Lucas

"What time should I pick her up?"

"3 P.M. I'm sorry again, Luc."

"Don't worry about it, really. It's fine."

I hung up the phone and looked at the time - it was nearly thirty minutes past twelve. After a quick glance at the store from my small office in the back, I noticed it wasn't too busy, maybe three people looking through the different jewelry we had on display while Henry was finishing a client's purchase. So I got my wallet, and decided to go out to grab some lunch.

Fast forward to seven o'clock at night and I was still in my tiny office working on some designs I should have gotten ready during the day.

The fact that I had to pick up my niece in the middle of the afternoon and then bring her back here and help her with her homework slowed me down a little and I guess these just weren't gonna get done today like I wanted to. 

Could I just go back to my place with Lexi and finish my designs there? I could. But to help my situation the tube station was going to be closed until tomorrow, the traffic was insane with the rainy weather and I really didn't want to walk home with a small child at night so, I called my sister and told her we'd wait for her at the store, no biggie.

Melanie had been called in for an extra shift so , she couldn't pick up Lexi and that was how I came into the picture. Or, better saying, she came into my picture.

"Uncle Luc?" I heard her small voice call out for me as she walked into the office.

"Yeah, sweetie?" Looking up from the sheet, I turned my attention to her.

"There's a lady outside asking for help."

I frowned at the girl's words but didn't hesitate to get up from my seat and walk out into the store, not missing my chance to caress the top of her head on my way. 

I saw a small figure in the dim street light standing in the sidewalk with her head pressed against the glass door, her eyes searching the store. 

"We're closed." I said from the inside, yet loud enough that she was able to hear me.

"Please? I think I'm lost and it's pouring rain!" I sighed, feeling sympathy for the tourist who was carrying more bags than I own and who was dripping wet. So, I nodded in agreement and I saw her backing away a little when she saw me approach the knob and I turned it around, opening the door and letting her walk inside.

"I'm so sorry to bother." She said, sounding as apologetic as she could sound, after she managed to pull all her bags inside the store.

The bright lights on the ceiling allowed me to see her, really see her, and I suddenly felt very grateful for having installed them a couple of years ago. 

Wow.

She was so beautiful. She looked so... exotic. And yet she looked like a perfectly ordinary girl at once, in all its simplicity. 

Tanned skin.

She literally looked like the sun had permanently kissed her silky skin, turning it gold. It was like the little rays of sun that she'd felt on her body for all these years had tattooed her forever, making her a carrier, some sort of transporter of all those memories in the sun.

With ripped jeans and black boots that matched a white top she had on underneath her open flannel shirt, her dark brown hair glued to the sides of her face in the most adorable way... She was out of this world beauty. 

I noticed her clothes were wet too, clinging to her body perfectly as they hugged all her curves and I had to push the thought away before it got too hard to simply let go.

"Oh no, it's fine! So you're lost?"

"Yes! I- uh..." She fumbled through her shoulder bag as she looked for something on the inside and took her hand out, holding a piece of paper. "I need to go... there."

I looked at the address she was pointing at and gave her a reassuring smile and a matching look, and the simple gestures seemed to have done the trick. Her beautiful face that was once tense, filled with a think layer of concern and worrisome was now showing signs of relaxation.

"I know where it is. It isn't far, I can help you." I gave a small nod and she smiled.

"Great! God, I was thinking I was walking in the wrong direction."

I noticed the accent. American. 

"I'm Lucas, by the way. Hello, welcome to our country." I pulled my hand out of my pocket and she firmly shook it.

"Hi, I'm Nicole. Thank you!"

"You know, me and little Lexi over there," I turned my head to my blonde niece who was standing by the door frame, admiring the whole situation by afar. "are just waiting for her mom to pick us up. We can give you a ride to where you want to go, it's close by."

"It's only going to be my home for the next two months." She let me know with a sigh before smiling at me. "Thank you again, really."

"First time in a different city can be hard. Don't worry, we've got you. Don't we, Lexi?"

The young girl nodded her head in agreement while she slowly let a shy, mischievous smile creep onto her face and she joined me by the entrance of the store.

