A/N: Hi everyone! I know, it's been a long wait and I'm sorry for the extended delay. It started with so many changes that went on in my personal life and then a pretty bad writer's block. Sometimes, you know your story but you're just to sure how to tell it in words that refuse to appear on paper. Anyway, here's the next installment. Hope you enjoy it!

*spoiler alert* Hope you're old enough to read this chapter. =)

***

I was groggy on Sunday. 

Typical when you get engaged at three in the morning and don't part with your brand new fiance until sunrise. Since Gramps was staying with me, Luke and I couldn't just go upstairs and 'celebrate'. I may have gotten reckless but I just couldn't do that with my grandfather under the same roof—in the same room since the only walled off space was the bathroom. 

Luke was prepared though. 

First, someone from Cleo's stepped out and handed us a pair of coffee cups and some steaming hot croissants. They weren't even open yet. 

This man, I swear.

Then, a city bus slowly heaved to a stop in front of Cleo's and Luke promised my grandfather he would have me home by sunrise. He might have already prepped my grandfather with all his grand plans because Gramps just gave a knowing smile and waved us off before returning to the apartment.

The bus was empty and Luke and I slipped into the back. We huddled together in a similar spot where we stood together that morning he waited for me by Cleo's before climbing aboard the bus with me. We kissed, we danced slowly to the soulful Norah Jones music playing inside the entire bus and cuddled in the back seat as we sipped our coffee and ate our pastries while the bus took us on a slow, leisurely tour around the city where we met and fell in love. We passed places we've made memories in—from the grocery store to the appliance gallery, the jewellers, the fast-food place, the wharf, Sonic, the hotel. 

There was something dreamlike and magical about that early morning bus ride, wrapped in Luke's arms, surrounded by memories, comforted by his low laughter and quiet kisses, and captivated by the streaks and flares of golden light that filled the dusty windows as the sun slowly ascended to the sky.

"Sleep well, baby," Luke told me with a gentle kiss on my forehead after he walked me to my apartment door. "Tonight, we're going to a small, quiet dinner—just with family and friends—to close your birthday and maybe tell them the good news."

I grinned. "They'll freak out. You know that, right?"

"And some are going to try to change your mind," he said with a frown, a fierce light flickering in his eyes. "I know it's crazy, Max, but I've never been more sure of what I want than I am now."

"I know you are," I assured him because astoundingly, I just felt it. It didn't make a lot of logical sense but now was the time to trust my heart a little bit more—and the man I was giving it to. "Don't worry, Luke. I'm in for the long haul."

He pressed his lips tightly, his forehead touching mine. "You're not always going to feel that way."

I didn't want this beautiful morning we spent together to end on an angsty note, with more doubts than certainty about a life we decided to spend together, no matter how quickly that decision happened.

I tipped his chin up so he could look me in the eyes and said softly, "When that happens, I'll tell you and you're going to do something about it to remind me why I'm with you. Why, despite all the potential heartache and pain, I took this risk with you. And I expect that you'll do the same thing when it's my turn to screw things up."

Luke gave me a small, reluctant smile, his arms circling around my waist and pulling me against him. "You never screw things up."

"Just because I haven't doesn't mean I can't," I said. "But I think we owe it to each other to do our best not to get there, and if we do, to pull each other up instead of pushing each other down."

He chuckled softly, nuzzling my cheek. "You're still being very logical about this but I like where this particular logic is going. Logic might be the very thing that'll save me with you in times when your emotions are about to drive me out the door."

I wrinkled my nose, not sure if I was supposed to be flattered or not with that comment. "Well, it's not my emotions booting you out the door this very second. It's Gramps."

Luke feigned a look of defeat. "Luke Hedenby, master seducer—thwarted by an old man. Oh, the things the paper will write about when they hear that."

I laughed and gave him a playful shove on the chest. "Better that than an article about some other women you're dallying with."

Luke's expression hardened, all humor wiped clean from it. "There will always be things in the media, Max, and some might even be nasty. You have to be ready for them. You'll have to trust me no matter how bad they look."

Knowing how hard he already had been on himself this whole time the two of us were falling inward, I smiled and soothingly rubbed the spot I'd smacked on his chest. "Is this a warning, Luke?"

My tone had been teasing enough for it to have been obvious but Luke's brooding expression didn't lighten. He took my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing my fingertips. In a low, dull voice, he murmured, "No. It's an appeal."

The intensity didn't settle pleasantly in my gut—at least not today and not this soon and especially not for the kind of circus show I already had an idea to expect. I pushed up on my toes and pressed a kiss on his mouth. "We'll be okay, Luke."

That mantra stayed with me for the rest of the day, even as that grim conversation with Luke kept replaying in my head.

Something was bothering him and it was no surprise. 

Just because we finally decided to be together didn't mean that all the loose ends tied themselves neatly into a bow.

One of those loose ends was the reaction our closest friends when we broke the news to them during dinner at the loft of the old hardware store that Elise and Marcel were converting into their restaurant.

To say that some of them were surprised would be quite an understatement.

