CHAPTER NINE

Brightly lit candles provided the only source of light in the once, pitch black bedroom. At the foot of the bed, a small table for 2 had been set up with a wine bottle positioned in the center.

"Allow me," Luke pulled out a chair for her.

He was wooing her. Tracy never thought it'd happen. This, she would've enjoyed, if it hadn't been months too late.

"Is that left over snake?" she gestured disgustedly towards her plate.

"Sorry, Spunky. Best I could do."

"Where'd you find the wine?"

"Does it matter?" he winked. "Come on. Have a seat."

Did he really do all of this for me? Tracy Quartermaine could definitely get used to this, but it wouldn't be fair to let Luke believe the marriage might work out after all.

"What do you need, Luke?" she pretended not to fascinated by what he had done.

"I need you to know that I was serious before about um…about us." He sat directly across from her, careful to only look at her, not stroke her hand or reach over and put that piece of stray hair behind her ear, no matter how much he wanted to. "You do deserve better."

"Yep, which I'm divorcing your ass," she responded wittily. Her left elbow rested on the table, as she cupped her chin in her left palm.

"Aww, are we resorting to name calling?"

"Aww, what's the matter? Get your feelings hurt?" she mocked him.

Luke chuckled. "All right, Spanky. You should know that I care a great deal about you and don't want to lose what we have, but—"

Did he just admit to caring about me?

Luke must have read her mind, "Yes, Spanky. I care about you. Just as you care about me. Who are we trying to kid?"

She pressed her lips together as if she were about to say something. Instead, she just sighed exasperatingly.

"Ahem. As I was saying…I don't want to lose what we have, but if this is what you want—"

"This is what I want," she interjected.

"Then I guess it would be wrong to stand in your way," he picked up his fork and dug into the snake. "Of course," he looked up at his wife. "Wrong and Luke Spencer go hand in hand. I mean, really? Me, doing the right thing?" He started laughing at himself.

Tracy sipped her wine and looked in the opposite direction, obviously irritated with his behavior.

"Anyway," he continued. "I'll grant you the divorce, Spankybuns, but don't think this is the end. Just ask your brother."

"Ask my brother? What the hell are you talking about? What does Alan have to do with anything?" She knew she was missing the point here. No way would Alan have any part in reuniting his sister with Luke Spencer.

"Well, nothing really, but he and Monica have gotten divorced and then remarried, haven't they?"

"Oh, yes, and they're just going so strong, aren't they?" she joked.

"Well, it's been decades since he tried to kill her."

"Good point," she titled her glass forward.

"So, what do you say?" he lifted his glass in the air. "To our future as—" he paused. Tracy filled in the blanks, "really good friends." Luke started over, "To our future as really good friends and possibly even more—once I show my Spankybuns how serious I am about her and ask her to remarry me," he mumbled that last bit under his breath, just loud enough so Tracy could hear.

That got a chuckle out of her, "I heard that."

"What?" he shrugged. "I didn't say a thing."

"You said all the right things," she smiled. "You have been since earlier, and should you prove yourself, and I mean really prove yourself, to be worthy of moi, Tracy Quartermaine, I might just say 'yes.'"

"Wait. What?"

She stood up and began to leave, "You heard me, darling. Just don't get your hopes up. It's going to take a hell of a lot more than cream colored rocks and roasted snake dinners in the candle light to convince me. Oh," she paused. "And just so you know, I don't plan on waiting around forever. Good night, Luke…and um, happy anniversary."

She put her fingers through her tangled bed hair before shooting him a devilish grin and exiting the room.

Luke smiled contently. "Happy anniversary," he responded. This was his chance to get it right, and that's exactly what he was going to do.

Special thanks to DebbieB for looking this over for me:)