"Eeee!" Rosie squealed, hugging Elizabeth who she'd known for all of ten seconds.
"Oh, Elizabeth. You're just as beautiful as Lucas said." She hooked her arm through Elizabeth's and pretty much dragged her into the house.
"Where are we going?"
"We are going to carry the drinks, glasses and hotdogs and s'mores stuff out to our men."
As they got things ready, Elizabeth brought up adoption. "Lucas told me you and Lee are adopting?"
Rosie's smile lit up the room, even though Elizabeth could see sadness in her eyes, perhaps from being unable to conceive?
"We are. He's three years old. He's gorgeous. Would you like to see a picture?"
"Absolutely. I'd love to."
"This is Julian. We are giving him the middle name Lee."
"Oh, gosh, Rosemary. He's beautiful. Congratulations!"
"Thank you. I've wanted to be a mother for so long. I can't believe it's actually happening."
"That's wonderful. When will you go pick him up?"
"Three weeks. He's in Texas at a foster home. We do a video call with him every few days." Rosie teared up and laughed. "I love him so much."
"Do you have his nursery all set up?"
"You don't know me, Beth, but I've had his nursery set up for ten months."
Elizabeth followed her down the hall and into an adorable mountain themed nursery. Dark wood dresser and crib. A soft rocking chair. A mountain mural on the wall.
"Its perfect, Rosemary. So calm and inviting."
"Thank you." Rosie sighed and hooked arms with Elizabeth again. "Okay, now tell me your intentions with our Luke."
"Intentions, huh?"
"Yeah. Lucas is one of the good guys, like Lee."
"I'm not going to break his heart, Rosemary. I promise. I love him so much. He's my best friend."
"Alright then. I had to check. Let's take the stuff out to our guys."
They both grabbed the items and walked out to the backyard where Lee and Lucas had started feeding the fire.
"So Lucas," Elizabeth said, walking up and hugging him around the waist.
"So, Beth."
"How do you like your s'mores? I'm good at s'mores."
"Is that so?"
"Mm."
She raised her eyebrows at him and he kissed her neck, giving her goosebumps. "Soft on the inside and brown on the outside. Not burnt."
"Okay. Want a beer or a glass of wine?"
"Beer, I think."
She left him and he couldn't stop smiling, watching her buzz around gathering a bottle of beer for each of them and marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers.
"You got it bad, dude," Lee teased.
"I love her, Lee. She's my heart and my home. I didn't even know what that meant until right this moment."
"That's great, Luke."
"Yeah. It really is."
"Here you go, babe," she said, handing him a beer. Then she carefully poked a stick through a marshmallow and held it near the fire, turning it slowly.
"I love you," he said, walking up to her side. "A lot, Beth."
"I love you back." He put his arm around her back, resting his hand on her hip.
"Wherever you want to be, that's where I'll go. So if you need to stay in Philly, I'll move." Soon. It was so hard to live so far from her.
She looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears.
"Oh no. I didn't mean to upset you. Was that too much?"
"No. I promise. It was so sweet, Lucas. Let's talk about the pros and cons of all of it, okay? Its not an easy decision and I would move here too. We just need to figure out what's best."
So they did that. They ate hotdogs, s'mores and had a few drinks. Then they went inside and played Scrabble with Rosie and Lee. Then when Rosie and Lee wanted to turn in, Lucas and Elizabeth decided to come back outside and cuddle by the fire before heading to Lucas' house.
So Lucas grabbed a lounge chair and pulled it closer to the fire. Beth brought a blanket from inside and they sat down.
"I've been thinking of expanding my party planning business," she started, leaning against his shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"Mm. Florence and Molly, my coworkers would run it and I could open a branch of it here."
"In Michigan?"
"Yeah. People have parties in Michigan," she teased.
"Sassy Beth," he teased back, holding her tighter.
"Sorry. Yes. Ever since my birthday I've been preparing Flo and Molly for the possibility of me moving. Just in case you and I decided that I should."
"Are you sure you want to move here? Your family is in Philly."
"And yours is here. Plus, you have that job opportunity. I think you should go for it, Luke. It's your dream."
"You're my dream," he whispered, meeting her mouth with his in a dizzying kiss. "You're my heart. Wherever you are is home for me."
She reached up and touched his beard, loving the feel of it. Loving being close, having deep, meaningful conversation. Just being in the vicinity of the man she loved was perfect.
"I feel the same, but I need you to know I will move here as your partner, Lucas. I will support you if you want to go for the finance job, or not. That's my promise to you."
They talked for another hour and just as she thought he'd gone to sleep she lifted her head from his chest and looked him in the eye. "Its getting late. Should we maybe head home?"
He nodded, leaned forward to kiss her, long and sweet and they both stood up. Lucas put out the last of the burning embers from the fire and held out his hand, leading her to the car.
"When we get there, I'd like to take a quick shower," she mentioned.
"Sure. Take your time." He didn't want her to take her time. He wanted her to do the opposite so they could enjoy the next part of their evening.
"Lucas," she said quietly, sighing.
"Hm?"
"I'm nervous."
"What about?"
"There's so much meaning in what we're choosing to do and we can't take it back. I don't want to take it back, I'm just nervous that you'll regret taking this step with me."
He pulled into his driveway two minutes later, put the car in park, took off his seatbelt and turned toward her.
