Forever Lucy

by Terri Anne Browning

  I gaped at Harris as he stopped for a red light. His brows lifted, but I could only shake my head at him. “Um, well, I’m glad to tell you we’re still getting married,” I said in a voice strained from containing my laughter. “And we would love to work with Chef on our cake, but we would like something considerably smaller than what our moms had originally picked out for us.”

  “That is completely understandable,” she rushed to assure me. “Actually, we could all see you weren’t particularly happy when you last came in with your mother and Mrs. Cutter, so we thought this would happen at some point. Chef has an appointment open on Monday if you would like to come in and talk to him about the design you want. He’s got several samples he can show you.”

  “Monday? I’ll have the girls with me, though,” I said out loud to remind him since I was going to be watching my nieces for Drake Sunday and Monday. But I got a nod from Harris as he eased through the intersection. “That works for us.”

  “Great. I’ve got you down for three thirty. We look forward to seeing you then!”

  A handful of calls later and Harris was pulling into my spot in the apartment’s garage. The following week was going to be full of meetings, but I wasn’t worried about them. If anything, I was looking forward to everything.

  Everything but meeting with my parents when they got back from Paris.

  --

  As it turned out, Drake and Lana came home early because they missed their girls. So Harris and I went to the appointment with Chef alone. Not that I was going to complain about not having the girls with us. Nevaeh and Arella probably wouldn’t have been a problem, but Heavenleigh and Bliss were considerably smaller and would have probably been into everything.

  We went in thinking we wanted something simple, but after seeing the sketch Chef had made up just for us, we fell in love with the cake. A five-tiered cake with silhouettes of a boy and girl that represented us throughout our entire relationship. One tier depicting us as kids holding hands and Harris giving me a flower. One with us holding hands but both of us turned away from each other. One where Harris was holding me off my feet and we were kissing. One with Harris on one knee with my silhouette holding my hands to my mouth. And the last and top tier was of me in a wedding dress and him in his tux dancing. The icing wasn’t the traditional white, either. It started at the bottom in a deep blue and blended into a cascade of colors that eventually faded into a sunset orange at the top.

  This cake was the perfect representation of our love, and I was left speechless at how touched I was that Chef was able to create something so moving for us.

  The rest of the week was crazy, and not just with the wedding planning. I had finals coming up, as well as classes to get through, so I was studying in my free time as well as going to all my classes. Tuesday morning, Harper called me. I thought about just letting it go to voice mail because I had so much to do later that day, but something told me to pick up.

  “Hey!” Her voice was its usual sweet tone, but I could hear a strain in it that had me dropping my breakfast of a cherry and cheese Danish onto my plate.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked her immediately.

  “Oh, it’s nothing too drastic,” she assured me with a tense laugh. “It’s just… One of my editors is in the hospital with appendicitis, and there isn’t a single person in this entire damn building who has the balls to take over his workload for the next two weeks that he will be out of commission.”

  In the few times over the last several months I had been to see Harper at work, to either fill out paperwork for the paychecks I got from my part-time freelancing or to find out assignments, I had met several of the editors. If the man she was talking about was the one I was thinking, then I knew why no one wanted to take over his workload while he was out sick.

  Gordon was a ball-breaker, especially about getting grammar wrong. He’d found one typo in the last article I’d done, and I had been pretty sure he was going to have a stroke. No one particularly liked him, Harper included, but he was a kick-ass editor. The thing about Gordon was, we were kindred spirits. When I had been the editor of the school newspaper back in high school, everyone hated me with a passion. I didn’t let even the smallest imperfection slide, and they had all been planning a revolt until I’d gone to college a semester early. Even Kin, who was my best friend, had been debating my untimely demise because I had been such a hard-ass. At Georgetown, I’d gotten so many pleas to edit for some of my professors that I’d been overwhelmed. But I had welcomed the distraction since I’d been so lost in my own head over Harris breaking up with me then.

  So I knew perfectly well why Harper was calling me. “Harp, I’m so stinking busy with everything, I’m not going to be able to do his work any justice.” I rushed to remind her. “I have finals coming up and like a hundred things that need my immediate attention for both school and this wedding.”

  “I know,” she said with a weak sigh. “I know, Lucy. And I wouldn’t be calling if I had any other option. He handles some of my most popular writers, and the magazine is going to lose readers if their work isn’t up to par like it normally would be. Please, I’ll make it worth your while, and I’ll give you two assistants to help you with anything you need. One for the office and one for personal use.”

  I groaned and picked up the rest of my Danish. Stuffing it into my mouth, I chewed, giving myself a moment to think over the offer. “They aren’t going to be able to take my finals for me,” I finally muttered, but even she could hear the resignation in my voice. “Fine, but I’m going to be unable to come in until after lunch today. I have classes until eleven thirty today and Thursday.”

  “No problem,” she assured me with a relieved laugh. “It gives me time to get your assistants in order and sort out the papers already piled up on Gordon’s desk.”

  I wiped my sticky fingers on a napkin and took a sip of my drink to wash down the last of the pastry. “People aren’t going to like me coming in and taking over such an influential job, Harper. Even if it is only temporarily.”

