Chapter 39
A few minutes later Lucas pulled away and got up on his own.
He offered his hand to her.
"Come on, lets eat. You must be hungry", he went to pick up the plates, but she stopped him.
"I'll take them. No need to put any more pressure on that hand", she got up, took the plates and they went to the table.
Grace quickly went to get the chairs, one by one, stopping Lucas from doing it with three words.
"Don't. You. Dare", she gave him a warning look and Lucas couldn't help but smile as he sat down.
"You know, I never thought you could be threatening", as she made a face at him, Lucas' smile grew. He watched her with love as she poured them both a cup of tea.
Grace shook her head, trying to hold back a smile.
"Life taught me", she gave in with a grin.
Lucas' face softened. He knew how hard her life has been ever since early childhood.
"You must have been so scared", he whispered gently.
Grace swallowed and shrugged.
"Lillian would tell you that I was too stubborn to give up. Which may be true, to some level", she smiled weakly "It was as it was. You have to fight for everything when you are alone. Otherwise you don't have neither food on your table neither roof above your head", she took a bite of her toast, scrambled eggs and avocado "This is delicious. I never tried avocado like this", she smiled at him "Looks like hedonism runs in your family".
Lucas watched her carefully, noticing how she tried to change the subject - going from talking about not having any food to enjoying simple French toast with mashed avocado and scrambled eggs on it.
It was then and there he decided that she would want for nothing by his side. He would give her the Moon and the stars. He would always take care of her.
Wiping her lips with a napkin, Grace sighed.
"That was amazing. Thank you. You'll have to teach me how to make this", she said.
Lucas nodded.
"On one condition", he said.
Grace slightly smiled.
"What's that?", she asked.
Lucas gave her a small, warm smile.
"That you share your recipe of blueberry cookies with me", he said, making Grace smile.
She watched his dear face, taking in each line and then she quickly took his hand in hers.
"I have a better proposition", she smiled widely at his raised eyebrows and loving smile "Lets make them now. I know how fond you are of them and they are quickly done".
Lucas smile turned mischievous.
"Invading Gustave's kitchen while he isn't here?", he asked and at her giggle and nod he replied with a wolfish grin "I'm in".
Grace jumped up from the chair and tried to put away the dishes, but Lucas stopped her.
"Leave it. Gustave will take care of it later", he took her hand and led her out og the room, heading to the kitchen.
Suddenly, Grace gasped.
"Wait! Do we have time?", at Lucas' quizzical look she explained "Your friends. The couple that wants to adopt. When are they coming?"
"Oh! Them. Right", Lucas rubbed the back of his neck "Actually, uh…they are coming tomorrow", he stammered.
Grace watched him, an amused smile curling up one side of her lips.
"Lucas Bouchard, were you deceiving me?", she asked.
Lucas took her hand and brought it to his lips. Kissing her knuckles, he replied:
"I wouldn't call it deceiving", he stated, causing Grace to chuckle.
"Oh, really?"
Lucas nodded.
"Yes. It was more kind of…delaying the truth", he winked at her causing her smile to widen as she laughed.
God, she is beautiful!
"How so?", she asked, her smile constant as they entered the kitchen.
"Well, I didn't deceive you. There is really a couple who is looking for adoption. I just…delayed their coming for tomorrow and…"
"...and didn't tell me about it", giggled Grace.
Lucas shrugged.
"Time is of no relevance", he said as he put the apron on and handed her one as well "Could you…", he pointed at his apron.
Grace nodded, smiling.
"Yeah, sure", she tied his apron and, unable to resist, she hugged him from behind, leaning her head on his right side "So, you just decided to get everybody out of the mansion so you can seduce me?", her eyes met his, fire colliding fire.
"Well, I couldn't invite you to come here on that pretext, now could I?", he whispered.
Grace kissed his shoulder, inhaling deeply, his scent washing over her.
"Thank you", he heard her whisper and turned his head to look at her as she hid her face in his shoulder.
"For what, sweetheart?", he asked her gently.
Sweetheart.
Warmth rushed through Grace, her heart thumping so loudly that she could hear it and bet that Lucas could too.
She buried her face deeper in his shoulder, closing her eyes, holding him in her arms.
It felt so good.
"Hey", she heard him whisper as he caressed her arms "Come here".
She reluctantly let go of him and looked down, growing silent.
Lucas turned around to face her.
"What's the matter?", he silently asked, as his finger gently lifted her chin "You know you can tell me anything, darling", he said seriously.
Darling.
Grace's eyes connected with his warm gaze and she swallowed, trying to hold her tears at bay.
She sniffed slightly, fighting tears.
"For caring. For always being there. For loving me", her voice was small "Except for Lillian, no one ever did", she silently admitted.
Her words broke his heart.
She took a breath in, and carefully continued.
"People always saw me as a bit weird, the one that never fits in. Which is hypocritical because they wanted to put me in a mold, to make me behave the certain way. Their way", her thumb and index finger played nervously with their counterparts on the other hand "Patrick always fought with me about the orphanage. He couldn't understand why I wanted to do it. He wanted me to quit that, stay at home and just…to quote him 'stop meddling in other people's business'. And then you came and not only you accepted that part of me, which is a vital part of me, but you wanted to be a part of it. You wanted to help", she sniffed again, a few tears becoming too heavy and escaping her eyes.
"Hey, hey, Grace, come here", Lucas whispered as he hugged her with his good arm and pulled her closer to him. As she hid her face in his chest, he kissed her hair, wishing he could hug her properly.
Blasted shoulder!
"I know what it's like to be cold and hungry and scared. I know what it's like when you have to learn how to defend yourself because there is nobody there to protect you. I don't want anyone to go through that, especially not the little ones, Lucas", she mumbled through tears.
Lucas held her tighter, just knowing the fact that she was old as the kids at the New Hope orphanage when her entire world came crashing down, made him feel even more protective of her.
"Sweetheart", he gently called out to her "I am so sorry that you had to go through all that. But you are not alone anymore. And don't let anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't be doing what you are doing. Your care and commitment to those children are one of the things that made me fall in love with you", he said warmly, causing her to look up at him with teary eyes. Lucas leaned down and gently kissed both her eyes "I would never want to change that or anything about you. I fell in love with you because of who you are and because of how much love you give to others. You give yourself fully to everything and everybody", he gently smiled at her "If there were more people like you, this world would be a much better place. But, you are making your part of the world a better place. I would never change that about you", he playfully kissed top of her cute little nose causing her to smile wobbly "Okay?"
Grace nodded, smiling a bit more and wiping her tears.
She looked up back at those warm brown eyes she loved so much.
"Thank you", she whispered "Thank you for being you".
He kissed her then, gently and lovingly, pouring his entire heart and soul in it. He could feel as she calmed down in his embrace.
Pulling away, he grinned devilishly.
"Now…should we make some mess?", he wiggled his eyebrows playfully and his heart warmed at her sweet laughter.
"Lets do it!", she grinned.
‐—--
For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
I'll be forever thankful baby
You're the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You're the one who saw me through through it all.
You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'cause you believed
I'm everything I am
Because you loved me
Ooh, baby
You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand, I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love, I had it all
I'm grateful for each day you gave me
Maybe I don't know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by you
You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'cause you believed I'm everything I am
Because you loved me
You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You've been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you
You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'cause you believed I'm everything I am
Because you loved me.
(Celine Dion - "Because you loved me")