Chapter 28 #2
He wanted to say thank you, but the words didn’t feel strong enough to describe what he was feeling.
While he fumbled for something more appropriate, his mother jumped to her feet, rounded the table and gave Clem a tearful hug.
Clem patted her on the shoulder, smiling, until she drew away and took her seat again.
‘For the fundraiser, all you need to do is agree, Mr Bowen, and we can get the funds sent straight to your bank account,’ Clem said, all business. ‘For the book deal, well, the ball is in your court, Lucas. Will you team up with me?’
The only other options Lucas had been able to come up with involved getting either himself in debt, or his parents getting themselves in debt.
And after they’d struggled so much already, that had never seemed like the ideal solution.
He couldn’t believe she’d done this for them.
She’d handed him the perfect solution. And he suddenly felt stupid for making himself stay away from such an incredible woman.
‘Clem, of course I will,’ he said. He stood up, and because thank you still didn’t feel like enough, he leaned across his coffee mug and kissed her.
She tensed, as if surprised he’d done so in front of his parents and the rest of the café, but he didn’t care. She kissed him back, and he broke away, dropping into his seat.
‘Alright, we didn’t need to see that,’ his dad said gruffly, and his mum laughed and swatted him on the shoulder.
‘Dad,’ Lucas prompted. He didn’t say anything else, hoping the pleading in his tone was enough – he didn’t want to see them struggling anymore. They didn’t deserve to.
‘Okay,’ said his father quietly, and he leaned into the armchair, as if relieving himself of the weight of many, many months and years. Lucas couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen him on the brink of tears, but his chin was trembling. ‘Okay. Thank you so much, Clem.’
*
The cherry blossom tree outside Catpurrcino no longer sported its beautiful pink flowers, but the delicate leaves were a luminous green now that seemed extra vibrant in the afternoon sun.
Lucas was standing outside the café with Clem, to the left of the front entrance, and the foliage shushed over their heads as if calling for quiet.
His parents still sat in the window of Catpurrcino, both talking animatedly – wide smiles on their faces.
His mum laughed and wiped doughnut jam from his father’s cheek with a tissue – they must have ordered more of Clem’s treats – and his father laughed right back.
When was the last time he’d seen them so happy?
‘I don’t know how to thank you,’ he told Clem, turning to her.
‘You don’t have to thank me,’ she said. ‘It was the right thing to do.’
He reached for her hand, pushing his fingers through hers, gripping on tight. Her palms were warm. ‘I can’t thank you enough. Seriously. And that baking book idea? Genius.’
‘Well, it was partly your idea. You joked about a dog-versus-cat comic book. I adapted it to fit a baking book.’
‘I’m surprised you remember that!’
She gripped his hand, taking a step closer, until he could smell the strawberry scent on her hair, making him want to reach out and brush it from her face.
‘What will you do with your chunk of the advance?’ he said. ‘Didn’t you say you needed to move out of your mum’s? And you wanted to start a baking business?’
‘I did . . . I do,’ she said, nodding, and looking up at the sun bearing down through the trees.
Tiny pinpricks of sunshine dappled her face, like flecks of the universe.
‘If I’m honest, I’d been saving money anyway.
I contribute at home but I’ve saved up quite a bit.
’ She inhaled, letting out a deep sigh. ‘I kept telling myself it wasn’t enough yet.
That I wasn’t ready. But that was fear and anxiety talking.
I think I learned I should . . . have more faith in myself.
I did something that scared me, entering Whisked Away , and it didn’t turn out so badly, did it? ’
He smiled softly. ‘I agree.’
‘I guess I’d forgotten to remind myself that I can handle things.’ Clem moved another fraction of a step closer. Close enough to touch. A jolt burst through him, the whisper of her breath on his face.
‘Of course you can. Look at everything you’ve done.
And back there? Talking like a true businesswoman?
’ His lips quirked. ‘You’ll be amazing. You are amazing.
’ He reached out and tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear, fingertips trailing over the C-shaped curve.
‘Everything is okay now, with my family. Thanks to you.’
‘Then . . .’ She looked unsure and vulnerable. ‘What about . . . What about us? I know you said you weren’t ready for a relationship before, but that kiss, at the hotel, and in the café . . .’ She hitched in a breath, as if she were on pins, waiting for his choice.
He’d thought relationships were a distraction from what mattered, something that would drown you, if you weren’t careful.
It wasn’t true, not when it came to her.
With her, he wanted to dive in head-first, submerge himself and never come up for air.
She mattered to him. And he needed to make that clear to her.
‘I guess, like you, it was the fear talking,’ he said. ‘I want to be with you, Clem. And I’m tired of holding myself back.’
He kissed her – fiercely.
She seemed surprised at first, unmoving, but her arms snaked up around him and she kissed him, pressing herself into him, fingertips skimming his shoulders and pulling him in.
She tasted of sugar and icing, and he locked his hands around her waist, hooking his fingers into the belt loops of her shorts.
Her mouth moved against his as if they were made to be joined, in tandem, sweet and warm.
It made his head spin, made him feel like he’d rushed forward into a sun-kissed sea, shimmering with promise.
When they broke apart, he was breathless – and she was, too. She looked at him, stunned, and held a hand to her face and broke into laughter.
‘What?’ he said, grinning.
‘You have lipstick all over your face. Like a clown.’
‘Oh. So do you. Well . . . I can’t possibly go into Catpurrcino looking like that.’ He reeled her in by the belt loops, making her squeal with delight as she pressed up against him.
‘Well . . . that was the end of my morning shift. So I guess I have to leave, too.’ She mock-pouted, the smeared lipstick making it look more adorable. He squeezed her waist.
‘Whatever will we do?’ he asked.
‘I can think of a few things,’ she said, and he laughed again.
‘I like this side of you,’ he told her.
‘There are lots of sides of me you don’t know yet . . .’
‘I’m looking forward to getting to know them,’ he said, planting a kiss on her mouth and lingering there.
She slipped her hand into his. The leaves over their heads rustled in a passing breeze, murmuring about the future.