Jillian almost sprayed Ryan with the soup she'd just spooned into her mouth. Zoe nearly dropped her glass of wine. And Alex went as still as a stone statue for like five minutes, only his eyes darting back and forth between me and Luke.

The rest were surprised as well but took it in stride, Peggy and Elise being the more enthusiastic ones. Elise still puzzled me but it was hard to doubt that she was genuinely happy for me and Luke. She wasn't going to be a critic. 

Alex had top spot for that.

"Are you sure about this, Max?" he asked when he finally cornered me after Marcel's incredible dinner and the group had broken up for drinks. Luke was in a rowdy conversation with my grandfather and Ryan about something on the other side of the room. 

I smiled broadly at Alex, knowing that it was more concern for me than jealousy that spurred his hesitation. "Yes."

When I said nothing more, Alex raised a brow. "Yes and that's it? No further explanation?"

"There isn't really a ton of explanation and I don't want to ramble on and seem like I'm trying hard to justify it," I said lightly. "We want to do it so we're doing it."

Alex remained dubious. "That easy, huh."

It was probably aggravating him more but I couldn't help but chuckle. "It should be. Of all the choices I had to make, the risks I had to weigh, deciding to marry Luke has probably been the easiest. And I'm not going to sabotage it by grasping for doubts that don't need to be there."

Alex's gaze strayed to a smiling Luke in the distance. '"He's really a lucky bastard and I hope he remembers that all the time."

I smiled and patted Alex on the arm. "If he forgets, I'll make sure to remind him."

The expression on Alex's face remained serious though. "If you're happy, then I'm happy for you. And while I can trust that you know what you're doing, I'm just not sure that Luke can be trusted the same way."

"So you think he's either way in over his head or he has some secret agenda," I stated as a-matter-of-factly.

Alex shook his head ruefully. "Luke Hedenby doesn't exactly seem the type of guy scrambling to head to the altar. In fact, he has a reputation for going the opposite direction."

I snorted. "I think that might be more of a general male condition."

"Not all men shy away from commitment if it's with the right person, Max."

I beamed triumphantly. "Exactly. Thanks for answering your own question."

Alex seemed half-amused and half-exasperated. "You're hopeless. You're not going to budge."

He was right—I wasn't going to.

Usually, my struggle was with determining exactly what I wanted. 

Once I knew what that was, I had no problem being tenacious about it. My decision with Luke was no different.

But I should've known, like any conviction of the heart, life was bound to test it.

***

On the Monday morning I took off, I hugged Gramps goodbye at the airport, reassuring him that Luke and I would visit him at White Point sometime soon. A tiny town out in the country wasn't exactly Luke's scene but he could probably manage a few days.

It was just right around lunch time that I made my way to work and found the office, especially our own project team, buzzing with nervous energy.

I was going to ask as soon as I could corner someone when my cellphone sounded off.

[Luke: Come see me when you get in. But don't get too close coz I might grab you and kiss you in front of everyone. Kiss.]

I hadn't seen him since he drove me home last night but based on his text message (aside from the whole grabbing and kissing part), something big was up.

Peggy was on the phone and pacing when I arrived at her desk. The door to Luke's office was ajar so I peeked in and found it empty. 

Peggy saw me and mouthed something that read like 'conference room' while pointing to the hallway.

In all the time I spent around her, the woman was always very calm and collected. Right now, she looked like she could use a drink.

Even more puzzled at whatever's got the whole building squirming in their toes, I made my way down the hallway to the private conference room exclusively used for high-level executive meetings.

I ran into Bryce in the hallway, clutching an armful of folders. The usually unruffled man looked well, a bit ruffled. 

"Mr. Hedenby's is going to be here anytime soon," he said when I asked just what the hell was going on. "The presentation's been moved from next week to one this afternoon."

I frowned. "What do you mean Mr. Hedenby—oh. The other Mr. Hedenby."

Bryce gave me a sideways glance. "Your future father-in-law from what I've been hearing. Congratulations by the way, Max."

I grinned sheepishly. "You're not mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because of the whole dating the boss thing. I'll be the first to admit it's not professional."

The man rolled his eyes. I never thought I'd be having this personal a conversation with my director but he brought it up first. 

"Anyone with eyes could see how hard and fast Luke Hedenby was falling for you," Bryce muttered. "I think everyone in the company who saw him single you out that day of the meet and greet started to have an idea."

I stared at him in surprise. "Then why did you still pick me to be part of your team, knowing how closely Luke was going to work with me?"

Bryce looked at me as if I'd just asked a silly question. "He was going to show up wherever you happened to be present anyway so I figured I might as well throw you into the team and make good use out of your brain."

I laughed. "Ruthless but I still appreciate the opportunity. Thank you, Bryce."

The man sighed. "Don't thank me quite yet. We still have to survive this presentation with our jobs and heads still intact."

"You make Charles Hedenby sound terrifying."

"In all the years I've worked for the man, Max, I've seen a few good and brilliant people cry and nearly wet themselves in a meeting with him," Bryce said with a wry shake of his head. "He expects everyone to work as hard as he does and create the same kind of business magic he has. He's quite formidable."