"I can promise you with all my heart that making love to you will never be something I regret. That being said, your regret or lack of is just as valid. Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure." She kissed him twice.
"Alright. Also know that it's just me, Beth. There's nothing to be nervous about."
He got out, opened her door for her and led her into the house.
He led her to the master and showed her where the extra towels were.
"I'm going to wait in the living room, maybe pour some wine," he told her, kissing her forehead. "Take your time."
She did that, making sure she felt comfortable and beautiful for their special night. She put on the deep purple, satin, cami and shorts she had purchased, turning to look at the back in the mirror. It was all lace, sexy but she felt comfortable. More importantly, she knew Lucas would appreciate the effort.
She slipped a robe on of the same purple satin and took a deep breath before walking out into the master.
He had been busy while she was showering. He had turned down the bed with the new sheets and comforter they had bought that morning. Next he had lit about a half dozen candles and placed them on his dresser, giving just enough light to make it romantic.
He had placed two glasses of merlot next to the candles. The only thing missing was Lucas.
"Babe?" she said, walking into the living room.
"Here," he said from the kitchen. "Do you want any dessert?"
He gestured to some pie on the counter.
"If you do, sure."
He was standing there in a pair of dark blue flannel pants and a white t-shirt. He looked at her robe, hanging open, giving him a glimpse of her cute pajamas and long, toned legs.
"I feel sort of underdressed. Like maybe I should have bought something new," he mentioned, taking a bite of pie.
"You look great, Luke. I like this look," she said, gesturing. "Casual and comfy and you have really nice arms," she said, her eyes on his biceps where her hands now rested.
"Yeah? Well, your legs, Beth. Wow."
"Want to see my favorite part of my outfit?" she asked, removing her robe and turning around. The lace…well, it pretended to cover her back but the fact that it was see-through made his heart pound.
He put his plate down and moved up behind her. "Pie can wait," he whispered in her ear.
She turned, pushed up on her toes and gave him a deep, breath-stealing kiss. "Yeah. It can."
He let her lead him off to the master, flipping the light switch as they left the kitchen.
….
The next morning
Lucas woke up and rolled over, realizing Beth wasn't next to him. "Hon?"
He sniffed. Coffee. His beautiful Beth was making coffee in the kitchen…hopefully still in those hot purple shorts.
He got up, pulled his flannel pants on and walked to the kitchen. Yep, there she was, standing at the counter, her back to him, except no purple shorts.
He walked up behind her and kissed the nape of her neck, surprising her. "I was secretly hoping you'd still be wearing those purple pj's."
"I was cold. I hope you don't mind that I borrowed some things." She turned around, so completely adorable and beyond sexy wearing his oversized U of M sweatshirt and matching sweatpants.
"You're…somehow you, wearing my clothes…"
He couldn't express in words the tingling in his extremities, the itching in his fingers to pull her closer or his racing heart so he just kissed her and kissed her, lifting her up on the counter and stepping as close as he could get.
"I'm so glad you're here…" he told her, his lips still dancing with hers. "With me."
"Me too." She rested her forehead against his and breathed, her fingers in his beard. "I love you so much, Lucas," she whispered. "I'm so grateful to have you in my life."
She buried her face in his neck and took a deep breath of his scent, wrapping her arms around him tight.
He felt her tremble. Was she crying?
"Hey, babe, what is it?"
"I just can't believe I'm finally going to have what I've always wanted. A family of my own. I saw my sisters and…I just thought maybe I wouldn't have it."
He pulled back and wiped her tears with her thumbs. "You've got me, Beth. Forever."
"I want that with you and I don't want to leave tomorrow."
"Its hard to think about. But we have the Tulip Festival today and brunch tomorrow and a fancy dinner before you have to go. Let's just enjoy being together and try not to think about anything else."
"You're right. Let's go see some tulips."
He handed her a steaming cup of coffee. "After coffee."
….
Holland, Michigan
"I have never seen so many tulips," she said in awe. "They are so beautiful."
They wandered hand in hand down the endless aisles of thousands of tulips in so many different colors. They took selfies and got lunch at the food trucks and then went to join the crowd for the parade.
"I love parades," she mentioned. "My parents and I usually go to the Thanksgiving Day parade in Philly. We drink hot cocoa and the music and energy of the city is amazing."
"That sounds fun. Have you always gone?"
"Yep! Since we were kids. The best part back then was seeing the huge floats and of course Santa at the end."
"You don't go to see Santa now?" he teased.
"Nope. Pretty sure I outgrew that at maybe 8 years old."
She squeezed his hand and gasped. "Happy Birthday, Lucas."
He kissed her soft lips. "Thank you. For helping me have a better one than I have had in a long time."
She still wanted to give him a gift but he insisted that he had his gift. Her being there was enough.
After the parade, they walked to their car and stopped at a steakhouse in Lansing for dinner.
As they drove the hour home from there, she weaved their fingers together. "You're still coming to Philly in August, right?"
"I'll be there. Promise."
It was three months this time. It felt like forever. She didn't want to wait that long. "Maybe I can come visit in June? Like maybe the 25th? I have a weekend off."
"I'd love to see you then. Let's plan it."
She shared her calendar with him and typed, "Visit Luke!!!!"
She really could see herself living in Michigan. She needed to figure out the details but it was on her mind now. It was going to happen.
