3 – June third

Lorelai stopped the car in front of the diner and got out. She walked inside and was greeted by Lane.

"Hey, Lorelai, what can I get you?" She asked, putting a plate of eggs and bacon down in front of Kirk.

"Actually, I was looking for Luke." Lorelai said, looking around the diner. "And why is Kirk eating eggs and bacon, it's six in the afternoon?"

"He's trying some new, weird diet where you have lunch in the morning, dinner at noon and breakfast at night." Lane explained. "He told me why, but I sorta blocked him out."

"I can see why." Lorelai agreed. "So, Luke?"

"Oh, he's not here." Lane said. "He asked me to work, so he could have the day off or something."

"Oh. OK." Lorelai turned to leave.

"You want some coffee to go?" Lane asked.

"Not now, sweetie, I just wanna get home."

Luke was pacing from the kitchen to the living room, looking out into the front yard everytime he passed a window. Rory had called him, telling him that Lorelai was going to be home at six.

It was now almost six thirty. Where was she?

All the lamps in the house were off, and there were candles everywhere. Rory had helped him bring a table over from the diner and they had set up a small, romantic table in the living room. There was lasagna in the oven, and a cheese cake in the freezer.

The only thing missing was Lorelai.

After Rory had revealed her plan, they had gotten to work. Paul Anka had been banished to Babette's house for the weekend, and Luke had told Caesar that he wouldn't be in the following two days either while Rory had called Sookie and explained that her mother would be MIA for a couple of days. He had talked to Anna, who had agreed that April could spend the weekend with them, and they were picking her up the following morning. Rory would spend the night at Yale, and then join them on the road. Before she had left, Rory had packed a bag for Lorelai, so she wouldn't have to worry about that.

They were spending the weekend in Luke's cabin by a nearby lake, getting to know eachother. Or, more getting to know April.

If only Lorelai would get home.

Just as he was about to call Rory and ask her what was going on, Luke heard a car pull up in the driveway. Pulling the curtain a little to the side, he saw that it was the jeep, and Lorelai was getting out of the car. She stopped a little in her tracks, looking at the house. He assumed it was because it was completely dark, she had probably expected him to be waiting for her. Which he was.

Fingering the small, velvet box in his pocket, Luke watched Lorelai approach the house.

He had already given Lorelai an engagement ring, but he wanted something symbolic to give her as he proposed for real. Rory had helped him pick out the ring, which was plastic, pink, and in the shape of a heart. She had assured him that Lorelai would love it. He only hoped she was right.

As Lorelai unlocked the front door, Luke stepped back so he wasn't visible from the hallway between the kitchen and the living room. He could hear Lorelai close the door behind her, and walking into the house. He saw her stop in the hallway, as she spotted the candles lining the hallway into the living room. He could practically hear the wheels turning in her head as she wondered what was going on and he decided it was time to reveal himself.

"Welcome back." He said, stepping into the hallway.

"Did you do this?" She asked, gesturing to the candles.

"I had some help." He admitted. "But there's more." He stepped aside to reveal the table in the living room.

"Wow." She gave him a half smile. "You didn't have to."

"I think I did." He replied, taking a couple of steps towards her before wrapping his arms around her, hesitant at first. But when she didn't run away, he pulled her closer. "I missed you, and I'm sorry."

"I missed you too, and it's OK." She said, hugging him back before standing up on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss, which he deepend for a moment before letting her go.

"It's not OK, but I hope it will be." He said, lacing his fingers with hers.

"I think it will." She nodded, smiling more convincingly. Just as he was leaning forward to give her another kiss, the alarm on the oven went off.

"I guess dinner's ready." He said, saving the kiss for later.

"You made me dinner?" Lorelai asked. "That's sweet."

"And dessert." He added before going into the kitchen to get the lasagna out of the oven.

"By the way, you are going to blow all these candles out later, there's like a million of them." Lorelai called from the living room. Luke just chuckled and made his way back to her.

"I was told it was romantic." He complained.

"Oh, I didn't say it wasn't, I simply stated the fact that I will not be blowing them out." Lorelai replied. "So unless you want the house to burn down, I suggest you do."

"I think that can be arranged." Luke agreed, putting the food onto the table.

"Oh, lasagna, yummy!" Lorelai licked her lips.

"Thought you might like it."

