over to hug her. They said their hello’s and Dr. Scott shook both Evan and Chance’s hands. “Thank you all for being so patient. All of the tests and X-rays have been taken, and so far, it looks like he only suffered a couple broken ribs. I fully expected there to be more, but apparently, Mr. Collins is a lot tougher than we all thought.”
Evan burst out laughing. “You wouldn’t believe all of the crashes he’d walked away from unscathed. Talk about reckless and lucky.”
I knew exactly what he was talking about. Luke loved to take risks and push himself past the limit. I’d spent many years watching him do crazy things on his bikes.
Dr. Scott smiled over at me and nodded to the door. “He wants to see you. He’s in room three-seventeen.”
“Thanks, Dr. Scott.” I hurried off through the door and raced down the corridor to his room. His door was slightly open, so I charged on in.
Luke looked furious, his body tense, but when he saw me, his face softened. “Holy fuck, I thought I’d never get to see you.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks and I closed the distance, wrapping my arms gently around his neck. I wanted to squeeze him and hold him tight, but I didn’t want to hurt his ribs. “Imagine what I thought,” I cried. “It was terrifying seeing you unconscious on the ground.”
“That’s exactly how I felt when I saw you bleeding out on the street the night of your accident.”
Letting him go, I pulled up a chair and grabbed his hand. If he had forgotten me like I had him, I would’ve been lost. But he never gave up on me.
“Did Chance tell you anything?” he asked.
I nodded. “He did, but I already knew. Skylar came into the restaurant and told me everything. The Secobarbital came from Grayson and he paid her five thousand to keep quiet about it. I confronted Grayson about it right before the cops got there.”
His grip tightened. “Why would you go to see him?”
I rubbed a finger soothingly up and down his arm. “Because I needed him to know something.”
“And what is that?”
Taking a deep breath, I looked down at our clasped hands and then up at him. “That I knew the truth . . . about everything. The night of the accident, you, and everything before that.”
His eyes went wide and he gasped. “You remember?”
Lips trembling, I lifted his hand to my face. “Yes,” I murmured. “I broke up with him that night and then called you. Evan had made me realize what was truly in my heart. I was so desperate to see you. There was only one thing I wanted to do the moment I saw you.”
“What was that?” he asked, his voice soft.
Leaning over, I kissed him gently on the lips. “I wanted to tell you that I loved you. I always have, and always will.”
Luke released my hand and captured my face in his grasp, bringing my forehead to his. His eyes watered and he smiled. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say those words?”
“You don’t ever have to wait again. I’m just sorry it took so long for me to find my way back to you.”
He winked. “Don’t worry, you can make it up to me.”
Leave it to him to think about sex when he was laid up in the hospital. Sighing, I sat back down. “I will, once you’re all better. The doctor says you have a few broken ribs.”
“That’s nothing,” he snorted. “I’ll be back to riding in a couple of days.”
I shook my head. “You’re too much. But if you want to know something exciting, Chance beat the shit out of Troy, who was also disqualified from the finals.”
“And it was the most glorious thing I’ve ever witnessed,” Chance exclaimed from the doorway. Chance, Summer, and Evan walked in and surrounded us. “Think you’ll be good to go for Vegas?”
Eyes wide, I turned to Luke. “You’ve been through so much this past week. Do you really think it’s a good idea to get back on the track that fast?”
Luke’s devilish grin was answer enough. “When do I ever back down from a challenge? I don’t give up when I want something.”
He was right. It was one of the things I loved about him.
In just the matter of a week, my whole world had flipped on its axis. The hardest part had finally approached, and I was preparing myself for the heartache