Chapter 41 – Luke
LUKE
Five Days Until the Wedding
“You can’t do this to me,” the girl next to me sobs. “I moved to Canada for you! I quit smoking for you! I pierced my nipples for you!”
I wince involuntarily. Behind us, someone mutters, “That’s gotta hurt.”
The woman sitting next to me in first class, whose name I now know is Jenna, has spent the entire flight having the world’s messiest break-up on the phone with her boyfriend. It was annoying at first, but by now, I’ve accepted it as my in-flight entertainment.
“I’m not going to sit around waiting for you, you know,” Jenna barks. “If you’re moving on, then so am I. I will too! In fact, there’s a hot guy sitting right next to me.” She whirls on me. “Are you single?”
“I have a girlfriend,” I say quickly.
“See?” she yells into the phone. “Some men are loyal!”
“Dodged a bullet,” mutters the guy behind us.
A flight attendant walks down the aisle toward us, her hands trembling. I don’t blame her for being shaky. The last time she asked Jenna to wrap up her phone call, Jenna drove her to tears.
“Excuse me, miss,” the flight attendant says. “We’ll be landing in half an hour, and I need you to wrap up—”
“Are you deaf?” Jenna shrieks. “I’m in the middle of a conversation!”
“Yes, but federal regulations—”
“You don’t understand. My boyfriend of four months is breaking up with me for no reason! I can’t just wrap it up.”
The flight attendant looks on the verge of tears again, so I clear my throat. “Jenna, would you mind if I talked to your boyfriend for a minute?”
Jenna blinks, apparently shocked. She waffles for a minute, then hands me her phone. I take a breath and put on my most charming voice.
“Hi,” I tell the guy. “You don’t know me, but I can tell that you’re going to regret losing a woman as passionate and lovely as Jenna here. That’s probably punishment enough, isn’t it?”
On the other side of the line, he sighs. “You don’t know punishment, man. I never asked her to pierce her nipples, by the way. I have no idea where she fucking got that.”
I look up at Jenna. “He’s crying. He put on a strong face for you, but he’s pretty broken up about it.”
She sniffs. “I knew it.”
“Jenna’s got to go,” I continue. “She’s got a bright future in front of her, and it doesn’t include people who bring her down. You think about that. And don’t call her. She’ll call you.”
I hang up and pass Jenna back the phone. The flight attendant shoots me a grateful smile.
“Was he mad?” she asks.
“Furious. I think I heard him punch a wall.”
She smiles. “Good. Sounds like he’s finally stopped pretending to stay strong. I know he’s hurting, too.”
“Absolutely.” I nod. “You still deserve better, though. If I were you, I’d find another guy.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She smiles flirtatiously. “Are you sure you and your girlfriend are stable?”
“Yup. Sorry. Totally in love with her. Probably getting married and all that.”
She shrugs. “Well, I hope that works out for you. It didn’t for me.”
When we land half an hour later, I turn to her before I get off the plane. “Thanks for everything, Jenna.”
“Why would you thank me?”
I skip the honest answer. Thanks for keeping my mind busy, so I won’t obsess over how I’m going to survive the next week.
The past few weeks without Eden have been full of unsent texts and busywork to keep my mind off her. Now, I’m going to have almost a full week to soak her in, to watch her move around rooms with a quiet, graceful confidence, to wrap my arm around her and pretend I have the right to do it.
Pretending I’m her boyfriend is going to be the easy part.
Turning it off when her brothers aren’t in the room is going to be harder.
Maybe even impossible. The last time I was on the ranch, I got reckless.
I took her hand when nobody was watching, and this time, I don’t know if I’ll have it in me to let go.
Of course, that’s a little too much information for poor Jenna.
“For being a good seatmate,” I tell her instead.
Once I’m off the plane, I speed walk over to the rental lot.
This time, my plan is to take the fanciest car available, because I know Jasper will be secretly pumped about it.
I saw the way he snuck admiring looks at the Corvette the last time I came to the ranch, despite his muttered comments about mileage and impracticality.
I’ll take any brownie points I can get from the most aloof Locke.
