Loving Lily Lavender (12 page)

He stood quickly, grabbing me up into his arms, and hugging me
fiercely.

“I can’t believe it,” I said when I could finally speak again.
“It’s so beautiful. It’s exactly what I would’ve picked if I were choosing it.
When did you get it anyway?”

“Yesterday. I had pretty much made up my mind on the plane. I
couldn’t believe how hard it was to leave you, so after the photo shoot I went
to this little antique jewelry store that I pass sometimes and picked the one
that looked the most romantic. I thought it would take me forever to decide,
but once I saw this one I knew it was the one for you.”

“How did you know my ring size? It fits perfectly.”

“When I went to your room to leave the note on your pillow I
snuck a ring out of your jewelry box, just in case. Sorry.” He shrugged
apologetically as he pulled the ring out of the opposite pocket and handed it
to me.

“I think I’ll forgive you,” I teased. “Well, I’ve got some things
to work out. For one, I have another wedding before we’re due back, but I’ll
just do as much as I can over the phone and Internet, and I’ll pay Meagan to do
my legwork until I absolutely have to come back. “I’ll have her come everyday
to get my mail and check on the house. She can go see my mom every week. She’ll
love that since she misses her anyway. I guess I better call her and make sure
all of this is okay with her.” I jumped up with excitement and headed for my
phone. “Oh, and I have to tell her I’m getting married!” Both Lucas and I
smiled exuberantly at the sound of that.

“Oh, Lucas,” I paused, my mind reeling, “can we have an
engagement party here? I mean, my friends know about you, but they’ve never met
you, and you can invite Randall. That won’t be too weird, will it?”

“I think a party would be great. But I’m not sure about the
Randall thing. We’ll have to see about that one.” Suddenly he looked nervous. “What—what
if your friends don’t like me?”

“Don’t be silly. Of course they’ll like you, and to be sure just
wear your
Star Wars
t-shirt. Anyone who would do that for me they’ll be
sure to like,” I teased.

“Lucas, where are you? It’s almost seven. They’ll start arriving
soon,” I said into the phone.

“I’m pulling into your driveway now.”

“Great.” I snapped the phone closed and stepped out onto the back
deck to wait for him. When he got out of the car, I laughed out loud as I saw
that he was wearing his
Star Wars
t-shirt. “I was only kidding about
that.” I laughed.

“So was I,” he responded, holding up his other shirt in his hand.
“I thought I would wear it underneath though, just in case.”

“Don’t be nervous, Luke. They’ll love you, like I do. Well, okay
maybe not like I do.” I’m not sure exactly when I started calling him Luke, but
he seemed to like it.

Lucas held my hand nervously as I introduced him to all of my
friends. “Lucas, this is Russ Blume, my former boss and his wife, Debbie. And
these guys I used to work with at Blume’s Shipping. This is Valerie and her
boyfriend Jimmy, Kristen and her husband Ian, and this is Aaron and Josh Helms.
I just did their wedding, you remember.”

“Yes, of course. It’s very nice to finally meet all of you. Lily
has told me good things about each of you.” He smiled, but his nervousness was
still quite visible.

Aaron was the first to speak, though after she began I wish she
hadn’t.

“We are so happy for you two. We all love Lily so much. She
deserves a good man to take care of her. I was so scared for her that day she
fainted in the store, but then I learned that she was just heartbroken because
you two had broken up.” She smiled flirtatiously.

“Wait, you fainted?” Russ questioned.

Oh no, here we go
.

“You did what? Are you alright?” Valerie asked.

“It was nothing. I hadn’t eaten all day, and I didn’t sleep well
the night before. Everything’s fine.”

“So you guys broke up? When did this happen? I want to hear all
about it,” Kristen demanded, pulling me into the kitchen.

I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Lucas smile
nervously at my friends as they studied him
. Poor guy
.

Lucas did eventually relax, though I lost count of how many times
he messed with his hair. I have to admit I found the gesture to be quite
adorable.

Randall showed up and it was good to see that everything appeared
to be okay again. Even Meagan was talking to him, something I didn’t think I
would see in this millennium.

