Underneath the Star

Epilogue

Melanie read the words on her invitation card over and over again until they were engrained in her mind. As she sat behind her desk, staring intently at the address, her mind wandered to her time with Christopher Coleman. It had felt like ages ago, and although she didn't regret the experience, she felt guilty that he had played such a vital part in her journey of moving on from Eddy.

A knock at her door drew her attention back to the paper in her hand. When she looked up, Lukas was standing in the doorway with a tight smile on his face.

"Are you ready to go home, pretty princess?" he asked her. His eyes moved to the card she was holding. "You got Chris' invitation."

Although it wasn't a question but rather a statement, she nodded to confirm. "He's getting married. That's exciting."

Lukas glanced behind him to ensure that no one would hear their conversation. Then he stepped into the office, and with a deep sigh, he said, "Please don't tell me you're upset."

Melanie's brows drew together in confusion. "Why would I be upset?"

"I can hear it in your voice."

"I'm fine," she told him. She gathered her purse and jacket and walked over to him. Then she pressed a chaste kiss on his lips and brushed past him into the hallway. "Are we going home or not?"

"Mel, don't be like that."

Ignoring him, she made her way to the elevator and pushed the button down. When it arrived, she and Lukas stepped on together and took it down to the main level where he had parked his car.

Silently, they both entered the car and even though Lukas was itching to touch her, he kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other dangerously close to her but not quite on her. During the drive home, he often glanced at her, noting the look of disappointment on her face. But they remained quiet.

Once he had pulled into the driveway of his house, Melanie quickly exited the vehicle and walked inside. He cautiously followed her into the kitchen and watched as she pulled out food from the refrigerator to start on dinner.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he finally asked her.

Melanie still didn't speak as she remained focused on her dinner.

"Please talk to me, Mel," he said, moving behind her to kiss each of her shoulders. "You never have to pretend to be okay with me."

Her lips quivered but she kept a straight face as she began cutting vegetables. "Are we going to your brother's wedding?"

Lukas swallowed hard. "Are you... jealous?"

"No," she quickly told him. "I'm not jealous. I just think it's a little fast. Didn't they just publicly announce their relationship?"

"I think I know what this is about," he said, taking a step back from her. He moved around the island to see her face, but she refused to look at him. "Are you starting to regret your decision?"

Melanie scowled. "What are you talking about?"

"Chris went back to Cali and you got stuck here with me. This place isn't Cali, but I'm trying to make it home."

A deep frown met her face. She set the knife in her hand down on the island and slowly approached Lukas. When she was finally standing in front of him, she wrapped both arms around his middle and breathed him in deeply. "I love you," she reminded him. It brought her immense pain to know that she needed to remind him.

"Then why are you so upset by the fact that my brother's getting married?"

"Because that invitation should have been ours," she snapped at him. She had raised her voice in the heat of the moment but instantly regretted it when she saw the look of horror on his face. "At some point you have to tell me if I'm wasting my time."