“Okay.” She released a heavy breath. “Just make sure you give me a warning so I can fix myself up.” Her fingers worked frantically to redo her ponytail.
“Don’t worry, I will.” I laughed, recalling how self-conscious I used to be before going on a manhunt. Funny how age and love can change a person.
As soon as the song for the seventh inning stretch came on, Trinity and I dashed on to the field. A team of guys worked quickly to set up a microphone near the pitching mound. Several photographers, including myself surrounded the area. The athletic director for PHU, Ralph Kenney, made his way to the field with an older gentleman. His white hair and weathered skin indicated he had to be over sixty.
Kenny did a speech, inducting the former alum to PHU’s Hall of Fame. I took the photos that Cinnamon asked for as the crowd clapped for the man. Trinity did great, helping me with my equipment and eyeing different angles for the best shots. The hall of famer thanked everyone, and I took my last shots. The media began to clear the field, and we followed behind them.
“That was neat,” Trinity said, holding out her hand to take my camera.
“Yeah, it was.” Without thinking, I handed it to her. She placed the protective cover over the lens and hung it on her shoulder. “Thanks.”
“Delaney Dukakis, please remain on the field,” the announcer said, and I stopped in my tracks. “We have a special message for you.”
“Did the announcer just say my name?” I turned to Trinity.
With a laugh she said, “I think so.”
I turned around and saw Luke on the pitching mound. My heart went into overdrive, and I had a strong feeling what was about to happen. A boyish grin formed on his face, and he motioned with his head for me to come to him. With one foot in front of the other, I managed to move. Bubbles formed inside of me, and it felt like I was walking on air.
“Hey.” I breathed out a nervous breath, racking my fingers through my hair. I’m sure I looked exhausted and tired after doing two back-to-back shoots, three if I included the one I just did.
“Hey, baby.” His grin turned into a huge smile.
“Oh, my God.” I scanned the stadium. There were tons of people looking at us. I caught a glance of the big screen and saw my parents and Luke’s. My entire body trembled in excitement. “Is this really happening?”
“Do you want it to happen?” He reached for my left hand.
A whimper fell from my mouth, and my heart jumped into my throat. “Yes.”
“Are you ready for it to happen?” He reached in his back pocket, but paused, eyeing me.
“Yes, Luke.” My entire body trembled with excitement.
“Are you sure?”
I nodded, unable to form words. Pressing my lips together, I did my best to hold it together. My eyes stung, and at any minute, I knew I’d cry. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Luke was about to propose to me in front of thousands of people! And I thought Lexi had it bad when Raven proposed to her in the cafeteria with hundreds of students there.
Luke pulled his arm around, revealing a baseball. I stared at it for a moment, totally confused. Then he lowered to one knee and turned the ball around, positioning it in front of me.
“Oh. My. God.” I gasped, covering my little sobs. This was really happening!
Written in big purple letters were the words:
Will You Marry Me?
Tears streamed down my face, but I managed to keep my eyes focused on him.
“Well? Will you do me the honor, Delaney Dukakis, and be my lucky catch?” He opened the ball, revealing a sparking diamond ring.
My heart thundered in my ears, and a nest of butterflies released inside of me. Without a doubt, I knew what I wanted. “Yes, as long as you will be mine.”
A huge smile formed across his face. He rose up, wrapped his arms around me, and picked me up. Our lips joined for what seemed liked eternity, even though it was probably only for a few seconds. With my knees bent and my feet suspended in the air, I held on to him tightly, not wanting him to ever let go.
“So, you’ll be my wife?”
“Most definitely.” I took off his PHU baseball cap and slipped it on my head. The crowd went crazy as he spun me around. Flashes went off, and I caught a quick glance at Trinity, snapping pics of us with my camera. Luke had this planned all along.
Chapter 15
Luke
I turned off the engine and glanced at Delaney. I still couldn’t believe she was going to be my wife. I had to be the luckiest guy. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.” She flipped the cover to the vanity mirror. “I don’t have on too much makeup, do I?”
