“You going anywhere?”
He shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
~
Lucas had been staying at the cabin while it was in construction, working until the sun disappeared below the horizon and then restarting as dawn cracked. It was a project of love, and he had a creative eye for combining traditional and modern architecture together to compliment the setting. I watched as he walked back down the jetty carrying an ice bucket, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and two glasses. We’d been talking for a good part of the afternoon, lost in a world that was just Lucas and me, while I artfully avoided talk of Mason.
I watched, admired, as Lucas sat back down and poured the wine. With every glance he gave, every smile he shared, every touch I welcomed, I felt my heart fluttering as it had so many times before. Now, ten years older, the desire had intensified. Lucas had grown up to be a strikingly handsome man and I couldn’t stop gawking.
“Are we toasting?”
“Yeah,” Lucas exclaimed. “Every day with you back in my life deserves a toast.” While his words were nothing but sincere, there was an edge of question to his tone, and I knew who was playing on his mind.
“So…” I started in an attempt to steer his thoughts back on track, “… is there a special someone in your life?”
I dreaded the answer in case it was something I couldn’t bear to hear, hypocritical given that I’d only split from Peter a heartbeat ago. But my life was constantly changing in a heartbeat these days. Things were coming and going so fast I could barely keep up.
To my relief, Lucas shook his head. “There was a girl. We dated for around a year, but I couldn’t give her what she wanted.”
“Which was?”
“Marriage. Kids.”
“Lucas Carter, you’ve always wanted to get married and start a family,” I gently teased.
He turned his face slightly and looked me in the eye. “I only ever wanted that with one person in particular, and I haven’t seen her for ten years.”
My heart backflipped, and I was rendered speechless. Even after all this time, Lucas still had a place for me in his heart. And then I felt a wave of sadness. We’d lost a decade. Time we’d never get back.
“What about you?” he asked, deflecting.
“There’s been nothing serious. I was seeing a guy recently but found out he was cheating so…” I left out the part of Mason being the one to send the photos catching my lying spouse in action. That would all reveal itself later.
“So…” Lucas grinned wide, staring out across the lake. “We’re two free agents?”
I laughed at his assessment of things. “I guess we are.”
Chapter 28
The sun disappeared under the horizon and fog was skimming the surface of the lake as the chill set in. I watched Lucas move with ease around the kitchen while preparing our dinner. Over wine and smell of simmering food, we laughed and chatted like we’d never been separated. The threat of Mason was pushed to the back of our minds while we drank each other in.
This was how it was meant to be.
This was how our lives were supposed to have played out.
Lucas blew on a spoonful of pasta sauce before holding it over the counter for me to taste.
“Oh my God,” I exclaimed, my taste buds dancing. “That’s so much better than mine. Who taught you how to cook?”
Lucas smiled, almost bittersweet. “Certainly not my mother.”
“How’s she doing?”
There was a pause. “She died.”
My heart broke. “Shit… Luc… I’m sorry.” A lump formed in my throat, sadness over not being there for him.
Lucas shrugged his shoulders indifferent to the hurt I knew he wasfeeling. “Don’t be sorry. Her quality of life had been poor for many years. Most of it by her own doing. She never fully recovered after we left Little Valley. One night she took a cocktail of drugs, passed out and never woke up.” Lucas returned to the stove, his back to me. I took the opportunity to wipe the tears away.
“Lucas,” I started, my stomach anxious. “Why did you move out of Delaware without so much as a goodbye?”
Lucas remained silent, and I wondered if he’d heard me. He continued to stir the sauce until finally, he answered, “It was the only option at the time.”
It was a vague response and not at all the answer I needed. But I didn’t push.
With dinner served, we moved down to the fireplace which crackled and flickered with dancing embers. We sat on a rug, our backs against the couch as we fell into an easy rhythm of conversation that didn’t touch on anything sensitive.
“I love that you got into cabin building,” I said while keeping my foodgasm face at bay. “Jesus! What’d you put in this?”
Lucas laughed, his beautiful eyes glistening. “You and I always had such an awesome time at Little Wren that I fell in love with the whole idea of cabins and… escaping.”
The mouthful of pasta quickly turned to cement as I tried to swallow. Lucas knew nothing of the last couple of times I was at Little Wren. To him it was heaven.
He frowned, worried. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I returned, smiling despite my thumping heart. “You’ve done such a beautiful job, it’s easy to see why you’re in such demand.”
Lucas swallowed some wine. “You know, the first cabin I ever built was called ‘Gemma.’”
“No, it wasn’t.”
He nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. “Yep, it was.”
“You named it after me?”
“I thought it appropriate.”
Again, I was rendered speechless, this time for something good.
Lucas rose to his feet taking our dishes. “Stay here in front of the fire and give me ten minutes.”
I watched in amused confusion as he walked to the kitchen and back outside. In that time, I found my cell and typed a message to B. I hadn’t heard from him since the airport, and I had no idea if he’d even found the place. Walking around the cabin, I held the cell high above my head until I saw a single bar of reception show. Pressing send, I waited in position for a reply. Fortunately, he responded quicker than expected.
Me: Are you close?
B: Just to the right of the dirt road hidden from view.
Me: Any sign of Mason?
B: Not a single soul.
Feeling a wave of relief, I tossed my cell into my handbag as Lucas called my name from outside. From the porch I scanned the darkness, the moon casting a beautiful silver glow over everything within its reach. A mass of embers glinted to the left of the jetty, and it was there I found Lucas.
“What is this?” I laughed, taking in the vintage bathtub propped over a bed of hot, glowing red coals.
“This… this an experience you’ve got to do at least once in your life.”
Without another word, Lucas pulled his shirt over his head revealing the rippling muscles I knew existed under the fabric.
“Jesus…” I managed to mouth.
Lucas chuckled when the words reached his ears. He started unbuttoning his jeans and in the dark, my face flushed.
“Um…”
“Yes, Gem?” he asked, lowering his pants and pulling them over each foot. His cheeky eyes glinted in the moonlight, his smile wide and entertained. He was enjoying getting me hot and flustered. And in all honesty, I was enjoying it too. Before I could respond, however, Lucas climbed into the bath and lowered his sculptured body into the water.
“You’re not shy are you, Gem?”
I scoffed, palms sweating. “No. What makes you say… maybe. A little. No!”
Lucas laughed, and again my face flushed. I’ve loved this man with all my heart for as long as I could remember, and my body had always responded to him, but we never had so much as shared a kiss.
I was rightfully nervous.
“I won’t look, I promise.”