Book of Luke (Book 2) (15 page)

Sweat started streaming down my back. “I
guess I don’t know what to say. I’m sure it will work out.”

“I’m kind of worried about her. She just
seems overly stressed. And honestly, I never thought Gino would be
such an asshole.”

My eyes widened. “I thought you guys are
okay now.”

“
Now
,” he said. “I’m still a bit
bothered by what he did, though. He’s a really good friend of mine,
so I can forgive. But forget?” He looked around. “Forgetting’s kind
of tough.”

I swallowed hard. And for once, I was
relieved that his phone beeped and offered some distraction. He
glanced at the screen, turned it off and set it down on the table.
Then he smiled and blew me a kiss.

“Do you want to see that place with me? The
Realtor said we can view it on spring break.”

“If my dad lets me.” I bit my lip. “I don’t
think I’m going to that college.”

“Would you prefer to move someplace else,
then?”

“Would you?” I asked.

He tilted his head thoughtfully. “No, I’m
pretty sold on the idea, whether you go to college or not.” He
smiled. “There’s lots of snow in Prince George.”

I grew jittery. “Well anywhere is fine, so
long as I’m with you!”

He nudged my foot under the table. “Thanks,
Beautiful!”

“You seem anxious,” I reiterated.

He sat up. “I’m just thinking.”

I smiled. “About what?”

“
Us.”

My heart stopped when he said nothing else.
“Us…?”

He sipped more wine. “And your dad—how he’s
going to handle it.”

“My dad’s going to be ridiculous no matter
what.”

“Maybe,” he said. “But I don’t want him to
live in such anguish.”

My heart sank. “But it’s my life…” I
attempted.
Was he saying he can’t be with me because it would
create
my dad
anguish?

His eyes narrowed. “I know that.”

“Oh my God, are you dumping me?!”

His eyes ballooned. “What? No! What made you
think that?”

I looked around sheepishly. Thankfully no
one really looked. “You seem to have cold feet,” I explained.

He laughed. “I’m
far
from cold
feet.”

My breaths slowed. “Oh.”

He sat up in his seat and loosened some
shirt buttons. His tie seemed to be choking him—even loosened—so he
undid it and it hung around his shoulders. It made him irresistibly
hot
. I was probably drooling.

Still, he was acting a bit off, and I wasn’t
sure why.

His icy blues sparkled with anticipation and
his forehead glistened. He leaned toward me hesitantly, pulling his
hands to his sides, and his lips formed an uncertain smile.

My heart pounded. I leaned forward
anxiously, since he clearly wanted to say something.

Our eyes were still locked, his smile grew,
and his fingers undid another button. He took my hand in his.
“Adonia?” he breathed, his eyes twinkling. “Will you—”

“Make way!” Andre ordered as he set our
plates before us.

We parted. Luke looked stunned—his face
fell, but he picked himself up rather quick. “Aw, thanks,
Andre!”

Andre stared blankly. “For what?” And after
a moment, his eyes glided to me and widened.

After a long blink he pursed his lips,
looked back at Luke and said, “Don’t worry, someone screwed mine
up, too. It’s not just you.” He smacked him over the back, uttered
“Sorry, buddy” and walked away.

I giggled. “He’s funny.”

Luke grinned, reaching into his pocket. He
pulled out his phone, glanced at it and put it away. “He’s a cool
guy.”

I cleared my throat. “You were saying…?”

Luke rubbed his hands, his eyes darting
about. “I was saying what?”

“I don’t know,” I said, my voice quavering.
“Whatever you were saying.”

Luke cut his chicken, only glancing at me.
He was making me nervous. I slouched in my seat, and in a
courageous moment said, “Will I…?”

He froze. I could see in his eyes that he
knew what I was talking about. “I was going to ask…” he said, but
he trailed off then, too.

My heart sank a bit.

He heaved a breath, blinked hard and shook
his head. “Sorry, Andre distracted me.” Then he said, “Will you
have some more wine?”

“Sure,” I said, gesturing to my half full
glass.

Or was it half empty?

~ ~ ~

It was a cloudless, starry night. We walked slowly,
hand-in-hand, back to the hotel.

“The sky’s amazing here,” I breathed,
looking up.

