Chapter 7

He had trouble sleeping that night. One thing he learned over the past few months was that he was strong enough to survive anything. Meeting a woman like Jessica and losing her would be one of the hardest things to take, but he could do it. And he may only have to leave North America.

He tossed and turned, and got into work early because it was better than just laying there. He closed the door to his office, and drew the blinds. He knew he wouldn't be able to not look in her direction. Not to see her there and to wonder if she was ever going to call him, and what she would say.

It was almost lunch time when a knock came to his door.

"Come in" Lucas called out

The administrative assistant brought a bag. "Your lunch is here."

"My lunch" he questioned. "I didn't order lunch."

"Oh, it said it was for you. It was authorized by a J. Hill."

"Oh, thank you very much Tammy. I appreciate it."

Lucas, opened the bag and pulled out a gyro. It looked excellent. There was no note. He wasn't sure what it meant. What was the next step, to call her? Women are by far the most confusing creatures.

He walked over to his window and pulled the blinds up. He immediately saw her, she waved and spun back to her desk. His phone rang.

"Hi" she said.

"Hi, yourself" he responded.

"Do you care to have lunch with me?"

"I can do that."

"Grab you sandwich and I'll pick you up downstairs."

Her car was there waiting for him as he walked out of his building. He opened the door and got in.

After clicking his seatbelt he turned to her and asked, "Where are we heading?"

"A place that I know where we can talk."

"Is it far?"

"Sorry, it's about half an hour. Sorry. I can turn back if this is a bad time."

"No, just give me a minute. My mind isn't into work today." Lucas picked up his cell phone and called his boss.

"Randy, something has come up. I need to take the rest of the afternoon off. I should be in, in the morning. I'll keep you posted."

Randy knew that Luke had been putting in more than enough time to cover the difference. So there wasn't a problem. He then called his assistant to cancel all of his afternoon appointments.

Luke turned to Jessica and said "All taken care of."

"Great I hope you are not too mad at me. I will explain everything, just ride with me for a little bit. I've been so anxious all morning. First I wasn't sure if you were in, then if you were in if you would talk to me. The lunch thing was pretty corny I guess. But I thought you would like it."

"I do. It's great. About the blinds. I am so confused right now that I knew I would spend the entire day staring out the window wondering what you were doing. Plus it seemed like you needed your space so I was giving it to you."

"Oh. I'm so glad you came."

"Where are we going?" Luke asked.

"Well the company has this retreat that employees can come to. It's very pretty and secluded, my, uh, boss gave me authority to use it today. It's a beautiful spot. I've been there before, and there is one view that makes me feel so comfortable. I'm very grateful that they let me use it. It'll be a private place to talk."

"Secluded? Is this where you kill me, and no one finds my body?" Luke asked.

"No, there is another company place for that." She fired back with a smile.

"You're just using me as an excuse to play hooky at the company hotspot." Luke retorted and was rewarded with her laugh. He figured why be uncomfortable. He would be himself, and tease and cajole her into liking him. Maybe he could palm her a "C" note, he wasn't above buying her affections, he joked to himself. He was already this crazy about her.

He passed on that idea.

"Seriously, it's very nice that your company would do that for you," he commented.

"Well, they know that I have worked hard for them throughout my tenure. And I'll more than make up the time."

She was gorgeous. Her profile was that of a Greek goddess. Her face was a little tensed in concentration at the crazy driving around her.

He could help himself. He leaned closer to her and stroked the side of her face, reaching behind her head to try to rub her tension away. She was startled and the car weaved for about a tenth of second. Then she relaxed into it and her face softened, and it was not possible but she looked even more attractive, sexier.

"Oh, that feels great. I may fall asleep while driving."

"Don't do that. I prefer to see this place of yours rather than the emergency room."

"My driving doesn't worry you, does it?" Jessica asked.

"Not at all. If you were not a safe driver I would worry. But you seem to drive the way you do everything, with grace."

Her cheeks reddened.

She turned and looked at him for a moment and looked back.

"You know I am not perfect."

He looked at her objectively. No she wasn't perfect. Her lips were probably a little bit fuller than runway model material, and she certainly wasn't tall enough, but with those sweet features, she was certainly a hell of a lot of stunning.

