Last Chance - L. P. Dover Page 0,38

around him like a live wire, and some of it seemed like it was directed at me. “Actually, he hasn’t said one word about you.”

His eyes flared. “You’ve talked to him?” There was no sense in lying about it, so I nodded. “How many times?” he growled.

I sighed. “Twice. He called me last night and today. Never once did he mention anything about you.”

“He’s going to hurt you again, Lara. You can’t trust him.”

“Can I trust you?” I countered. Both his and Luke’s tactics were completely opposite. I kind of wished I would’ve studied psychology in school. Maybe then I’d know what their motives were.

Grayson jerked back, as if I’d slapped him. “You’ve always trusted me. I’ve never given you a reason to doubt me, but Luke did it time and time again. He’d come in here, flaunting other women in your face just to get a rise out of you. All you had together was a one night stand.” He grabbed my hands again. “We had a whole, wonderful year together, topped with a beautiful engagement. Not to mention, we had a couple years before that of being friends. That’s worth a lot more than just one night.”

Swallowing hard, I couldn’t stop the burn behind my eyes. Was one night really all Luke and I had together? When we’d talked, it felt like there was so much more. There were no words that came out of my mouth, only tears from my eyes.

Grayson pulled me into his arms and rubbed my back. “Dammit, Lara, I didn’t mean to upset you, but you needed to know the truth. Your best bet is to stay away from him. I know for a fact Collins isn’t going to be honest with you. It’s not in his blood.”

That was the one thing I was going to find out for myself, when Luke picked me up for our date. Whoever was lying had to stop. One way or another, I would find out the truth.

All night, I couldn’t help but wonder if Lara was still with Grayson. The thought of him touching her, them being together, made me goddamn sick to my stomach. The fucker was lying to her, knowing she was in a vulnerable state. I’d waited for a text or phone call to come through, saying she didn’t want to have anything to do with me. Since I never received a call, hopefully it meant she still wanted to see me. There was no telling, with the garbage Grayson was no doubt feeding into her head.

With my boat hitched up to my truck, I pulled out my phone to text Lara.

Me: On my way. Ready to go?

Mostly, I just wanted to see if she’d reply. If she didn’t, I had no clue what I was going to do. Luckily, my phone beeped with a returning text.

Lara: Fixing our lunches now. :)

Breathing a sigh of relief, I started on my way to her house. It didn’t look as if Grayson had managed to turn her away from me yet. Although, it was only a matter of time before he played dirty. I was willing to do the same, but not at Lara’s expense.

When I pulled into her driveway, her door was open. “Hello?” I called out.

“In here,” she answered from the kitchen.

I saw her silhouette and lost my breath at the sight of her. Her long, blonde hair was braided to the side, and she had on a pair of denim shorts that showed off her tanned legs, not to mention the light green tank top covering her pink bikini. She was so fucking beautiful.

“All right, I think I’m done,” she said, shutting the lid to the picnic basket. When she turned around, I would’ve given anything to scoop her into my arms and kiss her, but I had to keep my distance.

“You look beautiful,” I murmured.

Her smile lit up her face. “Thanks. It’s my last day off before I have to go to work, so I want to make the most of it.”

My gut clenched. Once she went back to work, she’d be with Grayson every hour of every day. I didn’t like it at all. I reached for the basket and said, “I’ll be sure to make it memorable.” We made our way to the door and I waited as she locked it behind us. Hopping in the truck, I pulled down the street, on our way to the boat landing. “What all did you pack us to eat?”

“Some sandwiches, chips,