“Trying to save yourself from a demeaning comment from my mom?”
She laughed. “I’m not sure I can keep her from making those, but I can at least do my part.”
I cupped her cheek with one hand. “Don’t worry about pleasing her. I’ve tried for most of my life, and it’s nearly impossible.”
“There’s only one person I aim to please.”
“Good.” Lowering my lips to hers, I placed a soft kiss on her full lips.
“Mmmm. You taste so good.” Her hands slid up my arms, and I pulled her closer.
“Yeah? Well, I know something else that tastes even better.”
“I do, too.” Her hands dropped to my pants. She unbuttoned them and just as her hand started to travel down my boxer shorts, her fingers stopped. “Oh, shit. Veronica and Martin are here.”
My head turned to see their car parked in front of my parents’ house. I scooted back in my seat. “We can always sneak off later to my old room.” I cocked a brow at her as I buttoned my pants.
“I can’t wait.” She winked. “Let’s get this over with.” With a heavy sigh, she opened the car door.
“Did you warn them about my mom?”
“Oh, yeah.” She stressed the words. “Hey, guys.” She waved to her parents, and I followed her to meet them.
“Good to see you, Martin.” I shook his hand. “Veronica, you look beautiful as always.” She leaned forward and gave me a hug.
“Thanks, Luke. You’re such a sweetie.” Turning back to their car, she said, “Oh, I almost forgot the dessert.”
“I’ll get it,” Martin offered, tracking back to the car.
“Your mom told me not to bring anything, but I insisted.” Martin handed her the covered pie, and we walked to the front door.
“Let me guess, your famous chocolate pie?”
With a nod, she said, “You know it.”
“I can’t wait to try it.” Luke said, opening the front door. “Mom, Dad, we’re here with the Dukakis.’”
Mom quickly met us in the entry. “Hello.” She extended a hand. “So glad you agreed to have dinner with us.”
Dad walked up behind Mom. “Welcome to our home.”
“Thank you for inviting us.” Delaney’s parents exchanged handshakes with mine.
“Please come in.” Mom showed them to the living room, and Delaney and I followed behind.
Delaney fidgeted with a band around her wrist, and I knew she was nervous. She’d been to my house with Lexi several times, and a few times with me, once we made our relationship public. Each time, my mom had always said something rude or uncalled for, and that made Delaney feel unwelcomed. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to get this dinner over with because I was sort of dreading it, too. I would’ve rather gone out to dinner with my dad and Delaney’s parents and left my mom at home, but that wasn’t happening, so we were stuck for the next two hours with her.
“Please have a seat. Dinner will be served in a few minutes.” Mom motioned for them to sit on the couch. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Thank you, but I’ll wait for dinner.” Veronica turned to Martin.
“Yeah, I’m good, too,” Martin said.
“Okay.” Mom waved her hand in the air, and I turned around to see a guy wearing an apron around his waist. She had hired someone to serve us. I shook my he
ad. The woman never gave up trying to impress people, even though I’m sure the Dukakis’ weren’t worried about it. They were more down to earth than my high society family.
Mom sat perched on her chair, facing Delaney’s parents. “Can you believe these two?” She cast a quick glance at us. “They are too young to get married.”
I did a double take.
Did she really say that? I could’ve throat punched my mom.
Dad’s shoulders slumped, and he stared at the floor. Veronica and Martin looked at each other for a brief second. A slight laugh fell from Veronica’s mouth. “I know. They have plenty of time.” She waved off my mom’s rude remark. “But when two people are in love, what are you going to do?”
“True.” Dad nodded, and so did Martin. “At least they graduated from college.”
“I guess.” Mom cracked a fake smile. “Unless, Delaney’s pregnant.” The room turned eerily quiet. So quiet that even I looked at Delaney.
“What?” Delaney looked at me and then at my mom. “I can’t believe you . . . no. No, I’m not pregnant.”
“Whew.” Mom released a breath and reclined in her chair. “Don’t need another grandbaby right now. Already have four.”
