Page 35 of No Ordinary Love

" I know exactly how she is. She's been insulting me ever since you introduced us, and not once did you ask her to stop. That should've told me everything, but I didn't want to listen. Well, I finally did—and what you made clear was that your family comes first. That if we stayed together, I'd just have to put up with Patsy and Shelby. Did it ever occur to you to ask how I felt when your mother kept harping on about my background?" I was breathless by the time I finished, convinced I should just throw the flowers in the trashcan and be done with Lucas Fucking Covington.

"I didn't think it bothered you."

"Really?" I challenged.

"Fine. I knew it did but what she had to say was her business and had nothing to do with us."

I felt sadness claim me. For some reason, he wanted to be friends or whatever. Even now, he couldn't look at the past and see how he'd wronged me. He was still being defensive, belligerently so.

"It hadeverythingto do withme. You were allowing your girlfriend to be disrespected. You let me down, Lucas. Time and again." I took a calming breath. "What is it that you want?"

"I want us to be…friends. At least—"

"No," I interrupted him. "Thanks for the flowers, but please don't send them again. As much as it pains me, I'll throw them in the trash. I'm sorry I texted you—that's on me. I'll block your number now so I'm not tempted to reach out again."

"No," he protested. "No,Tesoro. Don't…don't cut me out of your life."

"You're the one who did that, Lucas. I have no idea why you're sending me flowers, talking to me. I don't know what you want."

"I wantyou," he whispered.

His words ricocheted around my brain, scrambling thoughts.

"You want Kath," I sneered.

He didn't reply to that. Instead, he said, "Please don't throw out the flowers. I know I've got a lot to make up for, and I didn't want to push you, but I wanted you to know I'm serious about trying to fix things between us."

I could hear the sincerity in his voice and that too offended me.

"There's nothing betweenustofix. Youobliterateduswhen you said you didn't love me. Youdestroyedus when you started dating Kath right after you ended us. Youruinedus when you hid from me that you loved another woman. Goodbye, Lucas. Be well."

I hung up and sat on a barstool at the kitchen counter. I dropped my head to smell the lavender and let the tears fall. I was so sick and tired of being sad.

My phone buzzed, and when I saw Lucas's name, I almost threw it on the tiled floor.

Lucas:You're right. I let my mother disrespect you and us. I'm sorry for hurting you again and again. You're the lastperson who deserves it. Please forgive me for being blind and foolish.

Me:I'm blocking you now.

I blocked his number and went back to the life I was building. I wasn't going to let Lucas derail me again—absolutelynot.

Chapter 14

Lucas

The low hum of cicadas filled the warm evening air as I walked up the familiar path to my grandmother's house. An old Charleston home that had been in the family for generations, it stood with a grand porch and towering oak trees draped in Spanish moss. I'd spent countless afternoons here as a kid, and every step felt like slipping back in time.

Grandma was on the porch, reading through some reports. She glanced up at me and grinned. I'd told her I was coming, and despite Rena Covington's hectic schedule, she never turned me down. If I needed her, she was there.

As usual, she looked elegant. Her silver hair was neatly pinned up, and her sharp eyes watched me with that knowing gaze that seemed to see things inside me I couldn't even see myself.

"Lucas," she greeted me as I reached the top of the steps, her voice warm.

I leaned down, kissed her cheek, and settled next to her on the couch. "Thanks for agreeing to see me."

"Always. What's on your mind?"

For a moment, I stayed silent, watching the fireflies dance in the garden, the scent of jasmine thick in the air. It was peaceful here.

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