Luke laughed. “I’m pretty sure it’s the same
sky we see in Alaska.”

We stopped beneath a streetlight, and fluffy
snowflakes sprinkled down upon us. My hands inched around his waist
and my head pressed against his chest. “I don’t want to go
home.”

“I like it here, too. But in a few months,
it’ll be just you and me again.” His lips brushed mine.
“Forever.”

“A few months
is
forever!”

He chuckled. “You’re worth the wait.”

“How do you always know what to say?” I
asked wistfully.

I felt him shrug. “I just say what I
feel.”

“Oh my God, you drive me crazy!” I said,
inhaling his cologne.

His hand touched my face, and he tilted my
head up. “Oh yeah?”

I inched up and kissed him. “Your breath
smells like wine,” I said with a half smile.

His cell phone rang, and before I could
think, I reached for his pants pocket.

“Stop!”

I jumped. He gripped my hand.

“Don’t,” he breathed, his body stiff.

“What?” I said in shock.

Luke pulled the phone out. “I’ve got it.” He
hit the
talk
button and gave it to me. It felt kind of
sweaty.

Completely baffled, I took it. “Hello?”

“It’s Gino. Where’s Luke?”

“Hold on,” I said, and held it out for
him.

Luke cleared his throat and took the phone.
I immediately pretended I wasn’t listening. “What’s up?” Long
pause. “Damn, I’m sorry to hear that.”

I looked up curiously, wondering if Lilly
had had her “miscarriage.”

“Sorry to hear she’s so ill. How long does
she have?” Another pause. “Another five months of chemo sounds like
hell. But it’s her decision and I’m sure she’ll make it.”

My eyes widened. That did
not
sound
good.

“I actually think I’m losing you, man, too
much static.” He pulled the phone from his ear, checked the screen
and put it back to his head. “I’ve only got one bar. Can you call
me later?” Brief pause. “Awesome.”

I didn’t know what to grill him about
first—why he didn’t want me reaching into his pants or who was
dying. “So what happened?” I asked, letting him decide which to
answer.

“They gave Gino’s grandmother two months to
live, but she’s going to extend her chemo and see if she can make
it to meet the baby. He doesn’t know how to feel about it.”

My heart stopped—I didn’t know how to feel
about it, either.

Luke looked through his phone solemnly. We
walked slowly, and when he had an extra bar, he dialed his
voicemail and checked his messages. After a minute he said, “Hey, I
got the ski instructor job!”

“Really?”

Luke put the phone in his jacket pocket.
“Yup, at a higher pay than I expected, which is awesome! I need to
call them on Wednesday to accept the job.”

“I’m proud of you!” I gushed.

He gripped my hips. “Thanks.”

“So what’s in your pocket?” I asked
obsessively.

We resumed walking. “Nothing. I just, you
know, thought I’d get the phone.” Our eyes brushed, and his
twinkled. “So you can see who’s calling.”

“Right,” I said with a chuckle.

When our eyes met again he looked
conflicted, and I didn’t know what to make of it. “Want some ice
cream?” he offered, his voice soft.

“Sure.”

I guess I expected to eat in the ice cream
parlor, not while walking through a blizzard.

It’s okay, though, we’re from
Alaska.

“This tastes amazing,” I said, practically
peeling my tongue off the blueberry caramel scoop it froze to. My
teeth grew sensitive from the cold.

He laughed and wiped the corner of my mouth.
“Wanna lick mine?”

I licked his vanilla coconut almond swirl.
“That’s probably even better!”

He held it out for me. “We can trade.”

“Like we’re in grade school?” I teased.

He laughed. “Sure, why not?”

So we did.

~ ~ ~

We spent hours talking. At that point, merely
thinking
about going home made me queasy. I was filled with
dread for our inevitable departure, because I loved being with him
and I loved the freedom. No curfews, no limits—just me and him,
doing almost anything we wanted.

Since I clearly lack all self-control, I
waited until he was asleep to go digging through his pockets. The
moon shone bright above the mountain peaks outside, which was
convenient, as snooping’s much easier when you can see what you’re
doing.

