4. Luke
4
luke
Everything was going according to plan. The Advent calendar I’d made kept Luce both distracted and excited, allowing me to work on the bigger surprise I had in the works. The tickets for Sailor had been arranged, Landon had agreed to pick her up when she landed, and Eve had already prepared the guest bedroom for her arrival.
I had also been spending extra time in my workshop, determined to have the home library completed before Christmas. When Luce moved in, she hadn’t specified many requirements for our new home—aside from the décor, which, to be fair, did look great. But the library was non-negotiable. She had even brought along eighty books from Seattle, after not wanting to part ways with them. She assured me that she had to leave most of her collection behind, but these were the books she didn’t want to separate from. And if it was important to her, it was important to me, too.
After my shower, I headed downstairs and found Luce sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea cradled in her hands. I raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“No coffee, sweetheart?” I asked.
She shook her head, bringing the mug to her lips and savoring the warmth of the liquid. Luce was always beautiful to me, but in these tranquil moments—her hair pulled up in a messy bun, wearing nothing but my t-shirt—she took my breath away. I still couldn’t believe she was by my side again.
“My stomach’s a bit off this morning,” she explained. “So I thought it would be better to skip the coffee and go for tea.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” I stepped closer and placed a gentle kiss on her temple. “You still haven’t opened the third slot?”
“Of course not,” she replied with a smile. “I was waiting for you…”
I set my mug into the coffee machine. Despite Luce opting for tea this morning, coffee was my lifeline. With so many things on my agenda, it was the only thing keeping me functioning these days.
“Go ahead,” I said, noticing her excitement. “I can see how impatient you are.”
She placed her mug down and practically leaped across the room to her Advent calendar. Her eyes were bright as she picked out the box marked with a three—which, granted, looked suspiciously a lot like a nine. Her face lit up the moment she realized what it was.
“A reservation at Sunny Bird ?” Luce exclaimed, her eyes widening as she looked at the small card inside the box. “Luke, the waitlist for that place is six months…how did you manage to pull this off?”
I chuckled at her shock. For a small town like Port-Cartier, that waitlist did seem outrageous. But Sunny Bird had earned its reputation as a must-visit spot, drawing in not just locals but tourists from neighboring towns as well. Supposedly, the food was that good.
“I’m sorry, but that information is strictly confidential…” I smirk as the coffee machine behind me huffed and puffed, signaling that my coffee was ready. I took a sip, letting the rich, warm liquid awaken my senses before I continued, “I know winter is your favorite time of the year because of all the memories we’ve shared over the past ten years, so I thought it would be nice to create some new ones, at new places, ten years later, so…” I approached her, kissing her forehead. “I’ll come by to pick you up from work around six. Make sure you’re ready, sweetheart.”
At precisely six p.m., I pulled up in front of our home. I had showered at work and brought a change of clothes from home earlier that day. I knew it was silly, but with all the time we spent away from each other, I wanted her to feel that yearning and anticipation of me picking her up for a date all over again. Living together was amazing—everything I ever imagined it would be like, and more—but I wanted to make sure she didn’t miss out on anything.
When Luce stepped out onto the front porch, she looked stunning. She wore a gray coat over a cream blouse with a floral pattern and sleek black trousers. Her outfit wasn’t revealing, but it was enough to make my mind short-circuit with desire. The red lipstick on her lips only heightened the effect, making my thoughts swirl.
I stepped forward, extending my hand toward her with a smile. “Your boyfriend is one lucky man, you know,” I clasped my fingers around hers. She tried to hold back her smile, but the way her lips twitched gave her away.
“My boyfriend is also a silly goose,” she teased.
I raised an eyebrow. “If I remember correctly, you’re the one with the goose nickname…” I said, recalling how Logan had come up with it. I couldn’t remember the reason behind it, but it had stuck around until now.
We made our way to my truck, and the ride was thankfully short. Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the restaurant and were seated at our table. A soft candle flickered between us, casting a warm glow on Luce’s face and making her look almost ethereal.
“Stop staring at me,” she scolded me.
“I’m sorry,” I said, though I wasn’t sorry at all. “You just look so stunning tonight. I can’t take my eyes off you…”
Just then, the waitress arrived, coming to her rescue. “Welcome to Sunny Bird,” she chirped brightly. “What can I get for you tonight?”
We both turned our attention to the menu. I had chosen this place because of its wide assortment of house-made pasta, something I knew Luce would love. Since she moved in, we’d upped our carbonara consumption at home, but I figured we should enjoy it somewhere special as well. It was an easy choice, and I was glad to see her excitement about it.
“I’ll have sparkling water and your carbonara pasta, please,” I said, handing the menu to the waitress. Luce’s eyes lit up at the mention of her favorite dish.
“I’ll have the same,” she agreed with a smile.
As soon as the waitress walked away, Luce’s smile widened mischievously. “A man after my heart…”
I reached for her hand, gently stroked it. “Always.” I smirked. “Their pasta is supposed to be incredible, so I thought it would be perfect for tonight.”
Luce arched an eyebrow playfully. “Are you just trying to buy my love with pasta, Luke?”
“I don’t need pasta to buy your love, sweetheart”—I grin—“but it certainly doesn’t hurt…”
Being with her felt so effortless, so natural. It was everything I had longed for my entire life. After experiencing it during our teenage years, I spent all the time we were apart searching for that same connection. But I couldn’t find it anywhere else—only when I was with her.
