Needless to say, in Lucas' and Elizabeth's one bedroom house there wasn't enough room to have all the family stay so William and Grace and Charles and Vi stayed in a bed and breakfast while Julie and her family stayed with Lee and Rosemary.

"Honey? Do you mind if I go out with my sisters for some ice cream?" Elizabeth asked, kissing his cheek.

"Of course not. Have fun, sweetheart."

"Thank you!" She kissed him on the mouth and gave him a hug before the girls piled in Elizabeth's new SUV. "Love you."

"Love you too."

He walked back to the pile of presents and decided he better start carrying them to his car to take home.

Jake, Julie's boyfriend, walked in the room with a crying Peter, looking overwhelmed.

"Lucas, um…would you hold him while I get the girls ready for bed?" He put the crying child into Lucas' arms and walked off. "Thanks, man!"

Lucas looked down at Peter and the little guy looked back at him and wiped his tears and other gooey stuff on Lucas' shirt.

"We got this, little man," he told him.

Something told Lucas to start walking and bouncing so that's what he did. He took it as a chance to practice for Boo's arrival. When just bouncing and walking didn't help, he started humming. No he didn't have a good tone to his voice like Beth but he didn't think a small child would care too much.

"He might be hungry," Grace said from the kitchen, handing him a bottle.

"Thank you, Grace. Um, if you want to take him, you can. I don't want to take him away from his grandmother."

"Oh, no. You are fine. Plus, its good practice, right?"

"Right."

Lucas put the bottle's nipple into Peter's mouth and he immediately started drinking. "There you go, bud. Everything's all right now. Uncle Luke has you."

Lucas relaxed his shoulders and walked over to the rocking chair in the living room. The little guy was adorable with round cheeks and red hair that matched Julie's.

After just a few moments, he was asleep but Lucas kept rocking.

Grace peeked around the doorway and took a quick picture of Lucas and Peter. What a peaceful scene. Then she sent it to Beth.

Elizabeth looked at the picture on her phone that her mom had just sent. Wow.

Lucas held Peter and looked down with love in his eyes as Peter ate, stirring huge feelings of love in Beth's heart. Making her itch to hug him, kiss him, see him holding and feeding Boo.

"What's on that phone of yours?" Julie asked, leaning forward from the back seat.

"Only the single most adorable, sexy and wonderful man I've ever met. Oh, gosh. I can't wait to marry him."

Yes, they were partners for life and were preparing to buy their first house together, not to mention have their first child, but something stirred in her heart at the thought of being his wife. It felt safe. Permanent. Perfect.

She sent him a text next. "I miss u. I can't wait to watch u feeding Boo. Note 2 self. Buy a rocking chair."

"I miss u too."

As they ate ice cream, Beth laughed and joked with her sisters but her heart wanted to be home. However, she stuck it out because her sisters didn't come to Michigan every day. Or ever.

"I'm so glad you guys are here," she told them, dropping them off at their respective houses where they were staying.

"But you need to be at home with Lucas," Vi finished for her. "I totally get it. I'm missing Charles right this minute."

"Thank you, Vi. I'm so glad you came to my baby shower. It means so much to me."

"I miss you, Beth. I wish we lived closer together."

"I miss you too." She pulled into the bed and breakfast lot and reached over to give Vi a hug. "I love you, Vi. Have a nice evening with Charles."

"You too, with Lucas."

"OMW," Beth texted and then she headed home.

At their house, Lucas was setting up a "date" for their evening. Yes, it was 8:30 pm but he wanted to still have a nice evening like they would have had earlier if she hadn't gone to have ice cream.

He lit candles in the living room and bathroom. Then he scattered white rose petals around the rooms and on top of their bed. Finally he changed into a pair of black sweat pants and a white t-shirt that he knew she loved and opened up a bottle of chilled sparkling grape juice.

When she walked in, she giggle, "Hello? Honey?"

"Welcome home," he told her from the doorway to the kitchen.

"You look good," she mentioned, kicking off her tennis shoes.

"How good?" he flirted, wrapping his arms around her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." She kissed him twice and hugged him hard. "Thank you for bringing my family here, Luke. It was a wonderful surprise."

"You're welcome. I just want you happy."

"I am happy, hon. You know that, right?"

"Right. What I mean is making you happy is my goal in life. Making sure you know I love you and will do anything I can to show you."

"So, you created this romantic date?"

"Mm."

"Sounds perfect."

…..

Later, they lay on the sofa, feet and bodies intertwined. She sighed at the perfect moments of the day including this one.