Dad’s head whipped in her direction. His jaw tensed, and I swore I heard him grind his teeth.
“That’s right.” Veronica smiled, trying to make light of the comment. “How are
Lexi and Raven?”
“We talked to them last week,” Dad spoke up. “They had a great honeymoon, and they are glad to be back home with the twins.”
“I talked to Lexi yesterday, I had to tell her the news,” Delaney squealed. “She’s really happy for Luke and me.”
“Oh, well, there you go.” Mom held out a hand. “Everyone’s doing well.” Apparently everyone but my mom was handling our engagement well.
“Lexi’s preparing for summer training.” Mom smoothed her skirt. “You know, Raven’s the quarterback for New Orleans,” she waited for Veronica and Martin to acknowledge the fact. When they did, she continued, “So that means he’ll be at practice daily once August comes and will be away at games. She’ll be taking care of those twins, alone.”
“She has Mimi and Trish to help her with the twins,” Delaney reminded her.
“Yes, true.” Mom glared at Delaney. “And with Luke traveling with the team, you might not want to have any babies anytime soon, otherwise, you’ll be alone just like Lexi.” A huge smile formed on my mom’s face, and I had to refrain from slapping it off.
“Don’t worry, we’re in no rush.” Delaney looked at me for confirmation.
“That’s right, Mom. We’re good with it being just us right now.”
“That’s great about Raven.” Martin quickly changed the subject. “Glad he made the team.”
“We all are.” Mom released a condescending laugh.
I was ready to leave, and we hadn’t even eaten yet. Mom was just too much, and Dad was too chicken shit to put her in her place.
“Excuse me,” the servant appeared, “dinner is served.”
“Oh, perfect timing.” Dad stood up.
“Everyone.” Mom held out her arm, showing us the way to the dining room.
Mom and Dad led the way for Veronica and Martin. Delaney pulled me back and whispered in my ear, “I swear if your mother keeps this up, I’m walking out the door.”
I turned around and pulled her close. “I’m sorry. What she said was out of line. I hate to say it, but you know my mom.”
“I know.” She nodded and looked away. “I just don’t want to tell her off.”
“Let’s just get through this dinner and leave.” I rubbed her arms, trying to ease her frustration.
“Okay.” A stiff smile formed across her lips, and I knew she was trying hard to be nice to my nagging mom.
Mom directed us where to sit, and everyone took their seats as the hired servant brought us whatever we needed. Dad immediately took control of the conversation, asking me how PHU’s baseball team was doing in the playoffs. He already knew, but I sensed he wanted to keep my mom’s mouth shut as much as possible, so I went along with it. Martin jumped in the conversation, asking questions about my job and how I liked it. Unfortunately, our baseball conversation didn’t stop Mom from a sideline conversation with Veronica. By an act of God, the dinner conversation was tolerable, and Mom hadn’t pissed anyone off.
“Does anyone want dessert?” Mom eyed the chocolate pie, her nose turning up.
Everyone said yes.
“Fernando, will you please?” She motioned for the hired help to take the pie.
“Yes, of course.” He took the pie and served everyone a slice, but my Mom pushed the plate he offered her away.
“So, Delaney, I’ve never asked you, what happened to your real parents?” Mom asked. “Luke said they died in a car wreck.”
I could’ve stuffed the napkin under her hand in her throat. I’d told her that was a sensitive subject for Delaney, and she had purposely asked her. Delaney dropped her fork on her plate, and her body stiffened. No way in hell was she telling my mom, not when she struggled to tell me the story.
“Mom,” I stressed her name, “Delaney doesn’t like talking about what happened to them.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Mom folded her napkin and set it next to her plate. “I figured you were okay talking about it since it was so long ago.”
A rush of anger zipped through my veins. I shot her an evil eye, and she looked at me with innocent eyes. But her fake plea wouldn’t get her out of this one. I’d let her have it once I was alone with her.
“Delaney took the deaths of her parents really hard,” Martin chimed in.
