“Uh-huh. Great. This is fuckin’ ridiculous.”
“At least she’s talking to Jade now. She wasn’t saying shit before.”
“She should be talking to me.”
“Lucas, come on. She—”
“I gotta go. Talk to you soon, man.”
?
I lie in bed, trying my best to think of a reason not to jump in my damn vehicle and drive to her. I thought of two. Logan and her. Okay, and Harper and the entire Hines family.
I can’t push. I know this in my head, but fuck if my heart isn’t going crazy.
I decide to send her one last text before forcing myself to fall asleep.
Sleep well, baby. Don’t overthink this please … LL
?
I spend the day going over bids on jobs and am about ready to lose it when I decide to book mine and Logan’s trip.
Sandos Playacar. Looks pretty damn cool, and we could explore the Mayan ruins nearby.
Once that’s set, I stare at my damn phone, as if doing so would somehow will her to at least heart one of the two I’ve sent.
“You’re being a tool,” I scold myself when I realize it, and then I decide to run off some of this nervous energy before I text her again.
Three times without a return would piss me off … worse.
Already in track pants and a long-sleeved tee, I throw on my shoes and head out the door. I look next door as Tessa pulls in.
Now, if I was a smart man, I would turn and run in the opposite direction, but right now, I’m not feeling all that damn smart.
I run up to her as she’s about to walk in the door. “Wait!”
She turns and watches me run to her, and I’m hoping my form is good. Yes, I have issues, but my vanity is the straight up the lesser of them all.
When I get to her, she simply smiles and says, “Hi.”
“Hi?Hi? Is that all I get after the other night?”
She shakes her head and avoids eye contact. “Lucas, it was a mistake—”
“No, Tessa, there was only one mistake made that night. And let me tell you this right now, it won’t happen again.”
“What are you talking about?” Tessa whispers as she opens the door.
“I told you no many years ago, and that screwed everything up. I tried to be what you needed then, and I wasn’t. I’m standing right here, Tessa, the man you knew I could be, and as much as I knew I wanted to be, I couldn’t then, not until it was too late. I have a second chance to love you the way you deserve me to love you. I can right every fucking wrong. I can take away your nightmares, ease your pain, and make you love me again. I’m so sorry that you lost him, baby. I really am, but—”
“Don’t. Please, just don’t. I can’t betray my love for him. I can’t do that. Don’t you get it, Lucas? He’s still in here.” She holds her hand to her heart. “There is no room for any more.”
“You’re wrong, Tessa. You. Are. Wrong.”
“Leave it alone,” she warns softly.
“I won’t. You deserve to be loved again.”