Page 82 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

“And I expect you to be at board meetings,”

Rick added.

“Yes, sir.”

She nodded. Why did she suddenly feel so small and insignificant sitting across from Rick’s desk?

“We were discussing the new skateboard park, and you were the only one who had all the statistics and figures on that. It was your baby, Lucki. The kids are going to be disappointed.”

She swallowed. Hard. She’d let down her kids.

“Can we call a special meeting? Isn’t there anything I can do?”

Rick shook his head.

“Board members are extremely busy, you know that. Most of them have their own businesses to run. We’re lucky if we get them in here for quarterly meetings. This is a project they were interested in. They want to see these kids off the streets, off their sidewalks, away from their business doors, and some place safe. It’s not that they don’t want them there because they think it will hurt their businesses, they want them off the street for safety reasons.”

“I understand that Rick.”

She pondered the situation for a minute.

“What if I go to each board member separately? Granted, it will take a little more time, but I’ll do it on my own time, Rick, after work. Perhaps if I give them each a one-on-one presentation, it would be more positive anyway. Perhaps not cost-effective, but more positive.”

He stared at her then rubbed his chin.

“It’s a thought, Lucki. We have to get the advisory board behind us before we go to the city and county councils to ask for more money. We need our ducks in a row. I want to be at the city council meeting in one week, the county meets shortly after that. If we want to start construction on this thing early spring, we have to get moving now. We must get our funding sources lined up and assure the community at a whole that this is a good thing. Oh, and I need that information on that grant you were looking into. More outside money we can snag the better, I think.”

Lucki stood.

“I agree, Rick. I’ll get right on it.”

“Do that, Lucki.”

He nodded and she nodded back.

After leaving his office, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. She’d screwed up. But she had a chance at retribution. She could do this. She could make the board see the positive side of this, then take it to the local government. She could do it.

And she would.

“Everything okay in there Lucki?”

She turned toward Pinky’s voice. Somehow, she looked different.

“I smoothed it over. Have my work cut out for me though.”

“The skateboard park?”

“Yeah.”

She stared at Pinky again.

“Pinky, what have you done with yourself that’s different?”

Pinky grinned ear to ear.

“Died my hair back to its natural shade. I like it better this way.”

“That’s it! So, do I, Pink. It looks great!”

“Matt likes it better this way, too.”

“You did this last night? Yesterday it was blonde.”

“Well, yes. Matt commented he liked it the old way better, so I thought I’d surprise him this morning.”

“And...?”

Pinky grinned again, widely.

“He loved it.”

Lucki smiled at her friend.

“Pinky, I couldn’t be more pleased.”

And she meant that, sincerely.

Seemed like everyone was falling in love these days.

****

Soon as she stepped inside her kitchen door, her phone shattered the silence. Goodness! Did that thing ever stop ringing?

“Hello?”

“Hi lover.”

Lucki melted. She loved hearing Sam call her that.

“Hi, Sam.”

She was blushing for sure. Her cheeks were hot.

“Was waiting for you to get home. How was your day?”

Lucki exhaled.

“Long. Tiring. Complex.”

“Too tired for dinner out?”

Closing her eyes, Lucki leaned against the kitchen counter. “Out?”

“Yes. How about dinner at a la Lucie’s in a couple of hours?”

“A couple of hours?”

“You need more time to get ready?”

“More like a little time to unwind a bit.”

“I understand that. It’s early honey. How about if I come over about seven, we get to the restaurant about eight, have a late dinner then come back here?”

“We both have to work tomorrow, Sam.”

“I know. We can swing it. We’re both young.”

She did need some down time. And she did want to see him. Dinner at a la Lucie’s would be absolute heaven. It had been ages since she’d eaten anywhere that didn’t have paper napkins and straws.

“Why don’t you come over here around six-thirty? We’ll get a little earlier start then.”

She could almost sense Sam grinning through the phone.

“Sure thing, lover.”

A chill ran through her.

“Bye, Sam. See you in a while.”

“Can’t wait.”

She thought she heard a kiss through the phone.

It took her only a few minutes to run a nice, warm bath, assess her closet for the right clothes to wear, and slip into the tub for an hour of unwinding. She could get used to this.

She could get used to coming home every day to Sam Kirk and his surprises. Yessir. She sure could.

****

The restaurant, a la Lucie’s, held every bit of romantic ambiance a woman could want, Lucki decided, as she stepped into the restaurant on Sam’s arm. It had been ages since she’d been there. Not since her parents had taken her out to celebrate her twenty-first birthday. She’d never been here with a man, so this was a special treat for her. That Sam would bring her here was even more special.

