Impossible Things (30 page)

Lucy looked from the key back to him as he said. “I bought you a flat. It’s only on the next block, I’m selfish that I want you close to us, but it’s still far enough away that you have privacy.”

“You bought me an apartment?” she asked in a whisper and he nodded.

“This way you have a home. You’re always welcome here of course, but I know you need privacy. You will never be dependent on another man ever again. If you and Lucas work out and you marry one day you can rent it out or sell it and keep the money, and if you don’t work out then you still have it. It’s yours and no one can ever take that away from you.”

When he was done Isabella was clutching his arm and crying and Rosaline had tears rolling down her face. Lucy got up and went over to Rodrigo and he stood and held open his arms to her.

“Thank you Rodrigo. Thank you for everything.”

He kissed her cheek and stepped back. He cleared his throat before saying, “That’s enough crying now. This is a happy day. No more tears.”

But there
were
more tears as each opened the gifts that had been given to them and revealed the thought and care that went in to each gift.

From her mom Lucy got a new leather purse, it was from a high-end French label and Rodrigo shook his head in disgust at the French label until Rosaline reminded him
that they were part French. That didn’t seem to totally appease him but he didn’t say anything else.

From her grandmother she got a beautiful platinum bracelet that her grandfather had given Isabella on their wedding day and Rosaline
received Isabella’s wedding and engagement bands as well as the wedding band that had been her father’s.

They also
received the pieces of jewelry from Rodrigo’s family and Lucy had laughed when she realized that in the past few months she had built up an impressive jewel collection of her very own.

It was the best Christmas of her live because every dream that she’d ever had was coming true
. Thanks to her family.

Lucas and his mom arrived at one and they sat down to a wonderful, international dinner. They had a true English roast along with all the fixings for their English side, a ham to represent America, pasta and Italian side dishes for Rodrigo and Lucas and even foie gras and champagne to represent their French side.

It was a wonderful meal filled with lots of food, laughter and conversation, and there was so much going on that Lucy found herself involved in more than one conversation at a time. She laughed as she watched Lucas and Rodrigo argue over who was the better driver and smiled as she heard her mom and Lucas’ talking about them.

After dinner they went back to the drawing room where Lucas pointed to a large box on the coffee table and told Lucy
that it was for her. She moved past him and touched the box. It was beautifully wrapped in silver paper with a huge blue and silver bow on top. She looked over at him, her eyebrow raised in question but he only smiled.

Carefully she pulled off the bow and took a deep breath as she lifted the lid off the box. She smiled at what she saw inside and looked up at Lucas.

He stepped towards her and put his hand on his arm. “I thought you had enough jewelry, at least for now. But you have nothing to put it in.”

Lucy reached inside the box and pulled
away the tissue paper. It was a leather jewelry box. It was big; the size of a small trunk, and the leather was a rich sapphire blue. She looked up at Lucas and he reached in and lifted it out of the box for her.

He sat it on the coffee table and she
sat down on the settee and pulled it towards her. “It’s just like my grandmother’s,” she said and Lucas nodded and said, “When you told me the stories about your grandmother’s jewels you seemed to love her case as much as the jewels. She told me where to have one made for you.”

She stood and moved towards him. He took a step and met her halfway. “Thank you Lucas.”

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “You’re welcome.”

She shook her head and reached out to grab the lapels of his jacket. “No. Thank you for everything. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for giving me time.”

He smiled again and her arms went around him and pulled him close. She lifted her head and buried her nose in his neck, taking a deep breath of the warm scent of him into her lungs, a smell that she would never be able to forget as long as she lived.

“I love you,” she said and she felt him go stiff in her arms
, but he didn’t say anything.

She raised her voice and said it again, louder
this time so that the entire room could hear her. “I love you Lucas Antonelli, I love you.”

His arms came up around her and he
squeezed her close. So close that she had difficulty catching her breath. But that was okay. She was okay. They were okay. She wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was he.

Chapter Thirty-Five

They sat around for the rest of the afternoon talking, laughing and sharing the magic of the holiday with each other. Lucy felt whole, she felt healed and it wasn’t just because of the love of a good man, it was the love that she had found for herself and the love and support that her family gave her.

At dusk Lucy got up to turn on a lamp and that was when she saw the envelope that Lucas had handed her when he’d arrived. She picked it up and walked back over to the group. She sat down on the floor, in front of her mom, and Rosaline smiled down at her.

“Mom I have one more present for you,” she said and Rosaline smiled in confusion. “But sweetie you’ve already given me a present!”

Lucy handed her the envelope and with a confused look on her face Rosaline opened it and looked down at the tickets inside.

“What is this?” she asked and Lucy was hesitant as she said, “Its tickets. For us. I thought we’d go to France for a week.”

Rosaline looked and Lucy, “But why here? Why Avignon?”

Lucy put her hand out and covered Rosaline’s hand. “Because it’s Avignon mom. It’s where Jeremy lives.”

Rosaline shook her head. “No Lucy. No.”

Lucy nodded. “It’s time mom. Let’s go see him.”

Rosaline’s head shook faster and she tried to thrust the envelope back into Lucy’s hands but Lucy wouldn’t take it. “No. I can’t.”

Lucy rose up on her knees. “Yes you can. Let’s just go see him and talk to him.”

