“This is lovely,” Mrs. Stark cut in, jumping from the couch, looking nearly giddy with happiness. “Now we can all go to breakfast.”
“Why does Luke have a gash on his face?” Sofia asked. “Is it the same reason Ava has a black eye?”
“We’ll talk about it at breakfast,” Mrs. Stark said firmly, happy giddiness fading fast.
“Ma, I can’t go to breakfast,” Luke told her and my heart clenched.
Shit.
So much for Luke coming to my rescue.
“Oh no! Why not?” Mom asked.
“I thought, you coming by –” Sofia started but Luke interrupted her. He did this by pinning her with a look that would make Satan himself shiver in the fiery depths of hell.
“I came by for Ava because she’s too sweet to tell you what I’m gonna tell you.”
Uh-oh.
I had the feeling Luke was in the mood to be brutally honest.
“Luke –” I started but he kept talking.
“You’ll have breakfast and then Ava’s got some shit she’s gotta do. So I’ll answer your questions right now. Yeah, Ava and I are together, it’s serious, it’s headin’ somewhere important and anything else is none of your business. You don’t like that, too bad. You get breakfast with her then she’s gotta take off. During breakfast, you’ll be nice to her. I hear anything different, then you answer to me. Is that clear?”
Yep, Luke was in the mood to be brutally honest.
“How did this happen? When did it happen? How could it happen?” Marilyn asked. She was, in the face of the impossible fact of a Luke and Ava (and apparently Triumph motorcycles) Togetherness, incapable of being clear she understood Luke’s threat.
“It happened because she’s Ava,” Luke answered like that was all the reason needed and my knees wobbled again at the same time my throat got tight.
“That would be why I’d think it couldn’t happen,” Sofia said under her breath but loud enough for everyone to hear.
My body got stiff but Luke’s body got preparing-for-gonzo tense. It was then I realized my “fuckin’ sisters” weren’t just bitches, they weren’t very smart either.
“Sofia,” Mom muttered before Luke could retort.
“Sofia,” Mrs. Stark cut in at the same time as my Mom and she sounded pissy, something I’d never heard from her before. “What on earth is the matter with you?”
I looked at Mrs. Stark and blinked. She looked unhappy, not just unhappy but nearly Lucas Stark Gonzo Unhappy.
Wow, definitely pissy and then some.
“Goodness me, we all know they’ve had something special for years. You act like you didn’t grow up and see it like everyone on the block did. Mrs. Weinberg said years ago they would make a sweet couple and when I told Maggie Regan a few days ago she said she knew it would happen all along. It’s not just me who thinks this is hardly surprising. I just wish it hadn’t taken so long.” Mrs. Stark took a deep breath then went on and her eyes moved to her son. “As for you, we are not a Triumph or Harley Davidson family. I keep telling you, Lucas, motorcycles are dangerous. You’re going to give me a stroke, riding around on those things. Now that you’ve got Ava, you need to think before you race around in your Porsche and on those bikes.”
“He’s got a Porsche?” Marilyn breathed.
“You’ve got bikes? Plural?” I asked, staring up at Luke.
“What’s with the suitcases?” Luke asked, ignoring Marilyn and my questions, his eyes on the bags, his mind on a topic he obviously thought was slightly more pressing then the varied options for transport that he owned.
“We’re staying here,” Mom informed Luke.
Luke’s mouth went tight.
“Ava’s sleeping on the couch,” Marilyn shared.
At that, Luke’s entire face went tight and he looked at Mom. “Two choices, either I put you women in a hotel or Ava and me go to a hotel.”