Page 34 of The Lord Next Door I Wished For
CHAPTERTEN
Jane truly hated parties.
Soirees, galas, balls, dinner parties…didn’t matter. She despised them all.
Which was why it was so odd that on this evening, at what ought to be the most terrifying party of them all…she found herself trembling with excitement.
“Don’t be so nervous, dear,” her mother scolded.
“Everyone will be watching you, Jane,” her father said. “Don’t embarrass us.”
Jane nodded, clasping her hands together as the door to their carriage was opened.
There was a chill in the air, and a tension as well that only heightened the way she was feeling. A sort of nervous expectation like she standing on a cliff’s edge just waiting to take a leap.
“There’ll be rain tonight,” her father muttered. “A storm is coming.”
Jane couldn’t have said it better herself. That was precisely how it felt.
The closer she and her family drew to the open front door of Luke’s home—soon to be her home—the faster her heart raced.
She was actually looking forward to this. But for one reason and one reason only.
Luke.
There he was, right inside the door, greeting the arriving guests alongside his mother, who caught her first and pulled Jane in for an embrace.
“We are so delighted to be celebrating you and Luke tonight,” his mother whispered, her voice wobbly with emotion. “It’s been a long dark night, but your wedding…” His mother squeezed her harder, seemingly unfazed by the crowd around them watching. “This marks a new beginning for all of us.”
Jane awkwardly patted the other woman in turn. She was not accustomed to such an outpouring of sentiment. Certainly not from a mother figure.
She had no idea what she was supposed to say in return.
Luckily Luke moved in closer and said with a hushed, amused voice, “Careful, Mother, you’ll squeeze the life out of my bride before I have a chance to marry her.”
His mother released her with a laugh. “I’m sorry, my dear. Sometimes I’m just…overcome.”
Jane smiled and murmured something that she hoped was appropriate.
“I’m sorry about that,” Luke murmured when he lifted her gloved hand and brought it to his lips.
The act was no doubt expected from a fiancé but it still caught her by surprise. “It’s all right,” she said. “I’m just…unaccustomed to it, that’s all.”
His smile was slow and sweet. “You’ll get used to it…eventually.”
And just like that, her future spread out before her, and for the first time in ages, it didn’t bring a wave of fear, or the slightest urge to run away. If anything it made her feel light and excited, the fluttering in her belly one of nervous excitement rather than anxious fear.
She would get used to it eventually, because she had her whole life to learn what it was like to be accepted by a mother figure and to have her wishes understood and supported.
And him? Would she have him as well? Or would he honor her request and give her space and independence?
She pulled her hand back as the thought took hold, threatening to turn that excitement to worry. But even as she allowed her parents to escort her further into the crowd, with Luke’s low promise that he’d find her shortly…
The question still lingered. Would he be a part of this bright future she had in store?
And the more burning question she didn’t wish to answer.Do you want him to be?
A little while later, her face felt as though it might crack as she stood there smiling and nodding as her mother accepted congratulations on Jane’s behalf.
