Best Friends Don't Kiss(86)
Merry Christmas, sweetheart.
All my love,
Luke
When I look at the other two sheets of paper, I understand what he’s talking about. Letters from the curators of two very prestigious galleries—one in LA and one in New York—waxing poetic about the paintings of mine Luke showed them and enthusiastically requesting that I host an exhibition.
They want my art in their galleries.
Unchecked, tears stream down my cheeks. My heart twists and turns inside my chest, and I’m torn between feeling downright elated and completely heartbroken.
Luke did all of this. For me.
“Avie?” My dad’s voice fills my ears, and I look up to find him standing just outside my bedroom. “What’s wrong?” he asks, and a sobbing breath escapes my lungs.
“I think I ruined everything.”
“What?” he questions and steps into my bedroom to sit down beside me and pull me into a hug. “What do you think you ruined?” he asks, and I bury my face into his chest.
“Everything,” I whisper, my voice shaky.
“Is this about Luke?”
I nod.
“Is this maybe why he’s not here now? At your sister’s wedding?”
I nod again.
“Well, why don’t you give me an idea of what we’re dealing with here, and maybe I can provide a little insight…”
I inhale a deep breath and lean back to meet his eyes. “It’s a long story, Dad,” I eventually answer, and he shrugs me off.
“We’ve got a little time before we need to be back at the reception hall.”
When I don’t respond, he nudges me with his elbow. “Trust me, no one will even notice if it takes us a little longer to get there.”
The gentleness in his eyes is my undoing.
I tell him everything. The fact that Luke was just pretending to be my boyfriend because I was starting to feel pressured by Mom and Callie and everyone else about being the only single Lucie sister left.
I tell him how, eventually, all of that pretending didn’t feel so much like pretending.
That it felt real.
Because it was real.
I tell him how I think I’ve been in love with Luke for a very long time.
I tell him about Luke’s acceptance to NASA and how he didn’t tell me until two days ago.
I tell him how horribly I reacted to that news.
And then I show him the Christmas gift from Luke I just found under my bed.
By the time I’m done, I don’t feel better, but I do feel like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
“Well, that’s some story,” my dad says, a soft, sympathetic smile on his lips. “And this is some gift. Thoughtful, caring, loving, kind of like the other gift he gave to all my girls.”
I nod. “Besides you, he’s the best man I’ve ever known.”
My dad wraps his arm around my shoulders. “You know, I can imagine it feels pretty awful right now, but I have a feeling things are going to work out, Avie.”
“I don’t know about that, Dad,” I retort, but he shakes his head.
“Listen, Avie,” he continues. “I have a lot of years of life under my belt. With your mother, I’ve experienced falling in love. And with my friends and family over the years, I’ve watched other people fall in love. I’ve witnessed relationships bloom, and I’ve seen them fall apart. I’ve seen people get married, and I’ve seen them get divorced. So, I think we can both agree that I have a little experience in the whole love department, right?”
I shrug. “I guess that’s fair.”
“And you know what all of that experience has taught me?”
“What?”
“It’s taught me that the way I saw Luke look at you, every day that he was here with us, is the look of a man who isn’t just in love but whose entire world stands right before him.”
My lip quivers, and I stare down at my lap, fidgeting with my fingers as I think about his words. “You really think so?”
“I know so, Avie,” he says and reaches out to gently lift up my chin so my eyes meet his. “When a man looks at a woman the way Luke looks at you, one fight isn’t going to stop him from loving her.”
Goodness, I hope he’s right.
Luke
This might be the craziest fucking thing I’ve ever done.
On a whim, we switched the Las Vegas flight plan and headed to Burlington.
But when Trevor and I started figuring out the timing of it all, we both realized we’d be cutting it real fucking close if we flew to Burlington and then made the ninety-minute drive to Lakewood.
Fortunately, Lakewood, while a small community, has a little airport almost no one ever uses. And after I worked my magic with ATC, I managed to get in touch with that tiny airport and get approval for a landing.
We’re certainly going to have some explaining to do with Billy as to why one of his massive private jets ended up in Lakewood, but minor details.
By the time we got off the plane, the crazy group that’s along for the ride managed to have two fucking limos sitting outside of the airport, ready and waiting for us.
And that’s how we got here, pulling up to the venue for Kate and Zach’s wedding reception. The beat of dance music pounds from the inside, and I don’t waste any time hopping out of the limo and heading toward the reception doors.