"Elizabeth?" Lucas whispered. She was studying for her Business Development final and he hated to bother her.
"Hm?" she asked, chewing on the top of her highlighter.
"Please tell me you're packed."
"Its an overnight trip, Luke. Not much to pack."
"We have to leave at 7am tomorrow morning."
"We will."
It was certainly a change for him to be the one with the plan and her not to stress about it.
He tried to concentrate on his own final coming up Tuesday but his mind was on his interview.
"What if I blow it?" he asked, tossing his book on the bed.
"Your interview? You won't."
"How do you know?"
"I just do. You're going to be brilliant and they'll hire you on the spot."
She put her eyes back on her textbook and underlined again.
"Wanna makeout?" he asked, he asked nudging her foot, needing that blush to make him feel better.
Her eyes popped up to his and there it was. Mission accomplished. He grinned.
"I'm studying," she said leaning over and kissing him.
"We've been studying for an hour. I need a break."
She put the cap back on her highlighter and closed her book. She then reached for his hand.
"Lucas, you're going to do fine. You know architecture. You know how to be calm and professional. Worst case, you don't get the job, you'll apply somewhere else."
He laid down and pulled her down too. They lay shoulder to shoulder on her full size bed, hands linked.
"Thank you, Elizabeth."
"For what?"
"Being my voice of reason. For your support. For being my best friend."
He kissed her cheek and closed his eyes. His favorite thing to do was to relax with his girl. To quietly reflect on their relationship. On how deeply in-like he was with her.
"Lucas?" she whispered.
"Hm?"
"You fell asleep."
His eyes popped open and he smiled. She was facing him, their faces only about two or three inches apart.
"You're beautiful," he whispered back, bringing his mouth to hers.
He could see she wanted to say something so he waited a moment, kissing her again.
"Have you ever…been with…a woman?"
"This is a big conversation. Should we order some food first?"
"If you have, it's okay. It can be a quick answer."
"I haven't," he admitted. "I know it's not common for someone my age to not have been with someone but…I wanted to wait for the one that I love." He left out that he thought that was her. "Making love…it's called that for a reason. At least for me. Do you think that's weird?"
"Nope."
"Have you ever been with someone?"
"No. I've never been in love before."
Though, the feelings she was having for this wonderful, somewhat unconventional man laying with her could be that.
….
As they drove to Charlotte the next morning, Elizabeth received a text on her phone.
"Lucas, how would you feel about stopping in Hope Valley on our way back to Raleigh tomorrow?"
"Hope Valley?"
"Yeah. Well, my step-mom Lynn and my Dad want to meet you and I'd love to see them too."
Nothing like more pressure. Meeting the parents and a gigantic job interview all in one weekend.
"You can say no. I won't be mad. I'll just say we have other plans."
"No. I want to meet them. I'm just nervous."
"Why? They'll love you." Like I might, she said to herself. It was a bit surprising after only dating for like six weeks but her heart felt it.
"What if I bomb the interview? I can't meet your parents after I fail something like a job interview."
"Lucas, why are you so worried about this? From the beginning of our relationship you were the one who was so strong and so ready to take on the world. What changed?"
They did. They got closer and closer and he wanted to spend every minute he could with her and now…this was a big change and he wanted to be able to take care of her. He needed a good job to do that.
"I just want to be good enough," he said quietly.
"Can we pull over? Let's take a walk or something."
"We don't have time. My interview…"
"Isn't until 1pm. We need some air. Come on, Luke."
He pulled off the interstate and into a rest area. Once he parked, he watched as she got out of the car, walked to his side and opened his door.
Then she held out her hand and they started walking toward the woods behind the rest area.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do."
"Then let's just enjoy ourselves."
As they walked a bit, she squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. He couldn't help but grin back.
"How are you now?"
"Curious why you had me stop the car and take a walk in the woods."
"You needed a distraction."
"Well, it's dark anyway."
She stopped walking and turned toward him, slipping her arms around his waist and hugging him. "Lucas, you are good enough. You are smart and adorable and my very best friend. You know how to be an architect. You know how to be exactly what you need to be and when it's time for us to move forward together, you'll be great at that too."
He held her for a long moment and then kissed her soft lips. "How did I get so lucky?"
"I think that our future is bright, Lucas. Whatever it holds, as long as we are there for each other, we will be fine."
She stood on her toes and kissed him back. "Let's get back on the road?"
….
They hired him on the spot. No next interview. They knew of the Bouchard name and took that to mean that he was needed at their company. So he was officially hired as a Junior Architectural designer.
"I'm not sure what that means," Elizabeth said with a smile as she greeted him in their hotel suite.
"I will be using computer drafting and working on designing buildings with the design team at Collins."
"I'm so proud of you," she told him, kissing his cheek.
"Thank you."
He wrapped his arms around her and breathed in the scent that was uniquely her.
"Elizabeth?"
She pulled back and looked up at him. "Hm?"