I had made a huge spread of food, and after we ate we made our
way into the den where everyone seemed to break into groups to converse.

It appeared that a few of my friends were star struck, Aaron and
Kristen in particular. They sat close to Lucas and bombarded him with all kinds
of questions about the movie and his co-stars.

“So, Lucas, are the rumors true about you and your co-star, Lisa
Lewis? Did you guys really have a thing while filming?” Kristen asked.

“No, those were just rumors. She’s a good friend of mine.
Actually, her boyfriend, Will, is a good friend as well. He was on the set with
us during filming.”

“Oh, that’s good. Aren’t you guys scheduled to start shooting the
next movie soon?” Aaron asked.

“Yes. We have to be there by August third.”

“So,” Russ inquired, “is Lily going with you then?”

“Um, yes, but we’ll be staying in separate rooms. No funny
business until after the wedding,” he joked, laughing nervously.

“Yes we know,” Valerie responded, causing everyone to laugh.

I just rolled my eyes. I was use to the teasing, but Lucas didn’t
seem to like it all that much. He glanced at me apologetically.    

It was a lovely evening. Everyone appeared to be genuinely happy
for us. They all thought my ring was the most beautiful ring they’ve ever seen.
It
was
very unique, with a big heart shaped diamond in the center
surrounded by two smaller heart shaped diamonds on both sides. I’ve never seen
anything like it before.

“He’s gorgeous, he’s rich, and he’s British. How come you get all
the luck?” Kristen teased as she was preparing to leave.

“Kristen honey, as a wise man named Obi-wan Kenobi once said, ‘In
my experience there’s no such thing as luck’.”

“I would laugh if that were funny,” she responded sarcastically.

 “I love you too,” I remarked as I kissed her on the cheek.

 “Goodnight,” Lucas and I called out again as we watched the last
of our guests pull out of the driveway.

“Well, I think that went well—don’t you?”

“Yes. Your friends are very interesting, especially Aaron. I can
see now why you got a little stressed working with her.”

“Yes, but she means well. I think she and Kristen have a crush on
you.”

“Well, maybe before they met me, but I’m sure that changed once
they started talking to me.”

“Don’t do that,” I said, turning to stop him, “you’re the most
amazing man I’ve ever met.” I reached up and gently touched his face.

“You are biased.” He covered my hand with his and held it there.

“Maybe, but I never lie.”

He laughed quietly. “Yes, I believe that.”

“I am so happy right now. The one thing that will make everything
complete is on our wedding night, when we make love for the first time. Now
that I know you’re the one, I’m glad I waited for you, and the only intimate
memories I’ll have will be with you.”

“Yes, and it’s a gift I don’t take lightly. Thank you, Lily. It
will be a special moment for both of us. I imagine one day we’ll be standing
out here, waving goodbye to our friends, when all of a sudden, I’ll scoop you
up into my arms, carry you upstairs to our bed and make love to you all night
long.” There was teasing in his tone.

“Maybe we’d better change the subject. Thinking about it only
makes it harder. Besides, I need your help cleaning up the kitchen. I’ll race
you,” I said playfully, running into the house with Lucas right on my heels.

Sunday finally arrived, and I couldn’t wait tell my mom the good
news. The blessings were with me because she was alert and aware, more than
usual actually. When I told her Lucas and I were getting married, she was very
happy. She even remembered him and asked after his whereabouts. I also had to
tell her that I would be leaving for a few months. That was harder than I
thought it would be. I worried that she might forget me while I was away. I
told her Meagan would be coming to visit her in my absence. That seemed to
please her. She sometimes asked about Meagan.

I don’t know why I cried all the way home. It wasn’t like I was
never going to see her again, but with her health continuing to decline, I
hated thinking about 3 months spent away from her.

When I arrived home, Lucas was there to greet me, pulling me into
his arms at the first sight of my tears.

“Are you sure you can do this?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I have peace about the decision. I know it’s what
I’m supposed to do. I love my mom very much—but you’re my future.” I embraced
him tighter. “You know what the funny thing is? She was so clear-minded today.
It was like a gift to me. I’m really going to miss her.” Then the tears began
to flow again.

