement.