“Good.” He stands up and again takes my hand. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Where are we going?”
“On a date, Tessa.” He chuckles.
I see a cabana in the distance that is glowing, and I smile.
“It didn’t start that way before, and it should have.”
I stop. “It was supposed to be a mess back then, or I wouldn’t have—”
“I don’t regret marrying Ashley,” he interrupts, turning toward me. “I have two beautiful children because of her. This isn’t about any of that. It’s about righting wrongs. Wrongs that, like it or not, I see clearly now, and I want you to know that I am sorry it ever was like that with us. But I wouldn’t go back, okay?”
I don’t answer because I’m not sure how I feel about what he has just said.
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes. No … Lucas, this is—”
“Going to be a night you’ll never forget if you just trust me now, Tessa.”
I nod, and his face lights up with a smile as we walk toward the cabana.
He pulls back the curtain. “After you.”
I walk in and sit on the blanket that covers the entire area inside, taking in the candles, music, strawberries, and wine.
He sits next to me, opens the wine, and pours me a glass.
“Thanks.” I hide a giggle.
He smiles and pours himself one. “Weird?”
“No, it’s nice. It’s just not … I don’t know.”
“Us?” he asks.
“Yeah, I guess, but I’m also feeling … I don’t know. Silly?”
“You aren’t alone. All the way here, I was questioning what I was doing. I ordered flowers and went with the normal yellow roses and Gerber daisies I always got for you, but then I decided I needed to switch it up. Wine? But which kind will she like? Which kind will make her smile? Which kind will get her naked fastest?” he jokes, and we both laugh. “I want some of us to remain the same. The ease that we always had when talking, the laughs, the fun, Did I mention the talking?”
“You did.”
“Good, because I have never stopped missing that. I miss that so much.” He links our fingers together, and we both just sit and look at each other. He looks down at our hands, and his flex a bit. “Do you remember Molly’s shower at the pond? You and I fought. I almost didn’t show up—”
“Of course I do.”
“Do you remember everything about it?”
“The baby?”
“It had been six months, I remember that. But I didn’t then.”
“It’s all right. It was a long time ago.”
“But I need you to know when things really changed for me and why. Not an excuse, but something I want you to know that I’m fully aware of and will never do again.”
I nod and swallow hard.