Last Chance: A Second Chances Novel (35 page)

L
uke’s victory in Vegas was nothing short of amazing. He’d won the finals, and in the last month alone, had been on five different magazine covers. I was so proud of him. The magazines weren’t nearly as huge as
Physique,
but that interview was coming up in the next month. We were excited to fly out to San Francisco and spend a long weekend there.

To celebrate his success, Luke decided to take me on a trip to the western mountains of North Carolina. His only stipulation was that we ride on his sport bike. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy about it at the beginning, but now I’d grown to love the curvy mountain roads.

We finally made it to Dupont State Forest which had some of the best waterfalls around the state. I couldn’t wait to see them. “How many waterfalls are we going to see?” I asked, hopping on the back of his motorcycle.

We’d just stopped at a little mom and pop diner to eat breakfast and were going to start the day with some scenery and a few hikes. The leaves had started to change, which made the trip even more epic. I’d never seen so many different shades of red and yellow in all my life.

Luke slipped on his helmet and fastened it. “We’ll probably see three of them today and finish up with the biggest one tomorrow. You’ll love them all.”

We stopped at the first two waterfalls and took a gazillion pictures. By the time we got to the third one, Luke was ready to do some exploring. Turning off his bike, he took off his helmet and smiled. If there was one thing I’d learned about him, it was that he didn’t like following the rules—he made his own.

“Let’s climb down to the water,” he said, hopping off his bike.

I slid off and laughed nervously. “If I get hurt, I’m blaming you.”

We trekked down the rocky slope to the top of the falls. There were large rocks sitting in the water and we jumped over to the largest one and sat down. We were so close to the edge of the waterfalls, it was almost scary, but beautiful at the same time.

I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the scenery. Luke grabbed my hand, drawing my attention to him. “I love you so much,” he murmured.

“I love you too. We’ve had an amazing month together. So many things have changed.”

He nodded. “They have, and I’m looking forward to them changing again.”

“What do you mean?”

He kissed my hand and moved closer. “After all we’ve been through, I can’t imagine a day going by without you by my side. I don’t know if you think it’s too soon or not, but I’ve lost you way too many times to go through it again. I need to know you’re not going anywhere.”

A slow smile spread across my face. “What exactly are you saying?” We’d both hinted at marriage, but never actually talked about it. I kept waiting for this moment.

Luke carefully unzipped his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet bag. “Now don’t do any sudden arm flails, I don’t want this accidentally falling into the river,” he joked.

I sat on my hands excitedly, making him laugh.

He reached into the bag and pulled out the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen. It wasn’t just an ordinary diamond, it was blue—almost like the color of the sea—and surrounded by regular diamonds in an antique setting. He gestured for me to give him my hand, and slid it on my finger.

I gasped, tears burning my eyes. “Luke, it’s so beautiful. Are you sure this is what you want? There’s no turning back if we do this.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want to turn back. All I see is my future, and that’s with you. We were given one last chance to make this right, and even though we had the world against us, it still worked out. Being able to call you my wife is all I want. I just hope you feel like I’m worthy enough to be your husband. If you’ll have me, that is.”

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I climbed onto his lap. His lips were warm as I pressed mine against his. “You’re more than worthy, Luke. I would love to be your wife.” I took his face in my hands. “So my answer is yes. You’re never going to lose me again. You’re stuck with me.”

He smiled and held me tight. “You won’t regret it, cupcake. I promise.”

For the first time in my life, I had no doubt.

T
he October weather in San Francisco was all cool and breezy. It was nice to get away from the heat and humidity of North Carolina. The house Shelby Reynolds put us in was a beautiful Victorian, with a great view of the bay. I could almost consider moving to California, if it wasn’t for my family being on the east coast. Summer would kill me if I left her alone with the restaurant, which was busier than ever. I’d found a balance between my duties as restaurant owner and Luke’s PR manager. I’d never been so happy in my life.

“Do you want any more pancakes?” Luke asked, joining me outside on the deck.

Every morning, I’d gotten up early to do a little bit of reading and eat breakfast on the deck. Now that Luke’s interview for
Physique
magazine was done, we got to spend the rest of our time in a mini-vacation. “No, I’m good. Thank you.”

He sat down beside me and frowned at my plate. There was still a whole pancake left. “Are you okay? You haven’t been eating much lately.”

Grinning from ear to ear, I bit my lip. “Actually, I haven’t been feeling all that well. I was waiting on the right time to tell you, because I wanted to wait to be sure.”

He looked confused. “What are you talking about?”

I pulled the bookmark from my book, which happened to be an ultrasound picture, and handed it to him.

Brows furrowed, he stared down at it, and then to me, before doing it all over again. “Is that two?” he asked incredulously.

I glanced down at the picture of our unborn twins. “Yes. We’re going to have twins.”

He sucked in a breath and ran a hand through his hair, his eyes growing misty with tears. “But how? I thought you’re protected.”

“I was,” I sighed. “Do you remember a few weeks ago, when I went to the doctor for my annual check-up after we got back from the mountains?” He nodded. “Well, they found out I was pregnant. It’s not very common with an IUD in place, but it happened. Apparently, you have some strong swimmers.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Tears clouded my vision and my lips trembled.

Luke got down on his knees and held my hands. “Hey, I’m not mad, cupcake. I just wish you would’ve told me. I would’ve made sure you were better rested, instead of keeping you up all hours of the night.”

I shook my head. “Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean you have to treat me like I’m made of glass.” I winked. “Besides, I enjoy those long nights.” We both laughed, but then I knew he needed an explanation. Taking a deep breath, I squeezed his hands. “I didn’t tell you about the twins at first because I was afraid I was going to lose them. Getting pregnant with an IUD is very high risk. Most women will miscarry if the IUD can’t be removed. Luckily, the doctor was able to take mine out, without any complications. It wasn’t until this past week I was pretty certain the babies were here to stay.”

Letting my hands go, he placed his on my belly. “I can’t believe you went through that all by yourself. Promise me you won’t do that ever again.” A tear slid down his cheek and I wiped it away.

“I won’t. I just wanted to protect you from the pain. I didn’t want to see the look on your face if we lost them.”

He kissed my stomach and rested his head against me. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a father. I’m going to be there for them every step of the way. I want them to know how much I love them.”

I lifted his head and looked into his green gaze. “They will love you, Luke. And they’ll be proud to have a father like you.”

“And a mother like you,” he added. “However, there is a slight problem.”

“What?”

“I’m not waiting to get married until after they’re born. I know we’ve only been engaged for a month, but I want you to have my name on their birth certificate. I don’t see the point in waiting.”

Heart racing, I couldn’t contain my smile. “Neither do I. We could do something small in our backyard—next week, if you want.” After he proposed, I had packed up my stuff and moved into his house while I rented out the other.

Taking my hands, he helped me to my feet. “Next week it is. How does it feel to know that in just a few short days, you’ll be Mrs. Luke Collins?”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. “Pretty damn incredible. It’ll be one of the happiest days of my life.”

He brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Mine too. I love you, Lara.”

I leaned into his touch. “I love you too. Always.”

Read on for a sneak peek at

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by L.P. Dover

and

Here with Me
by Heidi McLaughlin