Page 77 of Monsters

He shook his head. “Absolutely not.”

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Lucas had been staying at the cabin while it was in construction, working until the sun disappeared below the horizon and then restarting as dawn cracked. It was a project of love, and he had a creative eye for combining traditional and modern architecture together to compliment the setting. I watched as he walked back down the jetty carrying an ice bucket, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and two glasses. We’d been talking for a good part of the afternoon, lost in a world that was just Lucas and me, while I artfully avoided talk of Mason.

I watched, admired, as Lucas sat back down and poured the wine. With every glance he gave, every smile he shared, every touch I welcomed, I felt my heart fluttering as it had so many times before. Now, ten years older, the desire had intensified. Lucas had grown up to be a strikingly handsome man and I couldn’t stop gawking.

“Are we toasting?”

“Yeah,” Lucas exclaimed. “Every day with you back in my life deserves a toast.” While his words were nothing but sincere, there was an edge of question to his tone, and I knew who was playing on his mind.

“So…” I started in an attempt to steer his thoughts back on track, “… is there a special someone in your life?”

I dreaded the answer in case it was something I couldn’t bear to hear, hypocritical given that I’d only split from Peter a heartbeat ago. But my life was constantly changing in a heartbeat these days. Things were coming and going so fast I could barely keep up.

To my relief, Lucas shook his head. “There was a girl. We dated for around a year, but I couldn’t give her what she wanted.”

“Which was?”

“Marriage. Kids.”

“Lucas Carter, you’ve always wanted to get married and start a family,” I gently teased.

He turned his face slightly and looked me in the eye. “I only ever wanted that with one person in particular, and I haven’t seen her for ten years.”

My heart backflipped, and I was rendered speechless. Even after all this time, Lucas still had a place for me in his heart. And then I felt a wave of sadness. We’d lost a decade. Time we’d never get back.

“What about you?” he asked, deflecting.

“There’s been nothing serious. I was seeing a guy recently but found out he was cheating so…” I left out the part of Mason being the one to send the photos catching my lying spouse in action. That would all reveal itself later.

“So…” Lucas grinned wide, staring out across the lake. “We’re two free agents?”

I laughed at his assessment of things. “I guess we are.”

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