There was nothing in his left pants pocket,
so I dug into the right. I pulled what felt like a folded up note
out of his pocket, moved closer to the window and unfolded it
anxiously. And to my shock it read,

What are you looking for, Beautiful?

Not only can Lilly read me like a book, but
this Greek god can, too!

I groaned and crept back into bed, in time
to hear him laugh under his breath. I smacked his arm for good
measure, and he started cracking up.

“You’re adorable!” His arms tightened around
me.

“And you’re not funny, Lukasz!” I said with
an inevitable smile.

“You’re funny enough for both of us,” he
said, studying my face in the dim light.

My head shifted on the large body pillow we
shared. We were facing, gazing into each other’s eyes. His
shimmered.

For a while we said nothing more, because we
didn’t need to. His eyes can’t keep secrets. I felt so precious, so
beautiful, so loved when looking into them, because that’s how he
saw me, and what reflected back.

“
Something’s
on your mind,” I
noted.

He touched my nose with his index finger.
“Just
you.”

“I can’t be on your mind, I’m right here,” I
said with a grin.

“Actually,” he said in a soft whisper, “I’m
thinking about you no matter where you are.”

“Really?”

Luke nodded. His fingers glided across my
stomach, hip, and finally rested on the small of my back. His eyes
settled on my lips, so I moved forward and kissed him. He pulled me
atop him, his fingers laced with mine.

And in the middle of a cosmic kiss, I felt
it.

My breath caught in my throat as I tried to
determine what was between our hands. It felt small, rough, and
circular.

It was circular!

My eyes locked with his, and his mouth
formed that smile that makes my knees wobble. He gasped and
said,

“Will you marry me?”

Breathless, I looked into my hand—the hand
he’d put the ring in. “Oh my God!” I cried.

I covered my mouth as he slid the ring onto
my finger, his eyes glistening in the low light. I was trembling
and I couldn’t stop.

He sat up and I advanced at him. My fingers
laced in his hair, and I attacked him with kisses. “Yes,” I
breathed between them, never so certain of anything in my life.

Our foreheads touched. Tears still streamed
down my face, and they either rubbed off on his, or he was in tears
himself.

“I thought you didn’t wanna get married
until we’ve lived together.” I studied the stunning centerpiece
diamond on my finger. The absolute rest of the band was dotted with
small diamonds that shimmered all over. It sparkled gorgeously in
the moonlight.

He moved some hair out of my face. “This
sorta counts as living together, right?” He grinned. “The more time
I spend with you, the more I know you’re the only one for me.”

My gaze still fixed on the ring. “I’m glad
you replaced this with a note,” I said.

He kissed my forehead. “Well, you’re
predictable.”

He rolled me over, so I was on my back and
he was on top. “I thought to ask your dad for permission, but he’d
just say no, and it would’ve made things awkward when I asked you
anyway.”

I giggled. “He’ll have to get over it,” I
said enthusiastically, “because I’m marrying you.”

Luke adjusted the ring on my finger. “I
thought it may help him feel better about us moving in together. I
mean, we can still wait a while,” he breathed. “But I have no
doubts that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

And within that final sentence was the most
amazing combination of words that was ever spoken to me.

“I love you, Luke.”

Our foreheads touched. “I love you
more.”

“Lukasz?” Burke knocked on the door. “How
did it go?”

I opened my eyes. My head laid on Luke’s
chest, and his hand caressed my shoulder. With a dreamy smile Luke
said,

“She said yes!”

I grinned, feeling for the ring.

“Ah, congratulations! Now she will spend the
rest of her life wondering what the heck she was thinking,
yes?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Probably!” Luke said with a grin. He kissed
my head, got up and threw on some clothes. But instead of going to
the door, he fell back into bed. “I’m tired, Burke.”

Burke knocked again. “Open up, please. My
friend will be here in an hour to drive us to Zurich. You don’t
want me to be late for my lecture, yes?”

Luke rubbed his eyes, got up and opened the
door. His blond hair was almost as messy as Burke’s.

Luckily I had on a decent nightgown, so I
lounged around in bed a bit longer. I’d never felt such joy, such
excitement or as loved as I had the previous night, and it wore me
the hell out.

“Hello, young lady,” Burke greeted. I didn’t
need to look to see his smile.