"Hi sweetheart, I'm Nicole! Lexi is such a beautiful name."

"Thank you." Her thin voice was filled with innocence and curiosity as she looked at the american girl like she was some statue of a museum, like she was a Madame Tussaud's wax figure wanting to be looked at, admired, analysed. 

My sister arrived at the shop in no less than thirty minutes and with my help we managed to fit all of her grey, hard shell shaped bags in the small trunk of Mel's car in the pouring rain that clearly wasn't giving it a rest for the night. 

Nicole took a seat next to Lexi in the back of the car while I occupied the passenger's seat.

"So, you're american? How lucky!" I caught Melanie looking at the brunette through the mirror, and found myself wanting to take a peak.

"I guess I am? I don't know, it has its perks but it's no bed of roses either, trust me."

"Where in America are you from?" 

This time it was my question she was answering. "California. I'm from Los Angeles but I moved to San Francisco after college."

"No way! That's like the best place to live in the States isn't it?" My sister eagerly asked as she alternatively looked at the road and then at the american in the back.

"I guess? I mean, I really haven't lived elsewhere so I'm pretty biased but I do love it."

"Do you like the rain?" Lexi's question seemed to have thrown her off, given the fact that she hesitated before she answered.

"Uh... No, I don't, Lexi. Where I'm from it never rains and it's always sunny. Do you like it?"

"Yes. Because when it rains, mommy let's me put on my rain boots and jump on the puddles." My niece giggled at the thought of one of her favorite things to do and it warmed my heart. 

"Aw, that's nice. And it sounds like it's so much fun! In Los Angeles I mostly just jumped barefoot over the little waves."

"Do you go to the beach a lot?"

"Oh yes, all the time!"

The conversation between the two in the back seemed to flow effortlessly and I felt my heart do a little back flip at the scenery.  

Lexi had had a tough upbringing. When my sister got pregnant, Lexi's dad took off, didn't want to be in the picture and didn't want to be a father at all. So, Melanie raised her all by herself and of course, with a huge amount of help from our parents and me. 

I don't know if it was because of that or because that was just her personality, but Lexi is definitely not one of those kids who just run off with anyone, who would engage in a conversation with a stranger like she's known them all her life. She usually likes to take her time to get to know the person.

But well, what do you know? The opposite was literally happening right now.

"You're so lucky."

The tone of sadness that my niece's voice hinted broke my heart, but Nicole was quick enough to fix it.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure you'll be able to go to the beach pretty soon. Plus, while you wait for your time, why don't you practice your swimming?"

"She has been to the beach, she's just sucking up all the attention she can get." Melanie said after laughing inaudibly and refocusing on the task in hands.

"Mom, can I take swimming lessons?"

Everyone in the car laughed at her question and her pleading eyes, me included, and I found myself turning around in my seat the best I could with the seating belt still trapping me and reached out my hand to the little girl I loved so much, and caressed her cheek. 

I also couldn't help but notice those brown eyes that caught my every move, that thoroughly followed my movements in a way that seemed especially loving to me, whatever that meant and I refocused my attention on the road ahead of me after turning back around.

"We can... think about it." I could sense the hurt and sadness in my sister's voice as she spoke to her daughter and my heart broke a little more. 

My sister and my niece are the two people I love the most in the world apart from my parents and they hadn't had it easy for them, not once, and unfortunately money was one of their biggest struggles and concerns. 

"Hey Lex, maybe Santa Claus will give you swimming lessons this Christmas?"

"Do you think he will?"

The hope in her question was a good indicator that I shouldn't have said what I said but then again I thought about it and what would it cost me to pay for her swimming lessons if that's what she really wanted?

"Well that depends, are you a good girl or naughty?" Nicole asked.

"I'm good! Ask them!"

"She is good. Don't forget to write that one your list for Santa."

I could feel my sister's piercing look on me, yet chose to ignore it, knowing all too well what that look meant.

 * * *

Sitting inside the car while the rain hit the windows and made my vision blurry was one of the most relaxing and mindfulness experiences I've had, and one of my favorite things to do. 

