It wasn't long after Richard returned to his office that he heard a knock on the door. He looked up from his contracts and said, "Come in."
"Richard, do you have a minute?" Floyd Stiles asked him.
"Sure, what's going on? This isn't about the Dalton claim again, is it?"
"No. You seem to have things well in hand there. I'm impressed by the way."
"Thank you," Richard said. "So what brings you here if not the Dalton mess?"
"This has nothing to do with work. I was just wondering if you'd seen this," Floyd said and handed him a newspaper article.
"What is it?"
"Well, you know that I read the New York Times religiously and this was in the Sunday paper the weekend before last. I've been meaning to show it to you for a while, but we've both been busy so this is the first opportunity I've had to give it to you. I thought it might interest you since it concerns your daughter."
"What could possibly have been run in the Times that would concern Lorelai?"He asked a little concerned.
"Just read it. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised. It seems she's done quite well for herself with that inn of hers."
"Thank you," he said. When Floyd had left he began to read wondering what he was talking about. He smiled as he perused the article and his heart swelled with pride as he read and made a mental note to show it Emily as soon as he got home hoping that she would be just as pleased as he was.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Luke closed the oven door with a satisfied smile as the dinner he was preparing for his fiancée was progressing just the way he wanted it to. He puttered around the kitchen of the crap shack setting the table and lighting candles knowing that Lorelai would be home very soon. He wanted everything to be perfect for celebrating their good news. He had a bottle of sparkling apple cider chilling in an ice bucket since Lorelai couldn't drink, not to mention the fact that he preferred it to champagne, and lasagna in the oven knowing how much she love Italian food. Of course Lorelai wouldn't care if he'd just brought home burgers and fries from the diner. She loved food in general, but he wanted tonight to be special. It wasn't every day that you found out the woman you loved was carrying your child. He smiled the same goofy smile that had been plastered on his face all day. He didn't think he could be any happier. They were finally on track, they'd set a wedding date and started making plans for starting their lives together, he'd gotten Taylor to cave on the Twickham house and they were having a baby. Richard had come to see him to give him his approval for their upcoming marriage and didn't even seem freaked out by the fact that he'd gotten Lorelai pregnant. In fact, he'd seemed happy that he was going to be a grandfather again. Life was good. He'd even managed to push aside the nagging thoughts of whatever Emily might be up to for the time being. He glanced back at the table and the vase of yellow daisies in its center, hoping that Lorelai would like them and get what he was trying to do. He wasn't the biggest romantic in the world, but he wanted her to know in no uncertain terms how happy he was with the direction their life together was going. His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. He opened the door to find his future mother-in-law on the other side.
Not waiting to be invited in, Emily pushed her way past him and into the living room and said, "Hello, Luke.
"Hi," he said as he closed the door and followed her. "If you're looking for Lorelai, she's not home yet."
"I'm not. I came here to talk to you. I went by your little restaurant, but that Asian friend of Rory's said you'd already left for the day, so I thought I might find you here."
"I'm here," he said. "I spend a lot of time here as a matter of fact," he added making it clear that he was a big part of Lorelai's life.
"Well, I'll come straight to the point, Luke. I think you're a smart enough man to know that I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of you marrying my only daughter."
"No, you're kidding," Luke said dryly.
"Don't get smart with me. I've come here to make you a proposition."
"Well, you'll have to do it in the kitchen then. I've got a dinner to keep an eye on," Luke said as he turned his back on her and made his way back to the stove opening the oven and peering inside.
"You're cooking?"She asked in surprise as she followed him into the kitchen and watched as he reached for an oven mitt and used it to pull out a pan of homemade garlic bread.
"Yeah," he said. "Something I do quite a lot. It keeps my 'little restaurant' in business." He set the pan on the stovetop to cool. "Now, you said something about a proposition. I don't know what you possibly think you have to offer me that I'd be interested in, but you've got my attention." He turned around and leaned against the counter folding his arms across his chest.
