Page 73 of Amore
“Still love you.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
* * *
We leftAmore at the house, and by the time we made it to the restaurant, I felt slightly better. The humidity was still making my clothes stick to me as we slid out of the rental car and walked into the steakhouse. I was still nervous, but my stomach wasn’t in knots anymore.
During the short drive to the restaurant, I kept reminding myself that, aside from Lucy’s husband, I had known these people practically my entire life. Matt and Renee Davenport were like my second parents, and there was no reason to be nervous. They had to understand that I went off to college and started my acting career. At least, that was what I hoped.
With our hands laced together, Luke and I walked up to the hostess stand. “We’re meeting our party here,” Luke informed the hostess.
She did a double-take as she looked me over, then scanned her list. “Right. Um, Graham?”
“Yes.” Luke nodded. Graham was Lucy’s married name.
“Right this way.”
We followed the hostess through the steakhouse, and once Lucy saw us, her face lit up. She stood, her round belly protruding. She was glowing, and instantly, I felt at ease.
She smiled and opened her arms for a hug. “I’ve missed you so much, Frankie.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
She pulled away from our embrace. “This is my husband, Shane.”
I stuck out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
He took it. “You too. Lucy has told me a lot about the two of you when you were younger.”
“All good things, I hope,” I joked.
“Oh, Frankie. You were a perfect angel,” Renee said.
I turned to her and smiled. “I wouldn’t say that.”
We hugged, and then everything went fine as Luke had promised. His parents accepted that we were dating, and it felt like I was with my family again.
“Walk with me before we leave?” Luke asked his dad.
“Sure.”
Luke kissed my cheek as he and his father stood, placing their white linen napkins on their seats.
“What’s that about?” Lucy asked me.
I lifted a shoulder. “I have no idea.”
I looked at Renee. Her brow was scrunched, and she appeared to be baffled, too. I was even more confused.
“So”—I took a sip of my wine—“do we get to know the sex of the baby?”
“We’re revealing that tomorrow,” Lucy stated.
“Oh.” Would Lucy have told me if we were still best friends? Now that I was dating Luke, I hoped we could get back to the way we were before, even though we lived many miles apart.
“But,” she lowered her voice, “his name will be Shane Jr.”
A smile spread across my face. She was having a boy.
