Page 87 of Lucky Mother Pucker

Cora looks stricken. “Oh, honey. I am so sorry.”

She pulls me into a hug.

When she lets me go, I notice Zoey is looking at me, her expression pained. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I didn’t know.”

I nod, appreciating her sympathy.

“Does Leo know?” Zoey asks.

“Yeah,” I say softly. “He’s been such a great friend. Really supportive and kind.”

Cora’s eyes are teary as she nods. She grabs my hand. “I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through. Oh, my dear.”

“It’s been hard. I kind of lost faith in people after I lost my parents. But then I met Leo, and he’s helped me out so much. He helped me get my dog back. He helped me find a job. And I still can’t believe he offered to let me stay in his house.”

The second I say all that, I start to feel nervous. Leo probably didn’t tell his mom and sister about the way I’ve struggled. He’s really respectful of my privacy and wouldn’t go around telling people what I’ve been through. But now that they know…will his mom and sister think I’m using him? Will they think I’m an opportunist? They only know me as Leo’s new friend, and here I am, telling them all the things he’s done for me.

But they don’t seem the least bit fazed. They look proud, actually.

Cora smiles, her eyes misty. “That’s my Leo. Always so sweet and generous and helpful.”

Zoey nods along.

Cora grabs a tissue from the box on the sink and dabs at her eyes. “You know, when he was little, probably about five or six years old, I was driving him to school. We stopped at a traffic light, and he noticed a homeless man sitting on the corner with a sign. He couldn’t read yet, so he said, ‘Mom, what does that man’s sign say?’ I told him it said, ‘Hungry. Anything helps.’ And he said…”

She trails off, her mouth wobbly. Like remembering this moment is making her emotional. She clears he throat. “He said, ‘Mom, if he’s hungry, we need to give him food.’ But I didn’t have any food on me, and I told him that. Do you know he did? He unzipped his backpack and pulled out his little lunchbox. He took out all the food and snacks he packed for school that day. He said, ‘I wanna give that man my lunch and all my snacks.’”

I rest my hand on my chest, blown away by the generosity of Leo at such a young age.

“Oh my gosh. That is precious,” I say.

Cora beams proudly as she dabs at her eyes. “Even when I told him that if he gave away his food, he wouldn’t have anything to eat at school, he said he didn’t care. He was sad that man was hungry and wanted to help him. So I rolled down my window and asked the man if it would be okay for my son to give him his lunch and snacks. He was so kind and grateful. I remember how happy Leo looked when he saw him. I’ll remember his smile forever.”

My heart swells in my chest picturing Leo as a little kid wanting to help someone he didn’t even know.

“He has such a pure soul. He always has,” Cora says.

I grab her hand. “I think that shows what a wonderful mother you are. You raised him to be like that.”

Emotion flashes in her eyes. “That’s such a kind thing to say, Lucy. Thank you.”

She turns back to her reflection in the mirror. “Now look at my mascara. My eyes look like spiders now.”

We all chuckle as we sniffle. Zoey and I help fix her makeup, then we walk back out into the ballroom.

Chapter 33

Lucy

On our way to the table where Leo is still at, Zoey and Cora get flagged down by a family friend.

I let them catch up and make my way back to Leo, who’s talking to Nick and Poppy.

I say hi to them. Nick introduces me to his older brother, Ryker St. George. He recently retired from the pro hockey team, the Denver Bashers.

My eyes go wide as I take in the sight of him. I see the resemblance between him and Nick right away. Same thick, dark hair, same deep brown eyes, same light tan skin. They’re both the same height too—a handful of inches past six feet. But Ryker has a more muscular build. Nick is leaner with a more boyish handsomeness. Ryker is more rugged with the dark scruff on his jaw and the crow’s feet flanking both eyes. He must have been a teenager when Nick and Anna were born. He looks a lot older.

We’re all chatting when a tall, beautiful woman with long red hair in a slinky silver gown walks up to Ryker. He smiles at her, grabs her hand, and introduces her as his wife, Madeline.