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“I…Oh, God! Lucas. I’m so…so sorry,” she offered, her heart squeezing.
“It’s okay.”
“What happened?”
“It was a long process unfortunately. But we were close throughout school and then we discovered she had a rare form of brain tumor.”
“Oh, God! Lucas, that’s awful.”
“I know. She should have been enjoying school and everything else in life but she had severe headaches throughout it all. Her parents didn’t think much of it and thought she was studying too hard. They pretty much ignored it most of the time. I would get her Tylenol from my dad and give it to her. Her folks didn’t really believe much in modern medicine.”
Maxine shuddered inside.
“So,” Lucas continued. “Before long, the pain grew unbearable. I spent most of senior high going to appointments with her because her parents worked so hard and needed to pay the mortgage. Anyway, finally, they took time off work to get her hospitalized and we rotated turns sleeping at the bedside at the hospital. But the doc said it was too late. The tumor could have been operated on and maybe radiated if she’d had an MRI done long before and they’d caught it in time but…”
“Oh, God! Lucas, that’s terrible.” Tears stung Maxine's eyes.
Lucas was consumed by his emotions, she could see. “So that’s why I was inspired to develop a software system for clinics to get people into early signups and pre-screening for their health.”
“Of course,” Maxine chimed in. “The Healthy Start Program. How wonderful of you, Lucas.”
“It’s the least I could do. I had developed so many different programs in my line of work but that one was close to my heart.”
“I’m very…honored to know you, Lucas.”
Lucas shot Maxine a glance. “Well, I’ve never heard that before,” he admitted softly with a charming grin. “Usually women say the opposite.”
“Why?”
“Well, I’m not perfect, Maxine. I’ve made tons of mistakes. I love women. What can I say? But commitment was always difficult for me after Julianna died. I just didn’t feel anything intimate for anyone else, until now.”
“What?” Maxine almost choked on her drink. Something sparked inside her. Was he referring to her?
“I’ve been admiring you from afar, Maxine. I thought you would have known that.”
“No. I…um…why?”
“Because you’re different. And I can’t explain it but you reach me in a spot I’ve never been touched before, not since Julianna.”
Oh. My. What could she say to that?
“But you hardly know me,” she said, rubbing her finger around the rim of her cup.
“But I know me. And I know how I feel when I’m around you. And you’d be surprised at what I’ve learned about you and observed about you over the past six months since the wedding, Maxine,” he said with a knowing grin of satisfaction.
Maxine was stumped. What had Lucy said about her?
“Such as?” Maxine cocked her brow.
“You care deeply about those you love. You’re humble. And you’re sweet. You make me feel wild things inside, Maxine, and I didn’t even have to touch you. That’s what amazed me.”
“Oh!” Maxine felt heat rush to her cheeks and to the area between her legs. She was getting breathless in there. Was it the heat? Or the magnetic energy between them? So this was what kismet felt like. She never felt this way around any other man before.
“By the way, how is your mother doing?” he asked, so sincere.
Lucas Romero cared about her and her mother? Oh, my. He was so important. Maxine thought she hadn’t mentioned her mother before but then again at the wedding when they had chatted, it may have come up. But oh, God! This guy had a memory like an elephant. He remembered. That was good, wasn’t it?
“She’s,” Maxine swallowed hard. “She’s coping.”
“How are you coping?” Lucas leaned forward.
“Good.”
“Really?”
“You don’t believe me?”
“I see it in your eyes. I can read eyes, you know. You work so hard around the clock, sacrificing yourself for the good of your mother and everyone else around you. When have you taken time for yourself? You know caregiver burnout is not healthy and can happen if you don’t take it easy.”
