Page 33 of You Met Me There

“You’ve been married for that long?” Mom’s fingers twitch as she counts the years between when I left, got married, and now. “You’ve been married for seven years?”

I bite my lower lip. “Yup.” My voice is higher than I intend it to be.

Everyone is silent as they take in this new information, eyes scanning one another’s reactions.

Finally, Luke steps toward my dad, extending his right hand to him. “Luke Hamilton,” he says. “You must be Nat’s father.”

Dad stands from his seat at the table and shakes his hand. “Kent Berns.” Dad grips Luke’s hand a little longer than necessary, but I can’t read his face.

“I’m Natalie’s mom,” says Mom, extending her hand, all smiles and excitement as the shock wears off. “Call me Shirley.” Her smile reaches her eyes as she leans over the table to reach him.

“It’s nice to meet you.” He shakes her hand and then Juliet’s next. “You must be Juliet, Nat’s sister?”

“That’s right. It’s good to finally meet you.” She gestures to the table. “I’m sorry, we weren’t expecting you. But we have plenty of burgers left if you’re hungry.”

“Oh, no.” He shakes his head as he smiles, moving his hands to his hips. “That’s fine, thank you. I grabbed a quick dinner at the airport.”

“Did you just get here?” Cam asks from the doorway where he’s been watching the entire time.

Luke turns to him, taking a step back as he does. His cologne reaches my nose with the movement, and I gladly take a breath. “Yes, sir. There was a bit of chaos with the flights, but I drove straight here when I landed.” Luke looks at me, a corner of his mouth lifting, and I watch like a doe in headlights as his eyes dip to my shorts and up over my bare shoulders.

My stomach feels like an eagle nose-diving through the air, plummeting at a hundred miles an hour.

“Well, I hope you can stay a few days.” Cam claps him on the shoulder like they’re already fast friends. “It’s great to meet the brother-in-law I didn’t know I was missing. I gotta run upstairs to take care of the rascals. We have two, and one might be pummeling the other right about now. I hope you’ll be sticking around for a while. I’d love to take you fishing and get to know you before you head out of town.”

Luke shakes his hand, accepting his offer to fish if he has the time, and Cam steps back inside and disappears.

I’m speechless. Luke is here in Maple Lake. He’s here at my sister’s house. He just met my parents. Everything has happened so quickly, and I didn’t have time to prepare myself for any of it. My heart pounds in my ears, my chest tightening.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming,” I say finally, watching my husband as my brain focuses on this one single thought.

He steps closer and takes my hand, his skin warm against mine. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“Awww,” Mom coos. She stares at us like we’re a dream she’s been chasing forever. “That’s just the sweetest thing. Surprises are so special.”

I force myself to smile, afraid if I say more I’ll break into a million pieces with an audience watching. Luke’s eyes dissect mine as I look up at him, and I know he can see that I’m feeling overwhelmed. He’s always been able to sense my emotions.

He turns to the whole family. “I hope it’s okay if we call it a night. Traveling drains me. I promise I’m usually much better company.” My parents look at one another with smiles on their faces. Surprisingly, even Dad seems happy.

Juliet stands, stacking the dirty plates. “Not a problem,” she answers. “Maybe you guys can come over again tomorrow?” She pops her hip out and points at Luke. “Natalie told us you’re a property investor. Cam and I have a rental cabin, and we could use some pointers on marketing, if you don’t mind giving us a few tips.” She raises her eyebrows. To anyone else it would sound like an innocent request. But to me—even all these years later—I see it as Juliet’s version of saying you owe us this. Luke took her sister away; now the least he can do is lend a hand.

Luke rests his hand on the skin of my upper back, and I feel the pleasure of it radiate through my body. “I’d love to help,” he says, his eyes sparkling. “Anything for Nat’s family.”

I smile through the tension. Luke loves talking about work, and I love that he loves his job. But I wonder if Jules will make this easy or use his expertise to make his life hell.

“I appreciate that.” Juliet smiles at him, then winks at me when he looks away.

The little girl under my skin leaps, and a hint of our old connection floods through my body as I catch a glimpse of the relationship we once had a long time ago.

Maybe this won’t be so bad.

A smile tugs at my lips. Luke pulls me to his side, and I lean into the warmth of him. I have everything right here in this moment—my family and Luke. So I let myself feel full just for a moment because I know it can’t always be like this. My husband and I still have much to talk about before anything is the way it should be.

But he came … for me.

With this flood of oneness filling me up and pouring through my veins, I realize with full clarity that I want to fight for us.

My five days away from Luke has opened my eyes to things I didn’t understand until now. Like the fact that I can’t not love him, even if I try. He’s a part of me; he always has been. And even though we don’t see eye to eye on having kids, it’s something I want to work around in order for our relationship to thrive. But it’s how we pursue a life together from here on out that will determine if I can see past my desire to be a mom or if he can meet me where I am.