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Once we were outside, Luke turned to me and smiled. “Remember Brady? He owns a café just around the corner. He doesn’t serve lunch, but he’s got a whole bunch of the most delicious pastries and cakes I’ve ever eaten.”
My mouth watered at the thought of eating desserts for lunch, and Luke grinned at me because he knew me so well.
“Where? Where is this heaven you’re talking about?”
Luke laughed as he grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the sidewalk and I grinned as I followed him. Over the past month or so, it was like a weight had been lifted off of Luke’s shoulders. The therapy was definitely helping him, and despite the scare last week, Luke had progressed so much. Today was just another example of it. Slowly, but surely, Luke was fighting away his demons and returning back to his old self. And though I’d never known him as he’d been before, I was definitely loving every new part of him. Like the way he was shining brighter than the sun with that smile on his face as he walked beside me.
After a dessert lunch with Luke’s friend, we were back at the tattoo parlor. While Luke got his tattoo, I checked my emails and did some work to pass the time. It was nearing five p.m. by the time Julian was done. I put my phone away as Luke stood up, making sure to stay behind the screen so I wouldn’t spot his tattoo. I heard him gasp and murmur something to Julian.
I waited impatiently as Julian dressed the tattoo. When Luke walked into the front side of the parlor, he was back in his jumper. He walked straight to me before hugging me, and I carefully curled my arms around him, aware of the tattoo on his lower torso. Luke buried his face in the crook of my neck, and I heard him sniffle. Pulling back, I held his face between my palms and wiped the tears with my thumbs. “You okay?”
Luke gave me a sheepish smile before chuckling wetly. “Happy tears. This feels…cleansing.”
Smiling, I pressed a kiss on Luke’s forehead before turning to Julian, who was watching us with a fond smile. “Thank you for your beautiful work.”
Julian arched a brow at me, and I shrugged. “If Luke loves them, then I’m sure they are gorgeous.”
Luke made the payment despite my offer to pay, but I didn’t press because I realized this was something he needed to do for himself, and how could I stop him from doing that?
Once he was done, we drove back home and cuddled on the couch with Tressa, drinking hot chocolate while watching the Christmas episodes ofFriendsas our own Christmas tree twinkled in the corner.
30
Luke
ItwasChristmasmorning,and I couldn’t be more excited. I also couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so thrilled about the day. Even when I’d lived with my parents, Christmas day had mostly just included a visit to the Church and a gift that was related to school more often than not. The only highlight of the day had been my mother’s apple pies. There had been no trees, no hot chocolate, no Christmas movies. But this year, I was getting it all. Scott had promised me a fun Christmas, and I was looking forward to it. We’d already spent the whole week in a Christmas haze of hot chocolates and Christmas movies, and I was hoping today would be more of the same with the added bonus of Christmas presents.
When I woke up, I was alone, but I could also hear Christmas music coming from the kitchen, so I guessed Scott was in there making breakfast. I quickly showered before dressing up in the sweater I’d picked out for today and red pajama pants. I snuck into my old room to grab the gifts I’d gotten for Scott before tiptoeing into the living room. My mouth fell open when I spotted the small pile of gifts below the twinkling Christmas tree. All those gifts were forme? I hurriedly placed my own packages beside them before walking into the kitchen. I moaned at the heavenly scent wafting throughout the room, and Scott chuckled.
Heading straight to my boyfriend, I pulled him into a kiss, my arms tight around his as my tongue curled around his. I could taste cookie dough on his tongue, and I hummed at the sweet flavor. When my lungs started burning from lack of oxygen, I reluctantly pulled away, resting my forehead against his. “Merry Christmas, Scott.”
“Merry Christmas, Luke.” Scott pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose before straightening up. “Okay, so this is the breakfast menu. I was thinking after eating, we’ll open the presents and then cuddle on the couch and watch some holiday movies. How does that sound?”
My eyes roamed over the chocolate-drizzled waffles, the gingerbread men, and the mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows floating on top. It looked like a perfect Christmas breakfast. “It sounds perfect.”
We ate at the counter, talking about the movies we’d watch and what we could make for lunch. I still hadn’t uncovered my tattoos, but Julian had told me I could remove the dressing today. I was just waiting for the perfect moment to do it.
Once we were done with breakfast, I was practically vibrating with excitement as we washed up. Not just to see what Scott had gotten me, but also to find out what Scott thought about the gifts I’d gotten for him. After all the dishes were in the dishwasher and the counters cleaned up, we finally headed to the living room, the cheerful Christmas music still playing on the Bluetooth speaker. Tressa was seated at the bottom of the tree, batting at one of the low-hanging ornaments. When she spotted us, she quickly straightened up and gave us her version of ‘puppy eyes.’ I narrowed my eyes at her and she promptly started cleaning her paw as if her life depended on it. I shook my head and followed Scott as he sat down near the gift piles. He grabbed a box from his pile and one from mine before setting them in front of Tressa. “Here you go, baby girl. Merry Christmas.”
We watched in awe as Tressa stared at the boxes for a beat, watching the twinkling lights reflected on the glitter wrapping, before attacking them with her claws. We never cut her nails because she needed the extra grip to make up for not being able to use one of her legs for climbing and stuff, which was why she shredded through the wrappingandthe cardboard within a minute. “Well, that’s one way to do it.” Scott chuckled.
I chuckled as I carefully sifted through the debris before pulling out her gifts. I’d gotten her a metal tag with her name and my phone number on the front, in case she ever went missing, while Scott had gotten her a bunch of mouse and feather toys. I clipped the tag on her collar before throwing one of the toys at her, and as expected, she attacked it immediately before racing off with it in her mouth.
“Guess she loved her gifts then, right?”
I grinned as I shuffled forward and grabbed the gifts I’d gotten for Scott. I hadn’t been sure how many to buy, so I’d just picked stuff I knew Scott would like and paid no attention to how many there were.
“Merry Christmas,” I said, pushing the pile toward him. I hoped he wouldn’t complain because I’d had so much fun picking these gifts for him. It had been the first time I’d had someone to buy for, and I might have gone a bit overboard. After seeing Scott’s pile of gifts for me, though, I realized that I wasn’t the only one.
Scott smiled at me before picking up a small package. He quickly unwrapped it, and his eyes widened before he looked up at me. “Luke.” His voice was soft as he traced the pictures with his fingers. It was a photo frame with three pictures in it. The first was Scott with his parents, the second of Scott with his godfather, and the third of Scott, me, and Tressa. One frame with pictures of all the people who loved Scott. I’d wanted to add Mike’s family to the collage too, but I’d forgotten to ask them for a picture.
“Luke, this is beautiful. Thank you so much.” His voice was rough, like he was barely holding back tears, so I pulled him closer and pressed a kiss to his temple.
“You’re welcome.”
He stared at the photos for another moment before putting the frame down and picking up another package. It was a reading journal. Scott had loved mine when I’d shown it to him, so I figured he could fill one himself this new year. “Oh, it’s so pretty. I was going to buy it myself soon. Thanks!”
He opened the next one quickly, and I grinned when his eyes lit up, and his lips stretched into a smile. It was a hiking backpack with the quote fromAlice In Wonderland,We’re all mad here. I wasn’t sure if he’d realize it, but it symbolized our first meetingandour first date.
