Page 75 of The Heart

“Hey, be nice to your brother,” Mrs. Campbell lectures both her daughters.

“So then what happened?” Jessica asks and again, why not have a little fun with this?

“Well, it wasn’t until another man took a shot that he decided to kidnap me. We’ve been together ever since,” I say, and I’m so proud of the straight face I’m currently managing.

Sebastian, on the other hand, is choking on his food.

I look over at Luke, finding his composure not much better. He turns to face me, putting a hand on the back of my chair. Then chuckles again before speaking.

Good. He needs to lighten the fuck up, he’s been squeezing the hell out of my knee this entire meal.

“I did not kidnap you, we had alovelytime. And clearly, it worked out.” He smiles that broad, dimpled smile that has my breath hitching.

“It did.” I smile sweetly back, enjoying how unravelled my little joke made him.

“So Leena, where do you live?” Mrs. Campbell asks and I look over at her, a little confused by the question. Didn’t we already establish that Luke and I have been together nearly six months?

“Mom!” Jessica says in a tone that is just as much disbelief as it is admonishing.

Luke sets down his silverware, pushes back his plate and laces his fingers together on the table in front of him. He takes a deep breath before he speaks.

“She lives with me, mom,” he says in a tone that is incredibly flat.

“So you guys are married? Or at least engaged, I hope?” she asks him in all seriousness, and my eyes go wide.

“No, Ma. We’re notmarried, we’re notengaged, people live together when they’re in a relationship. Especially when they’re thirty-four years old,” he says, giving her a reprimanding look.

“Well that seems silly, living together when you have to stay in separate bedrooms,” she says, poking at her food uncomfortably.

“We don’t–” Luke huffs out a long breath, gathering his composure, then lays his hands flat on the table. “We don’t stay in different bedrooms. We stay in the same room. Which is fine, and normal, because we are two consenting adults,” he says, as if he were explaining it to a child. But she doesn’t answer him, she just turns toward Sebastian.

Uh-oh.

“So does that mean you moved out? How do you feel about all of this?” she asks, and he grows very calm. Surprisingly calm, as if he were expecting this question. Which, if he’s known this family since they were kids, I suppose he would be.

“I still live there too, Mrs. Campbell, and I am completely fine with it,” he says, trying to reassure her.

She doesn’t seem reassured at all.

“But don’t you think it would be better if you were at least engaged? What will people think?” she pleads with Luke, but it’s Henry who finally steps in.

“Alright, that’s enough, Bernice. Lucas can make his own decisions, so can Leena. Leave it be,” he says kindly, but firmly.

“So… Chels, when do your kids head back to school?” Jessica asks, changing the subject. Chelsea picks up on it, immediately launching into a long-winded monologue about the kids, which I’m incredibly grateful for.

Eventually, the conversation slowly moves back around to me. Where I grew up, how I like my new job, how our business is doing, before we’ve run out of things to say and it’s time to clean up.

And then, as she slowly gets up from the table, Jessica asks the question that has my heart sinking with sorrow, “Hey Ma? Is Ash coming for dinner?”

“I don’t know. I called and texted him, but I haven’t heard back. I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately,” Mrs. Campbell says, sounding a little heartbroken as she gathers the nearby plates.

“Figures,” Chelsea says, sounding annoyed with her brother. Apparently, skipping out on family events is commonplace for Asher. Except this time, the three of us know where he’s at, and that he won’t be coming here for dinner tonight, or any night soon. I can’t imagine he would be dumb enough to come to his family’s home for a holiday considering the role he’s taken on. I know that better than anyone, thinking back on all the times my father never came home for… well, anything.

Once Mark has run off to the living room with his children, Addison has disappeared down the hall to her room, and Luke’s mom and sisters have made their way into the kitchen, my men and I are left alone in the dining room with Luke’s father. He stays seated, his jaw tight and fist clenched as he stares off at nothing.

“Lucas, what did Asher do?” he asks knowingly. Luke runs a hand over his face before meeting the man’s eyes.

“We should talk in your office,” Luke says, and the two men on either side of me stand. I almost turn toward Sebastian, toward what is usually an outstretched hand to help me up, but then I remember myself and turn toward Luke instead, finding his hand waiting for me. We stand and start heading toward the hall, but Mr. Campbell places a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

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