Annie has this tight leash around me that no one has ever managed to break. She’s had it from the second I saw her. Stalking Annie happened later in our friendship when some holier-than-thou judge forbid me from being near her. I needed to protect her from the world, like I always have, but I had to do it from a distance. I threatened any man that even dared come close to her, it’s why she’s never had a boyfriend.
A sleazy guy slides into a seat across from Annie. My girl doesn’t even spare him a glance, but his presence is enough to raise my hackles. He reaches across the table and places a hand over hers. Annie looks up and recoils, quickly withdrawing her hand.
There is something familiar about this man that has me gritting my teeth in annoyance. Any man who gets close to Annie places a target on his back, but there’s just something about this guy that I can’t quite put my finger on.
Annie says something to him, and I can see it upsets him. From this distance, I can’t hear their conversation, but it must not go well, because he gets up and storms off. I don’t wait for him to get far before I am up and following him.
I catch up with him just as he pushes into the bathroom and slam into him from the back, so he is facing the wall. I don’t pay attention to the other guy in there as he skirts right past us.
“What the hell, dude, get off me!” the man shouts as he tries to dislodge the arm on his back, but I am way stronger than he is. “Do you know who my father is?”
I scoff. Just another entitled, rich prick. I should have guessed. They always think they have a shot with Annie just because they run in the same circles. I’ve dealt with pricks like him before.
“I don’t care who you are,” I growl into his ear, and he goes still.
“L-L-Lucas?” he asks, voice unsteady.
I’m taken by surprise and pull back a little to get a better look at him. Chase. That fucker who tried to assault Annie, tried to have me sent away. I see red and press him into the wall again.
He cries out, and his knees almost buckle, but I don’t let him fall. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, coming nearmy Annie? Your slimy hands shouldn’t be anywhere near what’s mine.”
He tries to twist his head, so he can see me, but I punch him in his side, uncaring of how loud his cries are, or that he could attract attention.
“I wasn’t going to hurt her,” he weeps. “I-I came to apologize. I just wanted to tell her I was sorry for what I did to her.”
I realize the restraining order Annie had against Chase must have expired the same time the orders against me did. “Stay the fuck away from her, or the next time you see me, your daddy’s money won’t be able to drag me away from your cold, dead body.”
“O-okay, I’ll stay away from her, I’m sorry! I-I swear, I only wanted to apologize, I won’t c-come near her again!”
A visible shudder runs through him, and the tangy smell of urine has me pushing away. I wrinkle my nose and shove him to the floor before walking out. I lower my cap to avoid the security cameras and make my way back to the cafeteria.
Fuck!
I’m wild with the need to find Annie, to touch her, but she is gone. After looking around for a while, I almost give up, but then it occurs to me that I need to look for her in the place I could always find her, our favorite cafe, Blue Havens.
I’ve waited long enough. Annie is mine, and it’s time she knows it.
CHAPTER FOUR
Anna
Fucking Chase!
He just had to go and ruin my lunch. The guy practically assaulted me on my first date ever and nearly ruined Lucas’s life. Suddenly, years later, he thinks he has the right to speak to me. I don’t care for his lame apologies or excuses. I didn’t care for them back when we were both seventeen.
I bite into a fry, while scrolling through my phone, when someone steps right in front of me. I look up, ready to curse out Chase for following me all the way here, but my breath catches in my throat when I see who it is.
“Lucas?” I sit up, as if I’ve been caught doing something I shouldn’t, which instantly pisses me off. I’ve been on guard around him ever since he came back, and I hate it. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
Despite my best effort to get him a job at my dad’s company, which I’ll take over as soon as I graduate from business school, Lucas insisted on figuring out his own career and found work at a garage near my apartment. His passion for bikes made it easy for him to find work, but our busy schedules make it hard to see each other as often as I’d like. I’m surprised that he’s here now.
He’s dressed in all black, which matches the dark look on his face. If I were someone else, I’d be afraid, but I’m not. This is Lucas, the one person I’ve been able to trust my whole life.
“I took a break and thought I’d grab lunch,” he says, his eyes lowering from my face. I expect him to look at my food, but instead, his eyes stop on the swell of my breasts, slightly exposed by the V of my dress.
I clear my throat, but his eyes don’t shift from them, and he doesn’t pretend that he isn’t looking.
“Lucas, what are you doing?” I whisper pulling my sweater closed. My pulse picks up when he makes no move to look away. “Lucas!”