part0022

T he last few weeks of my life were some of the best days I’d ever lived. Most notable was the fact that I’d told Luke I loved him. From that point forward, our relationship felt effortless. I didn’t believe that it was particularly difficult prior to telling him, but I think both of us had reached a place where there wasn’t so much uncertainty. For Luke, he no longer had to wonder if I was ever going to give him my heart. For me, even though I knew anything could happen, something made me confident enough to know I could be vulnerable with Luke and he’d make sure I never regretted that decision.

Apparently, from the moment I told Luke that I loved him, everyone else noticed a change in me. I ended up back at work the following week after taking a few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday and Mrs. Jones came in. She took one look at me, gave me an approving smile, and walked to her chair.

No sooner did I get to work on her hair when she pointed out, “I’ve been waiting for this to happen.”

“Waiting for what, Mrs. Jones? ”

She took in a deep breath and blew it out before she answered, “I remember that day back at the beginning of the summer when I walked in here and met Luke. I didn’t let on that I knew, but I knew. Something happened between the two of you. All summer long, I watched you sink further and further into yourself. You went from being a feisty, strong-willed woman to one who, simply put, was depressed.”

I couldn’t believe she put all this together from a couple meetings with me over the last few months.

Mrs. Jones didn’t stop there. “A few weeks ago, things changed. You weren’t as feisty as you used to be, but you were certainly no longer depressed. The best way to describe you over these last couple of weeks is content and relaxed. Something caused that change in you. Luke started coming around more often and I put two and two together. But now I see it. Pure bliss, Nikki dear. There’s only one thing that will put that look on the face of a woman who was, mere months ago, severely downtrodden. That one thing is love.”

Mrs. Jones was a sweet woman who brightened my day whenever she came in to the salon. I felt she deserved confirmation, even though she probably didn’t need it.

“You’ve got keen insight, Mrs. Jones, and you couldn’t have been any more accurate in your assessment of my life over the last few months. The summer wasn’t the greatest, but the only thing that matters now is that I’m in love with a man who adores me.”

“He’s a good one, dear. There’s not a doubt in my mind about it.”

Warmth spread through my body at her positive praise for Luke. “Yeah,” I agreed. “He’s practically perfect.”

Aside from Mrs. Jones, there were my girls who noted my exuberance following the holiday. Monroe was first because she worked right next door to me, but Charley and Emme both came in to the salon for haircuts at separate times over the two weeks following Thanksgiving. I brought them all up to speed on where things were with Luke and me, and I wasn’t surprised at their reactions.

I’d grown up with these girls in my life. Until Luke, they’d become the only people I could trust to be there for me. We’d always been there for each other and, over the last year, I’d stood by their sides to support them as they each found their perfect partners and fell in love. Now it was their turn to do the same for me. They took the job seriously and I loved them more for it.

One other thing that contributed to the last couple of weeks being some of the best of my life was the Christmas tree. Luke was training so much that I started wondering about his Christmas decorations.

“What are you going to do about your Christmas tree?” I asked him one Saturday after he finished training. We were spending the night that night at my place.

“My Christmas tree? What tree?”

“Aren’t you going to put up a Christmas tree?”

“I’ve not taken part in putting up a tree since I lived at my parents’ house.”

“Oh,” I muttered, feeling disappointed.

Luke wasted no time in shifting my mood to a better one. “There’s not really ever been a reason to put a tree up, Nikki. If you want to put one up at my place, we can go get one tomorrow.”

I perked up. “Really? You don’t mind?”

“Is it going to make you happy?”

I nodded. “I’ve not had anyone to wake up and share Christmas with for a long time, Luke. You’d make my year if you’d give me that. The addition of a tree would make it that much sweeter.”

“Then that’s what I’ll give you, babe.”

“And just hearing that made my year,” he shared.

So those were some of the greatest highlights from the last few weeks. The only thing that happened that had the potential to ruin my positive mindset was the several calls I received from my mother, Jessie, and Megan. I never answered the calls because I refused to subject myself to their vicious attacks.

It was now Sunday, late afternoon, roughly a week before Christmas. Over the last couple of weeks, I had been slammed at the salon. This upcoming week wasn’t light either, but it was typical to be this busy at this time of year. I guess it was a good thing that I was so busy because Luke was spending long days training for the Olympics. This wasn’t to say that I needed Luke around in order to be entertained, but I found I enjoyed his company so much that going home after work to an empty house was not nearly as enjoyable.

“So, you aren’t going to tell me what’s going on?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Sorry, I can’t. It’s a surprise.”

“That’s them,” I burst out, barely able to contain my excitement.

Luke and I walked to the front door of his house and opened it. Charley, Monroe, Emme, and Wes were standing on the other side.

“Hey, guys,” I greeted them.

They all acknowledged Luke and me as they stepped inside.

