Small Town Love

Chapter 18

The marks humans leave are too often scars.

John Green

"Any colour preferences?" His sister asked him over breakfast on that Saturday and he just stared at her.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Gracie," he admitted freely. Colour Preference? For what?

Most of the time Luke couldn't care less which colour something was and when Daphne started talking about colour theory or mixing her own paint with pigments...then he was lost.

He liked watching her do that, but he never offered any advice because he had no knowledge about that and he was man enough to admit that.

Thankfully at least Daphne's obsession with painting had given him the idea to what he wanted to give her for Christmas.

He was still lost what he wanted to give her for her birthday, which was on New Year's Day, but at least her Christmas present was all finished. He still had two more weeks until her birthday so that was good...still, it was driving him nuts.

Nobody in his family had been very helpful either.

"For Daphne's dress. For the New Year's Ball," she clarified with a roll of her eyes. "Seriously, you guys are hopeless. Ollie told me to pick what I liked," his sister snorted like that was the worst thing he could have said.

Right. Grace, Kiana and Daphne were going to Augusta to buy Christmas presents and dresses for the New Year's Ball, and Daphne had looked forward to that for days now.

She had never before gotten the opportunity to go shopping with friends so she was giddy with excitement and had smiled at him so brightly that morning that it had felt like the sun was rising in her room.

It had been startling to see once again how many of the things that Grace and he thought were normal were something strangely novel to Daphne. From takeout pizza or ice cream or to come home and have their mother ask them how school went...all of it was something that Daphne had never experienced before.

She didn't talk about it. She didn't need to. Her face expression was evidence enough that Daphne had never had this before.

But about the colour...Luke could honestly say that he had no preference. Daphne would look beautiful in whatever she chose. And as long as she felt comfortable in it, which was the most important thing, Luke couldn't care less.

"Daphne is the colour expert," Luke answered diplomatically instead. "I am sure she already has some ideas."

"She did mention something about pine green. I think we can all guess what that was inspired by," his sister said drily. Pine Green? What could have inspired that?

"The forest?" He asked dumbly, which resulted in his mother laughing and his sister rolling her eyes.

"Yes, I am sure it's the forest, Luke," Grace told him sarcastically. So not the forest. He looked to his father for help, who just shrugged in response.

"Your eyes, Luke," his mother finally took pity of him with a laugh.

Oh.

"Purple." It suddenly burst out from him. He had never seen her in purple. And he wanted to. Something in the same startling violet shade of her eyes.

"And that's not inspired by her eye colour at all," Grace said with a wink and he just shrugged non-apologetic. Sue him. He wanted to see his mate in a dress that matched her eyes.