"Good," She said as she reached into her purse and pulled out her checkbook. "I won't waste anymore of your time then. Just tell me how much it will take to get you out of my daughter's life." She began furiously scribbling in her checkbook and signed her name with a flourish and tore the top check out of the book.
Luke chuckled at this and said, "You've got to be kidding."
"Is this funny to you?"Emily asked impatiently.
"Yeah, it is. I expected a little more imagination from you, Emily. I mean, trying to buy me off is so beneath you. It just screams prime time soap opera."
"Here," she said handing him the check she'd written out. "Just name your price. Fill in whatever amount you want and get out of my daughter's life."
Luke glanced at the check she'd handed him and laughed even harder. "Nice penmanship," he said sarcastically.
"I'm glad you find this so amusing," Emily said fixing him with an icy glare.
"So, this is your big plan? Wipe out your bank account to get me to break up with Lorelai? What happened to all that talk when you accosted me at the diner about how you were going to stay out of our lives?"
"I wasn't doing that for you. You were just a means to an end. I wanted Lorelai to stop cutting me out of her life and I imagined the insane relationship between the two of you would have run its course by now, as all of her relationships do. Clearly that's not the case. Now, I don't care what amount you put on that check. Whatever the cost, it's worth to me to stop my daughter from throwing her life away. Surely you've thought about what you could do with unlimited money at your disposal."
"So, what do think is going to happen here? I take you up on your offer and you think that's it? That I'll just disappear from Lorelai's life? You do remember that we both live in the same very small town. We're bound to run into each other again and in case you've forgotten we were close friends long before we were ever lovers."
Emily cringed at the word 'lovers' revolted by the knowledge that the man in front of her had had his way with her only daughter. "I realize that. I'm not asking you to just end things with Lorelai. If you accept this, I want you out of Stars Hollow since Lorelai seems determined to stay here. If you're not here, then maybe Lorelai will come to her senses."
"You're insane. This is my home town. I've lived here since the day I was born and so did my parents and my grandparents. I've got roots here, not to mention friends, family and a business. You want me to just pack up and leave all that behind? Where would you suggest I go?"
"I don't care where you go as long as it's far away from Lorelai. You'd have plenty of money to start over somewhere else. Think about it."
Luke took a moment to simply stare at her and contemplated what she was saying, unable to believe her sheer nerve. "Let me borrow your pen," he said.
"Good," Emily said with a triumphant smile as she handed him her pen. She watched as he wrote and added, "I'm glad you're willing to be reasonable. Let's face it; you and Lorelai don't exactly come from the same world."
"No, we don't," he said as he handed her back the check and waited for her reaction. Emily's smile faded as she looked at the words "go to hell" written across the check in big block letters and was replaced with a scowl as she balled up the check and tossed in across the room in frustration. "But we do live in the same world now, the world of the sane. You know where the door is, Emily. I'm sure you can see yourself out."
"This is not over! You don't get it! I will not allow a man like you to marry into my family."
"No, Emily, You don't get it! I love Lorelai and I'm going to marry her and there's no amount of money in the world big enough to get me to change my mind!"
"This is not going to happen! Lorelai belongs with Christopher, not you! Everyone knows that!"
"You know, that's funny, because I don't recall her calling out Christopher's name last night when I was making love to her!"
Emily looked at him in disgust and said, "No wonder you and Lorelai get along so well. You're every bit as crude as she is."
"I'm just stating a fact," he said pointedly. "I'm the one that she chooses to be with and I know that burns you ass, but I don't care! Lorelai and I are getting married and there's nothing you can do to stop it!"
"We'll see about that. She was engaged once before and you saw how that worked out. I just have to wonder what you did to get her say yes to your marriage proposal. I imagine it has to do with the timing of it. I must say it was rather clever of you to do it when she was upset and vulnerable over this situation with Rory. I'm quite sure that she wouldn't have said yes, had she been thinking clearly. I'm sure once she's had time to think things out, she'll call it off, just like she did with that teacher."
"If you're so sure of that, then why did you come here, checkbook in hand, ready to pay me off to get out of town?"
