"I hope you're ready for this, coz we've got a full-on day," Luke warned her as they left the house. He was determined to make the most of her extra day in Chicago.
"I am if you are," Becca told him with a big grin, seeing him smile excitedly.
"Good!"
They got another bus into the city for his first tour of the day: a chocolate tour along Magnificent Mile. He knew she loved chocolate and it would take them along a different part of Chicago than they'd seen so far. Of course, they already knew that chocolate is made from cocoa beans, from the cacao tree. But, as they walked from one dessert boutique to the next chocolatier, they learned that roughly two-thirds of the entire world's cocoa is produced in West Africa, with almost half coming from the Ivory Coast. They were able to try different kinds of chocolates along the way, and Becca particularly liked the West Town Bakery.
After the chocolate tour, they went to a couple of shops so that Becca could buy a few presents for Mrs. Shelton and Leanne, as well as some souvenirs. They grabbed a quick bite to eat from one of the street vendors after the first few shops. She was still hoping she'd get enough time alone to find something for Luke as well, but she'd think of something if she wasn't able to and if it meant they could move on to the next part of their day: a river architecture cruise. It reminded them both of the boat tour they'd taken in San Antonio, though they missed the pretty lights in the dark this time. It was chillier than it had been there though, so Becca was sat huddled in her coat as much as she could as close to Luke as possible.
"I'm sorry it's so cold," he said to her softly, not wanting to interrupt the guide. "Are you having fun though?" he asked.
"Yeah, I am," she nodded, giving him a smile to assure him she was really was despite feeling cold. "What else are we doing today?" she asked him softly.
"You'll see," he said with a wink, pulling her in a little closer, and returned his attention to the guide stood at the front of the boat. He ignored the elbow he felt her dig into his ribs.
The river cruise lasted just over an hour and, by the end of it, they were both feeling ravenous. Luke knew there was a great Italian restaurant near there, the Volare ristorante.
They shared a cheesy garlic bread before having their own mains. Becca really wanted the tiramisu but didn't think she could finish it by herself, so he agreed to finish whatever she couldn't finish.
"Okay, I'm stuffed. I hope there's not more food on the planner for tonight," she said when she gave up and handed her spoon over to him.
"Not right away, there might be later," he said vaguely, as he started eating the remainder of her dessert. His mother always baked cookies late at night on the twenty-third, so that they would be ready on actual Christmas Eve. They should be home on time to help her with the frosting, but that would depend on how the rest of the evening went.
"So, what is still planned?" she asked curiously, leaning back into her seat, rubbing her full belly.
"I'm not saying," Luke teased, smiling when he saw she was annoyed at him for being cryptic, again. "Do you want a tea or coffee?" he asked, as he finished the tiramisu.
"No… I'm okay to go once we've paid. I'm gonna quickly visit the little girl's room before we settle it," Becca said as she got up now.
He called the waiter over to pay for the bill as soon as she was out of sight. He'd already decided earlier today that he'd pay for dinner as a last day treat.
"Ready?" Luke asked when she got back and held out her coat.
"Yeah, but what about the bill?" she asked confused as she let him put her coat on.
"Sorted it already."
"Okay, so how much do I owe you?" Becca asked him now, putting her scarf on.
"Don't worry about it," Luke answered.
"Luke…"
"No, it's my treat," he insisted. "Now come on, we still have lots to do," he added and started heading out of the restaurant as he put his jacket on, knowing she'd follow him any second now.
"But…" she tried as she caught up with him.
"No buts," he told her.
"Hm, okay, your treat," she begrudgingly agreed. "But the next thing we eat is on me," she pointed out, as she hooked her arm through his.
"Fine," Luke nodded. "Next one's your treat," he conceded.
Luke pointed out more things as they walked towards the park, and he couldn't help feeling pleased that she was interested in everything he told her.
"I'm having a great day," Becca said after a little bit, leaning into him.
