Page 119 of Loyally, Luke
Luke:I don’t usually respond to unfamiliar phone numbers unless they refer to my hero skills.
Ellie:I’ll make sure to remember that for future correspondence.
Ellie:In all seriousness, Luke, thank you. You can’t know how much it meant to just... be with you yesterday.
His chest twinged in response. Just being with her fit too. Much like the crazy emotions slamming together inside him. But how couldhe fix this? How could he bridge the impossible gap between their lives? The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to rearrange everything about his life and convince a king to let a pauper take care of his daughter for the rest of their days.
A renewed sting pricked at his eyes and tingled at the bridge of his nose.
Nope.
And he took another gulp of coffee.
Luke:Besides the near-death experience, the simple cabin seemed to suit a certain princess well enough.
He could almost envision the subtle tip of those lovely lips of hers.
Ellie:The princess would call it an almost perfect fit.
Luke:Breakfast wasn’t fancy enough for Your Highness?
Ellie:Breakfast was lovely, especially the classy scones.
A chuckle shot out of him as another message popped onto his screen.
Ellie:Though scones paired fairly excellently with eggs and bacon.
Luke:Some things can fit together surprisingly well. Class and common?
Ellie:Perhaps the best kind of combination. And the surroundings were nearly perfect too.
Luke:Did I need to add a few more animal heads on the walls, or were the frou-frou coffee fixings not to your liking?
Ellie:Well, you could always increase the coffee fixings, but Ithink the cabin would be simply perfect if it were a little bigger to fit a dog or two.
Luke:True. The perfect cabin needs a dog or two.
Ellie:And a couple extra bedrooms in case the class and common needed to add a few wee bairns.
Bairns? Children? His breath lodged in his throat, both of them tiptoeing around a dream. His throat tightened.
Luke:Seems reasonable to me.
Ellie:And maybe the children wouldn’t mind occasional travel back and forth across the ocean.
God, how could this work?If Luke could turn the world upside down to be with her, even swallow a life as a royal, at this moment, he’d choose it all to be with her.
And the very idea of making that choice hit him like bricks in the chest. Could he ever convince her dad to take him on as more than an advisor for forestry and building, but a man who would take care of his daughter’s heart? The possibility seemed... truly impossible.
Her family wanted a native Skymarian.
And an aristocrat.
And Luke was neither.
But with each additional text or conversation or kiss, the grip on his former life and desires loosened. He felt like his chest was being ripped wide open.
Luke:Well, I reckon if it started getting unwieldy for them, their parents could figure out a different plan.
