Last Chance - L. P. Dover Page 0,15

once and for all.

Was I ever going to escape him? Everywhere I went, Luke was there. Why did Belmont have to be so damn small? If I didn’t have the tavern to help look after, I would’ve left a long time ago.

“Lara, you back here?” Summer called.

Sucking in a breath, I fumbled around in the office and grabbed a piece of paper. She wasn’t supposed to come in today. “Yeah, I’m here,” I replied, my voice thick and low.

The whole time Luke was outside, I could feel my throat closing up. I’d had to get away in order to breathe. Sometimes I wondered if I’d made a mistake, but if I did, it was too late. I was with Grayson and he loved me.

Summer walked into the office, her face beaming. “Here you are. What are you doing?”

I held up the piece of paper. “I had an idea for a new recipe. I wanted to write it down, but there was no paper at the bar.”

“Awesome. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

“Why are you so cheery?” I asked. There was something going on and I could see it written all over her face. “I thought you were taking the day off.”

Her smile widened. “I was, but then I decided to come in. I have to get this place ready for a party tonight.”

“Really? I didn’t know we had one scheduled.”

She shrugged. “It just happened. I didn’t think you or Grayson would mind. I called in Josh and Victoria to come help. They were happy about the extra money.” She glanced down at her phone. “And we have only twenty minutes before everyone’s going to start showing up.”

Gasping, I flung the paper back onto her desk. “Damn, sis, you could’ve given me more of a warning. How many people are coming? Which room do you want me to have set up?”

Our tavern was huge, with separate rooms to host parties in. Scheduling parties could be a complete pain in the ass, but if it was good for business, I’d work all night without complaint. The Carolina Tavern was one of the most prestigious spots in North Carolina. We didn’t make it that way without putting in the work. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but Summer, Grayson, and I had done it together.

Summer burst out laughing and shook her head. “I have it handled. But if you don’t mind, do you think you could run by my house and get my notebook? It has all the details for the party in it, and I completely forgot to grab it.” She held out her house keys, staring at me with those puppy dog eyes of hers. “It’ll be on the kitchen counter.”

Since we were twins, I could pull off the same look, but hers was better. Our parents always gave in to her when she did it. “Why can’t you get it?” I asked.

“I have to set up for this party. Besides, I have a surprise for you there.”

I took the keys and laughed. “It better be a good one. I could use a break anyway.”

I waved at her and snuck down the hall to the back door. It saved me from having to walk back out into the restaurant. Luke would come in every now and again, but Grayson was always around when he did. I knew it pissed him off to have Luke so close to me, but there was nothing we could do to keep him out of the restaurant. He was Evan’s best friend.

Luckily, his motorcycle wasn’t in the parking lot, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Luke had tried to corner me in the parking lot before, but after Summer threatened to call the police on him, he’d backed off. Of course, there were times he showed up at the restaurant with different women. And he succeeded in making me jealous on multiple occasions, but fueled my anger more than anything. He’d missed his chance; that shit wasn’t going to work on me.

I got in my car and headed down the road to Summer’s house. “I’m happy,” I said to myself. Over and over I said it, hoping one day I’d believe it. When I arrived, I opened the door and walked straight to the kitchen. On the counter was the notebook, but sitting beside it was a small piece of red velvet cake on top of a box with a card.

“Tease,” I grumbled. I opened the card and