Rosaline’s voice was frantic as she said, “He’s married!”

Lucy shook her head. “No. He’s divorced. He’s been divorced for ten years. Let’s just go see him. Talk to him. See if you could love him again.”

Rosaline began crying. “I never stopped loving him.”

Lucy pulled her mom to her and rubbed her back as Rosaline cried on her shoulder. “”I’m married.”

Lucy pulled back and looked at her mom. “Are you? Really?”

Rosaline nodded and then in a low whisper said, “But not for long. Your father called this morning and when I was still here he said he’s filing for divorce the first of the year.”

Lucy nodded and Rosaline said, “I don’t want you to hate your father.”

Lucy shook her head. “I don’t. But we’re two different people and I have to be me mom. I have to. And so do you.”

George Jacobs
was
her father, and she loved him, but she couldn’t live her life for him, and he wasn’t the man for Rosaline, just like Sam hadn’t been the man for her.

Lucy leaned forward and said, “Just see how he feels about you mom. Just see. If he doesn’t love you anymore than you’ll know and you can move on. But if he does…well then who knows.”

Rosaline sniffed and wiped her face. “I’m scared,” she said and Lucy nodded. “Of course you are. So am I. So is everyone. But a wise woman once told me that to really live we have to do the things that we’re afraid of.”

“Lucy.”

She rolled away from the soft voice and the hand rubbing her arm.

“Lucy.”

“Hmmm,” she said and rolled further away. She had been having an amazing dream and didn’t want to wake up.

“Lucy wake up.”

She
rolled over and opened one eye. Lucas was standing over her, dressed in a black sweater and jeans. “Why are you dressed?” she asked and tried to pull him towards her but he pulled away, grabbed the sheet, and threw it back.

She was naked underneath and she saw his pupils dilate as he smiled. “Get up and get dressed. I have a surprise for you.”

She smiled back at him and moved her legs apart, and said, “Come back to bed and I’ll give you a surprise.”

He laughed and walked away.

Disappointed she sat up and saw that he was in the closet picking out clothes. He came back to the bed and handed her a pair of underwear, a bra, jeans and a sweater. “Get dressed,” he said again and she stood and for once did as she was told.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise, but hurry.”

He went back to the closet, got his leather jacket and her coat, and brought them back. “Do I need my purse?” she asked and he shook his head. “Not for this.”

She finished dressing and followed after him as he left the room and went down the stairs that led to the hotel lobby. At the front entrance to the hotel a black Mercedes was waiting for them and Lucas helped her in before getting in behind her.

She looked up as the car pulled out of the hotel and smiled. It was still hard to believe that she was here, that
they
were here. She had wanted to visit this city her entire life but had never thought she’d ever get a chance. Now here she was, driving through a magical, foreign city at night and staring at one of the world’s most beautiful sights.

She turned and smiled at Lucas and he smiled back and grabbed her hand.

They didn’t talk as the car drove them closer and closer to the wonder that was waiting for them. When they got there a man was waiting for them, and he handed Lucas a bag and gestured towards the walkway. Lucas nodded, and handed the man a wad of cash which he took, thanking Lucas in English before walking away.

Lucas led the way and when they were standing at the base he stopped, put the bag on the ground and opened it. Lucy watched as he pulled out two glasses and a bottle of champagne.

She smiled at him and asked, “What is this for?”

His eyes were a warm, sparkling green as he held out a glass of bubbles for her. “When we first met you said that when you were a little girl you dreamed of a life of adventure and that you dreamed of drinking champagne at the pyramids. I just wanted to
help fulfill your dream.”

Lucy turned
, looked up at the Great Pyramid and smiled. She fought back the tears that threatened. They weren’t tears of sadness but rather tears of happiness and thankfulness. She took a sip of her champagne and raised her glass to Lucas.

They clinked glasses and she smiled at him. “I love you Lucas.”

He smiled back. “I love you too Lucy Jacobs.”

His was a smile that she would never get tired of. His was a face that she would always love. When they were old and gray, he would still be the love of her life, the same way that Jeremy and Rosaline were still in love after all the years
they had spent apart.

She realized that there was no time like the present so she bent, put her glass on the ground and knelt in front of him.

“What are you doing?” he asked and she smiled up at him. “Lucas, you are the love of my life. Every day that we’re together I love you more than the day before. Will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?”

He shook his head, put his h
ead back and laughed up into the dark night. He looked back down at her and Lucy swore that the stars in the sky didn’t twinkle as much as his beautiful green eyes.

“You know I’m supposed to ask you right?”

She nodded. “I know. But I told you not to ask me for a year.”

One side of his mouth went up as he grinned. “It will be a year in
exactly two minutes. I brought a ring with me. I was going to propose to you,” he said.

She smiled back at him. “You can still do it. But this way you know I want it. Besides I’m a modern woman. I hope you can handle that.”

He reached down and pulled her up into his arms. “I can handle that.”

He went to kiss her but she turned her head, “Oh no you don’t. You didn’t say yes yet.”

They stared at one another and she loved it when the skin at the corner of his eyes crinkled. “Yes I will marry you Lucy Jacobs. I love you.”

She smiled. “I love you too.”

She reached up, their mouths met, and as the ancient gods of Egypt watched they sealed their love for all eternity.