“I definitely want to see you before then.”
“And have more dessert?”
He exhaled heavily. “Don’t tempt me.”
CHAPTER 21
“Thank you for inviting me to your home,” Luc said to Bailey’s parents, as her stomach knotted. She might’ve spent their last two dinner dates assuring Luc they’d welcome him, but her words had been more hope than truth. Her mom was fine, she seemed a big fan of Luc. But Dad, well…
She studied her father as he watched Luc interact with her mom, that heavy pull to his mouth suggesting he didn’t like what he saw. Dad had never liked tattoos, and it had been part of the reason he’d said he hadn’t coped well with Chrissy’s husband. That, and Jed’s violent streak, which hadn’t revealed itself until too late.
Her heart sorrowed for her sister, for the estrangement that distance and unforgiveness had put between them. Chrissy wouldn’t be here today, although yesterday her mom had dropped the bombshell that Rhett and Cindy would. As Bailey hadn’t seen Rhett in forever that’d be great. Cindy, well, that was up to her how things progressed. But as Rhett was a hockey fan, she figured he’d at least cope with today.
Her father turned, spotting her, and his face noticeably relaxed. He held out his arms and hugged her. “How’s my little girl?”
“I’m good.” The dates squeezed around Luc’s and her busy schedules had helped them delve deeper into knowing each other. And the kissing had been the cherry on top. “Really good.”
“And how was that church you went to today?”
The way he said this, like with a sneered inflection, drew Luc’s attention. Bailey smiled, and like she’d said to Luc after the service, “It was different, but I enjoyed it.” She swallowed, but knew she had to own her brave. “And I’d like to go again.”
“You know you’re welcome anytime,” Luc said, his voice soft.
She nodded. She did. Although she suspected once his busy game schedule started, there’d be far less opportunities to attend with him, and the place felt so big and bright and new that she wondered if she’d get lost. That was exactly the reason Luc said he enjoyed going, as he could come late and sit in the back and escape without drawing much attention. But she’d felt the life there, even though she’d missed the traditions of her parents’ older church. There was much to be said for both expressions of worship.
“Well, we’re just waiting on Rhett and Cindy. They should be here any moment,” Mom said.
“Rhett and Cindy?” Luc asked Bailey.
“My brother and his wife.” She pointed to the mantelpiece where a series of family photos were gathered in silver frames. The most recent family picture had her parents positioned in the center, Rhett and Cindy to one side of her mom, while Bailey stood next to her father. They’d all been grinning at the camera, except Cindy whose smile had seemed forced.
Luc shot her a smile. “You look so pretty.” He glanced at the next photo, a much older one which included Chrissy, but not Jed. Photos of him had been expunged from the house the second they’d learned of his betrayal. He motioned to the picture. “Who is this?”
She moved to his side, and said in a softer voice, “That’s my older sister, Chrissy.”
“She’s not around?”
“It’s, ah, complicated.” She shot a look at her father.
“She lives in Florida now,” Dad said. “With a man who isn’t her husband.”
“She’s married?” Luc asked.
“Was,” she murmured. Her father might’ve despised Jed, but he’d not understood why Chrissy had divorced her husband, saying divorce was against God’s law. Then, when she’d found a new man, her father’s values had seen him raise objections against remarriage, which had been enough for Chrissy to declare she was done with such conservative prejudice and would go live with a man she’d met on the internet. Some days Bailey suspected her father had never really gotten over the shock, and this was why he was so protective of her.
She lowered her head. Her sister might’ve been older, and much of this had happened when Bailey had lived overseas, but she wondered what her life would be like if she hadn’t left. Chrissy had always encouraged Bailey to chase her dancing dreams, and together with Gran and Mom they’d been enough to persuade Dad to let Bailey leave for France as soon as she’d finished school aged seventeen.
But when the truth about Chrissy’s marriage saw Jed jailed, and the other pieces of Bailey’s life crumbled, Bailey had sought the safe space of home. Her parents’ home. Her parents’ church. Her parents’ influence in the studio that she’d started with her portion from her grandparents’ will. She’d had adventures, and since that time of initial regrouping, had struck out to live with Poppy, then on her own, then stepped into the Dance Off show. But still, the cords of familial obligation and responsibility pulled tight, something especially obvious whenever she visited home. She suspected Luc might think she stayed too close to the family nest, but being close to her family was part of who she was.
The sound of a car outside drew her mom to the window, then she clapped her hands, and rushed outside, her dad following soon after. Bailey caught Luc’s half-smile—yes, she might possess a few of her mother’s attributes—and she moved to his side, holding his hand. “Don’t worry,” she murmured. “Rhett is nice, and Cindy, well, she can be too.”
He chuckled, and she winced, realizing what she’d said, but it was only the truth. Nobody knew what weather Cindy would bring when she came, her temperature as variable as a spring day. But the fact they hadn’t attended the show’s tapings—Bailey had messaged Rhett with the invitation to come, but he couldn’t spare time from work—meant it was likely Cindy would be holding some resentment, as past experience had proved.
A moment later, the door opened, and Bailey hurried to her brother, encasing him a hug. “Hi Rhett.”
“Hey, it’s the celebrity.”
Who—? Oh, he meant her. She squeezed him tighter. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too, Bailey Rose.”
“Rose, huh?” Luc murmured, his lips tilting up on one side.
She shrugged, returning her attention to her brother.
“I’m really sorry I couldn’t make it to your gig. But Cin and I watched it every night, didn’t we honey?”
Bailey turned to her sister-in-law, their lean-in-quick-back-pat a maneuver perfected over the past four years, ever since she’d returned from Europe and discovered that just as her brother-in-law was going to jail, her brother had got himself engaged. “Hi Cindy.”
“Bailey.” She nodded to Luc. “So, you’re the truck, huh?”
Bailey wrapped an arm around him, her heart tumbling. When Cindy said things like that Bailey was never sure if she meant to be rude or just had no filter, all of which made her feel uncertain. She hoped Luc wouldn’t be put off.
Luc held out a hand. “I usually go by Luc, but I’ve been called a truck a few times, too.”
She wanted to cheer as he shook a stunned Cindy’s hand, then Rhett’s. “Good to meet you.”
