Groomless - Part 2 (8 page)

“True, but there’s more to him than just passion and good looks. He’s deeper than that. It’s not just about the passion between us. He’s passionate as well.”

“Passion is attractive.”

“He follows whatever he loves, whether it’s popular or not. He does what he wants to do and couldn’t care less what anyone thinks. He likes bands I’ve never heard of, reads books I wouldn’t pick up in a million years. He orders these things at restaurants, foods I didn’t even know existed. Luke is driven and doesn’t float through life. He has a purpose, some big plan, and he’s different from any guy I’ve ever met. There’s a lot going on behind those blue eyes of his.”

“And behind that fly of his fancy tailored suits, too, I bet,” Kate said.

“Kate!”

“Hey, I just call ‘em like I see ‘em. Anyway, he sounds like he could give your last date a run for his money.”

“Literally. Ron ran, and Luke came up with the money. That guy was so freaking boring, going on and on and on about some alternate reality where he mated with a dragon or something. I wanted the candles to catch something on fire just so we’d have something else to talk about.”

She laughed. “You know what you should do?” she asked.

“What?”

“Get a new lipstick color. I swear, it’ll give you a whole new lease on life. I found this one called Perfectly Princessy Pinky Puffs, and—”

I laughed. “Princess Puffs? Anyway, I gotta run,” I said, cutting her off. “I’m gonna stop and see my dad.”

“Okay. We’ll chat more later.”

“Forget the chat. We’re going lipstick shopping!”

“Whatever you say,” I said, laughing as I hung up the phone.

Chapter 10

“How about putting this Zack on the sidelines and letting Luke be your stand-in groom?” Dad suddenly blurted out when we were talking about something else entirely.

“You don’t like Zack?”

“Oh, I love Zack, and that kid looks pretty amazing in a suit, but I know Luke is your soulmate.”

“You can’t push us back together, Dad,” I said.

“You were both young then, honey. Maybe this is the right time for you guys to date, now that you have your careers in place.”

“Maybe, but I think we lost whatever we had.”

“You can get it back. I know how much you loved him, and he loved you just as much. I’m sure he still does.”

“It’s better to just keep Zack,” I said. “I hope you understand. I don’t want this to be awkward or anything, and having Luke there, in some sort of fake wedding moment, would be…just too much for me to bear. I want to enjoy my dance with you without feeling all the hurt and regret that would be drummed up by my ex sitting next to me at the bridal table, toasting our fake happiness over a glass of champagne. Imagine all those people clanging their glasses for us to kiss. It’d be awful for me, Dad, even if Luke would love it.”

“I understand. Zack’s a terrific guy, so the choice is yours, sweetie. It’s your fake wedding after all, not mine,” he said with a reassuring smile.

“Thanks for understanding, Pop.”

“Anytime. Hey, in other news, I found out something good today.”

“What?”

“I’m getting paroled today. They’ll be sending a nurse to check on me occasionally, but I’m actually feeling a lot better. In fact, I feel so great that I can’t believe I’m going to die. It sure doesn’t feel like cancer is eating me alive. I felt worse than this on the side of that mountain. Gosh, that was the nastiest cold I ever had! Nyquil should have hired me to endorse them after that.”

I shook my head at him but had to smile. “You shouldn’t be scaling mountains under the influence, Dad,” I said. “Anyway, I can come stay with you. I wouldn’t mind at all.”

“I know you don’t, but I refuse to live the remainder of my life as a burden to you or anyone else. You can come visit anytime you want, but I won’t have you being my nanny or nursemaid. You’ve got a life to live, and I worked hard to set you up to live it. I’m not gonna hold you back now.”

My phone rang, and I quickly moved to turn it off.

“It’s okay to take the call, honey,” my dad said. “I know I can’t always have you all to myself, not a busy girl like you.”

“It’s my boss.”

“You’d better take it then.”

“Hi, Patty,” I said cheerfully. “What can I do for you?”

“Apparently not much,” she snapped.

“Huh?”

“Remember those days you took off recently?”

