Pushing his chair back, he stands and comes to me. “You’ve got it?”
“It’s in the kitchen. I’ll grab it and meet you there.”
I collect the envelope from the kitchen and make my way back to the lounge room where Luke is now holding Chelsea. I slow my pace. “And people don’t think you’re a pushover,” I say softly. “They haven’t met Uncle Luke.”
His gaze meets mine. “They also haven’t met my wife. That woman has a way of getting me to agree to all sorts of things.”
I move to him. “There are still some things you refuse to budge on. We should work on that.”
He drops his lips to mine and kisses me.
Luke’s kisses are still my favourite thing in the world.
“Right you two,” Paris interrupts. “I’ve got something to discuss with you both.”
I drag my mouth from Luke’s and smile at her. “We’ve got something to discuss with you, too.”
Luke and I settle on the couch. Chelsea happily bounces in his arms while he speaks. “We’re going first,” he starts. “The last few years have been tough and I couldn’t have done them without you, Paris. You’ve been there every step of the way while I worked through everything and you put up with a lot of shit from me—”
“You weren’t too bad,” she says, her eyes soft with affection.
He nods, “Yes, I was. You took on so much around here, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to find a way that expresses my gratitude.”
I hold out the envelope to her. “We hope this is a start.”
She frowns as she takes the envelope from me. “What is this?”
“Open it,” Luke bosses her and I lean against him. We’ve been talking about doing this for a few months now and I’m excited for it to finally happen.
Her hand flies to her mouth when she sees what’s in the envelope and her eyes widen in surprise. Looking up at us, she exclaims, “Oh, my God! You guys shouldn’t have.”
“Yeah, we should have,” Luke says and I nod in agreement. “I’m just sorry it took me so long to do. Dealing with Jolene’s appeal and Alanis’s arrest took up all my time, but I really should have made the effort before now.”
“Oh, did you see the news today?” Paris asks. “Apparently Alanis has admitted to the murder.”
Luke shakes his head. “No, I haven’t heard that, but thank fuck.” I watch as he takes that knowledge in. I know this has been weighing on his mind.
“I wonder why she did it,” I murmur.
Paris shrugs. “We’ll probably never know. She’s a psycho bitch?”
I nod. “That’s the truth.” I always knew she was a bitch; I just didn’t realise she was crazy, too.
She looks down at the envelope with her travel documents in it. “An all-expenses-paid trip to London. It’s too much.”
Paris has talked non-stop about a trip her friends are taking in a month’s time, wishing she could afford to go. Luke and I decided to gift her the trip as a way of saying thank you for everything she’s done to help us.
“Paris, you are one of the kindest people I know. You go out of your way to do nice things for those you love. This is the least we can do for you,” I say.
“God, now I feel bad for what I am about to tell you,” she says, her eyes full of worry.
“The best thing you could tell us would be that you’re moving out,” Luke says, surprising me. He hasn’t mentioned anything to me about wanting her to move.
Surprise flares in Paris’s eyes also. “Really? You want me to leave?”
He nods. “Yes, I want you to start living your life for you rather than for us. You spend too many hours looking after this family when you should be looking after yourself.”
Her eyes well up with tears. “God, I thought you meant you wanted me to leave because I was annoying you or something.”