Page 42 of Third Time Lucky

ASHER

Last night was easily the best night of my life.

I practically danced back to my car after Lucy left to music only I could hear.

Without a doubt, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

I know because I woke up with one. The first thing I did after brushing my teeth was text her.

Three words: good morning, gorgeous. But no big deal, just me totally ass over tea kettle, as my grandmother would say.

Even though letting go of what we had left of Kris was emotionally exhausting, I feel so much freer.

He’ll never be forgotten, but I think it’s important to let him rest without me constantly calling upon him for invisible advice.

He helped shape me into who I am and introduced me to a woman I’m completely smitten with, and for that, I’m in debt to him forever.

One day, I’ll get to thank him in person (or via souls – whatever it may be).

Today, I’m home, still reeling over every second I’ve spent with her.

My playlist while I cleaned the apartment was more pop songs than I’m used to, so they’ve convinced me to buy this woman flowers and pretty much everything her heart desires, so I’m now sitting on my couch, Swiffer propped against the arm, staring at my laptop balanced on my knees contemplating which of these bouquets I should order.

Do I go as big as I feel? Or do I dial it back a hundred notches?

My phone blares next to me as I decide. When I answer, I put it on speaker so I can multitask.

‘Hey, sis,’ I say.

‘Ash! Long time no talk, little brother. How are you?’

‘I’m the best I’ve been in a very long time.’

‘Good to hear. What about Aaron, he still alive? I called but he didn’t answer.’

‘I would assume he’s hungover or got a girl in his room.’ I laugh. ‘But to answer your question, yep, he’s alive, annoying, and Aaron. Where are you now?’

‘Berlin, Germany.’

‘Wow. How is it?’ I ask, impressed.

My sister has probably traveled to more than sixty countries alone, documenting her travels on her popular Instagram account.

When you grow up as poor as we did, sometimes you want to take life to the extreme when you finally can, and that’s precisely what Alyssa did.

She’s thirty-five, single, and doesn’t even have an apartment in the States because she’s only ever here for a quick visit, then off again.

Pretty sure the girl has never paid for a flight because she purchases everything she buys on credit cards that offer her flight miles.

‘Stunning,’ she breathes. ‘I’m standing in front of a massive apartment complex with a vibrant, floor-to-ceiling painting adorning its exterior. It immediately brought to mind your recent email.’

She contacted me right before my first ‘official’ date with Lucy, and I mentioned the mural we were painting on the restaurant wall. I sent her a photo when it was done, and she agreed it was perfect.

‘How’s that going?’ she asks curiously. ‘I’m guessing well by your previous statement?’

‘It’s going pretty damn well,’ I reply with a grin, unable to hide my happiness.

‘Ash,’ she says sternly, just like our mother would. ‘Are you in love?’

I chuckle, feeling a warmth spread through my chest at the thought of Lucy.

She came into my life unexpectedly, like a whirlwind of color and light that chased away the shadows of my past. ‘I think I am,’ I confess, my voice soft with emotion.

‘Lucy is… she’s just incredible, Lyss. Kind, funny, smart, beautiful.

I could go on for days. Not sure how it happens, but everything falls into place when I’m with her. ’

Alyssa lets out a delighted squeal that nearly blasts my eardrum through the phone. ‘I knew it! I can hear it in your voice. Tell me everything!’

And so, I launch into how Lucy and I crossed paths again, how my connection was instantaneous, the way she makes me laugh, and how she looks at me as if I hung the moon.

It’s easy to talk to my sister – she’s nicer than Aaron, and she’s always been my protector, advice giver and second mother, really.

‘It’s meant to be,’ she says.

‘Ya think?’

‘Kris’ ex – a girl you’ve helped through two self-destroying losses now – yeah. It’s as if your paths were intended to cross, destined by the stars since ancient times, and now’s your time to shine. I bet you’re soulmates.’

That sounds exactly like a woman who spends her days admiring history would say.

‘Soulmates, huh?’ I respond with a hint of skepticism.

‘No question.’

The idea of having a soulmate has never really crossed my mind before.

It seems improbable that out of eight billion people on this planet, one person is meant specifically for me.

And she just happens to live in the same country, state and city and entered my life when we were both teenagers.

The odds seem as unlikely as our existence (1 in 400 trillion says Google) – yet I’m sitting here – so maybe she’s onto something.

‘Your abrupt silence tells me you’re overanalyzing this, Ash. But don’t.’

‘That’s a tad easier said than done,’ I laugh.