"I hope you know that you are mine," she whispered, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep. "Forever."

"I know," he whispered back. "You're mine too, love."

"I'm glad. Boo is very lucky."

As he drifted off, his mind propelled him forward about five months when Beth would give birth to Boo. For some reason, in this dream, Boo was a girl. He wasn't upset about that. Of course, one day, he hoped for a son, but a tiny girl sounded sweet and soft and beautiful. Just like Beth.

Two days later, Beth and Luke went to Dexter to check out the house that was newly on the market. It was a nice house, but it needed a lot of work and neither of them had that skill set.

"Are there any new houses in subdivisions, babe?" she asked. Their realtor chimed in.

"Not in your price range. Well, not in Dexter anyway. I can check further west or north and see what's available."

A few days later, she called, letting them know a new home in a large new sub was on the market. It had three bedrooms, two baths and had a large backyard. On paper it was perfect. So they set up a viewing for a few days later.

Their wedding was about two and a half weeks away so they hoped to at least put in an offer before all the festivities.

"Its wonderful," she said, hugging his waist as they stood in an empty bedroom next to the master. "This is perfect for Boo. What do you think, Luke?"

He leaned down and pressed a long kiss to her lips. "Its perfect. Let's tell Hanna we are making an offer."

"Are you sure?"

"It is in our price range and it actually will be about ten miles closer to work for me. I'm sure."

"This is exciting, almost-husband. Our first house with both of our names on it."

"Very exciting and by the time we close, we will have the same last name too."

"I can't wait to decorate."

"I bet."

"I'm putting a glider rocker right here by the window and gauzy white curtains and a fuzzy rug here. Then a dark wood bassinet in our room but a dark wood crib here that will turn into a toddler bed when Boo is old enough."

He just smiled and watched her imagine everything before they went downstairs to talk to Hanna. She was happy and he had a hand in making that happen. It was the best feeling in the world.

…..

Ten days later, Lucas and Beth were on their way up north to the Airbnb they had rented for the next week. It was an adorable little house on the lake just south of Mackinaw City which is what she had requested for their short honeymoon.

"Its adorable," she told him. It was a white cottage with a turquoise door and shutters and surrounded by trees. It had a dock right off the backyard into the lake. The inside was wonderfully rustic but still clean and stylish at the same time.

"Let's go explore," she told him, almost bouncing in her excitement.

"Sure and we can grab some groceries and go out to dinner?"

"Or grab some groceries and make dinner together."

"Works for me."

They walked to Elizabeth's new vehicle and got in, Lucas opening the door for her like he always did. He couldn't believe that they would be married in about a week. She would be his wife officially. She'd carry the Bouchard name and he knew that mattered to her. To him though, it would be sweet to refer to her as "wife", but he viewed her as a lifelong partner. To him, he had the same thoughts about that as Jake, Julie's boyfriend did. They made personal vows to each other and would keep them as if they were marriage vows.

"What's on your mind, Luke?' she asked, noticing him sitting behind the wheel but not moving.

"Nothing. Just thinking."

"About?"

"Just getting married."

"Isn't it exciting?"

"Of course."

"But?"

"No but."

"You didn't look particularly thrilled when you were sitting there silent."

"You misread my look, Beth. I am looking forward to our future and everything that comes with it."

"I still sense a but…."

Lucas knew that if he said what he had been thinking, it would cause an argument and he didn't want to argue.

"I won't get mad. I'd love to know what you were thinking."

"Promise?"

"Of course."

He hesitated again and took her hand, threading their fingers together.

"Babe…we said our vows. Those vows mean forever for me. We made a commitment, a partnership in life."

"Right."

"I just…why do we need to say public vows? Those vows aren't more permanent than the ones we said privately."

"Have you been talking to Jake?"

"Why?"

"Because that's exactly how he feels. I've heard him say those words."

She pulled her hand away. He reached for it again as her eyes welled up with tears. "That's why I didn't want to say anything. I didn't want to upset you and I knew it would. I should have just kept my mouth shut,"

"So being my husband, taking me as your wife, has no meaning?"

"Elizabeth, I need you to hear me."

"I heard you."

"You promised you wouldn't get mad."

"Yeah well. Sue me." She got out of the car and walked into the house, leaving him behind.

"Crap," he muttered, hitting the steering wheel with his hand.

He called Lee. He needed to know how bad he had messed up.

"Lucas?"

"Lee, I screwed up. Huge."

"Oh boy. Tell me what happened."