Book of Luke (Book 2) (17 page)

“I am
more
than just okay with this!”
She let me go and hugged him tight. “You’re perfect, Luke!”

Luke hugged her back. “Thanks, Mrs.
Morrison.”

“Mary,” she insisted, squeezing his
shoulder.

“Thanks, Mary.”

She pulled away, her hands still firm on his
shoulders. “Oh my goodness, I never expected such
big
news!”

My mom clearly can’t help herself. Now I
know where I get it.

On Wednesday afternoon, Lilly, Anna and I
hit the mall. We had twenty-four hours until the big date, and
Lilly still had to find the perfect outfit—like it would somehow
save her relationship when she spilled the truth.

We wore matching blue jeans and hot pink tee
shirts, and I’d managed to wear my hand in my pocket for most of
the day.

I guess I could’ve taken the ring off so Dad
wouldn’t see it, but my heart sank every time I tried. Luke put it
on my finger for a reason, and I couldn’t take it off like I was
ashamed of it. I was
far
from ashamed of it; I wanted the
whole freakin’ world to see it!

The whole world. Minus Dad, Sullivan, and my
best friend. Because my best friend had enough on her plate.

Alas, when I mindlessly reached for a dress
she held up to her shoulders, she grabbed my hand and gasped. “What
is this!”

My heart stopped. “A ring?”

“Oh my God!” she shrieked. “Oh my God!” She
ordered Anna over, so they can both stare in awe.

“Wow!” Anna said. “That’s magical!
Seriously, it looks like it’s for royalty. What did
that
cost?”

I laughed, eyeing Lilly. “I didn’t ask.”

Lilly sighed and shook her head. Her eyes
looked glossy.

“Are you mad?” I breathed.

She made a face. “Why would I be mad? I saw
it coming from a mile away!”

I hung a dress back on a rack and looked
around the little clothing store. We were the only customers in
there. “You really did?”

She nodded. “If he’s not talking about
skiing or the damn
Olympics
, he’s talking about you.
All
the time
.” She pulled me in for a hug. “I told you! We’ll be
sisters!”

I squeezed her tight. “Don’t tell my
dad!”

She knitted her eyebrows. “Why not?”

I set my hands on my hips. “Why do you
think? He’s ridiculous!”

“Well,” she said, taking a fuchsia dress to
the checkout counter. “You should probably remove the ring, then,
because that diamond isn’t exactly
discreet
. What’d he do,
get you the biggest one he found?” The cashier rung her up and
folded the sparkly long-sleeve dress. “So
that’s
where all
Lukasz’s money went,” Lilly remarked.

“What money?” I asked, standing beside her.
Anna was checking out a brown dress on the other side of the
store.

Lilly glanced at me. “He’s been tutoring
math and giving ski lessons the past few months. He said he’s
saving up for when you guys move out, but I suspected it’s for
something else.” She shook her head. “Silly boy.”

“I had no idea he’s been tutoring or giving
ski lessons! I thought he’s getting ski lessons from that Olympic
trainer guy.”

“He’s
getting
professional training,
but he’s also
giving
ski lessons to anyone who will pay for
them. And if he didn’t tell you about it, gee, I wonder why!”

I bit my lip. “Well I’m relieved to hear
your dad didn’t fund it,” I said, looking at my ring.
That would
make having puked at lunch
even worse.

Lilly laughed. “My brother would never let
my dad pay for something so personal! My dad pays for stupid crap,
like skiing and hotel rooms.”

She took her bag and we walked over to
Anna.

“What do you girls think of this?” Anna
said, holding it up and looking at herself in the mirror.

“Is there someone you’re wearing it for?”
Lilly teased.

Anna shot her a look. “Of course not. But it
is
pretty.”

I pulled a tight lock over her shoulder,
letting it drop on her back. “Get it! It’s amazing!”

After Anna paid for her dress, I dragged the
girls into the bookstore I’d met Luke in. In a way, I went in there
to celebrate my new-found life.

“I was sitting right there when I first saw
him,” I said, pointing to the base of a bookshelf in the back of
the store.

“And he caught your eye
why
?” Lilly
asked, trying to understand.

“Because he’s smokin’ hot!”

Anna nodded in agreement, and Lilly grimaced
at her, too.
“Ew!”

“And now,” I said dreamily. “He wants to
marry me!”

“If your dad doesn’t kill him first,” Anna
noted.

I sighed. “Party pooper.”

