Last Chance - L. P. Dover Page 0,14
as beautiful as ever. Grayson stood beside her, drying off glasses, smiling like a cat that got the canary.
I took a step forward. “I can’t. When I told you I wasn’t going to give up, I meant it.” Lara wasn’t going to push me away anymore. She’d managed to evade me time and again, but I refused to let anyone stand in my way.
Grabbing my shoulder, Evan jerked me back. “Summer will never forgive me if I let you rush in there and cause a scene. It’s been over a year now. It’s time for you to move on.”
Evan Townsend was my best friend, star wide receiver for the Carolina Cougars, and most importantly, he was now married to Lara’s twin sister, Summer. “Move on?” I growled, clenching my teeth together. “Would you be able to just walk away from Summer?”
He stiffened. “Probably not, but I’m not the one who fucked shit up.” His words stung, but they were true. Releasing a heavy sigh, I backed away. Evan placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “I’m sorry, brother. I shouldn’t have said it like that. But it’s just a little too late, you know?”
I shook my head, my gaze still on Lara. Her head lifted and she spotted me through the window, her eyes telling me everything I needed to know. She glanced quickly at Grayson and then down at the bar. The second her head lifted and our eyes locked, my mind was set.
“It’s never too late. I’m not giving up.” Pushing past Evan, I marched to the door. Even if I had to throw her over my shoulder and steal her away, I would do it—no matter the consequences.
“He’s going to ask her to marry him,” Evan called out.
I froze mid-step and watched Lara retreat to the back of the restaurant. She knew I was coming for her. Only now, it felt like a knife had been wedged in my heart, flaying every shred of hope I had.
Closing my eyes, I stood there helpless. “How do you know?”
He sighed. “There’s a surprise party for Lara tonight, here at the tavern. He wanted everyone to be there.”
Opening my eyes, I could feel the anger welling up. I was a smart man, and knew my anger was misplaced, but I didn’t care. “Except me.” I jerked around, my fists clenched so tight my fingers were going numb. “When were you going to say something?”
He shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. It’s not something I looked forward to telling you.”
“Fuck!” I growled, pushing my hands through my hair. Time was running out. Summer pulled into the parking lot and I knew I had to go. She didn’t hate me anymore, but her tolerance was thin at best. She glanced warily at us and slowly got out of the car. I turned back to Evan, hoping like hell he could hear the urgency in my voice. “You have to let me see her, Evan.”
Evan shook his head. “I can’t. Lara doesn’t want to see you. She’s made that perfectly clear.” Summer started toward us and the desperation took over.
“Figure out a way,” I pleaded. “When Grayson proposes tonight, look at her eyes. I can’t be the only one who sees she’s not happy.”
“Hey, guys,” Summer announced. “What’s going on?”
Evan held out an arm and she fit into his side. Looking at her made everything worse. She looked exactly like her sister. “Nothing much,” Evan lied. “Just talking to Luke about his next race.” I did have a motocross race coming up, but it wasn’t the battle I was focused on winning.
“Awesome,” Summer exclaimed. “I’m sure you’ll kick ass.”
Plastering on a fake smile, I nodded. “I hope so.”
Summer kissed Evan’s cheek and let him go. “All right, you two, I need to get to work. I’ll see you inside,” she said to Evan. He nodded and watched her walk away, his gaze never leaving her backside.
“Imagine being close to her and never being able to touch her, to tell her how you feel. Can you see how hard that would be?” I asked.
He huffed. “Fine, I’ll keep my eyes open tonight. If I get any inclination Lara isn’t happy, I’ll help you.”
“All I’m asking for is the chance to tell her how I feel. I can’t have her running away from me.”
“What are you going to do, kidnap her?”
Turning on my heel, I started toward my sport bike. “If that’s what it takes.” No matter what, she was going to hear me out,