Say Yes Read Online Free PDF Page B

here.”
                “Okay, come
with me,” she whispered to me.  Then she looked up and said, “Hey, Mama, we are
looking a little low on salad.  Lilly, you want to help me in the kitchen?”  I
just nodded and followed Daisy into the kitchen.  As soon as the door swung
shut behind us, she whipped around and faced me.  “Here,” she said, “drink
this,” and she handed me a bottle of water. 
                I took a long
drink.  “Thanks, Daisy,” I said, and then sighed.  “God, I don’t know why I am
acting like this.  That night happened a long time ago, right?”
                “Well, you
will be seeing him again for the first time since that night a long time
ago.  Are you sure you can do this?”
                Little waves
of panic shot through me. Unconfidently, I said, “Of course I can.  I mean,
it’s not like Luke is the only guy I have ever slept with,” I said.  And he
wasn’t, if you count that other guy from my sociology class I was with once
right after college.  Wow, sad. I have had no life.
                “No, but he
was your first.  And you haven’t seen or spoken to him since that first time. 
He was one of your best friends,” Daisy said softly.
                “Okay, Daisy,
are you trying to throw me into panic mode again?” I asked, my eyes wide.
                She smiled.  “Of
course not,” she said, and slightly shook her head.  “Look, that happened
eleven years ago, right?”
                “Right.  I’m
over it, and I’m sure he is too.  I hadn’t really thought much about him for
years.”  At least, I never let myself anyway. Well, with the exception of
today.
                “There you
go.  So, come on, let’s go do this thing.  Grab that salad dressing,” Daisy
said, lifting another bowl of tossed salad and backing out of the kitchen door.
                I grabbed a
bottle of Italian dressing setting on the counter, exhaled, and followed her
into the dining room, keeping my head down to hide the redness I felt rising in
my cheeks.  The minute I looked up, I saw him.  He was bending down to kiss
Mama on the cheek and when he caught my eye, his mouth fell slightly open.  Out
of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw Mama smile.  His eyes were
the same ice blue, with slight wisdom lines around the corners.  He still had the
same dark hair.  He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a fitted black
turtleneck, which clung around his muscles. Of course he looked perfect. He was
the most heartbreakingly beautiful man I had ever seen. For a split second my
peripheral vision registered that he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.  During
that split second relief washed through me.  I cleared my throat, and was able
to barely speak, “Hello, Luke.”  It sounded so informal, but at this point I
was trying not to pass out from nervousness.
                Luke smiled
and said, “Lilly, wow, you look…incredible.”  I noticed he was wiggling his
fingers back and forth, like he was nervous.
                “Thank you,
you look great too.  You look…taller,” I breathed.  Taller?  Did I just say
taller?
                Jack
interrupted, saying, “Yes, we’re all so proud of his height.  He’s a big boy
now.”  Jack had always been a bit of a joker.  I always thought of him as an
annoying brother type.  “He’s right, though.  Lilly, you look terrific.”
                “Well, thanks,
Jack.  It’s great to see you too,” I said, and when he leaned his hand across
the table in a fist, my hand mirrored his and we bumped our knuckles, making me
giggle. Jack looked great as well. He was always lean and fit when we were
younger, and he still was, but he looked more muscular than he used to. His
light brown hair was gelled into messy spikes, and he had a slight five o’clock
shadow. He really