Author's note: Merci to Helene for all the wonderful ideas she had and for our brainstorming about this story!
—--
Previously on "To have and to hold":
And as she put her fingertips inside the opening at the top of his dress shirt, she reveled at him closing his eyes, letting out a shuddering breath.
And she leaned in and whispered directly to his ear:
"Well, Governor…you are not the only one who's losing their breath and mind tonight."
—--
Grace pulled back to look at him and a breath escaped her at the look in his eyes.
Lucas leaned his forehead on hers and looked at her eyes, making her breath accelerate at the smouldering storm that was pooling in his dark orbs.
"You, Miss Bennet, are playing with a fire", he whispered huskily, causing her to bit her lower lip as she glanced down at his lips.
He didn't need more of invitation than that.
Lucas leaned down and kissed her deeply, passionately. Her hand cupped his cheek while her other palm brushed against a skin on his collarbone, reveling in the way his heart beat - like it would burst out from his chest.
The feeling of her fingers on his bare skin made Lucas almost lose all control. She never shied away from their passion and it almost made him go insane.
With the last atom of strength Lucas pulled away.
Grace pulled back too, knowing that things may spiral out of control, as far as she was concerned.
And judging by his heavy breathing, Lucas was feeling the same.
She looked up at him.
"Perhaps it's best that we sit down and order a dinner", she said and reluctantly let go of him.
I am in so much trouble.
As they sat down Grace took the Menu and opened it, but not really reading it.
How is it possible that he grows more handsome every time I see him?!
Clearing her throat and trying to clear her fuzzy mind as well, Grace raised her eyebrows and smiled.
"So…any preferences for the meal?", she peeked at him.
He seemed amused as he watched her with a soft gaze, his lips twitching.
Grace creased her eyebrows.
What the…?
Pursuing her lips a bit, she glanced back at the Menu.
"I think I may go with a smoked salmon…", she huffed in frustration as the Menu suddenly seemed to be written in Chinese language.
And she definitely heard Lucas stifling a laugh.
Puzzled, she looked up at him.
"What?", she asked in confusion.
Lucas' shoulders shook with suppressed laughter and he held his index finger on his lips, watching her with sparkling, smiling eyes.
Grace tilted her head to the left.
"Have I suddenly grown two more heads?", she asked, having absolutely no idea what's got into him.
Lucas leaned toward her and she watched in confusion as his fingers took a hold of her Menu.
And then her eyes widened as he slowly turned the Menu around in her hands.
Oh, for Heaven's sake!
Grace's mouth gaped slightly open.
She was reading the Menu upside down!
She placed the Menu on the table and slowly slammed her head down on it, sending Lucas into fits of laughter.
He inched closer to her on a bar settee, hugging her shoulders and trying to pick her head back up.
Grace groaned.
"Just let me die here from embarrassment", she picked up her head and placed it on her palms with her elbows on the table.
Lucas leaned his head to be next to hers.
"Do you know how adorable you are?", he asked through a smile.
Grace made a face like she was grinning, but she actually gritted her teeth, giving a smile that could compare to a Wicked Witch of West.
Lucas laughed even harder at her facial expression.
"Okay, now you are frightening me", he wiped tears of laughter from his cheeks while the other hand slightly tugged at her shoulders.
She peeked at him behind her fingers and groaned again.
"It's your fault, you know", Grace grumbled as she let him pull her to his side and lean on the bar settee "You look at me like that and I forget what day it is."
Lucas chuckled at his love's embarrassment as he cupped her cheek and turned her head to face him. His fingers caressed her cheek as he gave her another smile.
"There is no one in this world like you, Grace Bennet", he gently said.
Grace huffed.
"I know. Other people read like they are supposed to read", she groaned, making Lucas laugh again.
He pulled her head closer to him and gave her a short, loving kiss with his smiling lips.
