Chapter 16

Luke took her and Garrett out for a nice lunch later that day. He said he wanted to do something to celebrate crossing the first hurdle.

The restaurant was nice, and it had been a long time since she'd been out for food. Probably since she was initially dating Luke. It was a welcome distraction from the day since she was waiting to hear back on how her proposal went this morning.

She was trying to get a full contract with this company that meant regular work and, in turn, regular pay. It had taken her a few days to build the presentation with her proposal in it, and she thought she would be relieved after presenting but it turned out that waiting was the hardest part.

Even though it would probably take days to hear back, she knew that if she wasn't busy, she'd be checking her emails nonstop. Getting out of the house was a great way to distract herself.

"You're doing it again," Luke teased, rubbing his finger over the worry lines she had between her eyes.

She felt her face heat. "I'm trying not to think about it."

"Just remember, you have what they need so if they don't take you up on it, you still have it. It's their loss."

Paisley appreciated the words. "Is that what you do?"

He gave a short nod. "Absolutely. I know what they need and if they don't want it, I'm moving on to someone who does. Not going to waste my time on someone that doesn't see what's in front of them."

The smile that invaded her face couldn't be stopped. That was exactly how she imagined Luke being, very take it or leave it.

"Oh my gosh! Luke?" A blonde woman came running over and threw her arms around Luke's neck, practically smothering him with her cleavage.

He disentangled himself, gently pushing her away. "That was inappropriate," Luke scolded the other woman. "I am at lunch with my fiancée and son. Please leave." His tone left no room for arguments.

"Luke," she whined, clearly unable to read the clues.

"I won't say it again. I already asked you to leave us alone. If you continue to behave like this, I will have security remove you." Luke straightened the cuffs on his shirt, not bothering to look back at the woman.

Paisley watched as indecision warred in the other woman. She was persistent, that much was clear, but she had to decide if the risk of further humiliation was worth it.

"Good luck with him. He will drop you one day for another woman too. It's all he does," she sneered at Paisley.

Luke put his hands on the table, preparing to stand. Paisley reached over, placing her hand on his as she looked at the woman.

"I don't believe we know the same man," Paisley explained. "Luke is a devoted father and fiancé, who I am proud to be here with. Clearly, you know what a great guy he is or you wouldn't have run over like you did, embarrassing yourself in front of the whole restaurant by shoving yourself in his face with complete disregard for who he is with. I assure you, the problem isn't him."

She gaped at Paisley before storming off in a huff.

Luke's quiet chuckle reached her ears. "Here I was worried you'd be mad at me for her doing that."

"Did you call her over here?" Paisley asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course not," Luke scoffed.

"Then what reason would I have to be mad at you over her behavior? You asked her to leave, warned her even. It is what it is."

Luke's jaw fell open for a moment before he recovered.

"Don't get me wrong, I won't be able to handle it if it keeps happening."

"Fair."

"We will also talk about the fiancée comment," she whispered.

Luke nodded and took a bite of his pasta.

She smirked to herself, knowing that Luke always hid behind his food when he wasn't sure what to say. She was honestly not mad at him over that woman's behavior. It was humiliating and out of his control, but being mad about his past wouldn't solve anything.

Luke had certainly changed and she knew that. It was frustrating that he claimed her as his fiancée even though he'd only recently told her they weren't going to get married right now.

"Sir, I want to apologize for the interruption earlier. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?" a man in a dark suit said as he approached the table.

"All is well," Luke answered.

"Very well." The man nodded. "If you think of anything, please let me know."

Luke nodded at the man. As he walked away, Luke leaned toward her, whispering, "He's the manager here. Very concerned about patrons who spend a lot of money."

"I can imagine so," Paisley replied.

"Are you ready to go?" Luke asked, noting that she was just pushing food around on her plate.

Paisley nodded absently. Luke paid the bill and picked up Garrett as she let her thoughts roam free.

While she wasn't upset with Luke for the woman earlier, she couldn't help but wonder how often that would happen. Would she always have to remind other women that she was there or be overlooked?

She was plain, sure. That wasn't a new fact. She cleaned up nice and had been told that she was pretty more than once, but there was an elegance that even that other woman had that Paisley lacked. It came from having a lot of money and the confidence that went with it.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked.

It was only then that she realized she'd zoned out the entire way home. They were in the house already and she didn't even remember the trip. "I'm fine. Sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts."

"You sure? You can talk to me."

"I know I can. I am just kind of sorting things out in my head right now."

Luke nodded understandingly. "If you need a sounding board, I'm happy to be that as well."

"Thank you." She smiled at him. "Why did you tell her I was your fiancée?"

Luke shrugged. "It felt more permanent and meaningful than saying girlfriend. I wanted her to understand the importance of you to me."