"Just trying to hurry things along, instead of waiting for her to wake up and realize what a mistake she's making. I think we both know that the fact that's she's with you is just one more of her rebellions against me. Your proposing to Lorelai in a moment of weakness was rather brilliant though. I have to give you credit for that."
"My relationship with Lorelai has nothing to do with you and your assumption that our engagement is a result of her falling out with Rory or her fight with you is completely untrue. For the record, she's the one who proposed to me, not the other way around, so that pretty much shoots that whole theory in the ass!" The truth was he had wondered if her proposing to him when she did was because she was reaching out for something to hold onto when she thought she was losing Rory, but after their talk this morning when she'd told him what had prompted the proposal, he no longer had any doubts about her feelings for him.
"What?"Emily said, clearly shocked by this. "She proposed?"
"Yeah, she did," Luke said with a smile as he vividly recalled the night they'd gotten engaged and their impromptu celebration in the gazebo.
"I suppose you let her buy her own ring too," Emily said snarkily.
"No, I bought the ring. I picked it out myself and paid cash for it. You see, Emily, that's the thing. You picked the completely wrong tactic here." He pulled his own checkbook out of his back pocket where he'd stowed it earlier after writing the check for the house. He opened it to the last page of the register and showed her the balance. "As you can see by the balance there, I've got plenty of money myself and I don't need yours. And that balance is after buying your daughter a very expensive engagement ring and writing a thirty-thousand dollar check today for the down payment on the house I'm buying for her."
"You're buying her a house?"
"That's right. We're going to need a bigger place when we get married next month."
"Next month? You're getting married that soon? Aren't you rushing things a bit? Afraid she'll change her mind if you don't get her to the altar fast?"
"Not a bit," he said confidently. "Actually, it was her idea to get married this soon."
"I see," she said. She was silent for a moment, trying to think of a way out of this. "So there's no way to talk you out of this?"
"What did you honestly think was going to happen here, Emily? Did you think that you'd just offer me a big bucket of money and that that would be enough to make me abandon the woman I love and my responsibility to our unborn child?"
"Your what?" she said looking as if she'd been slapped. "So you did get her pregnant."
"Yeah, we got the news this morning. I thought Richard would have told you about it by now. He's known since lunchtime."
"No, I haven't talked to Richard since this morning. What do you plan to do about it?"
"Just what I am doing," Luke answered. "I bought her a house and we're making wedding plans for June 25th. I told you I'm going to marry her whether you like it or not."
"Over my dead body," she retorted with a look of contempt on her face.
"Do I have to kill you?"He replied back with a sneer.
"Is that a threat?"
"No, it's not. I've never hurt a woman in my life and I never plan to. My father taught me better than that, but I'll tell you something right now. If you do anything to hurt Lorelai or put my child at risk, I just might change my mind. She's already emotional over this thing with Rory and the last thing she needs right now is more stress piled on her. I'm going to do you a favor and not tell Lorelai about your pathetic attempt to buy me off. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a dinner for my fiancée to finish." He turned back to the over and opened the door again to check on the lasagna, leaving her stewing.
Emily looked around the room and took in everything that Luke had set up, the flowers, the candles and the bottle in the ice bucket. "This is quite the seduction scene you've got set up here. Are you that desperate?" she said unable to resist getting one more dig in knowing that she was fighting a losing battle.
He turned around and gaped at her. "You're unbelievable! Do you honestly think I need all of this to get her into bed? Trust me; I've never had any trouble getting a woman to sleep with me, especially Lorelai. In fact, we spent the night together on our first date, which was all her idea by the way. You should have heard her begging for it." Luke didn't normally like to talk about his private life with anyone except Lorelai, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to turn the tables on Emily after she'd assumed that he'd just accept her bribe and leave quietly.
"You're disgusting. The very idea of you putting your filthy hands on my daughter sickens me."
"Lorelai doesn't agree. She likes it when I touch her. She likes to talk dirty in bed too. You wouldn't believe some of the language she uses when we're alone. She likes to be teased and occasionally she even likes it a little rough." He knew he'd gone too far, but he didn't care. He'd had enough of Emily and her attitude toward him. He was determined to put her in her place once and for all.