"I adore you, mon coeur", he said and she couldn't help but smile at his words. Lucas playfully kissed the tip of her nose and asked "Now, what do you recommend?", he asked as he pointed at the Menu.
Grace smiled as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Well, I wasn't kidding about smoked salmon. It's pretty delicious", she said with a smile.
Lucas nodded.
"Sounds good. And some white wine?", as Grace nodded, he reached for a Wine Card and gave it to her "Which one would you like?"
Grace perused the Wine Card and then he heard her whine silently.
"More Chinese!", she let her head fall back on the bar settee and Lucas chuckled.
"What?", he asked through laughter.
Grace glanced at him.
"You know that I am a hopeless case when it comes to wine. I could never remember the names", she mumbled.
Lucas took her palm and gently kissed her knuckles.
"Would you like me to order it for you?", he asked.
She let out a breath of relief.
"Yes. Please", she replied with a small smile.
Lucas nodded and waved to a waiter.
Looking back at Grace he asked:
"And you're still going with a smoked salmon?", as she nodded, he smiled "Good."
At that moment a waiter came and greeted them politely.
Lucas gave him both his and Grace's Menus as he said:
"We will have two smoked salmon and, do you have 'Pouilly Fumé'?"
The waiter nodded.
"Yes, sir, we have 'Chateau de Ladoucette", he replied.
Lucas nodded, a look of satisfaction on his face.
"Excellent. We'll have a bottle of it. Thank you", he said and the waiter went away to place their order.
Lucas looked back at Grace to see that her attention was on the band that played that evening. He kissed her knuckles once again as he enjoyed the music. She smiled happily at his gentle kiss, glancing back at him.
He gently squeezed her fingers.
"My love, I cannot tell you how much all this means to me…That you went through so much trouble for this date..", he started to talk, but she interrupted him with a wide smile.
"It was no trouble at all", she said warmly "I like to see you happy."
Lucas let out a shaky breath at hearing those words and gently brushed his thumb across her knuckles.
"Thank you for that. And thank you for your amazing presents, Grace, but you shouldn't spend so much on me", he gently said.
Grace giggled.
"Oh, don't worry about it, my Lucas", she said, her eyes sparkling like diamonds "Actually, you should thank your friends and yourself for all those presents", at Lucas' blank look, Grace giggled "Because I paid for all that with the money I won at poker!"
Lucas gasped then started to laugh together with her.
"You really cleaned us out, didn't you?", he asked with a grin, earning himself a wiggle of eyebrows and a devilish smile.
At that moment, the waiter brought their food and poured them each a glass of wine.
They smiled at each other and started to eat.
At the first taste of smoked salmon Lucas closed his eyes.
"Oh, this is so good!", he moaned as he took another bite of toast, salmon and butter.
Grace smiled as she took a sip of her wine.
"And as always, an excellent choice of wine", she spread some butter on her toast and placed a piece of salmon on it before biting into a tasty meal. After she swallowed a bite, she glanced at Lucas "What were you up to today?"
Lucas took a sip of his wine and after swallowing a bite, he replied.
"Had some boring meetings, then started to work on a business plan for Board of Health. Which reminds me", he smiled happily "I spoke to Carson and he accepted the job."
Grace gasped before she clapped her hands in joy.
"Oh, Lucas, that's wonderful! He will do such a great job! Think of everything he will start in order to improve medical care!" she smiled widely, so happy to hear the news about her friend.
Lucas nodded with a smile of his own.
"He most certainly will. And I told him that it was your idea to call him for the job", he said as he took another piece of toast.
Grace smiled.
"You didn't have to do that. It's not important", she said as she went back to her meal.
Lucas raised his eyebrows as he put on a mock serious expression.
"Well, it is for Carson. Now he knows, and I am quoting him here, who is the brain in our relationship", he said and winked at her.
Grace felt her heart warm up.
"You told him about us?", she silently asked.
Lucas smiled gently at her.