“He has good taste in friends, at least,”
Lilly said, glancing at the romance novels. Then her eyes lit up.
“Did you show Anna a picture of Mr. Incredible?”

“No need,” Anna said with a wave of the
hand. “I’ve seen that Pixar movie once too many times!”

We all giggled. I took out my phone, pulled
up the pictures and showed her.

Anna’s eyes widened. “Wow, what a stud!” She
pointed to his arm. “He has tattoos?”

“At least one,” I said. “It’s a Chinese
dragon.”

Lilly licked her lips. “The guys in the Alps
are majorly
hot
.”

I laughed. “He’s French-Canadian—he used to
live in California—he just has grandparents there.”

“Really!” Lilly and Anna said at once.

I nodded. “Luke didn’t tell you? He’s coming
back to the U.S. tomorrow afternoon!”

“
Really!
” they exclaimed, their eyes
wide.

I put a hand on my hip, about to drop the
bomb. “Luke didn’t tell you? He’s moving
into your
house!
”

“What!” Lilly squealed, grabbing my phone
and staring at him. “
This guy
is moving into
my
house?!”

The clerk at the front of the bookstore put
a finger to his lips.

“Yeah,” I said with a chuckle. “Weren’t you
informed?”

Now Lilly knows what it’s like being me:
Hello, you’ve had a brother your
entire
life? And I
wasn’t informed?

“My mom kept trying to tell me something but
my mouth was running,” Lilly said. “I didn’t think it’d be
that
.”

“Well that’s what you get!” I lectured. “Now
this hottie will see you in your granny underwear!”

She gasped, her hands shooting to her face.
“Oh my God! We need to hit the lingerie store!” She bit her lip.
“Does anyone know of a lingerie store?”

“In Alaska?” Anna crossed her arms. “The
best lingerie store around here is on Amazon.”

Lilly put a book down and dragged us out of
the bookstore. “Come on. I saw a silk nightgown a few stores back.
I’m not letting this guy see me in a pink princess nightshirt and
bunny slippers.”

“Hi, Mr. Morrison,” Luke said in our foyer.
He wore his silver chain, leather jacket, black jeans, and a white
tee shirt. “Adonia and I are going to pick up a friend at the
airport, then on a double date with my sister and Gino.”

Dad crossed his arms in protest.

“Mary said Adonia can go,” Luke added.

“
Who?”
Dad asked, frowning.

Luke cleared his throat. “
Mrs.
Morrison
said Adonia can go.” He looked about. “Is she
here?”

“Dad, Mom’s always telling him to call her
Mary. Stop giving him a hard time!”

Dad shot me a look. “My wife isn’t home, she
went out with coworkers.”

Luke’s eyes rolled from me to the hand in my
pocket. I wore a cute turquoise dress, long-heel boots, and my
coat.

I walked past my father. “I’m going, Dad.
I’ll talk to you later.”

“By nine, I hope!” Dad called.

I stopped in the driveway. “Dad, we’re going
on a double date. Can we please make it ten?”

“Fine,” Dad said. “Nine twenty. And who are
you going to pick up at the airport, if I may ask?”

“Troy
De La Fontaine,
” I said,
opening the car door.

“The
jaywalker
?” Dad demanded.

“Yeah, Dad. The criminal!”

“Why are you picking him up?”

“He’s moving in with Luke, Dad!”

Dad’s eyes widened. “Really?”

I shot him a look.

“Luke?” Dad said, pointing to his watch.
“Nine twenty, please.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Morrison!”

In the Jeep, Luke set his hand on the one
I’d pulled out of my pocket. We sat quietly for a minute.

“I’ve missed you.”

I pecked his cheek. “I’ve missed you,
too.”

He checked the front door for my dad, like
to see if he saw that.

I giggled.

Luke smiled weakly. “It just feels like this
may be the only privacy we get tonight.”

“We can always ditch them all,” I joked.

“Nah, it’ll just cause more drama.” His eyes
glimmered. “My sister will make sure of it.”

We chuckled and Luke put the Jeep in
reverse.

“We’re meeting Lilly and Gino at the
airport. Should we drop Troy off at my place or let him tag
along?”

“Let him come,” I said. “Anna’s
dateless.”

Luke grinned. “Does she even date? All I
ever see her do is study.”

I laughed. “Well all the hot guys at our
school are taken.”

I know Luke thought I was kidding,
but—sadly, for the rest of the female student body—it was the
bitter truth.

