Luke continued to hold me, rubbing soothing circles into my bare shoulder blades. After over a month of pondering and weighing my options, what I wanted was suddenly clear. “I don’t want to,” I added after a moment.
Luke took a half step back and gripped my shoulders. He bent slightly to look at me through the curtain of my hair before he tucked it behind my ears. The empathy, and the longing, in his eyes were plain as day.
“I don’t want to go back,” I whispered. Not to corporate law. Not to New York or any other city. Not to anywhere that wasn’t here.
He nodded, swallowing. “So don’t.”
“But what will I?—”
“Stay.”
I gaped at him.
“Stay, Val. Just stay. You’re happy here.”
My panic converted to curiosity; my tears stopped in their tracks. I opened my mouth to inquire further.What do you mean by stay? In what capacity? As your nanny, or…something more?
Before I could voice my thoughts, Luna knocked on the door.
“What are you guys doing in there? Don’t we have to go? I don’twant to be late.” She opened the door, and Luke and I broke apart. Caught.
“Yeah, Luns. Let’s get going.” He gave me a meaningful look before we left the room.
I nodded, letting him know I was ready to go.
I took a deep breath, straightened my dress, and followed them out. He held the door open for me. His hand reached for mine, giving it a squeeze. A gesture of reassurance. An underscore to his words.
A silent promise.
The event was breathtaking. Live music, a clear tent strung with spheres of light, bright floral centerpieces on white-clothed tables set up across the lawn. Smartly dressed adults mingled, enjoying a dinner of heavy appetizers and serving stations.
The first couple Luke and I talked to asked what I did for work after introductions and appropriate accolades to Luke for winning the project and organizing the fundraiser. My pulse thrummed and words eluded me. I didn’t know how to answer this question anymore.
Luke noticed my hesitation and brushed his knuckles against mine before saying, “She’s a lawyer-turned-writer.”
I stole a glance at his face. His eyes gleamed with enthusiasm and my chest ached with a feeling I’d definitely never felt before.
Luke and I stayed close for a while after that, but I knew he needed to work the room and thank everyone for their generosity, so I tried not to be a barnacle.
I sat with Mimi, Cathy, her husband, and another woman Mimi was friends with a bit later to eat. Then I found Francesca and Jeremiah on the lawn at the edge of the tent. I told Francesca how amazing the event was.
“It’s tough because I want to mingle with Jeremiah but I’malso working,” she said.
“I’m good, babe,” he said, pulling her toward him by her waist and kissing her temple, a look of pride on his face. “Do what you need to do.”
I recalled the story Francesa told me at lunch about how she and Jeremiah met. He really did clean up well in a suit. Just like his business partner.
“Ok!” She squeezed his arm. “I need to go check that we’re on schedule for the speech.” In a flash of red, she was gone.
I scanned the crowd under the tent for Luke. Jeremiah planned to go up there with him, but Luke would do the talking. I knew he was nervous about it.
“I went into construction for a reason,” Luke had said earlier that week when he practiced his speech for me. “No public speaking.”
“Just think of it as a client dinner where a client has asked you about this project,” I’d suggested. His speech was great; he just needed to get up there and get it done.
My eyes found him near the entrance. His back was to me, but his full dark hair, large frame, and blue suit were unmistakable. Moments later Francesca tapped him on the shoulder. Then she turned and nodded in our direction. Jeremiah said, “That’s my cue,” and made his way to the side of the tent where the band was playing. The music paused, and I gingerly maneuvered through the crowd to a better vantage point.
I looked to my left and my right as conversation quieted and people turned their attention to the man with the microphone. A head of sandy brown hair snagged my attention. Max.