We arrived in Toronto in the early afternoon, which gave us
plenty of time to get settled in before we had to be on set the next morning.

Lucas had spent the entire plane flight filling me in on what to
expect. He told me about his friends, what their names were, and what
characters they play. Lisa plays his love interest. Vicky, Rebecca, Jared and
Jordan play his brothers and sisters. David plays his father. Edie plays his
mother, and Landon Carter, is the director. He also said Sylvia Stone would be
there, as well as Randall.

The first day on the set was exciting. I got to hang out in the
hair and makeup trailer and watch Lucas get transformed into Heath Hamilton.
They cut and colored his hair; the color was almost black and, once the
contacts were in place, it matched his dark eyes. He talked strictly in his
American accent, though I had gotten use to hearing it over the past two weeks,
but his new look would take some getting use to. He was still strikingly
handsome, maybe even more so.

They didn’t film much on those first few days. Lucas explained
the need for promotional shots, which always came before principle photography.

Everyone made me feel very welcome, with the exception of a few
women in the makeup department. Lucas shrugged it off saying it was their loss
if they didn’t want to get to know me, but it didn’t bother me all that much.
After all, it was unreasonable to expect everyone to like me, though secretly I
had wished it. 

For the most part, everyone seemed happy that Lucas and I were
together. I had several people tell me they could see a difference in Lucas
from the last time they’d seen him. That was a good feeling. I hope I was
making a difference in his life; he was certainly making a difference in mine.

It didn’t take long before I began to feel like part of the
family. I felt a special connection with Lisa, Vicky, Rebecca, Jared and
Jordan. All seven of us spent most evenings together. We went out to eat at
least three nights a week, while the rest of the time I cooked. After we ate,
we would hang out at my place for hours talking, laughing, and playing Chess.

Sometimes Lucas and I longed for time alone, but considering that
it was becoming harder to fight the temptation to be intimate, it was best that
we not have too much alone time. It’s funny, but once we became engaged, it
became harder to resist—the mind can make you justify things.

Lucas often left when the rest of them did, so if any of them we
wondering if we were having sex, I guess they had their answer.

I have always longed for a big family and it sort of felt like I
had one. Jordan, in particularly, was entertaining, though his joking was
sometimes over the top. 

One night after dinner, we were sitting around talking when, out
of the blue, Jordan asked, “So, Lily, how does it feel being the only Christian
among all us heathens?” Lucas shot him an incredulous look. “What? I was just
curious.”

“Well, since I’m crazy about all of you, I enjoy being around
you. Only every once in a while when one of you cusses, it feels strange to me,
but other than that, I feel very comfortable here. I hope, more importantly,
that you all feel comfortable around me.”

“Don’t be silly,” Vicky responded. “How could anyone not feel
comfortable around you, Lily?”

I smiled in response and noticed Lucas looking at me with a proud
expression. I guess he liked how I handled that, but the next question proved
to be harder to handle.

“So—are you guys ever going to have sex, or what?” Jordan asked
unapologetically. All of our mouths fell open in surprise.

“What? Don’t look at me like that. You know you guys want to know
too,” he said, looking around at the others.

There was a brief moment of pause before I answered.

“Well, to be honest, it’s really none of your business,” I
smirked. “But, since
all
of you are wondering, we’re waiting until after
we’re married.”

“So when’s the big day, tomorrow?”

“Actually,” Lucas chimed in, “we haven’t discussed a date yet.”

“Well,” Jared said, “if I were you, I would go ahead and have
that discussion, because if I know Lucas, and I do, he’s got to be going crazy.”

I turned to gaze at Lucas with concern, but he just shrugged.

Even though the teasing was light, I thought about what Jared had
said. Was Lucas really suffering? I didn’t want my decision to cause him pain.
Maybe
we should make it a priority and settle on a date.

After everyone left, I wasn’t surprised when Lucas stayed behind.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I’m sorry I told them about your faith. Please don’t be angry
with me. It’s just that I wanted them to be mindful around you.”