I swallowed hard. "I'm starting to get scared just a little bit."

Bryce smiled. "Steel that spine, Max. To most of us, he's just the big boss. To you, he's future family."

The smile I returned might have been a little strained. "No offense, Bryce, but this isn't the best pep talk I've heard from you."

This time, the director laughed out loud. "I can give good work pep talks—not sage advice about in-laws. God knows I probably have the worst ones in the world."

A flurry of different activities was happening all at the same time when we arrived at the conference room. Jillian, along with another person from IT, was fussing over the projector and the computer controlling it. A handful of marketing people were busy laying down folders on each of the twelve-seats around the conference table. A couple of admin people were putting together plate sets full of sandwiches and other appetizers. I went to help where I could, wondering where Luke was, and about ten minutes later, he walked in.

"Everyone, out please. I need to get my head together so I know what the hell I'll be talking about in the presentation," he grumbled, raking a hand through his hair as he made his way to the end of the table and set down his laptop.

I was going to slip out along with everyone else, knowing that this was not the time and place for me to be adding to his stress, but just as I reached the doorway, he caught me by the wrist.

"Max, where do you think you're going?" he asked, not bothering to close the door behind the last person to leave. 

I wanted to kiss him but since we were at work, I settled with smiling at him. "Hello to you, too. And I was just leaving you alone as you'd requested."

"That didn't include you," he answered grumpily, pulling at his tie. He glanced down and kept tugging at it unhappily. "I should've picked a different tie. He'll think this one's too gimmicky."

Considering that it was a silky but plain navy blue, I didn't exactly agree.

"The tie looks fine and I don't think your Dad is going to waste his time on it."

He looked back up at me, his mouth curved up in one corner in bemusement. "So you've heard, huh? Just like Dad to send me an email in the middle of a business meeting telling me he was touching down in two hours or so and that he wanted the presentation today instead of next week. Everyone will just have to drop whatever they're doing to put this whole thing together with superhuman speed."

"Maybe he just likes to keep everyone on their toes," I said, nudging his hand away so he would quit messing up his tie. "It obviously works."

"For now," he muttered, trying to keep still as he let me tighten the knot of the tie back into place. While I was doing that, he surveyed the room with a frown. "And what kind of food did they bring up here? Who organized this? Peggy has a menu for all the specific things Dad and the other VPs like and—"

"Luke, relax," I interjected, placing both my hands on his chest. "People are doing the best they can to make this presentation as good as it can be considering the time constraints. I'm sure they know what they're doing. Give them a break. Give yourself a break. You know you have a good product and you believe in it. Now your Dad and everyone else just have to be convinced. Don't waver on it now because no one's going to buy anything from a fumbling salesman."

"I'm not a fumbling salesman."

"You are when you're panicking like this," I said with a grin. "Smile. Take a deep breath. Enjoy the moment."

"You don't know my Dad, Max."

"True but I know you. You've got your own mind. You have a good business sense and you care about your clients and the company. You're capable of great things but you have to remember that when you're talking to your Dad. You're not a little boy anymore."

The almost petulant look of protest on his face was cute though.

"You don't know that."

"I do. You're a child occasionally but when it matters, you man up. Just as you're going to today."

"I like her already," a deep, softly booming voice came from the doorway and Luke and I spun around to find Charles Hedenby standing there, studying us.

He was still much like the man in the picture I found in Luke's bedroom—tall, forbidding, distinguished. He had thick, dark hair the same color as Luke's except for the light sprinkle of silver by his temples. He shared his son's similar angular bone structure and blue eyes except that his were a few shades lighter than Luke's. In fact, he was almost how one would imagine Luke two decades from now. The main difference was that while Luke had an almost irreverent charm about him, Charles Hedenby was all intimidating confidence and discipline. 

I might have backed up a step without thinking because I felt Luke's arm slip behind my waist to keep me at his side. His father carefully took in the sight of us and for a second, I was glad I actually wore a well-fitted blouse and pencil skirt ensemble today and brushed my hair into a neat ponytail. I didn't expect nor wish to be Luke's arm candy but it might convince the man that his son wasn't completely insane.

I wasn't sure yet how I felt about him yet—or more importantly, how he felt about me and whether he even knew why that mattered—but he finally flashed a small, half-smile. 

"I'm glad Luke's listening to someone like you. That's the most advice he's taken from anyone," he said as he strode over to us, extending a hand to me. "I'm Charles Hedenby, this rascal's father."

"Nice to meet you, sir," I said, holding my own when he shook my hand firmly.

Luke sighed in mild exasperation. "Dad, this is Maxine Moss—this rascal's fiancéé and current member of the loyalty project."

This wasn't exactly how I'd planned to meet and introduce myself to Luke's father but there was nothing to be done about it now. Bravely—which was quite an effort in the face of a man like Charles Hedenby—I lifted my head and looked him straight in the eye. I smiled but I kept my gaze straight and focused, wondering for a moment whether I stacked up to what he felt his only son deserved. He made no effort to make his quick appraisal of me subtle and I reminded myself that in the end, only Luke's opinion would actually matter. It didn't mean that I wouldn't appreciate Charles Hedenby's approval though.

