Last Chance: A Second Chances Novel (29 page)

“O
h my God, I can’t believe he did that,” Summer gasped. I’d driven back to Evan and Summer’s house, leaving Grayson to get cleaned up at his house. He had a busted lip and a right eye that was almost swollen shut. Looking like that, there was no way he could go back to work at the tavern. So I was going to hurry and eat my dinner, then take his shift.

“I think he was drugged,” Evan claimed, spooning a large bite of meatloaf into his mouth.

Summer glared at him. “You will always defend him, won’t you?”

He shrugged. “He’s my best friend. I was there when he went to confront the bitch who drugged him.”

“What?” I gasped. Summer dropped her fork and we both stared at him. “What happened?”

He finished chewing his food and sighed. “She admitted to drugging him out of jealousy, she wanted to make you think they slept together.”

“So they didn’t?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Nope. He could charge her with rape if she did. It was all staged to make it look like they did.”

Summer huffed. “There’s no proof he was drugged.”

“There will be,” Evan countered.

I sucked in a breath. “How so?”

“Kate.” A wide grin spread across his face. “She took a sample of his blood. We should find out in the next day or so. He was so sick after he woke up, he was vomiting and couldn’t see straight. Kate said those were the exact symptoms of a person under the influence of drugs. She’s an expert on that kind of stuff.”

“Why didn’t Kate tell me? She’s
my
best friend.” My gut clenched and I couldn’t eat anymore. What if I’d been wrong about Luke this whole time? Had I just left him there, drugged and in pain? He
had
been sleeping when I saw him on the bed . . .

Evan shrugged. “She didn’t want to interfere until she got the results. She knows you don’t feel as close to her as you once did, because of the memory loss. And I thought it best for everyone to stay away from you and give you your space. Obviously, Luke couldn’t abide by it. He was so desperate to see you.”

I could tell by the way he barged into my bathroom. “I should’ve talked to him, let him explain what he thought happened. Instead, I yelled and told him to get away from me.”

“Which I’m sure hurt him more than anything,” Evan added. Summer hit his arm and gave him a glare, but he grabbed her hand. “Think about it, Summer. This same shit almost happened to me and you.”

Summer sighed and lowered her head. “You’re right.”

I waved my hands in the air. “Uh . . . I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

Summer glanced at Evan and then over to me. “You don’t remember this, but when Evan and I started dating, his ex was jealous of me. At the same time, Jaxon, one of the other football players, wanted to steal me away from Evan. What’s crazy is that Jaxon is one of our friends now.” Evan snorted and Summer rolled her eyes. “Anyway, those two put together a plot to break us apart. One night at a party here, Evan got really drunk. Lindsey snuck into his bedroom and even planted a used condom in the trashcan. They wanted me to think they’d slept together.”

“How do you know they didn’t?”

“Because Luke caught them,” she replied. “He was the one who figured it all out in time. Lindsey had confessed to being a part of it, and the next morning, Evan went and kicked his ass.”

“It felt good too,” Evan added. “But do you see the possibilities here? I know it might seem farfetched to think Luke could’ve been drugged, but jealousy can make someone do desperate things. He’s a victim in all of this. Imagine how he feels right now.”

Tears slid down my cheeks. “What am I going to do?”

Summer reached for my hand. “You’ll figure it out. If you want me to find someone else to take Grayson’s shift, I can.”

I wiped away my tears. “No, I got it. Maybe the distraction will help.”

I helped clean up the dishes, then hurried over to the tavern. I wanted to text Luke, to tell him I was sorry, but after what happened at my house, I couldn’t blame him if he was upset with me. If the situation was reversed, I’d be furious if he didn’t believe my side of the story. A simple text wasn’t going to suffice; I knew what I had to do.

The hours dragged by and I kept looking over at the corner table, hoping the four guys catching up about all the girls they banged over the summer would pack up and leave. Josh ended up taking over their table because they kept flirting with Victoria. I was starting to think something was blossoming between those two.

Victoria removed the clip from her long, light brown hair and shook her head. “That feels much better.” I handed her the wet glasses and she dried them.

“Are you ready to start college again?” I asked. Once the summer was over, she’d be finishing up her teaching degree at the University over in Charlotte.

