Last Chance: A Second Chances Novel (8 page)

“All I’m asking for is the chance to tell her how I feel. I can’t have her running away from me.”

“What are you going to do, kidnap her?”

Turning on my heel, I started toward my sport bike. “If that’s what it takes.” No matter what, she was going to hear me out, once and for all.

W
as 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 in big, bold letters were the words,
Happy Birthday
. Summer knew my favorite cake was red velvet, but where was the rest of it? She always made me one for my birthday and it was the best cake I’d ever tasted. Devouring the cake, I opened up the box. Inside, there was a beautiful, black dress and heels, alongside another note.

Put me on and head back to the tavern.

Shaking my head, I smiled and stripped down right in the kitchen. It was obvious the party she’d referred to was mine. She thought she could fool me, but I wasn’t stupid. I was never one to turn down a good time, but I wasn’t in the mood for it. Seeing Luke again made every emotion I’d spent months trying to bury resurface again.

Luckily, I was good at putting a smile on my face, even though I wasn’t happy on the inside. But I was trying to follow the old adage: fake it until you make it. I’d fooled people for over a year, and I could keep doing it. I just wondered how long it would take for me to feel the same on the inside.

I took my time going back to the tavern, and it was probably for the best because when I pulled in there were still people trying to race inside. Groaning, I got out and slowly walked through the back door. The restaurant was eerily quiet, except for the sound of my heels clanking on the floor. When I turned the corner, everyone jumped out and shouted.

“
Surprise!
”

Lights flashed and everyone clapped as I walked the rest of the way into the room. “Oh wow, this is amazing, you guys.”

Grayson came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Happy early birthday, baby.”

“Thanks,” I said, glancing at everyone in the room. I’d never had a surprise party before, but I had to say, I was impressed with the guest list. Everyone was there, including my best friend, Kate, and her husband, Cooper, who happened to be the quarterback for the Carolina Cougars. And of course, there were several other players in attendance with their wives. Summer waved at me from across the room, bouncing my niece, Emma-Grace, on her hip.

I stepped out of Grayson’s hold and turned around. Grayson Moore was part owner of the bar, and a close friend of mine. Only now, he was more than just a friend. “Whose idea was this?”

He ran a hand through his auburn hair and bit his lip. “Mine and your sister’s. We thought it’d cheer you up. You’ve seemed a bit sad here lately.”

I laughed. “I’m fine, I swear. But if there’s not a red velvet cake somewhere in this restaurant, I won’t be.”

He chuckled. “We can’t celebrate your birthday without one, now can we?” He kissed me and held me in his arms. I felt safe when I was with him. Being close to him was what got me through the last few months. “Your cake is in the kitchen. For now, I gotta go. I have a line of people wanting drinks.” He kissed my cheek and sauntered off.

For the most part, he stuck to the bar during our busy hours, and the rest of the time, he would be in the kitchen helping the chefs. I watched him walk away, grateful I had someone who loved me. It wasn’t that I was miserable, just not as happy as I could be. There was a part of me that said I needed
more
, which made me feel greedy.

“Happy birthday,” Kate announced. I turned around and she held out her arms. “This is your last year in the twenties! Better enjoy it before your vagina shrivels up.”

I hugged her and sighed. “Tell me about it. I’m almost twenty-nine years old, and not married. All of my friends have kids already.”

A sad smile spread across her lips. “As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters. And speaking of kids, Zachary’s been asking for you. I think he misses his Aunt Lara.” She strolled over to Cooper, who had Zachary on his shoulders as he talked to some of the other guys.

Zachary giggled and clapped his hands until he saw his mother drawing near. He reached for her and Cooper let him go. I loved my Zachary. I spent a lot of nights babysitting him, so Kate and Cooper could spend some time together. Plus, it helped they were my neighbors. I could see him anytime I wanted.

Kate brought Zachary over and he held out his arms. “There’s my boy,” I said to him, kissing his chubby cheeks and squeezing him. “I’ve missed you so much. Auntie Lara’s going to take some time off soon so I can visit you. We’ll kick mommy and daddy out of the house and have a party.”

Summer walked up with Emma-Grace in her arms. “Uh-oh. Sounds like trouble now.”

My niece reached for me and Summer placed her on my other hip. Zachary looked just like Kate, with his blond hair; and Emma-Grace was the exact image of Summer. I guess you could say she looked like me as well. There’d been many times while I was out with her and everyone thought she was mine.

I kissed Emma-Grace’s cheeks and she giggled. “You can join the party too, princess,” I told her. “Maybe I can keep you both in a couple of weeks. It’ll be a tiny-tot sleepover.”

“Sounds good to me,” Kate agreed.

Summer nodded. “Me too.”

“Everyone, can I have your attention, please,” Grayson shouted.

I jerked around and looked up at him; he was standing on the bar. I gasped. “What the hell is he doing?” Kate smiled and took Zachary out of my arms, as Summer did the same with Emma-Grace.

“Looks like he wants to make a speech,” Summer said with a wink.

Heart racing, I stared up at him and he met my gaze. My stomach was in knots, and even more so when he beckoned me to join him with a wave of his hand. “Babe, can you come up here for a minute?”

Everyone moved out of the way, their faces beaming, as if they knew something I didn’t. I had a feeling of what he was going to do, but prayed it was just a birthday speech and nothing else.

“Go,” Summer whispered, nudging me in the back.

I walked forward, my palms growing sweatier by the second. When I got up to the bar, Grayson held out his hand to help me up. “Please tell me I don’t have to dance like the girls in
Coyote Ugly
,” I grumbled.

“Hell no,” he laughed. “No one gets to see that but me.”

The crowd whistled and I tried to play along by smiling, but all I wanted to do was run away. Taking his hand, I stepped up on one of the bar stools and joined him. “What are you doing?”

He squeezed my hand. “Something I should’ve done a long time ago.”