Page 144 of The Hookup
“She has no idea,” agreed Kay. She and Luke were taking the flight home to see her mom and spending Christmas with her. For once, she didn’t dread going home. For once, she relished seeing the look of content on her mother’s face when she turned up unannounced with Luke by her side. Her mother already knew about him. She’d come over for Thanksgiving, and Kay had introduced her new boyfriend to her mom then, but having Luke come and spend time with her mom back in the house Kay grew up in somehow made their relationship more official. She knew her mom was desperate for her to settle down, but the truth was, it didn’t matter to Kay. She had her man, and she was happy, and things between her and Luke were moving along beautifully.
She looked over at Jacob again. “Is that…”she peered, craning her neck. “Is that Arnold?”
“I couldn’t invite all of you and leave him out,” said Savannah.
“I need to go and see how he is,” Kay said. She hadn’t seen him in a while, and both their lives had changed so much.
~ ~
“Are you ready, dude?” Xavier asked him as soon as Kay was out of sight.
“Ready for what? The private jet?” he asked, teasing.
“No,” Xavier retorted, shaking his head. “You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”
Luke knew full well what he meant. The private jet he’d recently bought wasn’t the only big news. He’d bought it on a whim, and he wasn’t in the habit of acting on whims. Up until meeting Kay he’d had a much more logical approach to things. But taking his sister’s advice, and with a new outlook, he’d found himself driven more towards wanting to enjoy life, rather than working every minute of every hour of every day.
Kay applauded his new attitude, as did Marie. Buying the jet hadn’t been the major life decision. But buying an engagement ring for Kay, had.
“I know what you’re talking about, pal,” Luke replied. He was starting to get restless and they’d only just arrived here.
“You’re really going to do it?” Xavier quizzed him.
“Of course I’m going to do it.”
“No regrets?”
“None whatsoever.”
“’Cos that’s not the sort of thing you get cold feet over, right, dude?”
“I’ve got no doubts.” He’d managed to keep it a secret from Kay, but mostly everyone knew: Tobias and Savannah, Izzy and Xavier, even Max and Briony, who he’d seen sitting around on some tables playing games with a bunch of children. The only people who didn’t know were Kay and Jacob. Jacob because he couldn’t keep a secret, and Kay because in a woman’s life, this was meant to be one of the ultimate surprises. He couldn’t want to see the look on her face. Not when she boarded the new plane, but when it didn’t touch down in Pennsylvania; when the journey took much longer than expected and touched down in Lapland the next day.
“And she doesn’t suspect?” Savannah asked, joining in.
“She has no idea.”
“I wish I were a fly on the wall,” said Savannah. “Promise me you’ll tell me everything when you—” But she stopped talking when a tearful looking Briony came up to her, with Max following close behind.
“What’s wrong?” Savannah asked.
“You don’t know,” Max told her, as she put her arm around her girlfriend’s shoulder.
“Don’t know what?” asked Tobias, clearly concerned. “What’s happened?”
“It’s nothing,” Max insisted. “Pull yourself together, Briony,” she whispered, trying to soothe things over. “You’ll upset the children if they see you like this.”
“What’s going on?” Savannah insisted, looking around.
“Nothing happened,” Max told her. “We were playing Snakes and Ladders with a group of children.”
“Who the hell plays Snakes and Ladders nowadays?” Xavier asked, a little too loudly.
“And what?” Savannah asked, anxiously.
“It’s just…” Briony’s voice wobbled. “It’s just that…”
“She didn’t let go of his hand,” Max told them.