By some miracle, the rental counter at the Calgary airport had a sleek black Maserati. I practically sprinted to the counter to beg for it. Ten minutes later, I’m driving toward Sundre, blasting Wet Leg from the speakers.
Even though I've only driven the route once, it feels familiar. I anticipate the turns before my GPS tells me to make them. When I’m an hour from the airport, the roads shift from wide suburban highways to narrow two-lane roads over rolling hills of prairies.
I can practically feel Eden next to me, her hair the same muted gold as the fields of wheat, the late spring air as warm as she is.
Turning onto the long road into the ranch, I let out a long breath. My body feels whole, somehow, like I left a part of me here last time and I finally have it back.
The driveway is full of fancy rental cars next to the Lockes’ pickup trucks, announcing that my friends have arrived. I park behind them and grab my suitcase from the trunk.
As I approach the house, I spot James sitting on the swing. His long legs are sprawled wide, and his head bows over baby Hazel, who he’s holding tight in his arms. Both their eyes are closed, baby and father asleep. He looks more peaceful than I’ve ever seen him.
Next to him, Maura sits on a chair with a watercolor set. I'm guessing she's painting the view of the fields, because her eyes keep jumping between the view and her easel. Every few brushstrokes, she glances over at James and Hazel, checking on them—not worried, just making sure the baby’s secure.
They all look so peaceful in the golden afternoon light—the happy family, here despite all the odds against them.
Their contract marriage turned into a real partnership, full of more love and devotion than most couples I know.
Maura’s pregnancy, despite all her health complications, produced the most perfect baby girl.
I’m lucky just to witness it.
I walk up to the house as quietly as I can, waving at Maura.
She smiles back, though we both brace ourselves when I open the front door, ready for a creak to wake up James and Hazel.
Fortunately, the hinges are perfectly oiled.
I don’t know why I expect anything less.
Wade wouldn’t let his mother have a creaky front door.
I leave my suitcase by the staircase. I'm not sure if they'll put me in the same room I was in last time, and I don't want to presume anything.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I doubt Wade has had a sudden change of heart about putting Eden and I in the same room.
He's still clinging to the excuse of Rose’s old-fashioned values, which he obviously made up.
Eden's low, calm voice drifts to me from the kitchen.
“If your supplier’s out of brussels sprouts, then the French string beans should be perfect,” she’s saying to someone, presumably a caterer.
“Just make sure that you prepare versions with bacon and without bacon, because we have a few vegetarians attending. Good. And you talked to the baker, to make sure she had all the supplies she needed for serving the cake? Perfect.”
I step into the room and she turns around. I know the second she sees me, because everything about her face brightens. Her lips curve into a small smile, and her eyes sparkle with life. She looks so fucking beautiful that I can barely breathe.
“Call me if you have any more questions,” she says, hanging up the phone.
I’m already striding across the room, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her into a hug.
She fits perfectly against me, her soft hair brushing against my chin, making me smell wildflowers.
I don’t want to let her go, so I don’t. I hold her for a full minute, inhaling her, and she doesn’t stop me.
“Sorry I’m late. The Air Canada meeting went longer than expected.”
She looks up at me, her eyes bright with excitement. “How did it go?”
“We have a handshake agreement. I won’t say I got it until all the paperwork is signed, but—”
“But you got it.” She grins, beaming. “I knew it. I knew you could do it.”
I kiss the top of her head, because hearing her say that feels better than actually walking out of the meeting with the agreement.
“How was your flight?” she asks.
“I’ll tell you later. But I’ll give you a preview: nipple piercing was involved.”
She stiffens. “I’m not sure I want to know.”
Across the room, I can feel Wade, Jasper, and Reed watching me. I wave at them over Eden’s shoulder, full of appreciation for them. Jasper scowls back, Wade nods respectfully, and Reed gives me the finger. I don’t even care.
Thanks to the three of them, I have five more days of this—of touching Eden, being close to her, soaking up her smiles.
I’m going to send them a whole fucking case of my cherrywood whiskey.
I’m going to hand over the keys to my Maserati rental and let them run wild with it.
Maybe I’ll even let them win at poker at the bachelor party, if I’m feeling generous.
I bury my nose in Eden’s hair. If I only get five days, I’m going to make every one of them count.