35. Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lorelei
One more sweep. If I do one more sweep of the apartment then I will have finally convinced myself that I am not forgetting anything.
“I don’t make a habit of telling you to calm down in the midst of your frenzies, but Lorelei, chill out. I will ship you anything you forget if you will just sit down for two seconds.”
Ignoring my twin wholeheartedly, I open the entertainment center and look inside before moving back into the kitchen. Most things happen to be staying here because Lucy will still live here, and well, I’m moving into an actual castle.
It’s sufficient to say she needs pots and pans more than I do.
But I don’t want to forget little things that bring me comfort and will remind me of home such as the pot holders with plants on them. Will I need them? No. But I will catch sight of them and will remember this little apartment and my sister, and I will probably cry, but I will also smile.
“See.” I hold up the pot holders. “I would have forgotten these.”
Lucy’s face falls blank as she deadpans, “Because heaven forbid you don’t have pot holders at Stjarna Palace.”
“You gave them to me. They are special. I will think of you when I see them.”
Her face softens and she drops her folded arms to her side. She walks to the couch then plops down. “Come sit down, Lorelei.”
Taking a deep breath, I do as she asks. I really do need to calm down. The moment my butt hits the dark brown cushion, Lucy scoots over and embraces me in a hug. “I’m going to miss you so much.” She sniffles, and I wiggle into a position where I can wrap my arms around her.
“I’m going to miss you, too, baby sister.”
Lucy laughs through breathy sobs, squeezing me tighter. After a moment of silence and intense sisterly hugging, we break apart.
Lucy’s bangs are disheveled, so I play with them until they sit on her face nicely. “You’re going to be okay, you know?”
“I might be okay. But I’m not sure I’m going to be well. I’ve never lived alone before.”
I take her hand in mine and look into her watery, hazel eyes. “You’re self-sufficient and a beautiful, capable woman. What fears do you have?”
She looks away from me. “I’m scared that I won’t be able to keep up with rent, electricity, and water. Not to mention wifi and other bills. I’m afraid I won’t be able to afford food and gas. I’m worried that I will lose contact with you and Karoline. Hadley is here, but she’s married. I’ll have to hang out with Emma Jane more.”
After a beat, I open my mouth to respond, but she begins again. “I’m scared of becoming a lonely cat lady for the rest of my life.” We both glance at Frannie and Frizzle as they laze about in the streaming sunlight.
“Those are valid fears,” I say, folding my hands in my lap. “I had goals of being a plant and cat mom for a while. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. But I know it’s not what you desire. And to that, well, Lucy, you can’t control the will of God. Please remember that. Don’t jump the gun with anything. Take this time to be alone. To learn to be content with it even though I know it is an affliction on your soul. Grow closer to the Lord and find yourself. Write your stories and figure out this life. We are twenty-six. You are not behind in life, Lucy. Do you believe me?”
“No,” she says immediately. I grimace, but she turns a soft smile to me. “But I can promise to try.”
The response doesn’t calm me much, but I have to accept that Lucy is not mine to manage, and she has to figure things out herself. I will pray for her, reach out consistently to her, and support her as I can.
“May I ease part of your fears?” I ask. This is the right moment to bring up an idea Finley and I discussed earlier in the week.
Lucy nods, questions in her eyes.
“Finley and I would like to pay the rent and utilities on the apartment. It’s not because we don’t think you are capable, because we do, but it was quite sudden of me to up and leave you. We didn’t give you much time to save or arrange other accommodations, so please don’t take this as a handout but as a severance package.”
Her eyes widen as her jaw drops. “Are you for real?”
I nod with finality. “And if you try not to accept, Finley is prepared to promote your books.”
She narrows her eyes and scowls. “Fine. But only because I want to build my authordom myself. That is sacred to me.”
I grin, and Lucy finally relents, smiling back at me.
“You’re kinda the best twin ever, you know?” Lucy jumps on me, throwing us both backwards, falling deeper into the couch.