He turned and smiled at her then and Lucki had to shake herself at the newness of all this. Sam, her best friend since childhood, now her lover. It was a concept her brain was having little trouble dealing with. It seemed right. Like it should have been this way all along. Yet, at the same time, it seemed foreign and a little odd.

Knowing Sam so intimately was going to take a little getting used to.

But a task she was not averse to. In fact, it was a task she quite welcomed.

They were seated across from each other at a small table in a darkened corner of the Italian restaurant. A candle flickered from the center. A single rose in a crystal bud vase graced the table. The restaurant smelled of Italian spices and tomatoes and scented candles. Low conversation fluttered across the room. An old-world charm enveloped them. They were given menus and fresh glasses of water with lemon, and then they were alone.

Sam reached across the table and took her hand.

“Lucinda Stevenson, you are so very beautiful.”

Immediately, she blushed.

“It’s because of you,”

she whispered.

“No. You’ve always been beautiful, Lucki. It’s just now I know you are my beautiful woman.”

Lucki’s gaze played with his.

“Am I Sam?”

she returned softly.

“Am I yours?”

“Always, honey.”

“Always?”

As in forever?

Their server came then and interrupted the moment. Sam ordered the veal. Lucki opted for bow-tie pasta and vegetables. Each requested a salad, dressing on the side. Sam ordered a fine red wine. Finally, the server left.

“You were saying?”

Lucki hinted. She had to know where Sam was coming from.

He leaned closer, drawing her hand further into his.

“Lucki. Don’t you know? Can’t you feel it?”

Yes, she could feel it. But she had to know it. What were Sam’s intentions here.

“Tell me, Sam.”

“I love you,”

he whispered, a heart-felt look upon his face.

“Don’t you know that yet?”

She nodded. She knew it. But was it a lasting kind of love.

“I love you, too, Sam, but—”

He gripped her hand tighter.

“There are no buts here, Lucki. We love each other. From there we can build—”

“Your wine, sir.”

The server placed two glasses of red wine before them. Sam nodded to the server who immediately left. Then he tipped his glass toward Lucki. “Toast?”

She nodded and lifted her glass.

“To us.”

“To us,”

she repeated, sort of hanging in a spellbound kind of mist. Was this happening? Did he truly and forever love her? Then she touched her glass to his. They both took a sip of the warm wine.

Sam held his glass in the air a moment longer, pausing.

“To a lifetime together.”

He tipped his glass forward again. Lucki hesitated.

“Lucki?”

Searching his face, Lucki finally let go of her anxieties. A lifetime. His words. He wanted a lifetime together. With her.

“To a lifetime together, Sam. Our lifetime.”

She touched her glass to his once more, and then both sipped the wine as they held each other’s gaze. When Sam at last sat his glass on the table, he leaned closer and drew her closer.

“Lucki, my darling, will you marry me?”

She felt like clutching her heart. She was sure it was going to jump out of her chest. Marry him? Marry Sam?

Was this it? Was he actually, finally, totally willing to commit to one woman? And was that one woman her?

She studied his face for a moment and knew that this man, this grown up boy-next-door, was the only man she ever wanted in her life. Ever. He’d always been the only man for her.

“Yes, Sam. I will. I will marry you,”

she whispered, and breathed a sigh of relief. It was official, and she didn’t care who the hell in Harbor Falls knew it!

Lucki wasn’t sure which one of them exhaled the hardest. Then Sam pulled her fully across the table and kissed her square on the lips.

It was a kiss a la Lucie’s would not soon forget.

****

All day Thursday, Lucki worked on the skateboard project. It was late when she finally got home. She’d holed herself up in her cubicle and dared anyone to open her door. She researched grant possibilities. Made appointments with board members. She even lined up a couple of young skateboarders to come with her so the business community could see for themselves that these kids were not just juvenile delinquent punks. By the end of the day, she was pleased with her progress.

Friday put her on the road seeing through her appointments. It was a long day but a fruitful one. Every single board member agreed with her suggestions. Every single board member stated their support of the project. And every single board member was impressed by the articulate young skateboarders she’d brought with her. So much so, that the board felt it was a good idea to bring along the young men to the council meetings. Lucki agreed. Her plan was working. By spring, the skateboard park could be a reality.

Through all this, she and Sam had had limited time together. Even though they’d not had time to actually “date,”

Sam had managed to sneak up Lucki’s back staircase for a few hours of intimacy each night. Lucki waited for him, knowing he would be there, and looked forward to the day when they wouldn’t have to sneak anymore.