"My son told me the good news last night," he added calmly although the sideways glance he gave Luke told me it was most likely that news that sent him flying over here rather than a pressing urge to get the presentation over with. "Belated happy birthday and congratulations."

"Thank you," I said, my voice steady. "I hope we have your blessing."

Charles arched a brow in surprise—probably at my temerity to just bluntly put it out there when I was really no more than a complete stranger to him—but there was a little admiration in the smile he followed it with.

"Should I give my blessing on my son's decision to marry a woman I don't know at all?" he asked directly even though his tone remained polite. 

"If the qualification is trust in your son's ability to make good decisions, then yes, you should," I answered without wavering. I glanced up at Luke and saw the small smile playing on the corner of his mouth. "What's so funny?"

Luke laughed and pressed a kiss on the top of my head. "Just that I don't think I've ever had a woman carry on this long a personal conversation with my father without breaking into cold sweat."

Charles nodded. "True that. Not even Elise."

If I hadn't been hanging on father and son's every word, I would've missed that slight ripple between them at Elise's name. The shared mild amusement between them faded just a little that you couldn't tell in that space of a few seconds when shadows flitted across their smiling faces.

"She has so much to be scared of in sharing a life with me that I don't think she's got much left in her to be scared of you," Luke said, pressing a kiss on my temple. "Isn't that right, Max?"

I just rolled my eyes and sighed, observing the curiosity in Charles's eyes as he watched us. "Luke still sells himself short so you'll probably hear us repeat this conversation at some point in the future."

"So if you came here to talk her out of saying yes to me, don't bother because while it's not obvious at first glance, she's even more stubborn than you are," Luke added, still jokingly but all three of us heard the subtle warning there. 

I worried for a second that this whole scene, with its seeming casualness and still-stark subtleties, would unravel as Luke started to get defensive but Charles, probably knowing his son well enough, just sighed in what seemed like resignation. 

"She's the perfect woman for you then," he said.

"Glad we all agree," Luke countered right back just before his phone blared with a phone call. He slipped it out of his jacket pocket, his brows furrowing. "Dammit, it's Colin. He's trying to get me into a meeting with the president. Let me get this for a sec."

Charles and I both watched as Luke walked off to a quieter corner, pacing anxiously as he talked on the phone yet still managing to shoot me an 'everything okay?' glance when our eyes met.

"President of what?" I mumbled mostly to myself.

"The United States," Charles answered almost smugly, approval on his face before he turned to focus on me. "Luke's come a long way in not just doing his responsibilities but excelling at them. Yet he's still young and impulsive."

A very brief statement, politely said too, but heavy with meaning.

"That's true," I said, finding a surge of quiet courage knowing that no matter how we thought of each other, Charles and I were two people who cared deeply about the same person. "Luke's impulsive about a lot of things—he's done enough of them with me since the day we met. But I think if there's one thing he's held off doing for a long time, it's trusting that he can let himself love someone and make them happy. I'm pretty sure it's the least impulsive and reckless thing he's done in a while and that counts for something."

Whether I'd spoken in martian or not, I doubt that it would've mattered to someone as perfectly composed as Charles Hedenby who now decided to show nothing on his face as he comfortably let the silence descend after I let my mouth run off with me. 

Right. Now might be a good time to slowly back away and out the door, Max, before you get blacklisted from holidays with the father-in-law.

Then Charles smiled slowly, broadly, and genuinely this time, his features softening. 

He surprised me further by taking my hand in his and placing his other one on top of it. "I'm glad you can see that, Maxine, and appreciate what it means. I am glad to meet you, after all."

I was stunned—probably because I hadn't expected it to be that easy—but then should've I really expected it to be so bad just because Luke's family was, well, on the flip side of my own?

I didn't have a chance to contemplate it any further because Luke's call wrapped up and several VPs started to trickle in. The rest of my team settled in chairs in the back of the room and watched as Luke and Bryce collaboratively delivered the presentation to a group of very serious-looking people.

I was proud of Luke—of his enthusiasm, of his ability to not take himself too seriously and of the amount of heart he put into his pitch that there was not a single shaking head at the end of the whole thing. Even his father, who quietly observed in the corner, wore a faint smile on his face the entire time.

We all felt good at the end of it, aware of that excited buzz a meeting room gets now and then when the light bulb comes on and everyone sees the light and the possibilities it brought out of the shadows.

The executives wanted to talk after the break and I followed everyone else out, smiling at Luke who stood at the doorway.

It was just a second or two but he secretly caught my hand as I passed, giving it a quick squeeze as he dazzled me with a smile on my way out.

We all went back to our desks, trying to continue on with our day. At least I did except that somehow, news of my engagement to Luke had spread like wildfire in the office. No one was directly confronting me about it but I couldn't miss the covert conversations and the furtive glances at my left hand where I did wear my ring. It was a little fancier than my typical office outfit but you know, what can you do?

Since Luke's proposal, I really hadn't had time, or the mental energy yet, to plan out what I was going to say to people and fortunately, not too many asked me. Theodora, of course, was going to be the exception.