"I'm falling in love with you."
"You…I mean…"
"You don't have to say it back and I know that its quick but…I want you to know how I feel."
"I've never been in love, Luke. I don't know if that's what I'm feeling or not," she admitted.
"Okay."
"I know that you are the one I want to be with. I want us to always be best friends."
"Is that all?"
"No. Of course not. I just…I'm not sure what kind of "more" I'm ready for."
"We don't have to be anything more than we are right now. I'm not trying to pressure you. I promise."
"I know and I truly appreciate that."
He nodded and threaded their fingers together. "Let's go grab lunch and then we can see the city."
"Okay."
He couldn't say that he wasn't somewhat disappointed that she didn't return his sentiment. However, he knew that maybe she just needed more time than he did to put a term to what she was feeling.
It didn't honestly matter. He knew that she cared for him a lot. She showed him without words.
….
The next morning, they headed to Hope Valley to see her parents. She was excited. It had been over a month since she'd gone home and she missed them.
She gripped his hand harder as the GPS told them which street to turn down.
When he pulled in, she could feel the nerves radiating off him. "Hey, they're going to love you as much as I…" she started to say, stopping short. "Oh my…I do, Lucas. I love you!"
"I thought you weren't sure."
"I am. I just realized it." She squealed, blaming Rosie for knowing how to do that, and reached over and kissed him. "Wow."
She kissed him a second time. "I love you!"
"I'm glad," he said, laughing. "Um…is that your Dad?" he asked, breaking her third kiss.
"Yes." She got out and ran up to the older gentleman. "Daddy!"
"Hi, Bethie. Is that your boyfriend?"
"Yep." She held out her hand for Lucas. He was standing a few feet behind her.
"Lucas Bouchard. This is my father, William Thatcher. Daddy, this is Lucas."
"Nice to meet you, sir," Lucas said, shaking his hand.
William nodded and shook his hand. "Bethie told my wife and I you are graduating soon. A BA in architecture?"
"Yes, sir. My grandfather and my father were architects."
"Oh yes. Bouchard is a well known name. Bethie also told me that you came to Charlotte for an interview. How did that go?" William and Lucas headed into the backyard.
Elizabeth felt her step-mom walk up next to her, slipping her arm around Elizabeth's waist. "He's very handsome, Beth. And very tall."
"Yes."
"You love him!" Lynn whispered loudly.
"Yeah. I just figured that out."
"Oh, honey. That's wonderful."
"Its scary," she admitted.
"It can be but you just need to trust each other and take your time."
She appreciated that advice. She still missed her mom but having Lynn, such a sweet woman, there to give her help when needed was great.
"Babe!" Lucas yelled from the corner of the house.
Elizabeth giggled. He was so adorable and never called her babe before.
She walked over to him, leaving her step-mom behind.
"Did you call me babe?"
"That's what you are. My babe," he whispered, wrapping her into a hug.
"That's very sweet. Does it matter that my parents are watching?"
"Nope."
"But before in the car…."
"I was nervous. I'm fine now."
He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her deeply.
"Lucas," she whispered, embarrassed, burying her head in his shoulder.
"I love you, Elizabeth."
"I love you too."
….
Later, after eating a dinner of barbecue ribs, corn on the cob and salad, Elizabeth and Lucas sat together on the deck out back.
William was inside helping Lynn with the dishes.
"Are you sure you're okay with staying here tonight?" Elizabeth asked him.
"I'm sure. Tomorrow we can just take our time heading back."
Elizabeth heard the clanging of dishes in the kitchen behind them, allowing herself to imagine a life soon where she and Lucas would share the duty of doing dishes.
"Are you excited to move to Charlotte?" she wondered a few quiet moments later.
"I'm excited to get going. To start a job and build a life for myself."
He felt her stiffen and then relax, almost as if his words made her nervous but then realized she didn't need to be.
He looked down at her and she looked back, questions in her blue eyes.
"Trust me, babe."
"I do." She did. She just wondered where she fit in to his future.
"You are going to be a part of my future," he assured her. "But you have a year left of school and I will just be starting my job. We are going to be busy. Too busy to give each other the time and attention that newlyweds would need."
"I know. You're right." She knew that hurrying into something as big as marriage might be a mistake. So, she would try to be patient.
"That being said, would you come with me to Charlotte after graduation to help me find a place to live?"
"Sure."
"Trust each other and take your time," Lynn told her earlier.
"Tell me," Lucas gently asked. "What are you feeling?"
"Lynn told me to trust you and to take our time. That love won't seem so scary if we do that. So I'm going to try. Something you probably know about me is that patience isn't my strong suit. I'm a planner and I want to get things done and I'm anxious to do those things."
He pulled her onto his lap and held her tight, pressing his nose and lips against her cheek and temple. "We will get through everything together. I promise you, Elizabeth. I'm not leaving you."
"Okay." She held on tight to the man she loved, and she made a vow to herself to just allow him to lead her through the next year or so.