“How can I be the best when you are?” I respond. We both laugh until our cats decide to pounce, sinking claws into our skin in the name of playtime.
“I’m going to miss this.” And right as the words leave my mouth, my laughs turn to a tearful, mourning sound. This change hurts, but I also know that what awaits me across the pond is a lifetime of joy, love, and intellectual stimulation. I mean, I will be governing a country, after all. What better use of my law training, historical facts, and philosophy obsession.
The thought stirs giddiness in me, and my tears quickly dry up. Lucy and I spend the rest of the afternoon finishing packing, cleaning (I won’t leave her with a dirty apartment), and randomly crying when we think of memories we’ve shared together over our twenty-six years.
I won’t lie and say I’m not worried about my twin. I make a mental note to talk to Hadley and Emma Jane. I won’t share Lucy’s fears and worries, but I do want to make sure I have people in place to check in on her. Grandma Netty will look after her, but she’s getting old and has been struggling the past few weeks. But maybe Lucy can look after her, which will help my sister retain a sense of responsibility and feeling needed. So many things to consider, so while I dress for my date with Finley tonight, our last one in Mississippi for the foreseeable future, I take my concerns to the Lord and place my trust in Him to take care of my sister in my physical absence.
“It’s time we redeem this location.” Finley’s fingers brush the backside of my arm as he guides me down the stone path that leads to Club Paris, the French restaurant I met him at once upon a time when he believed he was meeting up with my twin for their first date.
As his feather-light touches continue to simultaneously send gooseflesh up my arms and warmth to my cheeks, I’m enamored with the thought that I may never get used to the glorious feeling of being touched by this man.
I hope I don’t.
My eyes take in every ounce of him once we get to the door, lit only by two incandescent lights. He’s wearing a white collared shirt with three buttons, the top one unbuttoned, tucked into navy pants. Light brown dress shoes round off his classic, easy appearance. Unwillingly tearing my eyes from him, I glance down at my navy ponte cap-sleeve dress with a thin, gold belt accentuating my waistline. Lucy outfitted me with simple, small gold hoops that don’t hit my neck when I walk, matching gold sneakers that mirror my white ones, just nicer, and styled my hair into big hollywood-style waves. I did require pulling the mass of red hair into a ponytail, but she said as long as it was a high ponytail, it would be sufficient.
I obliged. And I’m pretty sure it rivals Ariana Grande’s.
“What’s there to redeem? I thought that first date went okay.” I swim in my memories, remembering how horribly I impersonated my sister, and I grimace. “Other than my terrible acting skills, which was odd considering I’m a great masker.”
“The Lord must have known you needed to be yourself.” He grins a dazzling smile at me as he leads me through the double golden doors of the restaurant. I’m hit with the smell of fresh bread, pasta, and a variety of spices begging to let me taste them. The restaurant still looks the same as last time with one exception: we are the only ones here outside of staff.
Bewildered, I look up at my boyfriend. (And no. I will never tire of calling him that.) “Did you…”
“Rent the place out?” Finley finishes. “Yep. We can have our last date in Mississippi in peace. You don’t have to worry about getting overstimulated by a bunch of chattering people, and I get you all to myself.” He winks, and a nervous energy stirs within my stomach at his statement. A good kind of nervous. The kind that only my man seems to be able to awaken within me. I’m not at all phased that he’s spending money like this on me. He’s a prince. What else would he do?
We are escorted by the male host who greeted us last time to a round table in the middle of the restaurant. They’ve dimmed the lights, lit candles, and have…
Oh my stars.
Chrysanthemums. All over the tables. Of every color.
“Finley…” I gasp his name, my hand flying to cover my open mouth. Water prickles in the corner of my eyes as I turn around to face him. His smile is proud, but not in a smug way. It’s a smile that screams his love for me, his appreciation and adoration of me. He takes my hand from my mouth and holds it between his own.
What in the world did I do to deserve this man?
