Page 72 of Lumi

Lumi winced.

“Don’t look like that. The last thing I want to do is hurt ye again.” My mind was exploding with confusion. “Am I misreadin’ the situation? Ye have to be honest with me. If ye want more than sex, ye need to tell me, Lumi.” My tone sounded all wrong and accusatory, and it made Lumi clam up.

I closed my eyes for a second, hating how bad I was at communicating my feelings when the truth was that I was petrified of losing Lumi for good. Nine years ago, she had walked away from me at my wedding to Siobhan. Every smile from me that night had been a chore, the four-course dinner had tasted like sawdust, and while dancing with my bride, my mind had worried about Lumi.

I’d never felt like a bigger fraud than that night when Siobhan and I went up to the bridal suite and fought like cats and dogs right after sixty of our friends and family members had celebrated our love.

Those eighty-five days without Lumi had felt like a life sentence to me. My so-called honeymoon phase with Siobhan had been one of the saddest and most stressful times in my life. Every day I’d done my best to keep up appearances and pretend to be happy, but on the inside, I’d grieved the loss of Lumi and carried immense guilt that I had hurt her.

I’d come into Lumi’s life at her darkest hour and promised her that I’d always be there for her. And then I failed her in the worst way. I would never make the same mistake.

Lumi hardened her jaw and spoke in a defensive tone: “I told you. It was a spontaneous act, but don’t worry — since it freaks you out so much, I won’t touch you again.”

We both turned our heads when the doorbell rang.

There was an expression of relief on Lumi’s face when she moved toward the door, but I grabbed her free arm.

“That’s not what I meant, and ye know it.”

She didn’t look like she believed me, but I couldn’t let her go yet.

“One last thing.”

She met my eyes. “Yes?”

“Promise me that if ye’re pregnant, ye won’t have an abortion.”

Lumi’s face gave nothing away.

I hated when she hid her feelings from me, but this was too important to back down. “Promise!”

She gave a short nod.

As we opened the door and welcomed Atlas and Jolene, my head was spinning with questions that I wished I could ask Lumi.

Had she woken up horny and used me as a substitute for her vibrator or had something about these last days rekindled her romantic interest in me? It would be tempting to believe the latter, but I was hesitant about getting my hopes up. After all, Lumi had been pretty brutal in her rejection of me once. Quick flashes from back then made my throat constrict as my memory took me back to that night.

October – Six Years Ago.

We celebrated Maximum’s nineteenth birthday at Liv’s and Charles’ house. There were more people than usual because River and Lumi had brought their boyfriends who both studied at Trinity College.

River was less than two weeks away from turning eighteen and had grown up to be a femme fatale who turned men’s heads and caused a string of heartbreaks. During dinner, she told us all about how Nigel, her current boyfriend, had invited her to his family’s ski chateau in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Kit and I exchanged a few looks as the conversation centered on helicopter rides to the mountain tops and champagne picnics in the snow.

I was a Guard, and Kit was a private investigator. We made enough money to live comfortable lives, but there was no way we could ever keep up with the Robertsons or these two English peacocks.

The Robertsons were one of the wealthiest families in the world, so it was no wonder that the members attracted other wealthy people, but we weren’t used to money being discussed so blatantly.

After dinner, River came over to Liv and me and threw a discreet nod in the direction of Lumi and her boyfriend Spencer, who were talking to Charles. “Did you hear that Spencer’s uncle died? He was a duke and since he never had children, Spencer’s dad inherited the title and his brother’s estate on top of the estate that comes from Spencer’s mother’s side of the family.”

I shrugged. “Naw, I didn’t know.”

“Spencer is the only child. One day he’ll be one of the richest men in England.”

“So?” I frowned. “Money isn’t everything.”

“That’s right,” Liv supported me. “Money should be the least of Lumi’s concerns. It’s not like she’s poor herself.”