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Debra? Lucas’s sister, Debra?
The brunette studies me with a curious gaze before responding, “I saw the name of this café written on your kitchen table last night and I looked it up and it had good ratings. Who’s your guest?”
I note how Lucas doesn’t greet the man next to his sister and he too, stands there silently. Her fiancé, maybe?
Lucas looks a little agitated. “This is Elise, she’s a colleague of mine.”
Her lips twitch and she has a sly look in her eyes. “So, if you’re Elise, this must be Sophie.” Debra leans down to study my baby girl who’s in the process of trying to put her foot in her mouth.
Sophie makes a loud ‘Gah’ noise when she notices the stranger and maybe she sees the similarities between Lucas and Debra or maybe she’s just really excited at being the center of attention again, because she waves her hands and feet and starts laughing like a little lunatic.
“She’s adorable,” Debra tells me, sincerely.
I can’t help the smile form on my face. “Thank you.”
She studies me with a critical look and then asks, “So, you’re Elise, huh?” After a brief pause, she looks over at her brother and says, “She’s too pretty for you.”
My cheeks turn red and with a sinking feeling, I realize that the sister is worse than the brother.
Debra is grinning at me now. “Lucas can’t stop talking about you. It took me a few months to figure out that he hadn’t even asked you out yet.”
“Deb!” Lucas looks horrified. “Shut up!”
Debra ignores him, putting her arm around my shoulders in a very conspiratorial manner and guiding me to another table. “My brother has the sweetest crush on you. It is just adorable! Are you coming to the wedding? Has he asked you yet?” She glances over at a gaping Lucas who looks like he’s been punched in the balls. “What are you waiting for? Ask her already. It’s been a year!” Then, she turns back to me. “I’m a fashion designer. I have a few outlets in the city center. You should come to the one in Pentagon City Mall. I work from there, personally. I’ll give you the family discount.” She takes a step back and beams at me. “It’s so great to finally meet you. I was almost starting to believe that Lucas made you up in his head!”
I’m completely bewildered by all this information hitting me at once.
Lucas has a crush on me?
His sister knows about me?
He’s liked me for a year?
I’m gaping at Debra, completely stunned and finally stammer out, “I-it’s really nice to meet you too.”
That sly look on her eyes doesn’t disappear and she introduces me to her fiancé, Riley, who seems to be a sweet natured man.
“All right. We have a reserved table on the terrace, so well leave you two alone. Meet me for lunch sometime, Elise!” With that, Debra vanishes up the staircase, dragging her fiancé behind her.
I sink into my seat, staring blindly at Lucas. “What was that?” I breathe out, the force of nature that was his sister, having blown me away completely.
Lucas looks chagrined, an expression I’ve never seen him wear before. “How much of that conversation do you think you can ignore?” he finally asks, slowly.
I stare at him, my expression flummoxed beyond belief. “Which part?” I take a heartbeat to settle myself before breaching the subject, “I-I knew you might be interested in me but your sister said – for a year? – You’ve wanted to ask me out for a year? You never said anything!”
Lucas observes me, and then lets out a heavy breath that he’s been holding in. “Of course I’ve been interested in you, Elise. It’s always been you. I kept looking for the right moment but then you got pregnant and I didn’t want to upset you or make you uncomfortable. At the moment, I didn’t know where Sophie’s father was in the picture. And then, after hearing of your awful experience with him, how could I put you in a position to have to choose between me being your friend or pursuing you. You clearly needed a friend more than a lover, so I decided to put my feelings aside.”
My heart beats faster and faster at his words and it’s getting harder to breathe as he confesses his feeling before me, looking so defeated.
“But you’re – you’re asking me out now?” I ask, hesitantly.
He scowls at me. “Of course! I only backed off because I knew there wouldn’t be any other competition while you were pregnant. You wouldn’t even look at a man. But now, you’ve had Sophie, and I can’t have you dating somebody when I’m right here. Besides, you’ve somehow gotten even hotter now. Men look at you everywhere you go. I’ve been trying to make my move but you’re so determined to play deaf, dumb, blind.”
I’m trying to sort through his words, my mind all over the place and I pick up on the most inconsequential part of his speech. “I thought you backed off because you thought I needed a friend. You just said—?”
Lucas groans and then standing up, he strides over to me, and winding fingers in my hair, he tugs my head back and plants his lips on mine.
It’s like a shock of electricity when his lips touch mine and I immediately feel helpless under his experienced hands. His kiss is desperate and ravenous, and my own hunger ignites at the way he’s devouring my mouth, his tongue pushing past and seeking entrance.