"You thought right."

"So, I think I remember something about desert." Lorelai said later. They had finished the lasagna and Luke was about to clear the table. "I suppose you were talking about food and not something... else." She bashed her eyelashes at him.

"Jeez, Lorelai!" He complained, taking her plate.

"Oh, OK, if you don't want to..."

"I didn't say that." He interrupted her.

"Eager, aren't we?" She was pulling his leg, and he knew it.

"I wasn't the one who suggested it." He replied, walking towards the kitchen with their empty plates.

"But you were thinking it!" She yelled after him. He quickly got the cheese cake and plates and returned to the living room.

"I'm a man, I'm always thinking about it." He told her, cutting the cheese cake and putting two pieces on their plates before sitting down.

"Oh, really?" She wondered, her voice deeper. "Always?"

"Well, you know, not always, but, you know, sometimes, and..." He cut himself off as he felt her foot slide up the inside of his leg.

"How about now?" She asked suggestively. He reluctantly pulled away from her exploring foot, remembering what he was planning to do.

"How about we eat this dessert, and then we can get to the other one?" He suggested, and Lorelai pouted a little. "I made cheese cake."

"Well, I do love cheese cake." She admitted, taking a small bite of the cake. "Mmmm, you've outdone yourself."

"Really?" He tasted his own piece, nodding. "It is good. But I bet mine is better than yours." He looked up at her, seeing the same desire he knew was visible in his eyes in hers as well.

"Oh really? I'll just have to try a piece of yours, then, won't I?" She opened her mouth as he offered her a piece of his cheese cake. She licked her lips, making sure that every crum was inside her mouth. "Also very good. But you have to try mine." She repeated his earlier motion, and he accepted a piece of her cake.

"I think it's a tie." He announced.

"I think you might be right." Lorelai agreed, finishing her cake. "So, onto the next part of the evening..." She was about to stand up, but Luke beet her to it.

"Just a minute, there's more." He said, and she settled back in her chair. Luke cleared the table and took everything into the kitchen before pulling his chair up closer to Lorelai and sitting back down.

"So, I talked to Rory this morning." He revealed, and Lorelai nodded.

"I thought you might have." She replied. "She helped you with this?"

"It was really her idea." Luke admitted. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize. It doesn't matter whose idea it was." Lorelai shook her head. "This has been an amazing night, Luke."

"I'm glad you liked it." He gave her a quick kiss before continuing. "So, I talked to Rory, and I realized that we have both been afraid of the same thing."

"Really? What's that?"

"Well, when I found out about April, my first impulse was to tell you." He said. "And I was about to, but that was the day Rory came back, and you were so happy, and I didn't want to ruin it."

"That's very thoughtful of you, but you could have told me." Lorelai replied. "It wouldn't have ruined it."

"I know, but I didn't then. So I didn't tell you, and then the time just went by, and it was easier not to bring it up." He continued. "Mostly because I was afraid that you would change your mind about getting married."

"And I thought that you didn't want to get married anymore because you didn't tell me about April." Lorelai concluded, and Luke nodded.

"We both jumped to conclusions too fast." He said.

"We practically bungy-jumped there." Lorelai joked, and Luke returned her smile.

"I guess we did."

"Listen, Luke, I would never change my mind about getting married." Lorelai said, getting serious again. "Not because of April or anything else that might come our way."

"Me neither." He agreed. "But since I know that actions speak louder than words..." He stood up and took the velvet box from his pocket before getting down on one knee.

"What are you..." Lorelai started, but stopped when Luke looked up at her.

"I have loved you since the day you set foot in the diner almost ten years ago. I never thought that the day would come when I actually got to be with you, love you. But it has, and I don't ever want to go back to the way things were before. So, I'm asking you this. Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, will you marry me?"

"I would love to." She half whispered back, and he gave her the box. "But you already gave me an engagement ring."

"I know. Just open it."

She let out a small laugh as she opened the velvet box.

"It's pretty." She said, taking the ring in her hand.

"Here." He took the ring from her and placed it on her right ring finger.

"I bet not a lot of people have two engagement rings." She noted.

"I bet not."

"We're getting married." She said, the look on her face similar to the one of children on Christmas Day. He gave her a hard kiss before getting up from the floor, extending a hand to her. "June third?" She took his hand and stood up as well.

"June third."

The End