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Chapter Eighteen
Later that afternoon,his work was interrupted by voices in the outer office, or more precisely, a squeal of delight from the outer office. Getting up, he went to see what was happening.
Lucy was in the process of being hugged by her stepmom as the man who was not her husband looked on with a lopsided grin. Pushing out of her arms, Lucy said, “Settle down, Sera, it’s just a ring.”
“It’s beautiful, Lucy Maud!” Sera gushed, grabbing her hand again for another look.
“It is,” she admitted, looking at it as she wiggled her fingers slightly, either to make it glitter or because she was nervous. She hadn’t said anything to him about it except that it was too big. But now she was admitting she liked it, or was it just a show for her mom?
“I saw it and thought of her,” Leo said, which was true, but that was when he thought she was a cold, frigid woman. But the ring was still beautiful.
To his complete surprise, her mom’s eyes turned to him, and she rushed him and gave him a huge hug also. It had been years since a practical stranger had hugged him for no real reason.
“It is so Lucy, Leo. You know her so well.” He let her continue to hug him.
“I was hoping it was her.” He hadn’t cared much at the time, but that was before the food fight.
“Shall we head out?” Sera’s husband stated from across the room. His eyes were on his wife, still in Leo’s arms.
“Leo, this is Harrison and Sera Dean. Guys, this is Leo Montgomery.” Lucy introduced them, though a little late since he had already hugged one of them. Not to mention he had met Sera the Saturday before.
Sera left him and put an arm around her husband. “I am so happy you stopped being mean to Lucy.”
Leo looked at the mother and then the daughter, then back to the mother. “Me?”
“You were so mean to her those first few weeks, I almost had to come up here and talk to you. Nobody gets to be mean to my kids,” said the woman who was barely older than her daughter.
“Sera!” Lucy stated.
“I just have to say it before we leave. I want you to apologize to Lucy,” the woman stated.
Leo had no idea what to do. Never had he thought he was mean to her, but she must have said something to her mom months before, and it seemed the woman remembered it.
Turning to his fiancé, he decided to do what any good fiancé would do in the situation. Pulling her close to him, he saw her brown eyes go wide as her hard belly touched his stomach. Running his thumb over her cheekbone, he whispered, “I’m sorry I was ever mean to you, Lucy. Can you forgive me?”
For a second, he didn’t think she was going to respond, but then she said in a breathy whisper, “Yes.”
With a slight grin, he kissed her lips ever so lightly. He felt her take a quick breath just as his lips grazed hers. Today she didn’t taste of red sauce, but of Lucy.
Stepping back for fear he would keep kissing her if he didn’t, he put distance between them and turned to her mom. “I apologized.”
“Thank you.” Her mom was looking at them with moisture in her eyes.
“Here’s your coat, Lucy,” Harrison said, ignoring that his wife was crying.
“Thanks, Harrison.” Lucy didn’t grab her coat, just stood where he had left her. Then she gave a little shake and grabbed her jacket from her stepfather.
“I made reservations at The Merchant,” Sera said to them, which reminded him that Lucy hadn’t remembered to tell him that.
Grabbing Lucy’s hand, they headed out. The walk to the restaurant was uneventful and silent for the group, which gave Leo time to think about the woman beside him. They had been engaged for three days now, and she was the same secretary she had been since the beginning. Nothing about the day said that anything had changed; only her ring was different.
This morning she was still perched on the chair when she went over his day, her fingers tapping the entire time. If she hadn’t gone over their wedding information at that time, he wouldn’t have known they were getting married at a small wedding venue just outside the city limits. Nor would he know it was happening at 2 p.m. and that his kids needed to be there an hour before.
He was thinking he maybe needed to have morning meetings with his new wife before they came to work. Preferably naked. Would she perch on the edge of the bed naked and tell him about his day? He was hoping she would.
Leo pushed those thoughts away as they entered the restaurant. His mind couldn’t be on Lucy naked while getting to know her parents, or whatever they were. The group was immediately led to a table near the back of the restaurant. Once seated, he had to let go of her hand but found he really didn’t want to. He instantly missed her small, warm hand in his.
Right away, the waiter came and handed out menus and took drink orders. No one ordered alcohol. Both women thanked the young man as he left the table with matching smiles and using his name.