  She made a dismissive sound. “Girl, I got my editorial job two years after I started working for Rock America. People were pissed then, they can be pissed now. I’m not half-assing anything just to please anyone. Ninety percent of them are replaceable anyway.”

  By the time I got down to the magazine, Harper met me at the elevator on the floor Gordon shared with several other editors and a few of the full-time writers. The two assistants, as promised, were already with her, iPads at the ready to start taking notes of anything I might need.

  “This is Tracy,” Harper introduced the tall, thin older woman who looked like she was the sort of person to get even the biggest task done easily. “And this is Jane.”

  Jane was a smaller woman with the type of perfect skin every woman wished she had. Her complexion was a soft nutmeg color, and her lashes were so long without the use of a single swipe of mascara. I might have been jealous of her perfection and beauty if she hadn’t put me so at ease instantly. I knew immediately who I was going to have for my office assistant and who I would be asking to help with anything outside of work I might need.

  In Gordon’s office, I found the desk in pristine order. I wasn’t sure if it was just because that was the way the man normally kept it or if Harper had cleaned it up, but something told me the man was too anal for it to be the latter. Sometimes I had a tendency to work in clutter, however, but it was an organized mess only I could understand.

  “Thanks for doing this, Lucy,” Harper said as she hugged me. “I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t. You don’t realize how much you’ve saved my life.”

  “I’m only doing this because I love you,” I reminded her, hugging her back. “But I’ll admit I’m a little intrigued by this side of the job.” I leaned over the computer keyboard and opened up a few files. “Wow, these are some deep articles.” Apprehension filled me, not because I didn’t think I could do the job, but because I knew people were going to be pissed
that I was editing these powerful topics.

  I glanced up at Harper then shot a quick peek at Jane and Tracy. Jane gave me a warm smile, but Tracy had a hard look on her face. Yeah, I was definitely going to keep Jane closer than this piranha. “Harp, are you sure about this?” I asked her after dismissing Tracy from my mind.

  “One hundred percent sure,” she said in a firm tone I had only ever heard her use with Shane and her two children a handful of times over the years. “Now, I have to get back to work myself. Jane and Tracy will make sure you settle in, but if anything comes up you can’t sort out yourself, just text me.”

  She backed toward the door. “Oh, and Shane is bringing the kids to pick me up for dinner tonight. With the twins staying the week with us, I thought it might be fun if we took you out to celebrate your new temporary position.”

  “Sure,” I said with a smile as I took the seat behind the desk. “I’ll call Harris and make sure he can join us.”

  “Yay!” She grinned. “You’ll be saving Luca from Shane for a few hours. I don’t think the poor boy can sneeze without Shane being there to ask what he’s been sniffing.”

  Picturing my little brother suffering Shane’s wrath for the entire week just so Luca could spend time with his favorite person on the planet made me laugh. With all the trouble that little beast had caused over the years, I was sure Shane’s treatment of him was Karma’s way of paying him back. It was amusing, but at the same time, I wanted to save Luca from every little thing that might make him unhappy.

  “Then I’d definitely love to have dinner with you guys tonight.”

  “Great. I’ll let Shane know, and you make sure Harris is available.” With a wave, she left, closing the door behind her.

  As the door shut, closing me in with Jane and Tracy, I felt a new tension creep through me, but it was more excitement than apprehension now. “Okay, ladies, let’s see how badly I can fuck this up.” Jane laughed at my joke, but Tracy didn’t even bat an eyelash. Her face became colder, and I figured she was mentally cheering for me to screw up this chance.

  I smiled at her, accepting the silent challenge that was in her eyes. Pulling out my phone, I texted Harris really quickly before pulling up the small list of things that needed immediate attention for our wedding plans. “Tracy, I’m going to need you to book me an appointment with these two caterers. The one my fiancé and I interviewed yesterday overcooked their chicken with the samples they let us try, and I can’t serve my wedding guests dry chicken. We’re both free Saturday morning, and please emphasize to them that we need the appointment for this Saturday, not next.” Her eyes widened at the menial task, and my smile turned cooler. “Here are their numbers. Please make sure they know that it’s for Harris Cutter and Lucy Thornton. And if they give you any issues, let me know.”

  “Right,” she gritted out.

  “That will be all for now,” I told her and then turned my gaze to Jane, dismissing the other woman. “I’m assuming that everything Gordon was working on is right here?” I nodded toward the computer.

  “Yes, Miss Thornton. He was very meticulous and kept very well-labeled files for every writer and their topics.”

  “Great. Then I shouldn’t have any issues in that regard.” I pulled up the three files that Gordon had worked on the day before according to the time stamp. “Perfect. I think that will be all, Jane. I’ll yell if I need anything else.”

  “Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, tea?”

  My stomach rumbled, reminding me I had skipped lunch in my rush to get over to help Harper after my class finished. “Would it be possible to get a sandwich or something? I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

  “I could send out for something,” she offered. “Mrs. Stevenson has an account at the deli down the block, so anything we order is charged to the magazine.”

  “That would be great. Something light. Have you and Tracy eaten yet?” She shook her head. “Order for the three of us then, please. I’ll eat at my desk, though.”

