He held his hand up for a high-five. “We make a pretty good team.”
She wiggled her brows. “We do, don’t we?”
“I’d say we should celebrate, but I know you have that meeting today.”
“Actually, Tia took it for me. I called her in a frenzy after the principal called.”
His charming smile returned. “Want to play hooky?”
“There’s a new movie at the theatres today.” Suddenly, her mile-long to-do list didn’t matter. “We can catch the matinee before it’s packed tonight.”
“Can we share an order of nachos?”
“Only if you get extra jalapenos.”
He opened her car door for her. “It’s a date.”
Chapter Seventeen
Lucas signed the final paper of the closing packet and slid it down the table to the lawyer handling the transaction. His realtor sat beside him, and Cecil and realtor sat on the opposite side.
“Congratulations, Mr. Fontenot. You’re officially a homeowner.” The lawyer handed him a set of keys, which was funny since Lucas had possessed a spare key since he was seventeen.
“Thank you.” He waited for his copies of all the signed paperwork, then took the requisiteSOLDphoto with his realtor.
Cecil met him outside the office. “What should I tell Serena?”
“Tell her it sold, but the buyer is giving her thirty days to move out. Whatever you do, please don’t tell her I bought it.”
The older man frowned. “I’ve went along with this so far, but the news will crush her. You better have a plan in place.”
“Tonight.” They walked outside and stopped under a magnolia tree. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to do, but the timings never seemed right.”
“What is that, son?”
“First, I wanted to apologize.” The word came out much easier than he’d anticipated. “You trusted me to be alone with Serena when we were teenagers, and I took advantage of that. I’m sorry.”
“I appreciate that, but the truth is, I was the one in charge and should have used better judgement. I’ve often questioned how Serena’s life would have been different had I not left you two alone.”
That was a new perspective to him, but he didn’t see any blame that could be placed on her grandfather. “Honestly, if not your house, we probably would have found somewhere else. We’re old enough and mature enough to claim responsibility for our own actions.”
Cecil took a moment, seeming to process what Lucas had told him. “You said first. Is there a second?”
“I’d like your blessing to marry her.”
“Do you love her? I know you’re fond of her, but if Cecily wasn’t in the picture, would you still want to marry her,” Cecil asked with complete solemnness.
“I’ve loved her since I was seventeen. To answer your other question, yes, even if Cecily wasn’t in the picture, I would want to marry her. Our daughter is a bonus gift from God.”
Cecil smiled and put a fatherly arm around him. “You have my blessing, but you should know you always have.”
His words struck an unexpected chord in Lucas’s heart. “Thank you.”
“I mean it though.” Cecil moved away and held up a single finger. “I would take care of this soon. I don’t want her worrying about where she’s going to live, when she’s not even moving.”
He grinned. “I told you, tonight.”
“Make sure of it.” Cecil’s eyes sparkled with happiness. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a lunch date with my beautiful wife.”