"Of course I did. And he is happy for us. He said that you are a lovely lady and one of the best people he had ever met", he took a sip of his wine and giving her a seductive smile, he silently added "And I agree with him."
Grace felt her eyes burning with unshed tears at hearing Lucas' words.
She leaned toward him and he immediately met her half way as their lips touched gently and lovingly.
She breathed him in and opened her eyes, whispering:
"I love you."
Lucas gently nuzzled his nose against hers.
"I love you, too", he whispered.
They kissed one more time before returning to their meals.
And in that moment, the band started to play a lively tune and Grace squealed jumping up, meal and wine forgotten.
"Oh, I love this song!", and before Lucas could say anything, she danced away toward the dancing podium, twirling herself and letting her hair loose.
He watched in amusement as she stopped, realizing that something was missing.
And how she rushed back toward their table, practically bouncing on her feet as she pulled him up on his feet. He laughed as she led him toward the dancing podium and they danced surrounded with other people.
Next song was a slow one, and Lucas gently pulled Grace close to him as they slowly swayed to the sound of music.
She closed her eyes as she leaned her cheek on his.
"This feels nice", she whispered to his ear as her fingers joined on the back of his neck.
Lucas gently kissed her soft hair, his arms wrapped around her as he moved them slowly over the dance floor.
Lost in their own world, they didn't even notice the commotion and whispers at the nearby tables.
They just stayed like this for a few more songs before they left to return to their table.
They finished their meal and sipped on the wine, talking about all kinds of things when they noticed an older man coming toward them.
Grace recognized Alfonso, the owner of the jazz bar and creased her eyebrows at some kind of sad and upset expression on his face.
"Mr. Alfonso?", she watched as he sat down across from them "Is everything alright?"
Alfonso let out a frustrated breath and shook his head.
"I am so sorry, Miss Grace… But, it seems that somebody recognized you and Governor and called the press…", his face was apologetic "They are outside and won't leave", as Grace let out her own breath of frustration, Lucas glanced at Alfonso and asked:
"Is there another way out?"
Alfonso nodded.
"Yes, at the back door, I will show you. I am so sorry about this, Governor", he said apologetically.
Lucas shook his head, giving him a small smile.
"It's not your fault. Thank you for telling us", he looked at Grace who was staring at the table with a faraway and sad look. He gently took her fingers and silently called her "Grace?", she flinched a bit, startled and looked at him.
Without a word, she nodded and they got up.
They followed Alfonso through the back corridor until they reached the doors. Alfinso opened them a bit and peeked out.
"It's clear", he turned to look at them "Where did you park your car?"
Grace picked up her hand to the right only to let it fall despondently against her side a second later.
"In that little alley on the right", she replied gloomily.
Alfonso nodded.
"Alright. It will take you a few minutes to get there by foot between the buildings, but you will be able to escape the press", he said with a smile of encouragement "We will make sure that they don't follow you."
Grace pressed her lips tightly together before saying silently:
"Thank you, Mr. Alfonso."
Lucas thanked Alfonso as well and in the next moment they went out.
Lucas looked down at Grace who was unusually quiet.
"Hey", he stopped her and picked up her chin with his index finger "What's the matter?"
Grace's eyes filled with tears.
"They've ruined everything. I wanted this to be a special night for you, that you relax after a hard days of work and now we have to play hide and seek with stupid press", she mumbled, a few warm tears rolling down her cheeks as she looked down again.
Lucas quickly cupped her cheeks.
"Hey, hey, Grace, look at me", he whispered and as she looked back at him, he gave her a gentle smile, his thumbs caressing her cheeks as the softest breeze, gently wiping her tears "It was the perfect night. And who says it has to be over? We just have to escape these photographers."
She pressed her lips tightly together and nodded after a few seconds.
He took her hand in hid and started to walk toward the alley where their car was when they heard footsteps, like someone was rushing from the other side of the jazz bar.
Lucas looked at Grace and grinned.
