Page 24 of Beautiful Harmony

He grinned. “You should tell her that sometime. She’ll probably adopt you immediately. Your parents back home in Florida yet?”

“No, they’re still in Scotland,” Emma said. “Their holiday ends next week.”

“Are you still planning on visiting them in the new year?” Lucas asked.

“I am,” she said.

“I’ve never been to Florida,” he said.

“It’s hot and humid and has a weird vibe,” she said. “But my parents love it there, and I love them, so I visit twice a year and pretend that, yes, Florida is fantastic.”

“They have good beaches, though, right?”

She shrugged as she examined his knitting. “I’m not really a beach person.”

That was a damn shame. He’d give his right hand to see Emma’s curvy body in a bikini.

Or naked.

Rein it in, asshole.

He cleared his throat. “I’ve been thinking about checking out Florida. There are some pretty good flight discounts in January. Plus, if I get bored, I’ll have someone I know to hang out with.”

Jesus Christ, man, did you just invite yourself on her trip to see her parents? What the actual fuck?

He cringed inwardly. What was wrong with him? Sure, the idea of not seeing Emma for over two weeks sucked, but he couldn’t just tag along with her to Florida.

Emma laughed. “Trust me, you’ll be very popular in Florida. You’re outgoing and funny and good looking. You’ll make plenty of… friends.”

“You think I’m good looking?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes. “You know you are, Lucas.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t like to hear a compliment, Emma.” He could hear his ‘flirting’ voice and cursed inwardly. He usually made a concentrated effort not to flirt with Emma. She had no interest in him that way, and it just annoyed her.

She didn’t give him her annoyed look but did change the subject. “So, are you learning to knit because of something to do with your mom?”

He picked up his knitting and stared at it. “Mom used to do this delicate and intricate knitting of lace scarves and shit like that. It was her favourite. She can’t do it anymore and hasn’t for at least two years. And in the last six months, she’s struggled to do even regular knitting.”

He could feel a lump growing in his throat, and he swallowed hard, his throat burning. “Mom’s so sad about it. She pretends it’s okay, but it isn’t. You know? The doctors keep trying her on different cocktails of pain relief, and me and my dad hold our breath and hope like fuck that this will be the one that helps her, but it never is.”

He kept his gaze on the needles and yarn as his voice grew hoarse. “Mom has this scarf that she kept trying to finish, but her fingers couldn’t… anyway, she was going to rip it out, and the look on her face when she told me….”

Emma’s hand appeared in his peripheral vision, and he dropped the knitting and gripped her hand. “I took the scarf. Just took it and the yarn out of the bag and put it in my car. I had this brilliant idea that I would learn to knit and finish the scarf for her. Like that would somehow make everything better for her, but it won’t. It won’t give her back her ability to knit or stop the progression of arthritis.”

“Maybe not, but I think it’s a wonderful gesture, and I know your mom would love it.” Emma squeezed his hand until he looked up at her. “You’re an amazing son, Lucas.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t even learn to knit with regular yarn,” he said with a grimace. “There’s no way I can do something as delicate as the lace stuff.”

She stared at him with a mixture of compassion and sternness. “You’re telling me you want to give up?”

“If I can’t knit, I can’t knit,” he said.

“Youcanknit.” She pointed to his knitting in front of him. “You knitted that.”

“Only partially, and it looks like crap,” he said.

“Oh boo hoo,” she said. “So, you’re not great at it right away. It’s called practicing, Lucas. Do you think I’m so much better at gaming than you are because of a natural ability?”

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