“Yes. I had just found out about my father’s cancer, and you said—”

“Well,” she continued, interrupting me, “I had no choice but to let Gina take your place for those shoots, and she did a horrible job. Because of her, we lost the Johnson account. I’m steaming right now, Julia!”

“I’m sorry.”

“I needed that account!” she roared.

“I know, but I was devastated. My dad is dying, and—”

“You promised me when I hired you that you would never let personal problems get in the way.”

“I know. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“You’re right. It won’t…at least not to me, because you’re fired!”

I gasped. “What?”

“You heard me!”

Click
.

“What’s wrong?” my dad asked. “Is everything okay?”

“I just got canned.”

“What!? Your work is flawless!”

“I missed too many days, and Patty lost a high-paying gig, one of our biggest clients.”

“I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.”

“No it isn’t, Dad. It doesn’t matter though. She was a wench to work for anyway. Not to mention, the pay was horrible. I have a wonderful résumé, and I’m sure I’ll find something better.”

“You’re right, and you should never have to work for anyone who makes you so unhappy,” he said.

“Maybe I’ll have to move in with you after all, Daddy,” I said. “What do you say? Wanna be roomies?”

My dad was stubborn and didn’t want me to move in with him. I wanted to be there for him, to help him with anything he needed and to make his last days as good as they could possibly be. I would do anything for my father, and he knew it, but I also knew how independent he was.

“It not going to come down to that,” he said. “You’ll find a better job.”

“Well, at least having the reception in the back yard won’t cost anything,” I said.

“But the New York Banquet Hall gave us the ballroom for the night, as a gift,” he said. “I really would love to take them up on their generous offer. We won’t have to worry about seating or decorations or anything like that. Who knows what kind of shape I’ll be in by then? They’ll take care of everything, so you and I won’t have to stress about it. Besides, they’re offering free food and booze.”

My gaze narrowed. “Tell the truth. You heard I was going to grill the chicken, right?”

“I did hear that,” he said, laughing. “No offense, my dear, but I’m already terminal. I’d rather not have to spend my last days watching your great-grandmother crack her dentures.”

“You’re scared the chicken might even be rubberier than what they serve here, huh?”

A gleam twinkled in his eye. “That
is
a very strong possibility. And is ‘rubberier’ even a word?”

We both burst out in laughter.

“Okay. Well, the ballroom sounds like a dream. Wow. In one fell swoop, I lost my job and went from a casual reception/barbecue to a fancy wedding reception with elegance and champagne. Does that even make sense? It should be the other way around, right?”

“Don’t fight destiny, Julia. You’ll never win that battle. Just enjoy it all, like the fancy limo that will escort us to the ballroom like royalty,” he said.

“Yeah, I told them I’d think about it.”

“You don’t have to. I already gave them the go-ahead. Why not go to the reception in style? Nothing’s too good for my little girl. And are you ready to hear the best part yet?”

My eyes lit up. “What?”

“Michael’s Photography wants to do the wedding pictures and videography, all free of charge.”

“So no handheld camcorders or cell phone pics?”

“Nope. You’re gonna have a beautiful video, set to music, along with gorgeous pictures to put in a scrapbook, something to always remember me by.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “Dad, this is so much bigger than what I planned. A ballroom, real pictures, a professional video, and a limo? It will be perfect. I couldn’t ask for anything more, and my real reception someday won’t even compare.”

“We’re going to throw the best party of all time, and we’ll capture it all on video for you to enjoy in the years to come. This little shindig will be the talk of all our friends and family, and I’m sure everyone will have memories to cherish for a long, long time.”

“It’s going to be beautiful.”

“The bride will be the most beautiful part of all, and I’m so glad I’ll get to dance with my little girl at her wedding reception. It will be a dream-come-true, the greatest of all my adventures.”

“Mine, too, Daddy.”

“One of these days, you’ll find a real groom to sweep you off your feet, and you’ll have a real wedding and reception to cherish. You’re lucky. Most girls only have one!”

