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“I know you can’t, that’s just how love is,” she said, looking very wise. “Love can’t be controlled. Not by the heart. Not by the brain. And certainly not by the opinions of outsiders. So, it’s nothing to apologize for.”
“Even though you say that I brought a gift in hopes of getting in your good graces again.” From his pocket, he produced a little box, then set it on the table in front of her. With a look up at him, she opened up the box to reveal a beautiful little necklace.
“Oh?” she said. “This is lovely, thank you.” She leaned up to give him a kiss on his cheek, which he gratefully accepted. “You’re definitely in my good graces again. I’ll let you know if you ever need to fix your standing with me.” She let out a laugh, and I couldn’t help but giggle too.
“Yes, while you’re at it you might as well tell me your jewellery and flower preferences,” Lucas said jokingly.
“Diamonds and roses,” she said very matter of factly, and then broke out into laughter. “Seriously, you don’t need to bribe me with gifts, though I do appreciate this one. If I don’t like you again it will be because you’ve done something unforgivable to my daughter.”
“Well, I definitely plan on not doing that,” Lucas said. “I love your daughter and I will look after her the best that I can.” He looked over at me with a wink.
I let out a giggle and gave him a beaming smile. I felt so much better now that he was here. It was like I was no longer alone again, and I had felt so very alone before. I knew that Lucas wasn’t going to let me feel lonely again. I could feel it in the way that he stood next to me, in the way that his hand reached for mine and his fingers touched mine as well.
I gripped his hand and he squeezed back tightly.
“With your permission,” Lucas said, addressing my mom. “I’d like to take Bernadette out to dinner. I think she and I have some catching up to do and I don’t want to waste another minute.”
My mom seemed to contemplate this for a second and then nodded. “That is perfectly fine. I wish you two the best of luck. Make sure to have fun.”
I grinned. I was so happy now that my mom was accepting of who I was dating and what was going on in my life. It made me feel so much better about everything, especially about being with Lucas. He looked down at me with a grin.
“Well, shall we go?”
“Yes, please.”
22
Lucas
As we drove to dinner in the car together, I could feel it in my heart. There was no way that I was going to lose Bernadette ever again. It just wasn’t going to happen; I would make sure of it.
“Where are we going?” she asked, looking out the window.
“Well, I made reservations at a little French restaurant. But if there’s somewhere else that you’d rather go, then I’m up for whatever.”
“I’d love to go wherever you were planning on,” she said with a smile. “You must have been confident if you’d already made reservations for us.”
I laughed. “Perhaps. More like I was a hopeful fool and had a feeling that you and your mother weren’t about to turn me down. And if she turned me down then I would just whisk you out of that house to dinner anyways. I couldn’t stand another second without you.”
She giggled. “Is that so? I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good, you better. Because I’m not letting you leave me like that again. Not in a million years, not ever.”
She sighed as she looked out the window. “Thank you for coming after me. I know that I can be a little difficult at times, so I really appreciate how much you’ve done for me.”
“Of course. I care about you. And besides, you’re not that difficult. It’s your mother who’s scarier to deal with. I was wondering if she was going to bite my nose off.”
Bernadette shook her head with a smile. “No. I think she saw how lovesick I was for you and decided that it would be much better if the two of us were together after all.”
“That’s definitely good. I mean, not that you were lovesick. I don’t want to hurt you like that ever again.”
“No, it’s okay. Misunderstandings are bound to happen. Fights are bound to happen. I just hope that something exactly like that won’t happen again.”
“Of course. I promise you; I won’t let it.”
We arrived at the restaurant then. I parked the car and helped Bernadette out, then walked up to the front. I told the hostess the name for our reservations and she had us seated at a romantic little table in the corner with flowers and a burning candle. Then she kindly informed us that our server would be right with us.
I reached across and squeezed Bernadette’s hand, smiling at her from across the table.
