TAHLIA:
I tried to stifle my giggles as I watched Lucas throw each dart with more and more force at the balloons and missing every time. The first thing he'd done when we walked into this carnival was proclaim that he was going to win me the biggest stuffed animal they had in this place. Now, he was glaring at me from the corner of his eye every time a small laugh escaped me when the dart flew right by a balloon. I couldn't help it; he was adorable when he was frustrated. Not that I would ever tell him that.
"It's okay Lucas, I don't need you to win that for me." I placed my hand on his arm just as he was about to throw the last dart. He looked at me and grinned.
"I know," he said with a wink. He let the dart loose and I watched as it arced high in the air. I figured it was going to sail right above the biggest balloon again, but at the last second it nose-dived right on top of the balloon, popping it immediately.
My jaw dropped with shock, and I started jumping up and down. "Oh my god! You got it! Oh my god!" Lucas laughed and wrapped my up in his arms, swinging me around once before setting me down and reaching for the giant leopard animal he'd won.
He handed it over to me, and I wrapped my arms around it with a giant smile. "I can't believe you did it!"
He chuckled and pulled me and the stuffed animal into his arms. He leaned down and put his lips to my ear and whispered, "It's all physics. I could've popped every balloon if I wanted, but it was more fun watching you try not to laugh at my grumpy face."
I gasped and reared back, shock filling me. "You were faking it!"
He nodded, wicked smile plastered on his face. "For you, anything to make you laugh and smile."
Warmth filled my chest, the amount of love I had for him nearly bursting out of me. "Thank you Daddy," I quietly said as I hugged him around the leopard. He squeezed me tighter, kissing the top of my head.
"You're very welcome, baby girl." He let me go a second later, taking my hand in his as we strolled through the carnival, taking in the sights and sounds and smells. Every time I looked over at him, he was already looking down at me, love shining brightly in his eyes.
It felt like years since the first time we'd been together, acted on our mutual desire for each other, but in reality it'd only been a few months. I loved him with all my heart, and I knew he felt the same. It was an incredible blessing, but there was one small thought in the back of my head that kept nagging at me: what exactly had the relationship between him and my mom been? He'd never told me, and I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back the questions much longer.
"Want to go on the Ferris Wheel?" Lucas's question brought me out of my musings and I nodded enthusiastically. This was a smaller kind than what you would see at regular theme parks. Instead of having a bunch of different pods, there was just a pair of seats that you get buckled into. We got into the surprisingly short line, and the attendant put my leopard on top of a bunch of shelves so that I could ride comfortably. Lucas buckled us both in, and I snuggled into his arms as the rest of the seats got loaded. We were quiet and content, but as the ride started to go around the first time, Lucas cleared his throat.
I looked up at him, and noticed he looked a tad nervous. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah Lia, everything is good. I was just wondering, well, why you hadn't asked about your mom and me yet."
My eyes widened, and he must have read my face wrong because he began to backtrack. "Sorry baby, I didn't mean to bring it up like that, I just didn't know how else to broach the topic. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
I laid my hand on his arm and smiled reassuringly. "No, it's okay. I was just surprised because I was literally thinking about that a minute ago."
A short, surprised laugh left him. "That's weird. Guess great minds really do think alike."
"Yes, but fools seldom differ," I parroted back to him and finishing the second part of the quote.
"Also true, because I'm a fool for you," he teased back.
"Oh god, that was cheesy." I laughed and rolled my eyes, loving that he could be goofy with me. He laughed as well, but when that petered out we were left with the question he'd asked.
"To answer your question," I began and looked over the people to avoid his eyes, "I wasn't sure how to bring it up, just like you. I guess maybe I was afraid of the answer, and whether it would change our relationship."
His hand softly cupped the cheek farthest from him and turned me to face him. Relief filled me at the obvious love in his face. "I can promise you that it won't. You must have noticed that your mother and I weren't particularly intimate." I nodded. "It's not that we didn't like each other- in fact, we were friends. We'd grown up together as neighbors, and when she found out about the cancer, she contacted me."
Shock filled me once again. "What?" I'd had no idea they'd grown up together, and that she'd reached out to him- and for what?
"When we were much, much younger, we'd made a promise to each other that if one day we were ever in need of a favor, no matter what it was, that we'd do everything in our power to help the other out. Granted, we hadn't spoken in years, but when she'd called me up that day and told me what was going on, I immediately offered up a solution.
"I was a wealthy man in my own right, having sold the rights for a few ideas that paid out well. I was single, no attachments to people or place. And my old friend needed me, needed someone to help her daughter when she was gone. So I offered to marry her and be there to help out."
My mouth had dropped open at that point, and a small breath of laughter escaped him. He gently pushed my jaw back up to close my mouth, but I opened it right back up to ask the questions bubbling in my brain.
"How come she never told me about you? Why'd you guys keep it secret? I can hardly believe she agreed to that, she was always so stubborn and independent."
"She didn't actually agree right away. It took some convincing, but when I laid out in no uncertain terms that this was the best way to help you, she gave in. And to answer your other questions, she didn't want you to think that she was sacrificing her happiness for your future. So we agreed to keep the reasoning behind our marriage quiet until after she'd passed."
"Wow, that's a lot to take in." Silence fell between us as the ride continued to rotate us, and he let me have the time to think it all over.
"I also want to clarify that it wasn't until your 18th birthday that I even saw you as more, as a woman, as someone I wanted in my bed and not just my life. As my partner. I just didn't think you'd ever feel the same way."
He had no idea. I'd basically been in love with him since we first met; granted, it'd started off as a school girl crush, but I'd seen the strength in the man over the years. Despite our age difference, I knew he was the one for me.