"Oh my God," She gasped disturbed by the imagery that Luke's comments had placed in her head.
"I don't know what your problem is with me, but I'm done discussing this with you. You hate me! I don't understand why when I've never done anything to you, except have the nerve to fall in love with your daughter. You don't know me, but you hate me all the same. In fact, you hate me so much that you'd rather see your only daughter struggling as a single mother again than marry me. You've made that very clear."
"Oh, I know you. Or at least I know your type, especially after hearing you talk about my daughter that way."
"My type? Just what the hell does that mean?"
"The type who'll do anything to have his way with a woman," she answered haughtily.
"You're completely cracked! If that's all I wanted from Lorelai, I'd have been gone a long time ago, but I'm not one of those guys who are out to just get some and get gone. I've never been that way! I'd rather sleep alone that just have sex with some random woman. Casual sex has never been a turn-on for me. I want a real relationship and that's what I have with Lorelai. I'm beyond caring what you think about me! I'm in love with your daughter and make no mistake about it, I am going to marry her whether I have your approval or not! I have Richard's approval and that's enough for me."
"What makes you think that he approves of this absurd relationship anymore than I do?"Emily asked incredulously.
"Because he came to Stars Hollow today to tell me that he approved and also to warn me that you were up to something. I imagine he didn't think it would be anything as nutty as this though."
"What? Richard was here?" She was stunned. She thought he'd been at work all day. What was he doing coming to Stars Hollow and offering this heinous man his approval for destroying their daughter's life?
"How do you think he knew already that Lorelai's pregnant?"
"I don't believe this!"
"Believe it, Emily. This wedding is going to happen with or without your involvement. For Lorelai's sake, I'd rather it be with you involved. As much as you've done to hurt her over the years, you're her mother and she loves you. It's interesting to me that she and I were talking about this just this morning after we found out about the baby. She was insisting that you should be kept out of our kid's life and I was the one trying to talk her into giving you another chance. Then you come here and pull an asinine stunt like this."
"Did you mean what you said about not saying anything to her about it?"
"Yes, I did. Knowing about something like this would only hurt her and I don't want to cause her anymore pain. She's had enough of that from you." He turned back to the open oven door and pulled out the pasta just as he heard Lorelai's key in the door.
"Luke, are you here?"Lorelai called out.
"In the kitchen," he answered as he closed the oven and turned it off.
Lorelai dropped her purse and keys on the entry table and entered the kitchen. "Wow, something smells good in here."
Luke smiled and said, "Lasagna and garlic bread, homemade."
"You're so good to me," she said as she greeted him with a lingering kiss much to her mother's dismay. "Mmmm, I missed you today."
"What are you talking about? You were at the diner twice today, so it's not like you didn't see me."
"Yeah, but the place was completely packed both times, so I didn't get to spend any quality time with you."
"Well, we've got tonight, not to mention the rest of our lives to spend quality time together," he said with a pointed look directed at Emily.
Lorelai turned the direction Luke had glanced and noticed her mother standing there for the first time. "Hi, Mom, what are you doing here?"
"I was just paying Luke a visit, getting to know my future son-in-law a little better," Emily said, hoping that Luke would keep his word about not saying anything regarding her attempted bribery.
"Really?"Lorelai said looking at her mother suspiciously.
"Yeah," Luke answered before Emily had the chance to say anything. "I think we're really started to understand each other."
"Yes, we understand each other perfectly," Emily replied glaring at Luke as if he were a bug.
"Your mother was just leaving, weren't you, Emily? Didn't you just say you needed to get home?"He asked her with a stern look daring her to challenge him.
"Oh…yes…I really should be going if I'm going to be home in time to have dinner with your father. I'll see you on Friday."
"We'll be there," Luke said indicating that he wasn't planning on going anywhere despite her objections.
"Enjoy your dinner," Emily said as she headed for the door not wanting to press her luck with Luke.
"So, what was that all about, really?"Lorelai asked after her mother had left.
"Just like she said," Luke answered noncommittally. "We were getting to know each other a little better."