‘Finding your soulmate is rare. Our parents certainly never did. Most of my friends are married and divorced. And I’ve traveled a small portion of the globe – more than most people ever will – and still haven’t found mine despite trying.’

‘You’ve been trying?’

I always thought she was against long-term relationships because she loved being free – traveling the world and doing anything she wanted without another person tagging along and slowing her down.

‘Love is the only emotion every single person on the planet craves. Did you think I was the exception?’

‘Well, you and Aaron,’ I admit.

She laughs. ‘I suppose he and I have that in common. One day, you’re both coming on a trip with me to see that I’m never alone . Good people exist in the world, and they have a way of finding me.’

‘Mr Right is the exception?’

‘Exactly,’ she laughs – ending it with a sigh.

‘The thing about a soulmate is that being with them is effortless. Whether it’s been a week, a year, or forty, it doesn’t matter.

Of course, you’ll have disagreements and fights; you’re human.

But deep down, you’ll know they’re the one practically from the first glance. Did you?’

I think back to meeting Lucy when I was fourteen, via Kris.

Then running into her in Vegas. And finally her coming into the kitchen at Mitzi’s that day.

I wondered if she was having a medical emergency.

I realized it was just the affect of my presence on her.

And in that same instant, my heart responded in kind.

‘Third glance.’

‘Ha! That’s cute. You know what they say: third time lucky. Sometimes, it takes a little longer for the heart to catch up to what the eyes already see.’

I nod, even though she can’t see me. Alyssa always has a way of putting things into perspective, of making me see the bigger picture beyond the doubts and uncertainties that cloud my mind.

‘Well, I should go,’ she says suddenly. ‘There’s a bakery around here baking Apfelstrudel , and I need one.’

‘Alright, get your baked goods.’

‘Send her flowers, Ash. Women love flowers. And chocolate. And…’ she sighs. ‘Be better to her than Dad was to Mom.’

‘Of course. Lucy’s getting the best of me without question.’

‘Good boy, little brother. Tell Aaron to answer his phone. Talk soon. Love ya!’

‘Safe travels, Lyss. Love you too.’

Alyssa is right; Lucy deserves the world, and I plan to give it to her.

I quickly select a bouquet of vibrant wildflowers from a site called ‘The Flower Boy’ and a box of locally made chocolates to be delivered to her doorstep this afternoon.

I’ll probably be there when she gets it, so I send them anonymously.

* * *

‘Asher,’ Mitzi says my name as she wanders into her kitchen. ‘I thought that was you I heard come in. How are you, sweetheart?’

‘Could not be better,’ I say, buttering the pan I need to make fresh bread that’s done rising.

‘Look at you,’ she says with a smirk, stopping at the end of the island next to the fridge. ‘You’ve got a hanger in your mouth, dear.’

‘That I do.’

‘Is it someone I know?’ she asks, knowing somehow.

‘Uh— yeah. It is actually.’

‘So, the boyfriend bonfire worked,’ she says, seemingly pleased. ‘I suspected it would. I had some luck warding off some sponges in my younger years.’

‘Sponges?’

‘Cling-on men who don’t like to work, sweetheart. Lucy’s father, Paul, is the result of one.’

Poor Paul. Every day, this woman says something to make me wonder about her young life.

‘Did you ward Paul’s father off with fire, or is he somewhere in the wilderness beneath carefully selected endangered plants?’

‘The latter may have been easier in the long run,’ she chuckles. ‘But no, he’s alive and not-so-well – in a nursing home, to my knowledge, losing his mind.’ The smirk on her face says this is a detail she keeps up with happily and it reminds me of Lucy wishing Brandon the worst. Best speech ever.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings.

‘I’ll get it!’ Lucy calls from her room loudly.

I haven’t seen her yet, so I suspect she doesn’t know I’m here.

She races out of her room – barefoot (with neon pink toenails), wearing a simple pair of jeans and a cream-colored T-shirt with words and a logo I don’t quite catch as she buzzes by.

‘You are here!’ she says, pointing my way and then looking at the front door when the bell rings again, perplexed.

No way. Her excitement to get the door was for me to be standing on the other side? That is freaking adorable.

‘Answer it, dear,’ Mitzi says, waving her through the kitchen. ‘I wonder who it could be?’ she asks me once Lucy’s disappeared into the living room.

‘Haven’t got a clue,’ I lie.

There’s a slight chatter between Lucy and a male voice at the front door. Once it shuts, my heart starts to speed. I see the flowers before I see her face.