Saturday morning, she slept in. How long had it been since she’d done that, she wondered? But at ten minutes after ten, her phone rang, interrupting her silence.

“‘Morning, love.”

Sam. Ah, so nice to hear his voice. Hadn’t he just left hours before.

“Hi, baby.”

She liked calling him that. Called him that a lot lately.

“You up yet?”

“Just waking. You?”

“Umm...same here. Plans for the day?”

“Not really.”

“I was just thinking. Maybe we should go see Reverend Peters.”

In mid-stretch, Lucki’s ears perked up.

“Reverend Peters?”

Sam chuckled on the other end. She knew that chuckle. He had something on his mind.

“I mean, it’s been a few days. Have you seen him since he broke his leg? I was just wondering how he was doing.”

“Omigosh! I’ve been so busy, so distracted, I forgot all about that! Yes, Sam, I think we should go see him.”

“That’s what I thought, too. I’ll be over in an hour. That okay?”

“Sure. Fine.”

Lucki hung up the phone and stretched again. Staring at her ceiling, she contemplated that entire conversation. Thought about it for a while. There was just something.... Something, not quite right.

Then it dawned on her.

“Sam Kirk, you sly devil,”

she said aloud.

“You don’t want to see Reverend Peters about his broken leg. You want to see him about us getting married. You don’t fool me, you bad boy you.”

At that, Lucki grinned, ecstatically hopped out of her bed, and rushed for the shower. She and Sam were going to the preacher. They were planning a marriage.

Life was good.

****

The parsonage sat next to the church, but when they knocked on the door, there was no answer. They wondered if Reverend Peters was well enough to venture to his office at the church and headed that way.

“The break must not have been too bad then,”

Lucki tried to reassure herself.

“I’m sure he’s able to get around on crutches all right,”

Sam replied.

He held her hand as they stepped into the vestibule and then walked down the stairway into the church basement.

“I’m sure he’s fine, Lucki, and doesn’t harbor any ill feelings toward you.”

Lucki hoped not. But as concerned as she was for the good Reverend, she was trying to tamp down the butterflies in her tummy right now. She had other things on her mind besides Reverend Peters’ broken leg. She knew Sam had other things on his mind, too. He kept looking at her and winking every chance he got. He definitely had other things on his mind. He wasn’t fooling her. Not in the least. She knew exactly what they were going to discuss with Reverend Peters.

Their wedding.

The thought made Lucki tingle. She almost wanted to giggle. Giddily giggle. And she was not the giggling type. Guess that’s what falling in love does to you. Wonder how long Sam wanted to wait? Would he want a quick wedding? A big one with all the trimmings? A small, intimate one? What did she want? They had lots to discuss.

Oh gosh. She had to get in touch of her parents! Where would they be now? Somewhere in Colorado, she suspected. She would call her mom as soon as she and Sam were back home.

They neared the church office. The door stood partially ajar.

“I guess he’s here.”

Lucki pointed toward the door.

Sam looked down and grinned. “Good.”

He squeezed her hand. Before he stepped closer to the door, however, he leaned over and placed a nice little kiss on her lips. Lucki fleetingly recalled the last time she’d kissed Sam in church. In the choir loft. In front of the entire congregation.

Next time we kiss in church, Sam Kirk, I expect it to be at our wedding.

She wished she would have said that out loud, but she didn’t want to spoil his surprise. Perhaps, no, he wouldn’t have done that, would he? Well, yes, maybe he would have. Would he have a ring for her today? That would be perfect. They she could finally tell the world. That it was all official. That they were an item. A couple. A pair.

It was happening. She and Sam were getting married.

Just as Sam lifted his fist to the office door, voices filtered out from a Sunday School classroom to their left. Sam stilled his knock.

Lucki turned toward the voices.

“The Methodist Women must be meeting,”

Sam suggested.

Lucki nodded.

Sam lifted his hand again.

“Wait.”

Lucki strained to hear... Had she heard her name?

“What?”

“Sh... Just a second.”

Then another voice, a familiar and loud voice, interjected the soft mumblings.

“Well, I think we’re all getting worked up about nothing if you ask me.”

It was Missy Hawkins.

Lucki looked at Sam. He mouthed the word, Missy?

She nodded. Another voice continued.

“But we have to make plans, you all, we can’t let this go by. I think a surprise shower is the best thing we can do.”

Lucki shrugged.

“Sounds like they are planning a shower for someone. Wonder who’s having a baby?”

Guess she hadn’t heard her name after all.

Sam shook his head.

“Haven’t a clue.”

