Chapter 13
IT'S BEEN YOU ALL THE TIME
After sleeping soundly for the first time in weeks, I woke up to the smell of breakfast. Whatever Dorothy was cooking smelled delicious.
I was nervous because Luke was somewhere in my home.
It was no longer Just Luke, who slept over all the time in a spare bedroom.
Now he was Luke, my fiancé, who still slept in the spare room, much to my annoyance.
He stayed over last night after we cleared the air.
We agreed that everyone was right, the two of us should've just put our cards on the table long ago.
Rejection is a powerful deterrent, it seems.
I walked down the hall barefoot toward the kitchen and was greeted by Dorothy standing with her hands on her hips. "Ms. Olivia, please tell Mr. Luke to let me into my kitchen."
I peered around her and saw him in an apron, covered in flour.
Luke, cooking? My heart swelled. I couldn't fight my smile.
I took in the sight as long as I dared. He stood at the stove flipping pancakes, like he'd done it a thousand times.
His blond hair was a mess. He wore a white t-shirt that clung to his chest and back.
"Tell Dorothy to take the morning off," he said.
Noticeably, he wasn’t asking. I looked from him to Dorothy. "Take the whole day off. I won't be needing you today. With pay, of course."
She stared at me, then Luke, and smiled. "It’s finally happening. After all these years, I never thought I'd live to see the day."
"What does that mean?" I asked defensively.
"You two finally got out of your own way and found yourself together."
"It was her, Dorothy, not me. Liv was the one making things difficult," Luke said as he plated the food.
Dorothy chuckled and left us. I couldn’t help but notice the pep in her step.
"Let's eat," Luke said.
"I’m not a big breakfast eater. You know that. I'll just have some coffee," I said.
"Fine, don't eat my romantic meal I made with love. I'll just toss it all."
"What, why, wait?"
Luke pouted.
"Fine, I'll eat, you win again."
He chuckled. "It's always about winning with you, isn’t it? You can win the next ten rounds. Does that make you feel better?"
"It would be even better if I had a choice," I said, taking my seat at the table and shoveling eggs into my mouth.
"Is this about last night?" He opened his mouth like he was going to say more but thought better of it.
I shook my head.
"Liv, I’m sorry. Last night just seemed so unreal, and I figured we both needed a minute to take it all in. Today, all the cards are on the table."
My cheeks burned as I eagerly imagined what it would be like to finally make love to Luke.
"God, I'm no saint. Last night took all the resolve I had," he added.
"You owe me big," I said.
His mouth quirked at the innuendo. "You mean the world to me. I'll gladly spend my life paying for my sins."
Unable to help it, I chuckled. "Good, because if not, I'd have to–"
"What would you do?" Luke asked, his tone reminding me of the way it sounded when Rick was here.
I lifted a hand. "Whoa, calm down. All I was saying is I have my toys. If you won't touch me, I still know how to take care of myself."
"That better be the only thing I'm sharing you with, and even that won't be for long."
His possessiveness caught me off guard, and I nearly choked.
Luke patted my back as I coughed. Reaching for my water, I took a few sips, ignoring the burning low down in my core.
I noticed the way he still looked at me. "What?"
"Are you really serious about us?"
"Why do you act like I'm the flakiest person in the world?
" I asked, annoyed, as Luke pushed his fork toward my lips.
On our plates was the exact same food, but Luke wanted to share his.
Why? Blushing, I realized it was sort of cute.
I gave in, leaned forward, and parted my lips so he could feed me.
When his fork brushed against my lip, it felt more intimate than I expected.
Luke never took his eyes off me as he slowly drew the fork away.
Even as I chewed, I felt his gaze on me.
I could have drowned in it. The moment stretched, and he reached for another bite, and I didn't stop him. Bite after bite, I opened for him. Each brush of his fork was slower, more intimate. My heart fluttered. I never took my eyes off him. In one night, everything had changed between us. Luke wanted to share everything with me, life, food, his heart; there was nothing we wouldn’t share, and I was in agreement.
"How is it? Glad you didn't stubbornly skip breakfast?"
"Yes." Somehow, the food tasted better from his fork. "Look at us."
When I noticed my words got no reply, I stared at Luke. I'd known him long enough to know the way his face twisted meant he had something on his mind.
"Just us," he muttered.
"We may need to take out an ad in the newspaper. To tell everyone this gigantic news," I joked, but when I got no reply, I stared at Luke longer.
"Nobody reads newspapers anymore. Just go ahead and update your many admirers on social media."
We weren't teenagers, so I gave his comment a hearty laugh.
Then I realized he wasn’t joking. He was serious, maybe even more serious than I’d ever seen him.
"Luke?"
Instead of answering me, he reached for his phone. My eyes widened.
