I get to my bedroom door and am about to pull it open when my phone dings.
I dig it out of my purse and almost drop it on the floor when I see it’s a text message from Lucas. I stand frozen, staring at his name on my phone. Don’t open it. That’s what I tell myself, but I know I have to. He might need to talk to me about G.
I open the message app and scan his message.
Meet me in my office.
I’m holding it with both hands, and I keep reading it as if the five words are going to give me more detail of exactly what he’s wanting. I’m about to tell him I’m on my way out when another message pops up. Please. It will just take a few minutes.
I groan, knowing I can’t deny him. Heck, I can’t even try and sneak out because his office is right next to the stairs. So unless I want to jump out of a window, I’m going to have to go and talk to him.
I text him back. On my way.
I pull my purse strap farther up my shoulder, take three deep breaths and walk out of my room. The whole way down the steps, I try to get myself prepared for whatever is about to happen. Is he going to fire me? Kiss me? Hell, with everything the last few days, I don’t even know what’s going through his head.
Once I reach the landing, I walk up to his open office doors and knock on them. “You wanted to see me?”
He nods, and his gaze travels up and down my body. He smiles through narrow eyes. “Are you going out?”
I cross my arms over my chest because just standing across the room from him does things to my body that I don’t know what to do with. Does he know I’m attracted to him? His granny told him I loved him, but does he think she was just making it up? I definitely don’t need to let my body betray me now. I try to remain aloof, as if his summoning me has no effect on me. “Yeah, I’m going to the Whistler.”
I name the only bar in Whiskey Run. It’s a good bar with a dance floor, and Carlotta and I have spent a lot of evenings unwinding there.
He tilts his head to the side. “Alone?”
My eyes widen for just a second until I pull myself together. “No, I’m meeting someone.”
He frowns at me but gestures at the couch in his office. “Have a seat.”
I unfold my arms and sit down on the couch at the very edge. My butt barely hits the leather and I’m blurting out, “Are you firing me?”
He seems taken aback. “No, I’m not firing you. I’m not sure why you would think that, but I guess I need to deal with that first. No, Isabella, I’m not firing you today, tomorrow, or any time in the future. I have no intention of letting you go. You make my grandmother happy, and you take really good care of her. I know I’ve given you grief, but that’s on me. We are very happy with the work you do here.”
I let out a sigh of relief, and it feels as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. “Okay, good, because I really want to be here for Lottie. And even if you did fire me, I’d still be here. I can’t just leave her.”
He nods and sits down next to me. We are not touching, but I swear I can still feel the heat from his body. “Well, it’s a moot point. You’re not fired, but I appreciate your loyalty to my grandmother. The reason I wanted to talk to you is because I want to make you a proposition.”
My eyes widen, but I sit completely still. I refuse to let my mind wander because I can’t even begin to guess what this could be about. Yeah, he’s been acting weird lately, but what does that have to do with me?
Whatever it is, he’s not happy about it. That much is obvious. “What is it?”
He doesn’t even blink. “I want you to marry me.”
My mouth drops open, and I gasp at the same time. Of everything I thought he’d say, that wasn’t anywhere on the list, that’s for sure. I try to keep it together and stutter back to him, “You want me to marry you?”
He nods. “Yes. My grandmother is worried about me, and I recently found out that if I marry you, her worry will be gone.”
I shake my head because none of this makes sense. “Yes, she’s worried about how you’ll take her passing, but you getting married is not going to fix that, Lucas. She doesn’t want you to get married just because that’s what you think she wants. She wants you to love and be loved by someone. She wants to know that you’ve opened your heart again. She wants to know that when she’s gone, you have someone unconditionally by your side.”