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“I have to go. It looks like it’s about lunch time.” I glanced at my watch. Not quite lunch time, but close enough that I needed to lay out the hot food options. “I love you both.”
With that, I hung up before snapping a picture of Stella and sending it to them as well, with the caption, “Look at what Luke got me for my birthday. Meet Stella!”
I knew they would have a field day with that, so I slid my phone into the pocket once more before taking Stella back into the lobby.
Luke waited for me in the dining room.
“Have you told your parents yet?” I smiled at him as we started out towards the lobby door again.
“Oh, they’ll find out eventually.” Luke smiled. “I haven’t called them yet. Just enjoying the moment.”
I left Stella with Luke as I brought out the hot food that I’d prepared earlier. I set the platters in the warming area before checking to make sure the sandwich fridge was fully stocked. After making sure lunch was taken care of, I rejoined Luke, and we exited the lodge together.
Stella appeared quite happy to be going on a walk and pranced just a few paces ahead of us, her leash giving her plenty of extra slack if she wanted to go explore something.
“Is now a good time to ask about the private jet?” I asked. “Or we can keep saying how happy we are to be engaged; that works for me too.” I nudged Luke’s muscular arm jokingly.
Luke’s face paled a little bit before he took a deep breath.
“I guess I should explain about the jet, shouldn’t I? I just hadn’t quite thought of a way to tell you, but this works,” he said. “Laurel, my family is wealthy. Like, you don’t have to worry about working or money ever again kind of rich.” He took my hand gently as he spoke. “I don’t share this information with many people, but Wyatt and Seth also have money from the Chandler line, our grandparents. They can afford the private jet and anything else they want. And so can I.”
My eyes widened a little with each new revelation.
“And… why don’t you share this? To avoid people wanting to be with you for the money?” I found myself more curious than anything else and attempted to convey that with my tone of voice. Suddenly the situation with his ex made even more sense.
“That, and I have a fear of people only being friends with me so I’ll pick up the tab. I’m happy to treat, but I hate when it feels like that’s the only reason people are hanging around.” He shook his head. “So, when I came out here to Idaho and bought the lodge, I simply told people that I was making enough money to keep the lodge from going under. They bought that, and it’s solved most of that problem. But you deserve to know the reality of what you’re marrying into.”
I nodded slowly.
We continued to walk in silence, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the revelation that I didn’t have to worry about money any longer. I had never been a chef for the money, as anyone who had tried to make it in the industry knew that most of the celebrity names in the industry were men. The main reason I had taken the job in the industry was because I wanted to help others enjoy good food.
“If I no longer have to worry about money, what are the chances we could get a decent setup in the kitchen?” I looked over at Luke, a grin slowly spreading across my face. “This summer went well, but I want to be able to cook and share food more than I was able to this summer. I didn’t get into the culinary arts because I had the talent or because I wanted the money. I got into it because I wanted to be able to share a little bit of my passion for food with people. Even if it was just reheating someone else’s menu.”
“Hm… well, you get me a list of what needs to be done in the off-season, and we’ll see what we can do,” Luke said. “I can’t guarantee it’ll all get done now, but we can do what we can before the next season.”
“Does that mean you’re hiring me for more than one season?” I teased him softly, knowing that there was little chance he was going to be getting rid of me. “Or do I need to find another way to share my passion?”
He laughed with me and then pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.
“I have a soft spot for you and your food, now,” he joked quietly as we continued to walk. “And if the customers have had nothing but great feedback for the first time in years, then there is no way I’m letting the chef who made that possible out of my sight unless she can find better pay.”
“There is no better pay than a good husband and a loving dog,” I teased.
We continued our walk, now just talking about the wedding and our happiness. I’d always hated the idea of having a large wedding where everyone was expected to dress to the nines and put on their best clothes. If we were going to have a large wedding, I wanted it to be somewhat more laid back.
“How about a beach wedding?” Luke looked at me curiously. “There’s a lake nearby that we could easily rent out for one day during the summer. Just rent all the pavilions, perhaps.”
“And we could encourage guests to bring their swimsuits to change into for the reception! Oh, I love it, Luke,” I said. “That would be the best thing ever. We’d have to have a summer wedding, and plenty of sunscreen, and a lot of water around.”
“We can arrange for all of that.”
Luke sounded so sure of it all, and I appreciated that.
By the time we had returned to the lodge, we had decided that we were going to get married the next summer on the lake. We would have to pick a date and be ready to rent all of the pavilions on the first day the reservation system opened – which wouldn’t be until Valentine’s Day. By then, we could have a decent idea of who would be coming and who wouldn’t be able to make it out here for the wedding and the reception.
When we got back to the lodge, Luke went to check on some fishing supplies that a few guests were ready to check back in. I took Stella up to my room and let her start getting accustomed to the room as I smiled widely.
I would never be happier than I was with Luke.
