Page 61 of You Met Me There

“Really?” She shakes her head. “He’s been so adamant about not having kids, I’m really surprised. But, I mean, great for you, of course! What had him saying that?” She leans toward the screen as Ceecee changes her mind about being held and slides to the floor.

“Believe it or not, I think being around my family—especially my nephews—has been really good for him. Sort of eye-opening, you know? He’s impressed with how Cam is as a father and how he treats the boys. And Luke actually looks like he really enjoys being around the kids. They love him. It’s …” I trail off in thought, remembering his words from the other day as we imagined what our own kids might look like one day. “It’s encouraging,” I finish. “It’s really sweet to see him that way.”

“That’s really great, Nat.” Emma smiles, her big blue eyes shining on the screen. “I hope it all works out for you. Seriously. You’d be an amazing mother.”

A huge grin pulls at my lips. “Thanks, Em.”

“And,” she adds, “how’s the summer in Maple Lake? Have you guys done anything fun lately?” She moves around her kitchen before propping her phone against something sturdy.

I tell her about the horse incident and how terrified I was. She gasps when I tell her that a tree ripped out some of my hair.

“You could have gone bald,” she says, both hands pressed to her cheeks.

I roll my eyes but allow myself to smile at the crazy situation. “Let’s be real, Em. I could have been decapitated.”

“Oh my gosh, you totally could have been. But I’d still be friends with you.” She shrugs. “Head or no head.”

“Thanks, Emma. That’s probably the nicest thing I’ve ever been told.” She cackles, which in turn makes me laugh more. “I miss you,” I say on a sigh.

“I miss you too. But this trip has been good for you. Even if you did start it off on the wrong foot. And I’m glad Luke decided to go after you when I talked to him. This would have all been very different if he hadn’t. Thank you for not turning off your location sharing with me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh please, don’t pretend you didn’t know I helped him chase you down.” Her black braid slides off her shoulder as she shakes her head.

“I really didn’t know,” I whisper. “You told him to come after me?”

She leans her elbows on the counter and is silent for a whole ten seconds. “Don’t be mad, okay? You needed him. I could hear it in your voice, even when you said you didn’t want him there. I knew you did.”

“I’m not mad,” I say quickly. “I’m … grateful actually. Thank you.” I tug my legs under me, trading the phone to my other hand.

Relief shows on her face. “Of course. What are best friends for besides telling your husband where you’re hiding? He needed Juliet’s address somehow, and I was able to send him your location when you got to that dinner.”

I’d totally forgotten that we share our locations on our phones. I’d turned off that setting for Luke so he couldn’t see where I was when I left, but I never imagined Emma would send him the address. Now it makes sense how he found me at Juliet’s house.

It takes a few seconds of silence for me to process all that’s transpired since I got here, and Emma clears her throat, pulling me back. “Are you sure you’re not mad about it?”

“Definitely not.” I shake my head. “If you hadn’t told him to follow me, I don’t know where I’d be right now. Maybe I still wouldn’t be with Luke. He probably wouldn’t have come here, and we wouldn’t be having discussions about children. You telling him to come here was the best thing.”

“Well, no—wait. I didn’t tell him to go there. I mean, I encouraged him to, yes. But it was all his idea to go find you. The day I went to check on him, he asked about you. I only said that you were struggling, which clearly you were. I mean, you literally left. And then he got a look in his eye and said he had to go find you. I just sent him your location when he landed in Pennsylvania.”

The day he showed up, I wondered how he knew exactly where to find me. But with everything going on between us and my family, asking him about it didn’t seem important. If I had been at the bed-and-breakfast, he would have shown up there because that’s the location Emma would have had. If I were on the lake, he would have been waiting on the shore when I got back. I know he would have showed up wherever I was at that moment because that’s who he is—he never gives up.

To know he flew all the way to PA without even knowing exactly where I’d really be is another layer added to all the reasons Luke is the perfect man for me. He doesn’t give up when things get hard. He’s a problem solver. Things work out for him because he pushes through. And he does it all for me because he loves me.

My heart swells.

“Thanks for telling me,” I say. “It means a lot that you helped him get here.”

After a few more minutes, Emma has to go help Ceecee, who’s started crying. When she hangs up, I text Luke.

Me: I miss you.

He’s in the air at this point, flying over the clouds in a distant plane somewhere. And I can’t wait to have him back in my arms as the thread that ties me to him cinches around my beating heart.

Chapter 31

Natalie