She couldn't argue with that, didn't want to.

"Think we could compromise on the marriage thing and just be engaged? Then it's obvious that we are together permanently to other people," Luke hedged.

Paisley wanted to laugh at the nonchalant way he spoke, like he wasn't going to be upset if she didn't agree, but his tense body told a different story. She knew better but also felt just as tense. This was a great idea, she believed that, but once they told everyone, would it change things? She hated that she couldn't stop questioning things.

"I think that's a great idea." She smiled. No sense stressing over it. If she was willing to marry him as it was, how was this different?

"I'll need to get you a ring." Luke leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"I don't need one," she assured him.

"People won't believe it if you don't have a ring on. Would you?" Luke asked.

Sighing, she agreed. "Small please? I hate to be picky, but I'm so scared that you'll buy something really nice and I'll break it or something."

Luke tossed his head back as he laughed. "Get insurance on it. Got it."

Knocking on the door sounded, not stopping Luke's laughter.

"I'll get it." She looked through the peephole and smiled before pulling the door open.

"Hey!" Catherine greeted with bags in her hands.

"Tell me you didn't buy him more things," Paisley pleaded.

"Hush. I'll spend my money on my nephew if I want." She dropped the bags on the counter and took Garrett from Luke. "What are you doing, Luke?"

"Well, I was holding my son," he answered with sarcasm.

"Now I am." Catherine stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's funny that you didn't know he was your brother and you settled on treating him exactly like a sibling." Paisley joined them.

"He's always been an annoying little brother to me. I just didn't know he really was.

"I'm happy to say he's less annoying since he met you, though. Or maybe it's just that this handsome fella is so distracting that I don't notice Luke's more annoying qualities." Catherine spoke to everyone but made faces at Garrett as she spoke.

"Please tell me more." Luke's dull tone made it clear he wasn't finding it funny.

"I could, but I like her and I want her to stick around," Catherine teased.

Paisley giggled. "This is what I'm talking about."

"Actually, I wanted to ask you a question," Luke said to Catherine.

"Shoot," she answered, never looking up from the faces she was making at Garrett and his happy smiles back at her. "I love that he smiles so much."

"He's always so happy," Luke agreed. "I want to take Paisley out ring shopping and maybe to dinner. Do you think that you could watch Garrett one night?"

Catherine let out a squeal that startled Garrett and sent him crying. She passed him back to Luke, who grumbled about her being the one that did it.

"You're getting married?" She clapped. "I'm so excited for both of you!"

Paisley looked to him for how to react.

"I think it's fitting she will be the first to know," Luke told her.

"Other than that woman in the restaurant," Paisley reminded him.

"Screw her, she doesn't get to have any claim to us."

"Wait, who? What happened?"

Paisley quickly explained the entire thing.

"You're joking?" She drummed her fingernails on the counter before pulling out her phone and tapping something in. "I think we should do a press release, make sure that everyone knows from the start."

"Catherine." Luke got her attention. "Paisley may not want to do that." He cut his eyes to her.

"Is this normal? Something we are supposed to do?" She wouldn't go against the norm here.

Catherine set her phone down. "It really is up to you. It would be good to put it out to let everyone know about you and Garrett, but you certainly don't have to. There's no guarantee that won't happen again, but it makes a statement."

"What about your father? Won't that set him off?" Paisley wondered.

"The odds are that he will do something anyway. Once he finds out about the DNA test and that the stuff with social services didn't work out, he will try something else." Luke shrugged. "It's a sad reality but unavoidable right now."

"I agree with him sadly," Catherine confirmed. "If that's your only reservation, I wouldn"t let that be your deciding factor."

She thought about it for just a second. "Go for it then." It wasn't something she wanted, but it felt like something they were supposed to do.

"I'll get it typed up and send it over for you guys to review. I think that I can get a photographer out this week to take a family photo, too. It will stand out better with a picture."

"Let's slow down a bit," Luke said, probably reading the surprise on her face. "Can we go back to you babysitting?"

"Oh, of course we will." She waved him off. "I can take a photo instead of a photographer and just have it edited a bit to look more professional. Is that better?"

Paisley nodded as the question was directed at her. "Thanks."

"Of course. I know I jump a little quick at things, but you can always speak up to me," Catherine assured her.

"I'll try to remember," Paisley said.

"When were you guys thinking of going?" Catherine asked.

"Anytime you are free," Luke said.

"In that case, we will see you later." She reached out for Garrett from Luke again. "Take your time and he can hang out as long as he wants. Ryker loves him to pieces and it's so cute."

Luke looked questioningly at Paisley, as though he wanted to know if that was okay.

"Let me love on him for a minute and then you can take him with you," she said.

"You're going to have a great time!" Catherine assured her.