“I think anyone would.” Mom softened her voice. “I was just curious, and since I’m going to be your mother-in-law, I wanted to know.”
Veronica glanced at Martin and then at Delaney.
Delaney had huge tears in her eyes, but she managed to hold them back. Grabbing my hand under the table, she said, “It’s been very difficult, Mrs. Thompson.”
Her hand trembled in mine, and I held onto it tightly. “It’s okay, Delaney. You don’t have to tell her.”
“It’s okay, Luke.” She inhaled and continued. “A car nearly hit us on a highway. My dad swerved to miss them, and when he did, the car flipped. We rolled down an embankment. I survived, but they didn’t.”
“Oh, my God, that’s terrible.” Mom pressed a hand to her chest. “You were in the car?”
“Yes.” Delaney’s voice shook, but she stayed strong. “I was only eight at the time.”
“Oh.” Mom released a heavy breath. “Wh-ere did this happen?”
“In Waco, where I’m from.”
Mom blinked several times. “Y-ou’re from Waco?”
“What a coincidence, right, Mom?” Turning to Veronica and Martin, I said, “We’re from Waco, too. We moved to Dallas about the same time Delaney did.”
“Small world.” Veronica commented. “Did you two go to the same elementary school?”
“No, we went to different ones,” I informed her.
Dad cleared his throat. “Once we moved to Dallas, Olivia decided to homeschool the kids.”
“Oh, that’s must have been tough,” Veronica commented.
“Yes, it was.” A worried expression formed across Mom’s face. “What were your parent’s names?”
Delaney took a deep breath and relaxed, as if a big weight had been removed from her shoulders. “Alicia and Lorenzo Acardi.”
“Acardi?” Mom whimpered, and her face turned three sheets white.
“Yes, they were Italian.” Veronica looked at Delaney with heartfelt, saddened eyes. “Delaney wanted to take our last name, so we agreed as long as she took Acardi as her middle name.”
“So, I did.” Delaney released a teary smile. “I figured it would be easier, and people wouldn’t ask why we had different last names.”
“Excuse me.” Mom popped up from her chair, knocking it down. The startling
noise caused us to turn in her direction. Leaning over the table, she said, “I think I ate something bad.”
Dad stood up. “Olivia, are you okay?” He reached for her, but she kept her hands over her mouth, running out of the room. “I’m sorry. I’ll go check on her.”
“I hope she’s okay.” Veronica glanced at her plate and then at my mom’s. I think everyone was thinking the same thing.
Was the stuffed chicken breast bad?
Dad started to walk out of the dining room, but stopped. “You know, I recall seeing that wreck on the news.” He shook his head. “Did they ever catch the person who caused it?”
“No.” Delaney released my hand as her head dropped.
“Sorry that was your folks, Delaney.”
Delaney glanced at him. “Thanks, Mrs. Thompson. Like your wife said, it was a long time ago, and I’m trying hard to move past it.”
“Sometimes you can’t move on until justice is served.”
“True.” Delaney nodded. That remark struck a chord with me, and I found myself agreeing with my Dad. But the chances of them finding out who did it was slim to none.
***
Delaney
I sat at my desk, staring at a photo of me with my parents. It was the last one we took together as a family at the Fort Worth Zoo. Last night’s dinner wasn’t easy, but it felt good to share my story with Luke’s parents, even though Luke’s mom was a pain in the ass and made me feel like crap at times. There was no way to get rid of her, and I’d have to learn how to deal with her, just like Lexi warned me that I would.
I thought about what Luke’s dad said about not being able to move forward until justice was served. I’d never considered that as the reason for my problems, but the more I reflected on it, the more I realized that I needed closure. Knowing who caused my parents’ wreck would help close the gaping hole in my life. The one that had swallowed me and refused to release me. And once that hole was closed, I could work on forgiving myself, and all the wrongs I’d done.
I needed that.
Luke needed that from me.
And so did Martin and Veronica.
My Lucky Catch (University Park #6) Page 17