"Yeah?" he checked as he glanced at her, struck by how beautiful she looked in the Christmas street lights and the snow in the background.
She nodded with a smile as she looked up at him too. "What?" she asked when she couldn't place the look on his face.
"Nothing," he shook his head, struggling to look away. Luke gave her a smile, not sure what to say right now, except that he probably shouldn't say what he wanted to say. "Oh, we're here," he suddenly realized they'd made their way to the park already.
"The park? But it's so late and dark," she said a little hesitantly, not sure it was such a good idea for them to walk through the park by themselves right now.
"Exactly, it's perfect," he said, pointing at the sign for the Cinderella Carriage ride.
"Oh, Luke, that's amazing. But are you sure…?" Becca started to object, wanting to ask him if it was really such a good idea. A carriage ride through the park was the epitome of a romantic evening and they'd already had a couple of close calls without doing anything like that.
"We have to," he said simply, seeing her look surprised. "It was something we always used to do as a family before my dad died… and we haven't really had much opportunity to do it since as either I don't get here until Christmas Eve or Leanne doesn't," Luke explained now and immediately she felt her defenses crumble; how could she say no to that?
"Well good evening, carriage ride for two?" the driver of the carriage asked when he saw them heading towards him. He'd had a slow evening tonight and it was cold; he could use a job.
"Yes please," Luke said, pulling his 'girlfriend' along with him. The driver opened the gate to the carriage for them, so that the former could help her into the carriage. She climbed in, looking around her in awe. It was a beautiful white carriage, reminiscent of Cinderella, with some tinsel and fairy lights draped around it. There were two blankets folded up neatly on the seat.
"Hot chocolate? Comes with the ride," the driver offered them now.
"I wouldn't say no to hot chocolate," she said with a chuckle, already pulling one of the blankets over her lap to keep her legs warm.
As Luke climbed into the carriage and sat down next to her, the driver set about pouring two travel cups with hot chocolate from a travel flask. He passed the two cups back to them before he took his seat on the top of the buggy.
"Here we go," he told his passengers before he gave the reins a flick to get the horses to start moving. Luke put his arm around her shoulders as she rearranged the blanket to cover his legs too.
"This is so nice," Becca told him as she leaned back against him, her hands wrapped tightly around her hot chocolate. "And you guys did this every year?" she asked, glancing up at him.
"Yeah, without fail until he…" he nodded, trailing off, not having expected it to hit him so hard.
She reached out to rub his knee and leaned into him. "You okay?" she asked softly, feeling his arm around her tighten his hold a little. He simply nodded, not sure if his voice would hold. She glanced up, seeing a muscle in his jaw clench and loosen as he tried to hold it together. She felt so bad that, without thinking, she reached up to press a kiss to his cheek. He didn't say anything as he hugged her closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead in response.
After a few minutes, Luke managed to pull himself together and was able to have a conversation again. They talked quietly about the park and the day they'd had, as they enjoyed the quiet of the park and the pretty lights.
"Sorry about earlier," he said when they'd finished the carriage ride and were waiting for a cab back to his home.
"Don't worry about it, honestly," Becca assured him as she gave him a hug.
"Thanks, Bexx," he said softly as he hugged her back until a cab pulled up beside them.
"It's getting late, I'm guessing your mom and Leanne will be in bed already?" she asked when they got in and she saw the time on the dash. He looked at his watch and saw it was gone 11pm.
"No, they'll probably still be up," Luke said with a chuckle when he saw her confused look. "Mom bakes Christmas cookies, sausage rolls and a bunch of other stuff until after midnight, so that it's Christmas Eve when she finishes," he explained.
"Oh, that sounds like fun," she beamed excitedly, forgetting that towards the end of the carriage ride she was feeling a little tired.
"Yeah it is. I mostly just like finishing the frosting and eating the cookies," he admitted with a laugh, making her laugh too.
"You big kid," she teased.