He turned back to the office door and lifted his fist.

Missy’s voice peeled out.

“Well, I for one, do not think Sam Kirk and Lucki Stevenson are going to get married. I think we’re wasting our time planning some shower for a wedding that is never going to take place.”

Lucki stilled and grasped Sam’s arm. What in the world?

“Well, Missy Hawkins? What makes you such an authority on the subject, huh? We thought you were over Sam. You and the Reverend have seen quite a bit of each other lately. That has not gone unnoticed by most of Harbor Falls.”

“Yes, Missy,”

another voice chimed in.

“We know they are dating. Kathleen Conner has given us almost daily reports. Sam told her he was in love with Lucki. And have you seen her? She looks like she’s on cloud nine.”

“And it was reported,”

another woman added,”

that they shared a very intimate dinner at a la Lucie’s the other night. Said Sam kissed her right there in the middle of the restaurant. Seemed they were celebrating something. Or so I was told.”

“And then, of course, there was that kiss last Sunday at church. My. What a barn burner!”

“Louise! You shouldn’t be thinking such thoughts. You’re seventy-five years old!”

Louise snickered.

“But I’m not dead, Hannah. Not by a long-shot.”

“Well, this is all beside the point. Sam and Lucki are not getting married. I know that for a fact!”

Missy shouted her final two cents worth.

Lucki turned to Sam.

“What is this all about?”

She was trying not to panic.

He shook his head.

“I have no idea, Lucki. Just some old women gathering wool.”

He pulled her toward the office.

“Now, let’s go see—”

She put up a hand.

“Wait a minute.”

The voice on the other side of the way continued.

“And please tell us, Missy, how you know this?”

Missy continued.

“Because Kathleen told me. She said she asked Sam point-blank if he and Lucki were getting married. She said he told her an emphatic no. That he and Lucki were good friends. Intimate friends, which to me means that they are sleeping together, but that they had no plans to get married. None whatsoever. Kathleen said he told her, most definitely, that he and Lucki were not making wedding plans.”

She paused, for effect, likely.

“If you don’t believe me, ask Kathleen yourself. In fact, I can call her.”

Lucki stared straight ahead.

She felt numb.

So, Sam had told Kathleen they were intimate friends but no plans for marriage. No plans for marriage?

God, he’d made a fool out of her again.

She turned to Sam.

“Is that true?”

Sam licked his lips.

“Is what true?”

“Did you say those things to Kathleen?”

Sam hesitated.

“Did you!”

He nodded.

“Yes, but—”

She slapped him then, and the sound reverberated through the cavernous basement.

As she hurriedly climbed the stairs, away from Sam and the gossipmongers, she heard the scurry of chairs and the shuffle of feet from the Sunday School room next door. Then Sam called out to her.

She didn’t answer. She’d be damned if she’d stick around for the humiliation and embarrassment of being the latest heartbreak victim of Dr. Sam Kirk.

****

Dazed, Sam watched Lucki flee up the steps. What in the world?

“Looks like she overheard us. Sorry Sam, we didn’t know you two were out here.”

Sam turned. The entire membership of the Harbor Falls Methodist Women stood before him, minus Kathleen Conner. Reverend Peters hobbled from his office as well.

“Did someone get slapped out here?” he asked.

Every eye in the room went to Sam’s face then, and he lifted a hand to his cheek. It felt hot.

“You’ve got a nice handprint there, Sammy boy,”

Eloise Hunter offered.

“Now what got into Lucki?”

“I think I have a pretty good idea.”

He knew exactly what had gotten into Lucki. They were coming to Reverend Peters to talk about getting married. And then....

He scanned the room, all eyes were still on him.

“Lucki had her heart broken. And each one of you is to blame. And each one of you is going to get me out of this situation. Do you hear me?”

Reverend Peters, Missy Hawkins, Eloise Hunter, and every other woman and the room bounced glances off each other. One by one, he felt the situation was dawning on them.

“Let’s get this straight right now. I am in love with Lucki Stevenson. I want to marry her. But she doesn’t trust me, not yet. Overhearing that conversation sure must have been a blow to her. I was finally getting her to realize that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. And now....”

“Now, we’ve blown it for you, right Sam?”

For once, Missy looked almost apologetic.

“Yes, Missy. You all sure blew it.”

“And now you need our help?”

Reverend Peters stepped up to Missy’s side.

“You betcha.”

Each person in the room nodded. Sam smiled. There was one thing he could count on here. Lucki sure couldn’t ignore the whole of Harbor Falls, North Carolina.

“All right. Here’s the plan.”