With Love Read Online Free Page B

EIGHT
    As Luke left, looking behind him, all he wanted to do was cradle Ally. The devastation in those tears was very hard to turn away from.
    When he closed the door quietly, Luke stopped for a moment to catch his breath, wondering what the hell just happened in there.
    Meg stepped up to Luke. “Hey, bud. Did you find what you were looking for?”
    “Yeah,” he whispered, shaking his head lightly. “Hey, Meg, can I ask you a question?”
    “Sure, but you’re out of favors,” she said with a shy grin.
    As they walked to the elevator, Luke kept looking back toward Alyson’s room, hurting for someone that he didn’t know.
    “Meg, do you know anything about Alyson?”
    “No, not much, Luke. She arrived a few days ago. She looked pretty out of it, like she had lost her soul.”
    Luke had a feeling what had happened. He had only seen that devastation once in his life. He wondered to himself, Why didn’t I see it before?
    ***
    Later on that afternoon I decided that it was time to go home. I started packing up my things, slowly tucking the toothbrushes, stuffed animals, and Sam’s shirt away in my luggage. Looking up, I stared at my laptop thinking, What am I going to do? Then, I quickly came to a decision. Well, the first thing you are going to do is put on your big-girl panties and edit those damn photos that you enjoyed taking. Send them to Luke and leave. That’s what you are going to do.
    I spent most of the night editing the photos this way and that. After I was completely happy with them, I sent a quick email to Luke.
    Luke,
    I hope you enjoy these. Your sisters looked absolutely beautiful.
    ~ Ally
    With that, I closed my laptop and crawled into bed for a few hours.
    ***
    The next morning Luke could not sleep. He decided to get up for a run and then head into his father’s office.
    When he was seated at his father’s desk, he decided to check his email. He noticed an email address he didn’t recognize. He was just about to delete it when something caught his eye. He opened the email and was stunned by what he saw. He had never seen his sisters look so beautiful; they had their mother’s smile. His father had never looked so young. Ally managed to capture a glisten in his father’s eyes. Luke was absolutely taken back by the beauty in her work.
    “Luke, what are you doing in here?” his sister, Julia, said.
    “I was just looking at some wedding photos from the weekend.”
    “What?! Let me see! How do I look?” Julia said excitedly.
    “Beautiful.” Luke said in awe.
    Julia and Luke took their time looking through all the photos Ally had sent.
    “Luke, who is this photographer? I think we need her to do the Gala.”
    “Her name is Alyson. ” From the email address, he noticed her last name was Almon . “She just happened to be there.” Then, he whispered, “You’re right; I need her.”
    His father, George, walked into the office, noting the wonderful surprise.
    “Why do I have the honor of having both of you in my office first thing on a Monday morning?” asked George.
    “Hi, Daddy. Luke and I were just looking at some pictures of the wedding. This photographer is amazing. I think we need to use her for the Gala.”
    “Who is she? Is this the photographer that you used for the wedding?”
    “No, Daddy. She was at the hotel when you and Luke were coming to get me. Luke said she was just there snapping pictures, and he asked her to take a few of us. She emailed him the pictures this morning.”
    They were still staring at the photos when Julia continued, “Daddy, this is the photographer that I want and what the Gala needs. Daddy, you look so handsome and young.”
    “Well, Luke, do you think you can get her?” George asked.
    “No, I don’t think I can…” Luke drifted off lost in thought.
    “Oh, Luke, I’ll get her. Don’t you worry about that,” Julia replied as she kissed Luke and George on the cheek and turned to leave.
    ***
    As I was walking out toward the cab, someone grabbed