She turned to me and smiled. “More than ready. But I’m glad I get to keep my job here. Being promoted to manager was the highlight of my summer.”

“I’m sure there are other highlights of your summer, right?” I asked, nodding toward Josh. He was about a year older than her, and was home for the summer from Western Carolina.

She glanced over at him and sighed. “I like Josh, but when he goes back to school, we’ll have that long distance thing going on. I don’t know if it’ll work.”

“You’ll just have to try it out and see. At least he’s not ignoring you.” I pulled out my phone and texted Luke again. I’d called and left messages for the past two hours, but he wasn’t picking up.

“He’s still not answering?”

“Nope, and I can’t get him to return my calls.”

I’d told her what happened, and even she believed Luke wouldn’t have slept with Skylar. She knew Skylar and how shady she was. Apparently, they went to the same high school together. I just hated I hadn’t taken the time to listen to Luke when he’d tried to talk to me.

Victoria squeezed my arm. “He’ll call. He hasn’t spent the last year trying to get you back just to ignore you now.”

Hopefully, she was right. We finished up the glasses, and thankfully, the group of guys decided to leave. I was just about to kick them out, since the tavern had closed thirty minutes ago. Josh lifted the chairs onto the tables and Victoria helped him. Once the floors were swept, they left. All I had to do was lock the doors, and I’d be on my way to Luke’s.

My purse was still behind the bar. When I walked over to grab it out of the lower drawer, I heard the back door open. I sucked in a breath. It was almost eleven o’clock and I was alone. There was a knife by the sink, so I grabbed it and got down on my knees to peer around the corner of the bar.

Luke stepped out from the hallway and looked around. “Lara?”

Breathing a sigh of relief, I stood and put the knife in the sink. “You scared the shit out of me. I didn’t know who was coming in at this hour.”

Luke looked at me and we just stared at each other. His cheek was blue from where Grayson had punched him, but it was nothing like Grayson’s swollen eye. He nodded toward the back. “I saw your car and thought I’d stop by. I was on my way to your house.”

“You were?”

He held up his phone. “I got your messages and thought it’d be better to talk to you in person.”

“I thought you were ignoring me,” I said, my voice growing thick.

He stepped closer, then stopped. “Of course not. I went out riding to clear my head. Then my bike broke down in the woods and I had to walk all the way back.”

“Are you okay?”

“Far from it, cupcake.”

“Why do you call me that?” He’d said it numerous times, but I’d never asked.

“Because every time I saw you around town, you were getting a cupcake from the bakery. It just kind of stuck. I always thought you liked it when I called you that.”

“I do,” I murmured, closing the distance. “I’m so sorry, Luke. I should’ve given you the benefit of the doubt, but after seeing you in that room . . .” I shook my head. “If I’d just gone in there and tried to kick your ass like I wanted to, I would’ve been able to tell you were drugged.” I burst out crying and he pulled me into his arms. With him holding me, everything felt right.

“Shh . . . it’s okay. I wish you would’ve tried to kick my ass. My world has been a complete clusterfuck without you. And I’m sorry, but I was desperate when I barged into your bathroom. All I wanted was for you to hear me out.”

I nodded and breathed him in. I didn’t want him to let me go. “Can you forgive me?”

He pulled me back and lowered his lips to mine. His kiss was hard and deep, his fingers digging into my hips. We’d only been on the outs for a day, but it felt like an eternity. “There’s nothing to forgive,” he whispered. “I just want to know, what made you change your mind?” His green gaze bored into mine.

“I talked to Evan and he told me about your visit to Skylar, and getting your blood tested. He really put it all in perspective. And then Summer told me about that time you caught Evan’s ex and that other football player trying to basically do the same thing, except without the drugs.”

He nodded. “That was a crazy night. I’m glad I got there in time.”

“If you didn’t, Summer and Evan might not have ended up together.”

He kissed me again. “That’s not true. They would’ve found their way back to each other. The truth always has a way of coming out.”

“That it does.”

Letting me go, he stepped back. “Are you going home now?”

I shook my head. “Nope, I’m going to yours. It’s been a long day and I just need to be in your arms. Will you make love to me?”

Putting his arm around me, he led me to the door. “I’m completely down for that.”