"That's all right. I am perfect enough for both of us."

She laughed again.

"I know you aren't perfect Jessica. Neither am I. I don't know what is going on in your head. But I do know that I would like to find out."

"We're here." She said as she turned into the drive of a country mansion. She hit a button on a remote and the big wrought iron gates opened.

She drove in, waving at the guard and drove to a park just outside the garage. She was right it was only about half an hour.

After they got out of the car, she kicked off her shoes and stepped onto the manicured lawn.

"This property sits on just shy of about 160 acres. There is a spot I found in the last outing that is just perfect. It is an overlook that faces away from the city. You can only see the horizon and the hills. And the greens are breathtaking. Follow me, it's only about a 10 minute hike."

"Are you sure its okay to use this place and walk on the lawn. I don't want you to get in trouble."

"No, we'll be fine."

It really was a beautiful site. A warm spring day. The greens and the hills. This truly was a special place. He said as much.

"I know. I wanted someplace that I felt at ease when I spoke to you."

They arrived to the most clichéd spot in history. And it was awe-inspiring. It was the quintessential shaded spot under a tree, overlooking the hills of a little valley with wildflowers. You would have to be criminally insane to not feel comfortable here.

They sat, not caring about grass stains or dirt.

"This place is great." Luke said trying to break the pall that had befallen them.

"Luke, I hope you aren't angry with the way the date ended yesterday."

"No, I'm not angry I'm just confused."

"I want you to know that I had the best time last night. It was perfect."

"Really? Well I am glad to know that I wasn't the only one. Is that a bad thing? Is this a breakup conversation where you say that you prefer to just be friends? We have to be dating for that to happen you know."

"That's not funny" she replied with a pretty pout that made her bottom lip ever more enticing.

"I have never felt this strongly about someone so soon. It is frankly... scaring me." Her voice was as soft as the gentle breeze swaying the wildflowers back and forth.

She continued, "I have had relationships in the past. And I've been hurt before. I know you have too, but I've been really skittish ever since."

"Who would hurt you? Did you love them?" Luke asked.

"I thought I did. They said the right things, but after time, it didn't add up. My feelings weren't as strong as I thought they should be and they seemed to be playing a part. It thought me to take it slow and take time to figure people out."

"Okay. I am fine with that." Luke replied.

"But I am not sure that I am." She admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"I am having trouble taking it slow with you. What I felt on that date was stronger than anything I can remember feeling. Ever. And I am scared about getting hurt. Because I think I would be devastated if I found out you are playing a part."

"Well honey, I can assure you I am not playing a part. I am finally comfortable enough in my own skin that playing a part would be distasteful. I'm too happy with me to be anything but genuine. And for the record, I don't know how I'll deal if you pull an Ellen on me. As opposed to giving up brunettes, I may give up women, and become a eunuch or something."

"Oh, don't do that. Can you tell me about Ellen. What happened?"

He would normally never talk about it. But with Jessica, for her, there wouldn't be any secrets.

"Ellen was someone I had met when I was in my early 20's. 22 if I remember well. She was very pretty. She and I worked together for the first 2 years. She was fun and we went from being coworkers to dating. She had broken up with an old boyfriend, and we started going out. It was fun. She was wild and a little nuts. She reeled me in. We dated for 4 years. We were an item. Like matching towels, we were hand in hand. She wanted to get married. I hesitated. Maybe looking back, I sensed something not right. Then she was pregnant, and I was proposing. And I was happy. Then I started to notice that she was disappearing quite bit. So I did the underhanded thing of following her. Somewhere along the line, she was started seeing the old boyfriend again. I did the he-man thing of busting in there. They weren't naked or anything, but they were close together and guilty looking. I demanded to know what was going on. I guess they had fallen in love. And she told me the baby wasn't mine. We were always using condoms. I guess she didn't feel the need with the other guy. I use to wonder if I married her, if she wouldn't have cheated. But I know now, it was a question of time. She and I weren't meant to be. She did me a favour. I would thank her now if I could see her. But before I realized that, I had developed my aversion to brunettes."