“Mm, you’re right,” she said, her eyes sparkling. You have many charming qualities, like how handy you are with wood…”
I knew exactly where this was going. Every other day, Luce would come to me with an inspiration photo and expect me to bring her ideas to life in our home. I loved every minute of it.
“Miss Milburne,” I said with a playful tone, “I can’t keep working for you for free. If you want to hire me for my services, you will have to offer some kind of payment.”
She rolled her eyes, giving my hand a light, playful slap as the waitress arrived with our sparkling water. Usually, Luce would pair her meal with a glass of wine, but I noticed she’d opted for the sparkling water tonight—probably because her stomach was still a bit tender.
“Isn’t my presence payment enough? I mean, think about it. You’re doing this for your future wife…”
I did my best to hold back a smile. We’d talked about marriage and kids, and we were both clear about what we wanted from life. It was simple: a beautiful home, two kids, and a dog down the road once we were married. Little did she know that part of that plan would be unfolding sooner than expected.
“Future wife, huh?” I teased, leaning in slightly. “Does this mean you’re already planning on marrying me?”
Before she could respond, the waitress arrived with our plates. They were the largest portions of pasta I had ever seen, but I had no doubt Luce would devour hers—that was the extent of her love for pasta. It looked absolutely delicious, too.
“Of course,” Luce replied, diving into her pasta. “There’s no one else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with. I think we both knew from the moment we were young; it just took us a while to figure it all out.”
It did, but I liked to think everything was happening for a reason—including this. Now that we were together, we were stronger than ever, with our lives all figured out.
“I’ll take that into consideration,” I said with a hint of teasing in my voice, “and I will also do whatever you need me to around the house. I’m happy to make all your dreams come true, sweetheart.”
The smile that appeared on her face lit up the entire room, making every word I just said a promise to myself. “That’s good, really good…”
From the tone of her words, I could tell she had more plans up her sleeve, and I was eager to help bring every one of her projects to life. After all, I just wanted to spend the rest of my life making her happy.
After our fulfilling dinner, we were both barely able to move. The pasta had been delicious but also quite heavy, leaving us barely able to move. My hand rested comfortably on her thigh as we drove home, my focus on the road ahead.
To stretch out our evening a bit longer, I decided to take a different route home—through the forest and past the small grassy clearing that would soon be covered in snow. Normally, this spot was empty, but tonight, it was filled with cars and a collection of Christmas trees, ready to be taken home.
A Christmas tree—something Luce and I had talked about but hadn’t yet gotten around to picking out.
Instantly, she patted my shoulder with excitement. “Oh, my God, Luke. Christmas trees! We should stop and get one. We need to do it anyway, so we might as well do it now…”
My stomach protested at the thought of moving more than necessary, but her enthusiasm was contagious and impossible to resist. I pulled over to the side of the road and, after we both got out of the truck, approached the elderly gentleman who was managing the Christmas tree lot. He greeted us with a friendly nod as we walked up, and I could see Luce’s eyes washing over the trees with eager anticipation.
“Looking for a nice Christmas tree, folks?” the elderly gentleman asked with a warm smile. Luce nodded eagerly, her excitement evident. She wasn’t joking when she said Christmas time was her favorite—I hadn’t seen her this excited in a long time.
“Yes,” she said. I’ve wrapped my arm around hers, placing a small kiss on top of her head.
“It will be our first Christmas together,” I explained to the old man, “so we’re hoping to find a special tree.”
The man’s eyes twinkled as he ran a gloved hand through his thick white beard. “Well, you’ve come to the right place, especially if it’s your first Christmas together. And congratulations,” he said cheerfully, “We’ve got to make sure it’s a nice one. Feel free to look around, but I have just the tree for you, too…” He made a sweeping gesture for us to follow him, and we did.
In the back, hidden behind dozens of other trees, stood the perfect one: wide branches and the most stunning shade of green I had ever seen. I glanced at Luce, and her face lit up with pure joy. It was clear we were taking this tree home. We didn’t need to exchange any words. As our eyes met, she gave a slight, definitive nod, silently confirming that this was the one.
We didn’t need to look at any other trees.
“We’ll take it, boss,” I said.
“Tony! Mac!” the old man called out two guys who looked like they were his sons. “Help us load this tree onto the gentleman’s truck.”
“Right away, pop!” one of them responded as they moved toward us.
I reached for my wallet to pay, but the old man quickly shook his head. “No, absolutely not. This tree is going to your home without any payment. It’s the first Christmas you two are spending together, and this is my gift to you…”
“No way.” Luce grabbed my wallet out of my hand. “That’s incredibly kind of you, but you have a business to run, and I can’t let you lose money by the end of your shift—especially not during Christmas time.”
God, I love this woman.
The old man looked at me, a soft glint in his eyes. “She’s got a lot of spirit, doesn’t she?”
I chuckled. “You have no idea. I’d listen to her if I were you. She’s the boss around here, and she always gets her way.”
“All right, all right,” the old man said, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. “No free trees for you this year…”
The tree was eighty dollars, but Luce somehow managed to press a hundred-dollar bill into the old man’s hand, insisting he keep the change for his kindness. Tony and Mac loaded the tree onto the truck, and with a final wave, we headed home, surrounded by Christmas lights and so irrevocably in love.