She called me into a one-on-one to wrap up my transition from hers to Bryce's supervision and she was uncharacteristically subdued as she went through the motions of completing my six-month assessment. For all her past criticisms, her review of me had been short of glowing.

"I hope you understand that any previous feedback I'd given you were in the spirit of developing you further in the role and expanding your career path in the company," she said casually, her expression completely neutral.

I almost snorted. I glanced heavenward but I did NOT roll my eyes—at least not noticeably.

Theodora wanted to expand my career as much as the tight space she'd give a bug between her shoe and the pavement before she squashed it. 

When the conversation petered out into awkward silence, I sighed loudly.

She was no longer my direct supervisor so perhaps I could be honest. 

"With all due respect, Theodora, I'm not going to get you into trouble with what you seem to think as my new superpowers of persuasion care of my engagement to Luke," I said mildly. "I don't need to because you're going to do that on your own if you continue to treat the people around you as you have treated me. It didn't start with me but I sure hope it ends with me because the next time you misstep with someone else, you might not be able to catch yourself and land face down on the ground."

Her eyes glinted, her jaw clenching as she bravely held my gaze for a few seconds before looking away. "Thank you for that feedback, Ms. Moss. If you don't have any other questions, I'll give you back the rest of your afternoon."

Happy to leave that piece of ugliness at that, I went back to my desk, trying to get something, anything, done in this slightly peculiar day I was having.

That's when Luke rang my cell.

"Hi, baby. Dad just left for a couple more meetings but we were talking earlier about getting together for dinner tonight," he said in a rush of breath. 

"Okay."

A long pause.

"Okay meaning you're good with it?" Luke clarified. "I told him to come by around seven. That should give us enough time to put something together, I think."

"You told him what?" My head jerked up when I realized that I might have screamed a little and everyone else in the office was looking at me like I was pole-dancing naked on my desk.

I flashed a small, apologetic smile and lowered my voice even though I wanted to yell quite soundly into Luke's ear. "What do you mean he's coming over? Where? And what are we putting together? Dinner? What are we going to feed your father? Stir-fry?"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Luke replied, sounding not the least fazed. "We could do an asian cuisine kind of theme and we know how to make stir-fry. We'll have to stop by the grocery but I think I've got everything we need at my condo."

I kneaded my temples, closing my eyes briefly and secretly praying that Luke was just being an actual rascal and pulling my leg. "Luke, we're not making some stir-fry for your father. These kinds of things need some preparation—and a hell lot more courage than I've summoned today since meeting him. Why don't we just take him out to some nice restaurant?"

"I honestly can't remember the last time I sat down and had home-made dinner with my father," Luke said a little wistfully. "Besides, I want you to be comfortable and being in some stuffy restaurant where you're served course after course isn't my idea of casual comfort. We'll invite Peggy and Terrence to join us so it's even more casual."

"And you're Dad's going to be okay with all that?" I asked, still not completely sold.

"He's known those two for years, especially Peggy," Luke said. "And my Dad's still mostly human so I don't think he's going to flip out being invited to our humble little dinner."

I didn't want to be in some stuffy restaurant either in a perfectly pressed dress and not a hair out of place with a line of servers waiting and watching for our every bite. And maybe this was the best way to get real with Charles Hedenby. 

Knowing my options were limited, I agreed, hoping to God we knew what we were doing.

***

For the remaining two hours of my shift, I was working while scrolling through several recipes in my head to narrow down ones I knew how to make in a somewhat decent and edible manner.

Promptly at the end of our workday, Luke and I drove to my apartment to pack me an overnight bag (because he insisted that I needed to dress for dinner and that since it could wrap up late, I might need to stay the night. Sure.) and then stopped at the grocery to pick up a few items.

We got the rice cooker going and we chopped up all our ingredients. We were doing stir-fry, some chicken satay and some tender beef strips sprinkled with sesame seeds. It wasn't one specific asian cuisine but we knew what we liked and that we could actually cook so we went with those. 

He went to shower first and get dressed while I finished the stir fry and when he was done, I assigned him the chicken skewers (because he felt grilling seemed simple enough) and went to shower quickly.

I was in a dark pair of skinny jeans, a comfy burgundy sweater and cream-colored flats. Since I had no time to style my hair, I wrapped it up in a bun, letting some shorter tendrils hang down in loose waves around my face. I had some powder on, a swipe of mascara and some tinted lip balm that doubled as blush. It was the best I could do and since Luke beamed at me and pulled me in for a quick hard kiss when I showed back up in the kitchen, I figured I looked presentable enough.

We were setting the table when Terrence arrived with Peggy and they both smiled and said everything smelled delicious. Just a few minutes behind them was Charles, still dressed in his suit and looking as dignified as he did several hours ago.

"Did Darcy drive you here?" Peggy asked him without preamble. "You should've invited him up."

"He was going to visit his sister for a few hours and take her out for dinner," he answered, surprising me with the size of his smile when Peggy came up to him and thrust a bottle of beer in his hand.

"Terrence can drive you back so loosen up and have a drink," she said, glancing at me over her shoulder and giving me a wink. "Max might like you better when you're not too starched up."