“Are you ready, man?” Wes asked Luke.

“Considering I’m not getting any answers here,” Luke replied, his frustration evident. “I guess so.”

I leaned into him and promised, “It’s going to be worth it.”

“I’ve got to agree with her there, Luke,” Wes chimed in. “ Trust me, Zane was pissed not knowing what was going on when he went through the same thing. You’re feeling this way now, but you’ll regret getting upset at all once you get the surprise.”

“Wait,” Luke interrupted. “Is this the gift that you guys keep talking about, but never actually reveal what it is?”

Luke looked back at me and wondered, “Do I have to wait until Christmas for it?”

I gave him a knowing smile, which indicated to him that he’d have to wait.

His shoulders dropped in defeat. Even still, he lowered his head to mine and gave me a kiss before he stated, “Have fun with your girls. I assume you’ll call when you’re finished.”

“Love you, baby girl.”

“I love you, too.”

At that, Luke left with Wes to head over to Monroe and Stone’s place while the girls and I got to work. I couldn’t believe it was finally happening, but after the Christmas tree thing I realized I needed to give Luke something fabulous for Christmas. So, I called Emme and told her I needed to have a girls’ night in at Luke’s so that we could do my boudoir photo session.

As soon as Luke and Wes left, Monroe cried, “Oh, babe, that was beautiful.”

“What? Why are you crying?”

She tried wiping away her tears as she replied, “I’m sorry. I’m such a hormonal mess these days that everything makes me cry. In my defense, I’d have probably cried at that even if I weren’t pregnant. Seeing Luke be so sweet with you was just adorable, but the fact that you allowed it puts it over the top for me. I’m so happy for you, Nikki.”

“I told you this day was coming,” Emme broke in. “You insisted you’d never ask me to shoot one of these for you; yet, somehow, here we are.”

“I know,” I admitted. “I was so foolish to think that I would be immune to falling in love. Luke is definitely one of a kind, so you can’t say you blame me.”

“I just love how he calls you ‘baby girl’,” Charley added. “He’s such a softie.”

“Isn’t he?” I agreed. “You’d never expect it just by looking at him. By the way, did you bring the board?”

“I did. Wes hid it outside before we came to the door so Luke wouldn’t see it.”

I pulled my bottom lip in between my teeth before I confirmed, “And it’s going to be his new one, right? The one you’ve designed for the Olympics?”

“Yep,” Charley answered. “It’s going to look amazing in a shoot like this with you.”

“Speaking of which, we should get started. I’m guessing you need to get some hair and makeup done,” Emme wondered.

I nodded and walked off toward the stairs. The girls followed behind me and stayed with me while I got myself ready.

Once I had finished, I put on my first piece of lingerie. I wanted to do something that was mostly different for Luke, but still thought it’d be nice to give a few traditional boudoir poses in his bedroom in his bed.

Monroe turned on some music, Emme got behind the lens, and Charley made sure my hair or hands were always positioned just right for each shot. I’d been present for Emme and Monroe’s boudoir shoots and had had such a good time, but being on this side of it was boatloads of fun. I never would have thought I’d enjoy it as much as I did.

After finishing up in the bedroom, I changed into a new ensemble, but it wasn’t the one the girls were expecting.

“I didn’t think you were going to wear that outside,” Emme shared.

“I have one more thing I want to do before we go out there with the board.”

“Oh boy,” Monroe squealed. “What are we doing?”

She was practically jumping for joy that I decided to throw a little something extra into the mix.

“His bike,” I stated, matter-of-factly. “I love that thing. Luke’s garage is pristine and set up perfectly for a shoot. I thought we could take a few shots of me with the bike.”

“That’s such a good idea,” Charley interjected, almost as excited as Monroe was.

With that, we made our way out to the garage. For not having ever done a shoot with someone on a motorcycle, Emme had some great ideas. It was then she informed me that over the summer she did a shoot for Monroe with Stone’s Porsches. The way she saw it, this was the same except the vehicle was just a bit smaller.

After we finished in the garage, I made one final outfit change. While I did that, Charley went outside to grab the snowboarding boots she brought over for me. I put them on and we went outside. The best part of this portion of the shoot was that it had just snowed two days ago. This offered the perfect backdrop for the pictures. In fact, I actually think Emme was more excited about it than I was. She couldn’t help it; it was the photographer in her that appreciated when nature cooperated. Even though it was freezing outside, I did what I had to do so that Emme could get the shots I really wanted Luke to have.

From the time Luke left with Wes until we finished taking photos, nearly four hours had passed and it was approaching dinnertime.

The girls and I decided to have dinner together, so I called Luke to let him and the boys know we were done and they could come over to join us .

“Please tell me you’re finally done?” Luke greeted as he answered the phone.

I laughed. “Yes, I’m done. Listen, the girls and I were thinking of making a mess of your kitchen and making dinner here for everyone. Are you okay with that?”