‘Someone sent flowers!’

‘Oh!’ Mitzi coos. ‘Aren’t those beautiful?’

‘I’m glad you think so,’ Lucy says, ‘because one of them is for you.’ She hands her the smaller bouquet of yellow roses, which reminded me of Mitzi for some reason.

Her gaze shoots my way as an approving smile grows.

‘How thoughtful,’ she says.

‘So gorgeous,’ Lucy says, setting hers on the counter with a box wrapped in black and white paper and topped with a frilly bow that matches her neon nail polish.

I didn’t even request that, so well done, Flower Boy.

‘I wonder who could’ve sent them?’ she asks, pulling the card from the center of the bouquet, her accusing gaze on me.

I shrug like I don’t know.

She pulls the small rectangular card from the envelope, turns it over, and inspects the back. Her whole body drops as her brows furrow.

‘You didn’t sign it,’ she says, certain these are from me.

‘What’s yours say, Mitzi?’ I ask, casually.

Mitzi looks all around. ‘No card.’

‘Ooh, maybe you’ve both got secret admirers.’

A heavy sigh leaves Lucy’s lips. ‘These really aren’t from you?’

Disappointment doesn’t usually turn me on, but right this second, I’m overheating.

‘Let me see that card,’ I suggest, motioning her my way.

She hands it to me. I take the card and inspect it, just like she did, and then set it on the counter, leaning into her slightly and speaking just a hair above a whisper.

‘I wanted you to see how beautiful you are,’ I tell her – motioning to the flowers she thought were so gorgeous mere seconds ago. ‘And a card can’t say that like I can.’

She stares into my eyes, her frown slowly turning as her eyes sparkle in the sunlight streaming through the windows. Without a word, she stands on her tiptoes and kisses my lips. There is no tongue; it’s quick, soft, yet somehow melts my mind.

‘Thank you,’ she says as she pulls away.

‘You know Mitzi is—’ I glance at where she was, but she’s gone, as are her flowers.

Lucy looks around, glancing back at me.

‘When did she sneak out?’

‘She has a way of reading a room. Maybe she thought we needed to be alone for this?’

‘This?’

The sweet scent of her perfume mingles with the warmth of her hands on either side of my neck pulling me closer.

Her lips are like sugary honey, the taste lingering on my tongue sweetly.

My hand instinctively slips to her lower back, pressing her tightly against my body.

I am so freaking glad Mitzi has left the room because this is R-rated at best. Especially with the soft moan that just escaped her lips.

I want to devour her right here in this kitchen. Who cares if I burn the bread?

When she pulls away, I’m left stunned. Did I just have my best kiss ever? Nah. I’m thirty years old. Surely, someone else has— Shit – focus, Ash, she’s talking .

‘…was the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done. I don’t even care if Mitzi sees,’ Luce says. She waves a hand in front of my face, my feet still glued to the floor. ‘I’m all in, remember? Uh, hello? Earth to Asher?’

I snap to, unable to hide the likely lovesick grin on my face. ‘Wow.’

‘Yeah?’ she says, slightly proud of herself.

I nod like a fool. ‘I heard nothing that you said except that you’re all in because that kiss sort of floored me. I mean, if that’s what flowers on weekdays get me, I can’t wait to try something this weekend.’

She laughs, poking my chest and reminding me I’m here to cook, not just stare at her pretty face all day. ‘Ha-ha,’ she says with a grin, squeezing my hand before grabbing the mysterious gift. ‘What’s in the box?’

‘Open it,’ I suggest.

She peels off the wrapping paper and gasps. ‘Creo chocolates?!’ she exclaims, opening the box and then glancing at me with a smile. ‘The heart ones! So cute. Thank you. This was really nice.’

‘You’re welcome. I was hoping maybe they’d entice you to go on a second date with me?’

‘A text message with only a question mark could have done that,’ she says, popping one of the chocolates into her mouth and savoring it. ‘Oh my gosh, you have to have one.’

She picks one for me, and because my hands are now covered in flour, I open my mouth, and she pops it in, allowing my lips to close on the tip of her finger. She bites her bottom lip through a smile before giggling.

‘So, it’s a yes to another date?’ I ask, impatiently needing to know so I can properly work myself up over what this is growing into.

‘It’s a hell yes,’ she says firmly. ‘Want me to plan this one?’

‘Uh, sure,’ I say, wondering what an outing planned by Lucy Gray might entail.

I guess I’m about to find out – until then, I will let this woman take over every corner of my mind.