"I don't know, Luke. The tension in this room was thick enough to cut with a knife when I walked in. Is everything ok?"
"Yeah, it's fine. Your mother just got under my skin a little, but everything's fine. We got a chance to really clear the air. I don't want to talk about your mother anymore. What I'd like to do is have dinner with my beautiful fiancée and do a little celebrating." He pulled the bottle from the ice bucket and poured them each a glass, handing one to her.
"Luke, I can't drink. The baby," Lorelai said.
"I know that. Relax, it's sparkling apple cider."
"You're so thoughtful," she said and kissed him softly. "So, what should we drink to?"
"To our future," he answered holding up his glass.
"To our future," she repeated as she clinked her glass against his and took a sip. "Wow, this is pretty good for having no alcohol in it."
"I'm glad you like it. I remember you saying at lunchtime that you were having a wicked craving for apples and since you can't drink and I can't stand champagne, I thought this would make a good substitute."
"It's perfect." She looked around the room and noticed the flowers and candles. "I can't believe you did all this," she gushed as she put her glass down on the table and bent over to smell the flowers.
"I just wanted to let you know how happy I am about everything. You, me, the baby, the house, everything," he said as he set his own glass down and slipped his arms around her waist from behind.
She leaned against him for a moment, reveling in the feel of his arms around her. She turned just enough to look into his eyes and said, "I love you."
"I love you too," he replied and leaned in to kiss her. She turned a little more and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him in to deepen the kiss as she pressed her body to his longing to be closer to him. The moment was interrupted by the grumbling of her stomach. Luke chuckled as he broke the kiss. "We'd better get you fed." He turned back to the stove and filled two plates with food and he and Lorelai sat down at the table together and began to eat.
"I gotta tell you," Lorelai said. "A girl could get spoiled by this kind of treatment. Dinner, flowers, candlelight, fake champagne, it's nice."
"Good, I plan to keep on spoiling you, though I can't guarantee this exact kind of thing every night for the rest of our lives."
"I don't care as long as every night is spent with you. I don't want us to spend another night apart."
"I agree," he said with a smile.
"In fact, I was thinking. We're gonna be married in a little over a month. Maybe it's time we moved in together. I mean, I know it's gonna be a while before we can get moved into the new house, but there's plenty of room for you to move in here until then."
"Are you sure you're ready to have me around all the time?"
"Yeah, I like having you around. We'll have to get used to living together once we get married, so why not start now. It's not like that much will change. We're together almost every night as it is. That is, unless you think it's too soon." She stared down at her plate hoping that she hadn't scared him.
He reached over, grasped her hand and said, "No, it's not too soon. In fact, we should have done it months ago. I don't know what we've been waiting for. I want to live with you. I want to go to bed with you every night…"
"Dirty," she said with a giggle.
He glared at her and continued,"… and wake up next to you every morning."
"Good, I want that too."
"Good."
With that decided, they continued their meal talking about their respective days, Lorelai filling Luke in on the tentative wedding plans that she and Sookie had started on and Luke telling Lorelai more of the details of his argument with Taylor and the resulting conversation with her father. When they finished eating, Luke rose from the table and began to clear the dishes before Lorelai stopped him.
"Those can wait," she said with a sly smile.
"Did you have something else in mind?"
"Yeah, I want to go upstairs and finish what we started before my growly stomach so rudely interrupted." She reached for him and kissed him hungrily wanting to reignite that sparks that had started earlier.
Luke broke away breathlessly and said, "Lorelai, wait."
"What's the matter? Don't you want to?" she asked a little disappointed. "because earlier I thought you wanted it as much as I do, unless you were hiding your trusty spatula in your pocket."
"It's not that I don't want to. I'm just not sure that we should. I mean, the baby…"
"The baby is fine," she said. "We made love last night before we knew about it and the baby was still here this morning when I took that test."
"But are you sure it's safe? I won't hurt you?"
"No, you won't hurt me. Like you said, we've got a lot to celebrate and I want to continue that celebration in our bed." She kissed him again and this time he responded by taking her hand and leading her up the stairs.