Book of Luke (Book 2) (16 page)

“Hi, Burke!”

“Having a good morning, yes?”

I sat up and covered my yawn. “Very.”

Burke put take-out on the counter and
gestured to it. “I brought your breakfast up for you.”

I put on my blue robe, tucked my hair behind
my ears and joined them at the counter. “Thanks,” I said,
inspecting it. Strawberry and whipped cream topped Belgian waffles,
sausage, melon slices, and a large cup of coffee. “This looks
great! You know they have room service here, right?”

Burke laughed. “Ah, it’s okay, I like
running errands.”

Luke sat beside me and started eating, his
eyes gliding over to me every now and then.

“Listen,” Burke said, holding up a finger.
“Don’t tell Paul I let you two share a room, yes? He’ll go ah… ah…”
His gaze turned to the ceiling, like looking for the right word.
Then he snapped his fingers. “He’ll go
ballistic!
”

I laughed.

Luke gave him a thumbs up. “I don’t have a
death wish anyway.”

Burke smiled at me. “I felt bad for Paul,
being so nervous. But you are both adults so… what can I do?”

“My dad worries way too much.”

Luke rubbed his eyes and reached for a
coffee. My eyes rolled down his bulky arms.

When I touched the ring, my heart fluttered.
I never imagined I’d marry a guy
that
hot!

“So Burke, you didn’t even try to ski with
us,” Luke said, coating his waffles with maple syrup.

“Lots of research for work, Lukasz, and
preparing for this lecture. Honestly, the ah… the last time you
took me skiing and I nearly fell to my death, that kind of turned
me off of it, yes?”

Luke laughed. “You got an A for effort!”

Burke rubbed his stubble. “You are excellent
at math, why don’t you go to college for astronomy?”

Luke shrugged. “I’m excellent at skiing,
too.” After a brief pause he said, “Have you talked to Troy?”

Burke swallowed some waffles. “Yes.
Actually, yesterday Troy gave me his rent in advance.”

“Sweet,” Luke said. “I’ve got to remember to
pick him up from the airport after school on Thursday.”

I cleared my throat to get his attention.
“Gino and Lilly are going to dinner on Thursday, and Lilly wants us
to double.”

Luke twisted his lips. “Okay. I guess we can
go after the airport. I’m sure Troy can tag along, right?”

“Sure. Anna’s going, anyway.”

Luke gazed into my eyes. “Sounds like it’ll
all work out.”

I hoped he was right, because Lilly’s little
white lie was turning into a big mess.

~ ~ ~

Instead of enjoying the day, I spent most of it
depressed about going home. It felt like the clock was ticking
toward my inevitable return to prison.

Luke looked a bit down himself.

We went to see a movie, did some shopping,
and had dinner with Burke after the lecture we sat in on.

Judging from the fascinating stuff Burke was
teaching graduate astronomy students, the man is clearly a genius.
I just wish I could have understood at least half of it.

Our plane departed Zurich Tuesday at 9 a.m.
With all the time zone changes, it felt like I was traveling into
the past. I wished I could travel even farther back, so it can be
Thursday night again.

I snapped some aerial photos of Big Ben, the
Tower Bridge, and the London Eye, and put my camera away.

“What’s wrong, Beautiful?” Luke breathed
from the seat beside me. He took my hand in both of his and
adjusted my ring.

“We’re going home,” I whined, for what felt
like the hundredth time.

“It’s okay.” He kissed my cheek. “In a few
weeks, we’ll head to Canada for spring break.”

I smiled weakly. “What else are we doing
while there?”

His eyes glimmered, and his face grew rosy.
“Ski, what else?”

I chuckled. “And you say
I’m
predictable.”

He winked at me, just as his phone beeped.
He pulled it out, typed something and sent it. “I can’t wait to
introduce you to Nikki,” he whispered in my ear.

I can’t say I shared his enthusiasm, because
I knew it’d be awkward. And I hoped she would never find out I’d
all but accused him of sleeping with her.

For a painfully long plane ride, it didn’t
even drag. Fearing the much-anticipated introduction to Nikki—whom
I was afraid wouldn’t like me—I was almost too distracted to notice
all the flight attendants checking Luke out.

The ring sure comes in handy, though. While
they’re checking him out, I grab a bicep, they see my two-karat
rock and—you know— get the hint.

Or maybe part of me just wants to show
off.