"Alright, here we are." My sister hit the brakes of the car a little too strongly, causing everyone to slightly jerk forward in their seat. Driving was clearly not her best asset but those classes my dad gave her when we were younger proved to be very useful when she found herself pregnant and all alone at such a young age.

The rain hadn't stopped but it seemed to have slowed down a little, which would be helpful to carry the bags through the stairs and inside the house. 

"I can't thank you enough for your help, really." She said as she unbuckled her seat belt. "I literally just arrived in London, somehow managed to survive on the tube and I was just feeling so... lost. It was dark, it was raining, I had no idea what direction I was walking to." 

She laughed at her own words and my eyes found themselves gravitating towards her again, and boy oh boy, she looked cute when she rambled.

No, stop it. I said to myself. She did look adorable, but I had to put a stop to it. I literally don't know her and this was just a thought. But then again, it wasn't my fault that she was so damn captivating - her eyes, her lips, her skin, her face.

"Do I have something on my face?" She teased with a giggle and I could swear I could die right there and then. 

What the hell was wrong with me?

My heart meant to scream 'Yes, those lips.' but thankfully my brain stopped me from hitting on a girl I had just met and didn't even know at all, and who I probably never would get the chance of knowing. 

"Uh, no. Sorry, I was just thinking, those bags aren't gonna carry themselves and there's no way you'll be the one carrying them. I'll help you."

"Oh, thank you. You're very sweet, but you really don't have to." She smiled through her response and I smiled at her too, nodding a no.

"I want to help." I sternly stated, not accepting a no for an answer. "Plus it's no big deal. I'm happy to be at service."

"Don't fight him, he won't give it a rest until he has his way." My sister chipped in with a giggle before she turned off the engine.

"Well if that's the case then, sure, I'll take you up on that offer."

She opened her seat's car door and I opened mine and, after my sister opened the trunk from inside the car, I felt a jolt of electricity run through my skin as our hands touched when we both went for the same bag. 

"Here, take this one." I handed her the smallest bag that I was pretty sure only contained beauty products and make up, given the shape of the bag. 

For a split second her eyes met mine again and this time, I knew she felt it too. She didn't say anything else or did anything that could voucher for my suspicions but during the quick, nanosecond that her chocolate colored eyes invaded my soul, I undoubtedly knew, deep down, that the power charged energy that suddenly made me feel alive had some sort of effect on her as well.

Not that this could mean anything. Besides the fact that I literally don't know her, I was unable to love again, it just could never happen again for me. Maybe the powerful energy I felt inside me was just sexual tension after looking at a beautiful woman. 

Yeah, it was probably just that. 

"Okay there you go." The loud thud of the larger bag hitting the floor marked the silence before I spoke. "If you ever need any help you know where to find me."

"Gems of the Heath, right?" 

The typical drizzle and cold wind of the city of London that haunted my days almost every day of my life was now glorifying my most beautiful real life dream. The current weather dried her wet hair a little and I wished I could find words to describe how even more beautiful she looked now.

"Yep. Right next to the coffee house." I nodded in agreement, keeping my hands in my pockets.

"Well, then I guess you'll be seeing a lot of me for the next two months."

"I'll be waiting for you."

We shared a smile that spoke a million words between us, words that even I couldn't verbalize if I had the guts to, and she closed the door behind her as I turned in my heels. One foot after the other, I walked down the stone steps and made my way to the car, where my sister and my sleepy niece were waiting for me. 

And that was when I found myself discovering that, unlike every other October night in London, the warm air that floated inside the car was uncomfortably hot and it made my cheeks turn red, as I was already on fire inside. 

* * *

Author's Note: 

Hey lovers! How are you this week? Did you enjoy the last chapters? And what did you think of this one? 

I know I sound like a broken record but as always, click on the star and turn it orange, leave a comment (constructive criticism is always appreciated!), add this book to your reading list and share it with your friends or whoever you think might like it 🥰

💘 BIG NEWS 💘 This story that you're reading has earned its place among 99 other stories on the Early Lovers category for @Romance "Romance Reads 2019" - it's on number 97 so go see it for yourselves if you want to and leave a few words of encouragement too, readers are just as important as the writer, am I right? 

I still can't believe it, I am so happy about it! 

Xoxo, Mars