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“Like your time?” he stated, raising his eyebrows. “They miss you, Blue…We all do.”
My chest tightened because I knew he was right. A glimmer of sadness crossed his face, until a small child latched herself onto his leg and crawled up onto his lap. His smile widened as he affectionately peered down at her. My heart dipped. Luke had a child? She looked to be about three or four, and I hadn't seen him since the funeral...so it was possible. But why hadn’t anyone told me?
“Natalie, this is Amelie. Amelie, this is my old friend, Natalie. But I like to call her Bluebird,” he whispered into her ear.
I reached out and shook her tiny hand. “Lovely to meet you, Amelie.” I smiled. Her features were straight out of a storybook, with her rosy red cheeks, hazel eyes, and golden hair that fell into a perfect bob.
“Are you the singer?” she gasped with wide eyes. “He always talks about you.”
“Thanks, squirt.” Luke laughed and hid his embarrassment with a swig of his beer.
“Dad! Dad!” Amelie called out, and the man tending the bar turned to her. “This is the singer Lukey always talks about!”
I breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn’t Luke’s.
My eyes met Luke’s and I giggled. “Lukey?” I mouthed silently, with my eyebrows raised.
Luke shrugged happily.
Amelie’s dad approached us with a warm grin. “You're even more beautiful in person.” My cheeks warmed at the compliment. He was a very good-looking man.
Luke shook his head at him. “Dan, this is Natalie, the singer I always talk about. Natalie, this is Dan. He helps me run this place.”
“Very pleased to meet you, Natalie. I was starting to doubt whether Luke really knew you at all.” He chuckled.
My smile faltered. “Yes, well it has been a while,” I admitted, with familiar guilt.
Dan gave Luke a knowing grin and Luke tried his best to ignore him.
“C’mon Amelie, it's well past your bedtime. Let’s leave these old friends to catch up.”
Amelie groaned unhappily. She obviously didn’t want to miss out on the party.
Luke gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head. “Goodnight, Amelie.”
“Goodnight, Lukey,” she replied, and leaned over to me. “Goodnight, Bluebird,” she whispered. This girl made my ovaries hurt.
“Sweet dreams, Amelie.” I smiled and she beamed back at me in awe.
Dan ushered her out the back, and returned a few minutes later to continue serving. I assumed she had a bed set up in the office, just like we used to do.
I turned back to Luke with a playful glint in my eye. “So…you talk about me a lot, huh?”
“Don't you start.”
* * *
We chatted some more about Easton’s, and I was relieved that he didn’t broach the topic of my career again. The conversation rolled so naturally, my shoulders eased and my facade lifted. I hadn’t felt that relaxed in years.
I learnt that Dan moved into town a few years prior, not long after his wife passed away. Amelie was only a newborn, and he decided they needed a fresh start. He stumbled across our little town and Luke offered him a job. Dan was more than qualified, and Luke soon promoted him to manager. They made quite a team. Luke happily worked around Dan’s schedule so he could spend more time with his daughter, and Luke finally had someone he trusted to run the pub when he wasn’t there.
It was obvious Luke was smitten with Amelie, just by the way his eyes gleamed when he talked about her. I imagined him with his own kids and smiled. He would make such a great father someday.
I was well into my fourth gin, when my southern drawl sporadically made an appearance. I didn’t even realise I was doing it until Luke burst into a fit of laughter.
“What?” I nudged his shoulder.
His eyes lit up. “Did you seriously just say ‘y’all’?”