I don’t have to be Lucy and all romance-obsessed to know exactly what’s going down tonight. “Yes,” I sputter out even though he hasn’t asked the question yet.
“Yes?” Finley asks with a tilt of his head, an action I’m pretty sure he’s picked up from being around me.
“Yes, I’ll marry you,” I say, stepping closer to him, taking my hand from his and wrapping my arms around him. I place my head against the spot where his shoulder meets his chest. A perfect spot made just for me. “That’s what you’re going to ask me tonight, right?”
His chest rumbles underneath me, and then fear that I’ve misread the situation settles.
I groan. “Oh, no. That’s not what’s happening, is it? I’m sorry. Forget I said anything.” I attempt to break away from his hold, but he doesn’t let me scurry away like my brain demands. Panic begins to rise, but I remind myself that Finley is not going to judge me or make fun of me.
He loves me.
I breathe.
“Leilei, calm your mind.” Finley tugs me back to him, but I position my head up to look at him instead of resting against him. Not a trace of a smirk or a ghost of amusement colors his handsome face. Only a genuine smile and sparkles in his blue eyes, slightly darker in the dimmed room. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
He steps back and slides down onto one knee, holding a silver ring with no jutting diamond.
I could cry.
“Yes!” I say again, this time with more enthusiasm.
Finley chuckles and shakes his head. “Pretty woman, will you allow me to be a gentleman and declare my intentions while showering you with affection?”
Suddenly, a memory from our first date where he asked me to allow him to be a gentleman and get my chair for me resurfaces. I can’t help but laugh. “We truly are redeeming this location.”
“I was going to ask you after dinner, but you are wonderfully perceptive and unafraid to voice your thoughts, so I will ask you now.” He clears his throat, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face before he smooths out his expression. “I want to thank you for agreeing to stand in for your sister. Without that decision, I don’t know where we’d be. Maybe God would have brought us together in another fashion, but I quite like the way it happened for us. Leilei, you are beautiful, kind, intelligent, charitable, loving, protective, and my myssa. I’ve prayed to be loved by and to love a woman like you.”
I’m bouncing at this point, biting my tongue to not shout “yes” again like an uncontrolled beast. His words are lovely, but I already know he feels this way. My emotional man, I think to myself, grinning ear to ear.
He continues, his expression softening at my obvious joy. “Thank you for being who you are. Please, do me the honor of allowing me to love you, protect you, and date you for the rest of our lives. Be my queen, Lorelei Raine Spence.”
I’m about to burst if this man doesn’t put that ring on my finger and wrap me up in two seconds.
He laughs, then says, “You can answer now, bae.”
“Yes!” I shout, thrusting my hand into his face so that he can put the simple, perfect band onto my finger. He listened to me when I said I didn’t want a rock on it because I didn't want to risk it rubbing against my skin. And though I know the kingdom may be confused as to why their queen wears a simple band instead of a gaudy diamond, I am happy.
After sliding the perfectly fitting ring onto my finger, Finley hops to his feet and picks me up, twirling me around once in his arms before setting me down and kissing my lips with a tender, slow passion.
When we part, Finley pulls out my chair for me, and I sit. We are immediately served wine and bread and are told that our orders (that Finley had already placed for us ahead of time) would be out shortly.
Finley pours our drinks, sets the bottle down, and holds up his glass of red liquid. This entire time, neither of our smiles have faltered. “From the moment you went on a tangent regarding the history of cheers, I was smitten with you, Lorelei. And every moment since has been nothing short of spectacular. I love you.”
I giggle, feeling like the princess I’m about to become. Clinking my glass with his, I exclaim, “Cheers!”
“To a long, joyous, and adventurous life with you.” We both take a sip of our wine, and as I reach for the bread, he grabs my hand and kisses it.
Feeling more complete and satisfied than I ever have in life, I beam at my fiancé. Definitely enjoying the upgraded term. “I love you, Finley Andersson.”