Charles Hedenby, who looked like he only preferred bespoke-everything, grinned like a boy and took a swig of the beer.

"I think I like him just fine," I said, forcing a smile before slowly turning toward the stove just as Luke did. Under the pretense (well, we were actually doing it) of scooping the food into serving bowls, I leaned slightly toward Luke and murmured in a low, hushed voice, "I think Peggy has superpowers."

Luke grinned. "My Dad's been pretty in love with her for a while now. She's the only one who can switch him off and on like that."

My mouth must've dropped open because Luke laughed and planted a small kiss on the tip of my nose. "She wouldn't have him—at least not yet. It's been ten years now, I think, and he's still waiting."

I snuck a glance at the pair over my shoulder and true enough, Charles was talking to Peggy with a sparkle in his eyes. I was yet to see the smile leave his face. Peggy was just being her usual sweet self but there was definitely some heightened color on her cheeks.

"And how do you feel about this?" I asked Luke. 

"I'd love for Peggy to take him out of his misery—it might make him easier to get along with," he said with a shrug. "Peggy's already family to me. Her marrying Dad will just be a bonus that I think will make him and everyone else around him very happy."

"Hmm. I didn't expect that at all—the two of them, I mean," I said, still trying to wrap my head around the idea. 

Luke laughed. "So don't go worrying anymore that Dad will think you're not good enough. I saw it in your face today. I think he knows what really matters when you want to be with someone."

And since that little discovery, whatever barrier I felt had been present since I met the man this morning disappeared. Yes, he was Charles Hedenby to the world—distinguished and influential just as his son was—but in summary, he was just a man who loved his kid and who understood something about being with somebody.

We had a very casual dinner with some positive reviews on the food and a lot of easy conversation around the table. 

It became very easy to see that father and son had great respect for each other. Luke wanted to please Charles and Charles wanted to encourage Luke but they weren't really straightforward about it and that was probably not going to change anytime soon. Peggy was fond of the both of them, of course, and whether she was aware of it or not, it seemed pretty obvious to me that she felt something for Charles. I didn't judge because the nearly endless loop that Luke and I were caught in for a little while there could've easily spun into a decade. 

It was just right at ten when our guests decided to head out.

We were just by the front door, the men still talking about football. Peggy had just put on her coat before she drew me in for a light hug.

"I'm pretty sure Charles likes you, Max," she whispered to me, a mischievous smile on her face. "He behaved himself all night and he's only like that when he's comfortable with the people around him."

I grinned and raised my brow at her. "I think you might have more to do about that than me."

Peggy's cheeks pinkened as she laughed. "Luke told you, didn't he? He's just trying to rally some extra support."

"Charles needs it that badly, huh," I teased.

"You're a stronger woman than I am," she said with a shrug. "These Hedenby men are both so easy and hard to love. You might have to give me advice."

She flashed one last smile before turning to go and breaking up the sports talk.

Charles, his face a lot younger since he lost his so serious and stern expression over dinner tonight, walked up to me. In the corner of my eye, I could see Peggy chatting up Luke and Terrence and showing them some funny video on her phone, probably to give Charles a few minutes with me without his son hovering around protectively like a mama bird.

"Thank you for the wonderful dinner," he said graciously. "I never thought I'd ever eat anything my son cooked, knowing how little of it he did in his entire twenty-seven years. But the food was great and the company even better."

I couldn't help but smile stupidly. "I'm glad you had a good time with us, no matter how low-key it was."

"I would've preferred this dinner over some fancy one because I understood so much just watching you and Luke together in the last three hours," he said bluntly, his expression a bit serious. "Whatever had seemed preposterous in my head last night when Luke called with the news now seem perfectly reasonable and natural. Of course, he loves you. He's practically vibrating with the emotion. And you love him, in that quiet but intense way people would only notice when your eyes are on my son."

There's no sparing the details here. The Hedenby men aren't exactly known for being shy.

"For the first time in years, I'm not worried about Luke," he added, glancing briefly at his son with a soft smile. "He's happy and he's determined to stay that way."

When he turned back to me, there was a hint of turbulence in his gaze. "But I am worried about you. Luke's quite a public figure, not just because of who he is but also because of the reputation he's propagated for himself in the past several years. While he's going to be toasted to and touted, he's also going to be vulnerable to every vindictive charge, every nasty gossip and every invasive ambush out there. You'll need to trust him like you've never trusted anyone. That'll be the only way he can trust you to stick it out with him until the end."

With everything happening so fast, I haven't had the chance to really itemize the kind of changes my life would go through marrying Luke. And maybe I put it off purposefully because I didn't want to start over-thinking things again. But Charles was right in that regard—eyes would be on us, no matter how privately we conducted our personal lives. And I was well aware of Luke's less than sterling reputation before I fell in love with him and decided that the past didn't matter to me if he'd wanted a different future. And I appreciated this fatherly advice—I just wasn't sure if it meant more than what was at the surface.

"Thank you," I told Charles. "For giving us a chance, for looking out for us. It's not going to be easy but it helps to know we have support from the people we care about."