"There is no backing out now," he said, then pointed to my cellphone on the table.
"Luke, I don't do corny posts. That's not me."
Seemingly ignoring my words, Luke typed, keeping his eyes lowered on his screen. My phone pinged beside me. I reached for the device. I had a Facebook notification, Luke Forrester tagged you in–
Corny? Absolutely. Outdated? Definitely. But if it was Luke, I didn't care.
I went to my own profile and updated my relationship status: Engaged to Luke Forrester.
If he was ready to tell the world about us, suddenly it didn't seem so corny after all.
"Happy now?" I teased.
"That's a start, but what about all the men that aren't on social media? I don't want anyone popping up like Rick did."
I chuckled. "Luke, whenever they appear, I'll tell them I'm taken."
"Or you can just message them all now."
"If I tell you I love you, why aren't you confident in that? You've known me forever. Would I lie to you?"
Luke's smile was playful, but his eyes held a warning. "You're right. After the next naked woman appears in front of me, I'll share the news."
I snatched his phone. "I’ll message the ones in your phone, and you tackle mine."
"Your list will most likely be longer."
I raised the corners of my lips. "Don't be jealous you've never learned how to make friends and charm them."
"That's because I put all my effort into you," Luke said.
He leaned over, his breakfast and coffee forgotten, eyes locked on mine with an intensity that made the rest of the world fade.
I met him halfway, breath caught in my throat, and when our lips touched, there was nothing gentle about it.
The kiss was hungry, years of silence erupting into fire.
Raw, blazing, and finally free. My fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt as the table between us seemed to disappear, leaving only the heat building between us.
My phone started vibrating. It had been nonstop since Luke and I updated our status, but I ignored most of the messages and went straight to the group chat with my girls.
Alex: Damn, you think you know someone, and she doesn’t even call to say she’s engaged.
Before I could reply, Mei chimed in.
Mei: Can you talk? We need details. How did you pull this off?
Luke is here, but I can text, I answered.
I gave them the rundown, explaining everything.
Alex: What? I hope you kicked him in the crotch.
Mei: She has better things to do with that area.
I laughed out loud.
Then noted Demetria's silence, likely tied up in court.
I promised the girls we’d meet up soon and slipped my phone away.
Even now, my skin tingled from the morning I’d spent with Luke. Loving him, and letting him love me back, was like nothing else. We walked, like the cute couple we were, to my favorite coffee shop. Tami smiled when she saw me.
"One latte with oat milk, please. And he'll take it black."
"Sure, can I have the names for the order?"
She knew mine, so I answered her curiosity. "Luke."
Her eyes flew open. "Luke? That Luke? THE Luke?"
He slipped his arm around shoulder. "The one and only."
Tami squealed. "I've been waiting for an update."
I glared at her and tried to telepathically communicate, Shut up, girl!
Tami did not speak my language. "What happened to Solstice, or whatever her name was?"
Laughter from Luke gnawed at me. I lowered my eyes, embarrassed, and muttered, "He came to his senses and dumped her for me."
Tami clasped her hands together. "This is good news. Olivia was obsessed."
Her use of the word irritated me. Maybe I talked about him a lot. "No, I wasn't," I snapped.
"I'm the one obsessed with Liv, not the other way around."
My heart nearly stopped at his proclamation.
"Wait, then why did you get engaged to Solstice?" the nosy barista asked.
This had gone on long enough. "Tami, the people behind us in line probably want to place their order, so we'll step aside."
"Oh, now she doesn't want to tell us the rest!" I turned to find the man in the neon yellow and orange construction vest—the same one I’d snapped at before. "Day after day it was ‘Luke this, Luke that,’ yet she plans to keep the good part to herself."
Beside me, Luke was dying of laughter, clutching his sides as tears formed in his eyes, all at my expense.
I stood there mortified. Finally, he pulled himself together and cleared his throat.
"Since we owe everyone an update: The wedding is this spring, Olivia is the bride, and the only woman I have ever loved.
Plus, here is the kicker: Solenne was only helping me to make Liv jealous. "
Only in New York would a coffee pickup turn into a press conference about my love life.
"Really?" Tami yelled from behind the register.
Luke nodded and continued to address the customers as I lowered my head. "I've always been desperate to marry Olivia. Always will be."
"Well, since she booked all those castles, you two have many venue options to choose from for the wedding," said the man in the blindingly bright vest.
Luke looked at me, and I no longer wanted coffee. In fact, tomorrow I would find a new place. I walked out of the shop.
"Liv, wait up!"
I stopped, and when he got closer, warned, "Don't say a word."
"What would I say? I'm beaming at the fact that you really wanted me."
"Shut up. I wanted you from the start. I just hid it too damn well."