For Keeps (Aggie's Inheritance) (56 page)

“
Well, actually, I did that yesterday. It’s mine in thirty days.
”

“
Um, you finished the one on Kent Street?
”

“
Bzzz. Wrong again. Last guess.
”

“
You started building that shed your mom wants.
”

Luke shook his head.
“
’Fraid not, but I do need to get on that.
”

“
Well, then, what did you do?
”

She took another teeny bite while waiting for him to answer her. Luke swallowed hard, took a swig of coffee, choked, and then said,
“
I took a little trip up north.
”

It took several seconds of waiting for him to elaborate for Aggie to realize he thought she’d make sense of his ambiguous statement.
“
That’s nice…
”

“
I went to Yorktown to visit your parents, Mibs.
”

Aggie’s head snapped up. Understanding slowly dawned, but she fumbled for words to stall him while she absorbed the news. Luke was exactly the kind of man who would talk to her parents about his feelings for her, but she didn’t quite know how
she
felt about it.
“
Why would you do that?
”

“
Do you have to ask that?
”
His cheesecake sat untouched in his lap, but Luke had nearly downed his coffee.

“
Well, obviously I do, or I wouldn’t have.
”
Though she knew Luke could see through her, Aggie didn’t care. She’d never expected him to do something like that so soon. The idea unnerved her.

“
Well, after we sat and talked a bit, I explained about what I shared with you the other day. I told them that I had planned to give you a lot more time before putting you in the position of dealing with…
”
A smirk made his face look comical.
“
I think your mother’s exact words were ‘besotted swains.’
”

“
She didn’t!
”
Aggie’s shock was palpable.

“
Well, I think the other suggestions offered were suitor and boyfriend. Do you have a preference?
”

“
So you went to tell them that you told me you care about me? What for?
”

Aggie, having avoided Luke’s eyes, since she’d heard of his trip, glanced at his face and drew back, startled by the intensity she found in his eyes. Luke just smiled
--
a weak but genuine smile.
“
Oh Mibs, I couldn’t tell you that I love you without ensuring your parents were ok with that.
”

“
Why not?
”

“
Because, now that you know,
”
Luke dropped his eyes.
“
I was hoping we
--
I mean I
--”
She watched as he struggled to find the right words.
“
I hoped
--”

Aggie swallowed her next bite whole.
“
And they said?
”

“
They gave their approval for me to speak to you about what is on my heart.
”

“
I don’t know what to say, Luke.
”
She shoved her cheesecake back in the bag.
“
I just don’t know what you expect from me.
”

“
I don’t expect anything from you until I ask the question I have for you.
”
Luke struggled to hide the smile that strained to break free. The expression on Aggie’s face was priceless. It was evident from her eyes alone that she expected him to ask her to marry him. Though he was tempted to go down on one knee and really make her squirm, his mother’s caution to
“
go gently, son
”
helped him resist.

“
Well, do you ever intend to ask your question?
”
He saw her straighten and don a bravado that he could see she didn’t feel and decided he needed to come to the point.

“
Well, my question is whether you’re willing to grant me the same permission that your parents did. Are you willing to give me a chance to win your heart?
”
His mouth went dry, and he swallowed several times to keep from croaking out his next words.
“
Last Friday, I told you that I love you. I want to know if you
are willing to explore a more intimate
--
um, that’s not
--
I mean personal
--
closer relationship with me
.
”
His face flushed as he realized how his words could have sounded.

The minutes ticked by as Aggie sat in thoughtful silence. For the first time in his life, Luke understood how nerve-wracking it was to wait for someone to speak. Her face was a study in conflicting emotions, but at last she spoke.
“
Will I lose my best friend in Brant’s Corners if I say no?
”

A pit grew to the size of a bowling ball in Luke’s stomach, but he forced himself to give her a truthful answer that wouldn’t add more pressure.
“
Mibs, you’ll always be my friend. Nothing is going to change that.
”

“
Good, because the last time a friend tried to date me, I almost lost a good friend. I don’t want that to happen again. I don’t want to start dating you only to find out that it’s not going to work, and then things get awkward
--”

Luke interrupted her.
“
Mibs, I’m not interested in some casual dating thing.
”
His face fell as he spoke.
“
I’m hoping that you can learn to care for me
--
that you might eventually see me as husband material. If you don’t think you can do that, tell me now.
”

Aggie opened her mouth to speak and then clamped it shut.
“
Are you asking me to marry you?
”
Confusion filled her voice.

“
Not yet, no. You don’t love me and maybe you never will.
”
The words caught in his throat, and Luke knew she heard it and understood why.
“
I just had to be up front about this. I can’t be casual with my feelings. I want us to take the next few months to get to know each other better. I’m hoping you’ll learn to love me and
want
to marry me.
”
He shook his head and tried again.
“
Mibs, all I want to know today is if you are willing to see if we can develop a relationship that is conducive to marriage.
”
Luke stuck out his tongue in disgust.
“
That was romantic, wasn’t it?
”

He watched as she tried not to laugh and failed. Her snickers turned into giggles and finally laughter. Every attempt he made to look hurt and serious failed until he too lost all composure and joined her. The joke seemed to release some of the tension that had grown between them, and Luke relaxed enough to finish what he had to say.

“
Aggie, you should know that I would marry you tomorrow, but I know you’re not ready for that, and I wouldn’t want to cheat you out of the experience of falling in love. If you can’t learn to love me, then we’ll de
al with that later. In the mean
time, in case you can, I want to do my part to give you the special memories and moments that come with a relationship like that. I don’t quite know how to do it…
”
He shrugged sheepishly.
“
I don’t think I’m naturally very romantic.
”

With an exaggerated shake of her head, Aggie said,
“
What do you call a stuffed chicken and a box of pansies… ‘
for thoughts
?’
”

“
You have no idea how close I came to leaving off the pansies. I wanted so badly to try to do something s
pecial for you
--
to cheer you up
--
but I thought it was still too soon.
”
He shrugged.
“
I remembered Mom’s little verse and couldn’t resist.
”

“
Pansies are for thoughts. Now let it be: Mine are of you. Let yours be of me.
”

“
You have an amazing memory! That’s word perfect, and I don’t remember writing it down like I said I would.
”
Luke’s grin lit up his entire face even in the darkness.

She ducked her head, embarrassed.
“
I cheated. I did a Google search, found it, and memorized it.
”
A satisfied smile settled over Luke’s features and grew even more content as Aggie’s face showed her trying to read his expression
--
and failing. Her curiosity overcame her self-control, as she demanded,
“
Spit it out, Luke.
”

For a brief moment, Luke wondered if answering would hurt his chances. He still hadn’t received Aggie’s agreement to give a relationship a chance, but he couldn’t resist teasing her.
“
Well, it’s just that it’s hard not to hope that you care a little for me if you deliberately searched for a poem and memorized it just because you received flowers from me.
”

Red flooded her face until it was hard to see the spots anymore.
“
I
--”
She swallowed and shrugged.

“
Do you need time to think about it?
”

“
Think about what? Us?
”

“
Yeah.
”
The hope he’d allowed himself slowly dissipated as he saw her chew her lower lip. Just as he decided to tell her not to worry about it
--
he wouldn’t say anything about it for some time, she raised her eyes to meet his.