We got to the airport at five o’clock.
Lilly, Gino, and Anna arrived minutes later. Lilly wore her fuchsia
dress and the necklace Luke bought her. Gino matched Luke in his
black leather jacket, white shirt and black jeans, and Anna wore
the cute brown dress she’d bought. For a sizable crowd, we didn’t
say much.

“Which plane is his?” Lilly whispered,
watching the screen that displayed the flight information. Anna,
who sat beside her, also leaned forward to listen in.

“I’m not sure. I think the one from
Seattle.”

“The one that just landed?” Anna
breathed.

“Pretty sure that’s the one.” My eyes
shifted to Gino, who watched Lilly anxiously. He sat beside Luke,
but they weren’t talking.

The terminal doors opened, and a swarm of
passengers walked through. Dozens of people went to greet them, and
after a few minutes, the crowd was thinning out.

Troy finally emerged, wearing blue jeans and
a white tank top, carrying a black jacket. His brown hair covered
his shoulders, his arms were bulky and bare, and every off-duty
flight attendant in the vicinity stopped to drool.

They weren’t the only ones.

“Hey hey hey!” Troy grinned. Luke walked to
him and gave him a brief hug. Troy’s eyes shifted from him, to me,
glided by Anna, and rested on Lilly. They twinkled, and the grin I
didn’t think could get any bigger,
did
.

“Troy, this is my friend Gino Barone,” Luke
said, pointing to him.

“Hi,” Troy said, like Luke had just
introduced Lilly.

“Over here,” Luke said with a light laugh,
pointing to Gino.

Gino clenched his jaw and wrapped an arm
around Lilly.

“Nice to meet you,” Troy said, glancing at
Gino.

“Likewise,” Gino mumbled. His chest
heaved.

“This is my friend Anna,” I said, gripping
her shoulder. She smiled at him, clearly lovestruck.

Troy kissed her hand. “Mademoiselle…”

“And you’ve seen pictures of Lilly,” I said,
gesturing to her. “Here she is in real life!”

“Impossible not to recognize her,” Troy
said, his eyes lustful. He seemed tempted to kiss her hand, too,
but Gino probably would have decked him, and Troy surely
noticed.

Gino leered and squeezed her tight.

“How far along are you?” Troy asked,
pointing to her stomach.

She shrugged, her cheeks a deep pink. “How
far along do I look?”

Troy pinched his eyebrows. “Not at all!”

She laughed. “I’m like four months or so.”
She looked at me. “Or five? Four…?”

I put my hands out. “I dunno.”

“Something like that!” Lilly said through a
nervous laugh.

“Oh, but you’re glowing for sure,” Troy
said, gesturing to her face. “Stunning!”

“Yes, pregnancy does that!” Lilly
exclaimed.

Anna rolled her eyes, and Luke’s eyes
suddenly narrowed.

Then silence fell upon us.

After a moment, Troy went to grab his bags
from the baggage claim. Luke grabbed one and they joined us
again.

Luke checked his watch. “It’s 5:30. We
should go.”

Gino drove Lilly, while Troy and Anna hopped
in Luke’s backseat. Luke powered the engine, and we were off.

At exactly six, we pulled into The Italian
Affair restaurant on Main Street.

“Is something wrong?” Luke touched my hand
as I gazed out the window.

“No, I just didn’t realize we’ll be eating
at Gino’s parents’ restaurant.”

Luke looked out the rear windshield just as
Gino’s metallic gray Chevy Camaro pulled into the packed parking
lot. “Well, this is where Gino said to meet him.”

I looked in back. Troy watched intently as
Lilly got out of the Camaro, adjusting her long veil of blond hair.
Anna just stared at Troy, her mouth hung a bit; I can’t say I’d
ever seen her so interested in a guy.

Looking at him, I also can’t say I was all
that surprised.

Outside the car, we gathered in a group. It
was a warm twenty degrees out. Lilly and Gino walked towards us,
his grip on her waist tight. Lilly looked surprised that we were
eating there as well.

It was quiet inside. The place was dimly lit
as usual, and the waiting area was vacant, except for us. From the
look of the parking lot, I’d expected a wait.

“Hi, Gino!” The hostess is a pretty Italian
girl of about twenty, with long lashes and curly dark hair. Her
eyes moved from Gino and rolled across Luke’s arms. “Luke…” she
said dreamily, moving on to the next, where they ballooned. “And
who are
you
, Fabio?!”