"Shall we give them a run for their money, angel?", he winked at her.
Grace couldn't help but laugh.
"They can eat our dust!", she quipped and as the voices and steps came closer, she bursted to laugh, exclaiming "RUN!!"
They rushed toward the two small buildings, laughing all the time.
"Hurry!", Lucas chuckled as he ran a bit in front of her, their hands joined.
Grace huffed with a smile.
"Oh, I'd like to see you run in these heels, Governor!", she barely finished her sentence when she felt Lucas' hands picking her up and rushing between the buildings, making her squeal and
laugh as they barely managed to hide behind the wall before a horde of photographers ran down the street, completely missing them!
Grace was leaning her palms against the brick wall as Lucas stood behind her, both of them peeking from their hiding place to check where did the photographers run off and they both laughed as they realized that they actually managed to outrun them!
Grace turned around, still chuckling at their escapade and it was only then that she noticed how close was Lucas to her.
She looked up and could swear that the air between them sizzled. He was so close.
But, not close enough.
She felt his hands leaning on the brick wall on the both sides of her head as he tried to hold himself back.
But, she didn't want him to hold back.
Their breaths mingled as they stared into each other's eyes.
His heated gaze was enough to send her head spinning.
Her fingers slowly started to unbutton his coat and she watched as surprise washed over his face and eyes.
Grace finished unbuttoning his coat and, shivering with anticipation, love and desire, she slowly moved toward him and gently leaned into his body.
She felt more than heard his breath hitching.
Closing her eyes, she found an opening on the top of his dress shirt and she licked her lips with tip of her tongue before whispering:
"I'm cold."
And with those words she snuggled even closer to him and gently kissed exposed skin between his neck and collarbone.
And the dam broke.
She felt him let out a shuddering breath before he gently pushed her back against the wall.
Grace silently whimpered in delight and watched him directly in his eyes as Lucas wrapped her in his coat and pressed his body closer to her.
She gasped in pleasure, feeling her blood boil in her veins like a steamy lava.
And then he kissed her.
His lips brushed against hers, starting gently only to grow more and more passionate, urgent, needy. Grace moaned in pleasure and kissed him back, her body arching into his.
Don't lose control, Lucas. Don't do it.
Gasping for air, he pulled his lips from hers and closed his eyes, his forehead creasing as he tried not to fall apart.
Think about tomorrow. She doesn't need you to take advantage of her. She needs to be loved and cherished.
His gaze fell to her palm and bare fingers as she put them on his chest, breathing heavily.
Tomorrow, if all goes as it should, I will put a ring on her finger.
He looked up at her, ready to apologize for almost crossing the line.
But as he looked up at her, he saw her watching him with a wide smile that quickly turned into a giggle.
He couldn't help but laugh.
His endearing, silly Grace.
"What?", he silently asked.
Grace shook her head as she took his hands.
"Imagine if some of those photographers came back", she bursted to laugh "We might have ended up on the front page!"
She fell against his chest, laughing her heart out and Lucas burst to laughter, wrapping his arms around her.
My wonderful, darling, one of a kind Grace.
Please, say yes.
—--
They stood in front of the orphanage and Grace took keys from her purse.
Turning around she smiled as Lucas tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"I had a lovely time tonight", he whispered as he gave her a short, gentle kiss "Thank you."
Grace caressed his bearded cheek.
"I'm just sorry that it was cut short. Next time, we are bringing in gorillas", she giggled, making Lucas laugh.
As their laughter drifted away, she kissed his lips one more time, gently and lovingly.
"See you tomorrow?", she whispered, her eyes never leaving his gaze.
Lucas felt his heart spiraling down to his toes and back up in his chest.
"You bet. Bonne nuit, ma chérie", he whispered.
Grace's eyes sparkled.
"Bonne nuit, mon amour", she whispered back.
And as the doors of orphanage closed behind her, Lucas took a deep breath in and walked to his car.
Please, say yes, Grace.