“Sure. You want us to head over there now?”

We disconnected the call and I turned to the girls. “Alright, ladies. Let’s scour the kitchen for food and try to find something to make because the men are on their way here. It’d be nice if I could learn how to make something that’s easy to prepare on my own, too.”

“She wants to learn how to cook, girls,” Charley announced. “She’s in deep.”

There was no point in trying to deny it. “I had a meltdown several times about my inability to cook. Luke doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by it, but I really want to learn. He’s a big guy with a big appetite. I’d like to be able to cook for him on occasion.”

Emme, who had taken inventory of Luke’s pantry, walked over to the refrigerator and scoped out both the fridge and freezer. While Monroe and Charley could cook well enough to get by, Emme was practically a master chef.

“Okay, babe,” she started as she closed the doors and turned toward me. “Luke’s got enough stuff here for us to make chicken parmesan with pasta or salmon with rice pilaf and veggies. Which would you prefer?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Don’t ask me. Ask the pregnant lady.”

Our eyes all went to Monroe. “Stone and I just had salmon yesterday. Is it ok if we do the chicken tonight?”

“Works for me,” Charley said.

“So, let’s get this chicken defrosting to start,” Emme explained .

Once that was squared away, Emme dove in and showed me how to make homemade sauce. I expected we’d just open a jar of store-bought sauce, but she insisted that was not an option. Oddly enough, for someone who didn’t really cook, Luke had everything needed to make homemade sauce. I made a mental note to ask him about his grocery shopping.

When we finished the sauce, we moved on to the now-thawed chicken. Charley had prepped the stations needed for breading the chicken. Emme explained that since we were going to bake the chicken instead of frying, we wouldn’t need to coat the chicken in flour. We’d simply need to use some eggs and a parmesan bread crumb topping.

With the four of us working together, we managed to get all of the chicken breaded rather quickly. As I was carrying the cookie sheet filled with chicken breasts over to the oven, Luke, Wes, Zane, and Stone all walked in. Luke’s eyes scanned me from top to toe and heated when he saw what I had in my hands.

“I promise not to ruin them,” I assured him.

He gave me a sexy look, cocked an eyebrow, and reminded me, “You know I’m alright with it if you do.”

I tried to remain unaffected by his words and slid the tray into the oven.

“What’s next, Em?”

“We’ve got to boil the water for the pasta.”

That was something I could handle on my own. I put the water on and turned around to find Luke was in my space.

He pulled me into a hug and gave me a sweet kiss. It all seemed innocent enough until he brought his mouth to my ear and whispered, “I’m actually kind of hoping now that you do ruin dinner. I’d prefer to have you instead.”

I looked around the kitchen to find each of my friends occupied by the hot men in their lives, so none of them were paying any attention to us .

I whispered back, “It might be nice to have some actual food for dinner so that we can have an active evening. Maybe you could accept having me for dessert instead.”

He pulled back to look at me. He kept his voice low when he responded, “I can work with that.”

Approximately twenty-five minutes later, I was serving my first official successfully home-cooked meal to my friends. Of course, I’d had some help, but I was feeling proud of myself for not ruining dinner.

Everyone dug in and even I had to admit that I’d done a really good job. I told Emme that I’d need a few more lessons if she was willing to dole them out. If Emme hadn’t been a professional photographer, I’m certain she would have had a career in the food industry. When I asked for her help, she immediately agreed. I figured between the things she could teach me along with what Luke’s mom taught me, I might actually be able to prepare the next Thanksgiving dinner.

Following dinner, the gang didn’t hang around too long. Wes and Charley were busy at Blackman Boards and still had a week left before they took their week off between the Christmas and New Year’s Day. Luke, Stone, and Zane were all planning to take that same week off, but they still needed to put in one more week filled with long days of training for the Olympics. Monroe and I were working all week this week and Emme had a bunch of last-minute photo shoots and editing to get done before Christmas. It was safe to say that we would all be busy for the next few days, but were all looking forward to the upcoming reprieve.

Before everyone left, we made plans to get together at Lou’s for his Christmas Eve celebration. I was looking forward to enjoying some time off with this incredible group of people.

After our friends left, Luke wasted no time in trying to get a few hints out of me .

“Alright, so give me an idea. What were you doing that kept me away from you for four hours?”

“Something I think you’re going to love. I mean, I can’t say for sure, but I have a pretty good feeling about it.”

“You aren’t going to tell me, are you?”

I shook my head. “Sorry.”

“Damn it. I tried to get the guys to tell me, but they wouldn’t budge. They said they all had to wait and insisted I needed to do the same. On the bright side, they did say that it’d be worth the wait.”

“I’m inclined to agree with them. That said, I don’t think you should have to wait any longer for dessert. What do you say, big boy? Care to take me upstairs?”