She nodded, flipper in hand and turned back to the frying pan. Luke had been all about making the changes he stated he would. He had been living his life like a new man. This was just weird though. How could almost dying change a lifetime aversion to food?
“Actually Sadi, never mind, just scramble it,” Luke mumbled, still leafing through his paper.
Sadi sighed in relief. Okay. So he had just been trying to do something new. She found that she was proud of him as she put her flipper into the eggs and scrambled them around the pan.
She set the plate in front of Luke, along with a couple slices of bacon and toast. He had surprised her by asking her to buy and make the bacon. The old Luke would never have eaten that before. He had shrugged and said that he didn’t want to spend his life worrying about salt and calories anymore.
“Sadi, I was thinking,” Luke said when he bit into the slice of toast. “What do you think about just having a private ceremony for our wedding? Just me and you and the JP?”
Sadi paused. She thought of the crazy amount of money they had already wasted on a wedding they had had to postpone. What would it be like, just her and Luke? Just them declaring their love for each other and making a vow to each other that should last for the rest of their lives?
She felt a tremble go through her body. She looked at Luke and saw his love for her reflected in his eyes. She felt it wash over her, warm and peaceful, a promise of an amazing future together.
“Yes Luke,” Sadi whispered. “I think that would be amazing.”
“I want to take some time off after the wedding. A couple weeks at least. Do you have anywhere you would like to go for a honeymoon?”
Sadi frowned. She had thought they had settled on Mexico. She said as much and Luke shrugged. “I thought maybe you would like to go somewhere different now,” he said.
“I would love to see Europe.” Sadi held her breath. Last time she had said that, Luke had flat out refused. He had said he didn’t want to spend his vacation traipsing all over the country, sleeping in nasty hotels with drafty rooms. He said they could go to Europe some other time, meaning no time soon.
“I think that’s a great idea.” Luke’s face broke into a huge grin. “I know you’ve wanted to go there for a while. You used to talk about wanting to see the castles in Scotland all the time.”
Sadi couldn’t believe Luke remembered that. She hadn’t mentioned that for years; not since they had first been dating. “Yes,” she said. “They would be beautiful, I’m sure.”
Luke reached out his hand, entwining his fingers with hers. “Not as beautiful as you.”
Sadi blushed at Luke’s compliment and at his frank appraisal.
“Sadi, you should dye your hair back. I feel awful about what happened…” Luke’s comment came out of nowhere, but when Sadi glanced at him, he was still studying her, a slight frown wrinkling his otherwise perfect brow. She had got her hair fixed after the disastrous day she had ran from the salon. The bleach had done terrible damage to it and she had had to cut a lot of it off as it had fried completely.
“Do you not like it short? I can get extensions?”
“No,” Luke shook his head. “I love it like this. I would love you no matter what, Sadi. I just know you hate getting it dyed all the time. I’m sorry that you probably heard all those rumors about how I only liked blondes. I thought your dark hair was beautiful.”
Sadi was shocked now. How could Luke even remember that first week she had worked for Pearson and Pearson? She had thought he didn’t notice her until she had changed her hair and wardrobe a couple weeks into her job but obviously she had been wrong. She felt her face heat up again, an unfamiliar feeling of intimacy stealing over her. She realized that was what she had been missing before.
Sadi had always felt that Luke had wanted to romance her, but she had never felt like he treasured his time with her. That he noticed any of those small details. She was floored that he had watched her for weeks before she even realized it.
Sadi felt something odd deep in her chest. She felt treasured, like Luke cared about what she wanted. She realized that when he had said he wanted to start over, he had truly meant start fresh. He had made her feel like she was worth more than his company, his money, his home, his cars, himself even. That he truly needed her, loved her more than he loved his own life.
He had done it all with a couple touches and a few tender words. Sadi hadn’t realized how much she had missed those things. Not just lately, but throughout their whole relationship. The bombing had been one of the worst things to happen to them, but it had also given Sadi her joy back. It had given her Luke in a way she never imagined she could have.