It was mid-afternoon when the plane landed
in California. I was gasping for air, and it wasn’t from the
smog.

I followed him off the plane, through the
busy terminal. Burke lagged behind, like to make sure I didn’t get
lost, walking so slow.

“Is everything all right, Adonia?” Burke
asked once he caught up.

“Everything’s fine,” I grumbled as we walked
through the terminal doors.

“It will be okay,” Burke said, resting a
hand on my shoulder.

“Huh?” I uttered, confused. Did he know what
I was nervous about?

“You don’t seem to want to go back home,
yes?”

I sighed, relieved. “It’s not that.”

Luke slowed to allow me to catch up, and
gripped my hand when I did. “Feeling okay, Beautiful?”

“Yeah,” I peeped.

Then I saw the supermodel from his photo.
She wore hot khaki short shorts and a black top, which oddly enough
matched his khaki pants and black muscle shirt.

Is she psychic, too?

She darted to and hugged him, squealing
joyfully. Luke let go of my hand to hug her back.

“I’ve missed you!” When she fell back to the
floor, she pulled her phone out. “Here, let’s take a picture!” She
snapped a selfie with him; he came out smiling, but distracted.

“Wait, I don’t like that one.” She snapped
another.

Luke cleared his throat as she snapped the
third. “Nikki, this is my girlfr—” He shook his head and grabbed
her phone so she can stop snapping pictures. “This is my fiancée,
Adonia.”

“Hi!” she exclaimed, putting her hand out
for me to shake. Her smile was blindingly white, and overall, she
sparkled. “Luke talks about you
all
the time!”

“Really?” I breathed, wanting to add, “He
didn’t mention you
at all
.”

Well, until I accused him of
cheating
with you.

She nodded, pulling her long blond hair into
a ponytail.

I was going to offer my condolences for her
friend, but she seemed to be in a good mood, and I didn’t want to
ruin it.

“This is my stepdad, Burke,” Luke said,
gesturing to him.

“Hello, young lady,” Burke said, shaking her
hand.

“Nice to meet you!” Nikki said, looking from
Luke to Burke. “Where are we going?”

Luke looked around the airport, and pointed
to a diner. “Burgers?”

“Sure.”

At a booth in the corner, we ordered
burgers, milkshakes, and fries. Thankfully the place was scarcely
populated.

“How are you feeling?” Luke asked her.

She shrugged, her excitement having wavered
somewhat. “I’m getting along, I guess. I hope my texts didn’t get
annoying.”

I refrained from shrinking in my seat, but I
sort of wanted to.

“Nah, you’re good,” Luke breathed. He dug
into his duffel bag and pulled out the jewelry box. “Got that for
you in Crans-Montana.”

She opened it quickly and pulled out the
necklace. Her face fell and her eyes welled with tears. “Thanks,
Luke.” She planted a kiss on his cheek. “You seriously need to stop
buying me stuff.”

“Oh, okay,” he said, reaching for the box.
“I’ll take it back, then.”

She laughed and slapped his hand away. “Six
months and you haven’t changed one bit!”

He rolled his eyes and they settled on me.
“I’ve changed.”

“How did you two meet?” Nikki asked me,
clasping the chain around her neck.

“I met him in a bookstore,” I said. “I
didn’t know he was my best friend’s brother.”

“It turned into a lot of drama,” Burke said,
looking up from the physics book he was reading.

I giggled. “It was mostly Lilly’s
drama.”

Luke wrapped an arm around me. “They’re both
drama queens. Then again,” he said to Nikki, “you are, too.”

She looked down sadly. “I miss my partner in
crime.”

And at that moment, my heart broke for her,
too.

“How old are you?” I asked, my voice
trembling.

“I’m seventeen. My best friend Jasmine and
her dad died in a car accident a little over two weeks ago.”

My heart sank. “I’m sorry.”

“I have other friends, but they turned out
not to be very good ones. Every time I talk about her they change
the subject. I guess it makes them uncomfortable.” Her voice grew
quaky and she hugged herself. “But I don’t want to depress you with
that.”

“You’re not,” I said. “If they don’t want to
hear about it, they’re not friends at all. It’s not you.”

Nikki nodded. “I look at people on Facebook,
and they have thousands of friends. I have like, seven, and one of
them is my cousin.” She glanced at Luke. “And not only is he not on
Facebook, but sadly it kind of depresses me that he’s my
cousin.”