"Dad, what did you say now?" Luke's voice carried over to us before his feet did. He had a worried frown on, glancing back and forth between me and his father. "Max looks so serious!"

"It's a very serious undertaking, you know—marrying you," I said with an even more somber tone. "I'm trying to get into character."

Charles chuckled when Luke's face skewed up in confusion for a second or two before I cracked and burst out laughing.

"You're nuts," Luke said with a roll of his eyes, draping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me to him. His frame felt warm and hard and thrumming with contagious energy. "But I love you anyway."

He dipped his head, his mouth settling on mine, taking more than the light kiss I would give considering the audience we still had.

"We'll see ourselves out," Charles declared, amusement in his voice. Since Luke still had me turned toward him, I didn't see him step back and reach for the door, calling out goodnight to us as they left. 

Luke paid them no attention. The moment the front door closed, he lifted me up in his arms, urging me to wrap my legs around his hips and locking his arms around and under my thighs.

"I thought they would never leave," he murmured as he started kissing the exposed skin on my neck. "If they'd taken another ten minutes, I would've kicked them out."

"You honestly could not have been thinking about this all throughout dinner," I said with a slightly mortified laugh as my flats slipped off my feet, my arms latching on to his shoulders, my fingers slipping into his soft dark hair.

"I've been thinking about this since I first walked into your apartment and saw your princess bed-—which we'll need to christen next," he said as he carried me effortlessly into his bedroom. "Tonight's the first time in days that I've had you all to myself. I've been slowly going insane."

Looking down on his handsome face, gazing into his eyes blazing blue with heat, his hair curling lazily over his brow, his lips parted and tempting, the fever feeding Luke's blood erupted into mine. I felt it surge through my veins and gather into a sweet ache between my legs that suddenly had me trembling.

"I want you, Max," Luke panted as he stood by the bed. "So badly it feels like I'm burning from the inside."

"Poor baby," I said with a smile before leaning down to kiss him hungrily, my fingers tightening around his hair and my legs shifting around his hips, trying to get close enough to feel every rigid muscle of him reverberating with barely restrained lust.

He slowly lowered me to the bed, my feet finding purchase in the firm mattress. Stepping back, I pulled off my sweater hastily, tugging my bun loose in the process. I swept the hair from my face and reached back to pull the elastic off, letting my thick locks bounce down on my neck and shoulders bared by the white cami I wore.

Luke reached for the fly of my jeans, making quick work of my belt and zipper. Slipping his hands into the space between my jeans and butt cheeks, he pushed the denim down, revealing the lace-trimmed black panties I wore.

I watched his eyes grow hooded as he followed the shape of my rounded belly down my even more rounded hips as he peeled the jeans off me inch by inch. I had no illusions of being perfectly shaped but when a beautiful man like Luke Hedenby looked at you with dark, sensual hunger, you felt desirable and utterly desired.

"I get to see you, too, right?" I teased, tugging at the neckline of his gray sweater. "After you've tempted me with that body so many times, I deserve to enjoy it as much as I want to."

He laughed and pulled both sweater and shirt off, the taut muscles that wrapped his magnificent torso rippling with the movement. My throat went dry at the sight but before I could react, he yanked me to him for a hard kiss, his fingers finding their way fast under my cami to trail a hot path to my back where they unclasped my bra with one twist. Impatiently, to a point of being clumsy, he broke off our kiss to lift my cami and bra off me, resuming the kiss promptly and a little more savagely as my breasts bounced free. His hands quickly molded around each globe, his palms grinding hard against the stiff peaks, tantalizing me with the friction until a broken moan escaped me.

Standing on the bed, I was taller than him, and I rested my arms on his neck as I threw my head back, eyes closed, lips parted in a breathless gasp when he released one breast from his hand only to capture it in his mouth. His lips wrapped around the tip in a tight suction while his tongue firmly teased it, the combined motion catapulting me into some mindless abandon. Only the arms he had wrapped around my waist held me up as he feasted—my legs were boneless and liquid.

"Luke, come on...God... please... just..." my words were scattered, fevered, desperate as I clutched at his shoulders, pulling myself up, barely seeing through the haze of lust, and clawing at his jeans. "Don't... torture me..."

"I want you to want it as badly as I do," Luke murmured, dipping his nose between my breasts and breathing in deeply, keeping me steady with one arm as his other hand worked on his fly. 

I pulled at his hair a little. "Trust me. I fucking want it as badly as you do."

He looked up, his cheeks flushed, a boyish smile on his face. "You swore. I don't think I've ever heard you swear."

"I'm going to swear your ear off if you don't get on this bed with me right now," I said in a little growl, grabbing his face and reinforcing my threat with a bruising kiss. He laughed against my lips, wrapping his arms around me and kissing a trail between my breasts until he reached the skin just above the lace-trimmed waistband of my panties. 

I heard the clanking of metal against the floor as he kicked off his jeans but paid it no heed because his breath was warm against the piece of silk triangle between my legs.

With trembling fingers, he hooked through the thin straps and slowly pulled my panties down, glancing up just in time for me to catch the crooked but coy smile on his lips. 

