Page 21 of Lucas & Melissa Falling in Love
I felt foolish under the pleasant buzz of feeling like I belonged to this man, like he belonged to me. I nodded, realizing he spoke for both of us about overstaying our welcome, but not able to muster an iota of protest. No response to tell him that thathemay have overstayed, but there was no such thing for me in Margo’s home. I would always be welcome. Instead, I accepted his statement blanketing the two of us as one, in the same bundle, together.
He guided me to the door as I gained my poise, myself back. In those few steps, I pulled myself together with an abbreviated lecture about having self-indulged enough to last a good long while. Then I pulled the door open, prepared to face Margo and George.
“I’m sorry if I . . . disturbed you.” Margo was looking past me and seeing Lucas and putting the scene together as if she hadn’t known until that moment that we were together.
“I thought you were trying to catch a train and I—”
“Don’t worry, Margo,” Lucas said what I was supposed to say. “Lissy missed her train, but I’ll drive her to Cold Spring.”
I spun around and looked at him, my mouth open. I hadn’t expected that offer. I’d been fully prepared to rent a car. The most I would have asked for was a ride to the rental agency at the airport.
“In that case, maybe you want to go back to . . . sleep,” Margo said. Her face lit up. “You can leave in the morning. It would be fun to have Christmas morning breakfast with you.”
“I can’t stay. I can’t—” I would have said that I couldn’t take a ride all the way to Cold Spring from a stranger, but he wasn’t a stranger at all anymore. Not after the evening we’d spent together. After the profoundly passionate lovemaking. But hadn’t it been just sex, albeit truly fantastic sex? A rush of confusion ran through me disguised as desire for more of that sex or lovemaking or whatever it was.
“That is a very generous offer, Margo,” Lucas said. “Are you sure you and George wouldn’t mind? I could use some sleep before driving.” He spoke with the same elegance and that slight Italian accent that was almost musical. He was a different person than the Uber driver I’d met . . . yesterday.
Or maybe it wasn’t him that was different. It was me. I was a stranger to myself.
“I haven’t agreed to drive with you in the morning.” I sounded shrill in my confusion and when I saw Margo cringe, I knew I was all wrong. “I mean . . . my parents. They expected me tonight.”
“You should call them now so they don’t worry.” Lucas said what Margo would have said. I looked at him, but what could I do except nod in agreement?
“It’s settled then. I’ll leave you two to get your night’s sleep and see you in the morning.” Margo may as well have been jumping up and down for joy as she spoke, so I had to smile.
“Okay. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I walked back inside the room while Lucas closed the door behind us. He leaned against it and paused, studying me for a moment while I stood with my hands on my hips looking back, stabbing him with accusation at his high-handedness. I squinted my eyes for emphasis.
That was the wrong thing to do since it made him smile. I was having a hard time maintaining my outrage, my anger, my very sanity with that cupid’s mouth smiling and dimpling at me.
“I’m sorry, Melissa,mia bella. You have to believe me when I say I didn’t mean for you to miss your train. But I will get you to your parents’ home in more than enough time for Christmas dinner—and no strings attached. You should not feel obligated to invite me for dinner. I don’t want to intrude on your family.”
“What kind of person do you think I am?” His words snapped something in me, broke my brain and ability to think logically. “Do you think I would allow you to drive me all that way on Christmas day and not invite you to stay for dinner?”Especially after we made love like we did?I felt my indignance kicking up from an entirely different angle now. Who did he think he was, cutting short our affair? I was the one who wanted to back off, wasn’t I? He was the one who was smitten, wasn’t he?
When a minute ago I thought I hadn’t wanted him driving me all the way to Cold Spring because the thought of spending all that time in the car with him sent up shivers of alarm, now I felt nothing but bereft at the notion that he’d leave me at the door and disappear.
He moved then, his smile becoming tender, and swept me into his arms, giving me one of those comforting, possessive hugs, the exact kind I needed, wanted. I was back under his spell which was a really strange place to feel so comfortable. Impossibly, felt back in control.
In control of what, Lissy? What the hell are you doing with this man?
I was having an affair, damn it. A holiday affair. It would be fine. It meant nothing. So what if he was an Uber driver, it wasn’t like I was marrying him, was it? We were still in that bubble outside of time and I would enjoy it. Deserved to enjoy it.
“Are you sure you don’t mind driving all the way to Cold Spring for a measly Christmas dinner?” I had to ask, to make sure he was still in that bubble with me, under that spell, as affected by the exceptional passion of our lovemaking as I was.
“If I’m with you, there will be nothingmeaslyabout it.”
He ushered me back to bed and we undressed each other all over again. This time we pulled the covers down, but before we got inside, he picked up the cell phone that I’d tossed on the nightstand and handed it to me. He listened while I called my parents to let them know I’d be coming in the morning.
And that I’d be bringing a guest.
