Page 67 of No Ordinary Love

She sipped her coffee, her expression thoughtful. "I've already handed in my resignation, and I'm planning to leave Charleston. I need a fresh start, somewhere far away from all this…mess."

From me!

The words landed hard, but I forced myself to stay composed. Losing my shit wouldn't help my case. "If that's really what youwant," I said hoarsely, "then I won't stop you. But I think you're running away because you're scared."

"I am absolutely horror-movie stuck in the basement frightened, Lucas," she shot back, her eyes flashing. "You put me through hell. You made me feel like I was never enough; like I was just some placeholder until Kath came back into your life. How am I supposed to trust you now?"

"I'm asking you to take a chance." I leaned forward, letting the desperation I was feeling creep into my voice. "I'm not perfect, Amara, but I want to be better. For you. With you."

I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down at everything I was about to lose.

She stared at me for a long moment, and I could see the internal battle she was waging. She wanted to believe me—I could see it in her eyes—but she was holding herself back, protecting herself from more hurt. "I'm not perfect either."

"Tesoro—"

She held up a hand to stop me from speaking. "Can we just…take it one day at a time?"

"Yes, as long as you don't fucking run every time a bad thing happens. Kath was a bitch at the gala. You knew that, and yet—"

"I don't want things likethatto keep happening," she cried out.

"Tesoro, I have news for you. In every relationship, shit is going to happen. How we deal with it determines our future."

She made a sound, and it looked like she deflated. "You're right. But don't we have too much baggage?"

I chuckled. "The longer a couple is in a relationship, the more suitcases ofstuffthey're going to have."

She laughed softly then. "I don't want to rush this."

"What does that mean besides you telling me you don't want to have sex with me?" I asked cheekily.

She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "Don't get cute."

"I'll give you what you need, but I'm going to prove to you that I'm worth a second chance."

"I already know you are," she breathed. "I'm worried that after all this, it will be—"

"Shh, just leave it at believing I'm worth a second chance…that we are worth the work."

"You're so bossy," she complained in good humor.

"Tesoro, when we're together,youare the boss. You know that, don't you?"

She laughed then; it was clean, and it warmed my heart. "You, Lucas Covington, are a smooth talker. Okay, now, can we talk about this project?"

I grinned. "Yeah, we can do that."

"A question first, how did you know that this would be the kind of project I wouldn't be able to turn down?" she asked and added, "Don't pretend you didn't put this together to get me to work with you."

"I wasn't going to." I wanted to jump up and down and tell the world that my woman was going to give me a fucking chance. Lucas Covington, who took what he wanted and how he liked it, was on his knees, and I had absolutely no complaints. If it meant she'd be mine again, I'd genuflect to Amara for the rest of my life. "Basil helped me out with the idea, and then Grandma, who was already thinking about this with Jill, worked with the Chancellor."

"I'm flattered." Her eyes sparkled with amusement. "You went to a lot of trouble."

"For you, Tesoro, there's no mountain high enough."

Chapter 25

Amara

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