Pulling himself to his full height, he lifted me by the waist as if I weighed nothing and brought us down together in a heap in the middle of his bed, the hardness of his large muscled frame pressing against the softness of my curves as he closed whatever space he could between us.

Our arms were a tangle around each other as we fought for each breath and kiss—desperate to touch again as soon a part of us broke contact for a fraction of a moment.

I was already a writhing, moaning, nearly-orgasming mess from the seductive torture he played on me when I felt his hand slip between my legs, his fingers finding and filling that ache he created just as his mouth possessed my breasts again with ravaging little kisses.

Incoherent from pleasure, nerves electric like live wires—I couldn't clearly put the pieces together of what happened next.

I moaned, gasped and cried out Luke's name as the pleasure peaked, the maddening ache splintering me into a million pieces of light and sun until I felt like I was no more but brilliant specks in the water, carried away from the shore on the lull of a tide.

I heard his soothing words as I came back to earth, felt his own urgency build as the ripping sound of a foil floated into my consciousness. I forced my heavy eyes open, feeling the heat return to them so swiftly at the sight of Luke holding himself steady as he rolled a condom on.

He was every bit as big and as hard as he'd felt against my thighs earlier—and I felt the answering call as that sweet, stark ache inside me started all over again.

"I'll be gentle, baby," he murmured, kissing my brow and squeezing his own eyes close in effort as he poised himself between my legs. "I love you... God, I love you so much."

I felt so full and stretched at once that I had to gasp in a breath, my hands clutching his shoulders and arms as I braced myself for the pain. He paused, breathing harshly, beads of sweat dotting his forehead. He opened his eyes—such bright, fiery blue yet tender with concern—and smiled a little at me.

"You okay?" he asked lightly although I knew what the restraint cost him.

I nodded, taking a deep breath and smiling back, wrapping my arms around his neck and shifting my hips up to take him in further. "Do it, Luke. I want this... I can take this... Please."

He smothered the rest of my pleas with a rough kiss until I felt the tension inside me ebb away. Then he gripped my hips and surged in, driving himself home in one fierce thrust that had me arching up in mixed pain and pleasure.

He didn't move after that. He held me close, his heart pounding hard over mine, trailing baby kisses along my cheeks and nose as my body took a few moments to adjust to his intrusion.

"I love you," I told him with a quivering smile, reaching up to drag my fingers through his disheveled hair which looked much like it did that first day we met. "But I really want you to move."

He laughed and lifted himself up on his arms, starting a steady rhythm with his hips and quickly escalating into a fevered state that he was soon pistoning in and out of me with fraying control. His hands continued to map out whatever he could of my body, his mouth imprinting the route where it could—on my neck, on each of my breasts, on the curve of my ear, on the tip of my chin. 

Where else he might have marked me I didn't know anymore as my every nerve ending zeroed in on each delicious slide, of the feel of him full and hard and heavy inside of me. 

I choked out my climax, tensing into a tight knot and unraveling just a second before Luke groaned low and long, shuddering above me as he found his own release.

We collapsed together, our ragged breaths filling the room, our bodies finding the perfect curves and lines to fit together.

My eyes fluttered open and I turned my head to the side to find Luke gazing at me, a grin on his face.

"You look pretty satisfied with yourself," I said, raising my brow with what energy I had left.

"I'm pretty sure you're satisfied too," he answered, kissing my shoulder because that was the closest part of me to his mouth. 

"That's a good thing considering all the promises you made me in this department," I said, trying to sound unimpressed.

"Give me five minutes, Max, and I'm on to the next promise. It's a long list and we've got all night," Luke said with a wink before he rolled over on top of me, trapping me in his arms even as I squealed in laughter and tried to wriggle free.

Unless you can play the game, don't tempt the devil who invented it.

***

So, what do you think? I think this has been long overdue. It may be too subtle to tell for some people but what sets Max and Luke apart from my other characters, in my own opinion, is their contrast to how some couples might typically react and come together in a story. And while they're characters are not totally realistic, they're more of a normal couple than some of the ones I've written before. It's all the little things that connect their days and lives and hearts together that make them special to me.

Anyway, just an FYI, we're coming close to wrapping this story up—probably another four more chapters or so before Max and Luke live happily ever after (or do they? Heh.) Stay tuned and I will do my utmost best to do weekly updates. =)

Thanks for sticking around! You guys are the best!

XOXO!

Ninya

 ♪♪♪ Chapter Soundtrack: Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding ♪♪♪

You're the light, you're the night

You're the color of my blood

You're the cure, you're the pain

You're the only thing I wanna touch

Never knew that it could mean so much, so much

You're the fear, I don't care

'Cause I've never been so high

Follow me through the dark

Let me take you past our satellites

You can see the world you brought to life, to life

So love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do

Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do

What are you waiting for?

Fading in, fading out

On the edge of paradise

Every inch of your skin is a holy grail I've got to find

Only you can set my heart on fire, on fire

Yeah, I'll let you set the pace

'Cause I'm not thinking straight

My head's spinning around I can't see clear no more

What are you waiting for?