  My phone vibrated with an incoming text, and my heart lifted when I saw that Harris was all for having dinner with Harper and Shane later. As crazy as everything seemed with my new workload, school, and our wedding, oddly enough I didn’t feel stressed or pressured. The work turned out to be more challenging than I had anticipated, but I loved every second of it.

  --

  “Are you ready?” Harris called from the bedroom.

  I sat at the vanity in our bathroom. I’d been officially ready twenty minutes ago, but instead of rushing to get out the door, I was procrastinating. Physically, I was dressed and could walk out the door any second. Mentally, I was paralyzed by dread. Mom and Dad were back from Paris, and Dad had called me the day before to set up our dinner date. Any other time and I would have been ecstatic to see my dad after being away from him for so long. But I wasn’t ready for this damned confrontation.

  When I didn’t answer, Harris pushed open the bathroom door to find me still seated at the vanity playing with my makeup brushes. “Lu?”

  I blew out a long sigh and tried to paste on a smile for him. “I’m almost done,” I lied.

  “Yeah, I can see that,” he said dryly. “Your dad already texted me saying we were five minutes late, sweetness. We need to get out the door now, not later.”

  “I don’t know if I can do this,” I muttered, unable to look at myself in the mirror.

  He crossed to where I was seated and crouched down in front of me. “I’m going to be right there with you. And so is your dad. Everything will be okay, I swear.”

  “I don’t even know what she’s going to say,” I whispered. “What if she’s mad we canceled all her plans? What if…what if she doesn’t want to come to our wedding now?”

  “Then that’s her loss.” He stroked a hand over my exposed knee left bare by my dress, effortlessly distracting me from some of the madness that was torturing my mind right then. I squirmed in my little chair, and he smirked for a second before turning serious again. “But I don’t think that’s something you need to worry about. Look, let’s just go and see what they have to say. And if for any reason you don’t like what comes out of Layla’s mouth, we will just leave.”

  “You make it sound so simple.”

  He brushed a kiss over my brow as he stood. “Because it is simple. If you aren’t happy, I won’t let you be forced into a situation with your mom. But you can’t hide from this. We have to go see them.”

  Taking my hand, he pulled me to my feet. “Why do you have to be such a good guy? Why couldn’t you be one of those grooms who hates his in-laws and wants to alienate them?” I grumbled as he put my clutch in my free hand and pocketed both our phones.

  “Because I love you too much to come between you and your family. And because your dad would kill me if I ever tried.” He grabbed his keys and wallet. “Which is what will likely happen if you don’t move that sexy ass of yours so Jesse Thornton can see with his own eyes that his baby girl is safe and happy.”

  Knowing that if we didn’t show up, and soon, Dad would just come looking for us, I stopped dragging my feet. Marcus was already waiting down in the garage with my Range Rover right in front of the elevator. The drive to the restaurant was quiet, and I ate off all my lipstick before we even got there. I didn’t bother to retouch it as Marcus pulled up in front of the entrance.

  Carina’s was one of my favorite places to eat. It was also one of the busiest, which was probably why Mom had picked it. She knew I would make an effort not to cause a scene if there was a crowd. Not that I would have. With Dad there, I knew better than to yell at her. He might spoil me and love me more than anyone else on the face of the planet, but he would never tolerate my disrespecting Mom.

  As we entered, the hostess looked harassed as she tried to field walk-ins looking for a table. Reservations were always booked at least a week in advance, and if you just showed up expecting a table, there was a two-hour-plus waiting list. I held on to Harris’s elbow as he approached the woman
.

  “Lu, over here.”

  My head turned at the sound of Dad’s voice, and I saw him standing near the bar. Despite the unease I’d been feeling all day about this dinner, my heart lifted at the sight of him. It had been two weeks since I had set eyes on him, and that was just too long for me. Even though I had on heels, I raced over to hug Dad.

  He caught me around the waist and held on tightly for a long moment before stepping back. As I looked up at him, I saw his eyes were changing from one shade of brown to another rapidly, and I couldn’t pinpoint which emotion he was feeling, but his grin put me at ease. “You look better, Lu. That week away did some good.”

  I beamed up at him. “Yeah, you too, Daddy. Two weeks in Paris away from the twins seems to have agreed with you.” I felt Harris behind me, and the two men shook hands as I glanced around. “Where’s Mom?”

  “She’s at the table already. I thought Harris and I would grab a drink while you two talk.”

  I nearly groaned. I had been hoping Dad would be there so I would be unable to do anything but have a rational conversation with Mom. But it looked like he knew exactly what to expect, and was maybe even giving me permission to yell a little. I looked up at Harris, silently begging him to stay with me.

  Harris touched the small of my back but kept his eyes on Dad even though I knew he could feel my eyes drilling into the side of his head. “I could use something hard to get over this past week. Work has been crazy.”

  “Traitor,” I muttered with a pout.

  With a resigned sigh, he dropped a soft kiss on my lips, effectively erasing the pout. As he slowly lifted his head, he trapped me with his gaze. “Your dad’s right, sweetness. Go sort this out with Layla. You know you’ll feel better after you do.”