Luke furrowed his brow. “Please tell me I
didn’t just hear that.”

Nikki and I laughed. I’m sure she laughed
because she was serious, and I laughed because of the look on his
face. Honestly, I couldn’t blame her for feeling that way.

“Ah, Lukasz here is taken,” Burke said,
flipping a page. “Thank God. Because all he does when he’s not is
mope
.”

I kind of like that he can’t function
without me.

The waitress brought our food. I stole
Luke’s pickles, because I’d ordered some and they put them on
his
burger.

“Not nice,” he scorned, stealing a fry. “Not
nice at all.”

I giggled and stole his fries, too.

“So Lilly’s pregnant, according to rumor. Is
it true?” Nikki looked from Luke, to me, and back.

“Sadly, yes.” Luke sighed. “My best friend
Gino dumped her when she told him.”

She sneered. “Wow, what a jerk!”

“Yeah, I gave him a piece of my mind.
They’re okay now, though. Hopefully he mans up. His parents are
strict, so they’ll make him marry her.” Luke shrugged. “According
to my mom, anyway.”

The whole conversation brought on such
anxiety that my stomach began to hurt.

“It must be tough for Lilly to have to put
up with him.”

Luke crossed his arms and leaned back. “At
least he doesn’t
hit her
…”

Nikki looked uneasy.

I wanted to ask what they were talking
about, but I sensed it was a sensitive subject.

After a moment, Nikki’s gaze shifted to me.
“Luke watches out for me.”

I smiled. “I think Luke watches out for
everyone.”

“We would never let Gino hit her,” Burke
said, blindly turning pages in his book. “He would end up very
hurt, yes?”

Luke looked somber. “He’d end up more than
just
hurt
.”

Nikki looked at me again. “Luke beat the
crap out of my ex.”

I chewed a fry. “I’m sure he deserved
it.”

She looked down at her food, near tears. “He
only hit me once.”

“Like he only cheated on you once.” Luke
narrowed his eyes. “Or was that
twice
?” His fingers tapped
the table. “Never mind, it was twice before the
third
time.”

She heaved a sigh. “I get the point.”

He touched her hand. “You’re important to
me. And I’ll always look out for you, no matter where I live. Make
sure he knows that.”

“I know,” she whimpered.

Luke tossed a napkin on his plate. “So did
you decide on a college?”

Nikki groaned. “Jasmine and I got into
Berkeley, but I can’t go now. We were supposed to be roommates, and
I don’t need a replacement.”

Luke took her hands in his. “I’m sorry,
Nikki.”

She shrugged. “Maybe I’ll take a year off
and see where that takes me.”

Luke bit his lip. “Do what makes you happy.
Things will fall into place.”

Her head fell. “I hope so.”

Luke sat back in his chair. “Guess who I saw
in the Alps.”

Nikki looked up. “Who?”

“Andre LeBlanc.”

Her spirits lifted. “How’s he doing?”

Luke smiled. “He’s getting married.”

Her head fell into her hands. “Luke! You’re
supposed to make me feel
better
, not worse!”

Luke and Burke laughed. After a minute they
got up and went to pay the tab.

I slid her my number. “Call me,” I said, “if
you ever want to talk.”

She smiled. “Really?”

I hate to admit it, but I really liked the
girl. “Anytime. We can talk about
any
thing, don’t be
shy!”

Well, except me thinking you were bangin’
your cousin—I don’t care to talk about that.

~ ~ ~

My parents waited at the airport. My dad’s hair
looked crazy, like he’d been pulling it the whole time I was
gone.

It wouldn’t surprise me.

“Hi, sweetheart!” Mom said, pulling me aside
and hugging me. “How was your trip?”

“I had fun.” I smiled and glanced at Dad,
who was getting what he thought was a full report from Burke. I
pulled my hand out of my pocket to move some hair out of my face,
and kept it there for a moment, so she can see the ring.

Mom was slack-jawed.

I put a finger to my lips and glanced at
Dad.

“Sweetheart!” she hissed, and hugged me
again. It turned into a huge squeeze and she burst into tears. Then
she gripped Luke’s shirt, pulled him into our embrace, and
cried.

“Don’t tell Daddy,” I whispered. “Not
yet.”

Mom’s arms were wrapped around us both, and
Luke’s arms followed.

“I hope it’s okay,” Luke said softly.