“I wish I had that real groom now. It’s almost a shame to waste all this on pretending.”

“We can’t rush fate, darling. I didn’t marry your mother until I was thirty, and I’m so glad I waited for her. She was the most amazing woman and simply took my breath away. I loved her so much.”

“So did I. We all miss Mom.”

“I know she’d be so proud of you, just like I am.”

I could think of no words to say to that, so I just smiled at him.

A little over an hour into my visit with my dad, a nurse stuck her head in. “You have a visitor,” she said. “I think he said his name is Luke.”

“Yeah, it’s short for Lucifer. Tell me, does he have two red horns growing out of his head? Do you even allow pitchforks in this facility?”

“Julia!” my dad scolded.

“On the contrary, he’s acting pretty…angelic. Rose got lost again, so he’s helping her get to the activity room. Of course, he sort of didn’t have a choice, because she latched onto him and wouldn’t let go. He seems so sweet. He just smiled and insisted on helping out.”

“Thank you,” my dad said.

“No problem,” she said, then smiled and left. . 

“I’m gonna go, Dad,” I said. “I don’t want World War III breaking out.”

He smiled. “Thank you for stopping by.”

As I made my way toward the door, Luke opened it and walked in. He was well dressed and suave as always, insanely handsome and flat-out gorgeous. Those lustrous locks hung slightly in his eyes, until he pushed them aside to peer at me with a scorching intensity that sent my heart into a rapid staccato.

“Hi,” I muttered, then quickly pushed my way out the door. As I made my speedy retreat, I heard Luke tell my dad he’d be back in a moment, and I knew he was coming to have a word with me, probably for ditching him back at the apartment. “What are you doing here?” I nicely asked when he caught up to me.

“I’m here to see your dad.”

“I’m sure you’ll have a nice visit. He has lots of energy today and doesn’t even need his oxygen.”

“That’s great, but I wanna talk to you first.”

He looked at me with those big, soulful eyes and expressive eyebrows.

I hurried inside the elevator. “Sorry, but I’m already running late for work,” I lied, considering I didn’t even have a job anymore.

As soon as I reached to press the button, his hand brushed across mine. A chill shot down my spine at his touch. He looked deeply into my eyes, and his lips hovered just inches from mine. He smelled so good and was irresistible. I knew I could have him right there and then; all I had to do was lean forward and kiss his lips that were so dangerously close to mine.
Too damn close. And that mouth. Gosh, why does he always have to be sexy as hell? 

“It’s raining, and you don’t have an umbrella,” he said. “Why don’t you just wait it out a few minutes?”

I couldn’t stop staring into his eyes. There was nothing I wanted more than to kiss those lips, to claim them like I once used to.

“You’re so beautiful, JJ,” he said.

Ignoring him, I stepped out into the rain and was immediately soaked by the downpour. I assumed Luke would give up and go back inside, but I should’ve known better.

“Julia!” he called through the drizzle.

“What?” I said.

“Where are you going?”

“I just need to get away.”

“My limo can take you wherever you’re going.”

“No thank you,” I said, walking away.

He chased after me, splashing his expensive Doc Martens through a plethora of puddles. “I’m sorry,” he said.

I turned to face him. “For what?”

He squinted in the rain, emotion overwhelming him. His hair was sopping wet and he looked so adorable.

“For leaving all those years ago,” he responded.

Losing him still stung badly, and my heart had never fully recovered. I’d longed for that apology for a long time, but I wasn’t really sure I was ready to hear it. “I can’t deal with this right now. I lied to you again.”

“You did? About what?”

“I’m not late for work. I just got fired. On top of that, I’m not even over my mom’s death, and now Daddy’s dying too. And here you are, trying to weasel your way back into my life after you crushed me. I really can’t handle this, can’t handle you, Luke. I’m on emotional overload.”

“I understand, and I’ll give you all the space you need, but I had to tell you how sorry I am. I couldn’t let you go one minute longer without hearing that. You were the best thing in my life, and leaving you was the worst mistake I ever made. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret it.”