Page 89 of Lucky Girl (Dear Rockstar 2)

“I’m going to marry you,” he whispered as we parted. “And I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to be the man you see when you look at me.”

“You are him.” I put my head on his chest, tears slipping down my cheeks as I closed my eyes. “You always were.”

We sat quietly and I knew it was no accident that he’d somehow found his way here. By chance or by design, it was meant to be. We were meant to be. It was the one thing—maybe the only thing—I would ever know for certain.

o;Sara?” Josh. I looked up, blinking at him through prisms. The early morning sun was bright and it was already warm. It was going to be a scorcher. “Sara, are you okay?”

“Fine,” I lied, wiping away tears and snot and make-up with the tail end of my t-shirt. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“Hey come on.” He put his back against the wall and sank down next to me. “You can tell me. Wow, what happened to your eye?”

“Dale punched me in the face.” I gave a little laugh. “And that’s been the best part of my day so far.”

“He what?” His muscles tensed.

“It was an accident.” I sniffed, wiping my face again, this time with my hands. “He was trying to hit his sister.”

“What?” Josh kept asking that, like he couldn’t quite believe what I was saying.

“And Ben… the guy who got in touch when he saw me in the paper? He said he was my father. And I… I believed him.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat.

“And all he really wants is money.” I felt the sobs rising again and couldn’t stop them. “What’s wrong with me, Josh?”

He shook his head, looking as confused as I felt.

“Why doesn’t anyone ever want me? For me? What’s wrong with me?”

“Oh Sara.” He put his arm over my shoulder and I leaned into him, letting him comfort me. “There’s nothing wrong with you. Nothing. I promise.”

“I wish I could believe you.”

“What would convince you?” I felt his hand stroking my hair, my shoulder. “You’re beautiful. You’re smart. You’re an amazing artist. You’re beautiful.”

“You said the last one twice.” I looked up at him, smiling.

“I know.” He turned his head toward me and I realized at that moment how close we were. I went to move away but it was too late. Josh was kissing me, holding me so close it was hard to breath. His lips were thin and strange against mine, foreign, an affront to my sense.

“Josh, no,” I gasped, managing to push him away. “What are you doing?”

“I just thought… you said no one wanted you.” His gaze moved from my face, traveling south. “I want you.”

No. No. this couldn’t be happening.

Dale was right.

“I’m going to…” I swallowed, feeling dizzy, but I stood anyway. “Go. I need to go.”

That was, of course, when Dale showed up in John’s car. I recognized the Taurus as it pulled into the lot and saw Dale behind the wheel. His eyes darkened when he saw who I was with. Josh was on his feet, next to me, standing too close.

“Thanks for letting me cry on you.”

“Any time.” Josh pulled me into a hug, his arms lingering around me even as I tried to free myself. “Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

Dale was already out of the car. He hadn’t even put a shirt on. He was still barefoot, wearing just a pair of jeans. And his belt. He’d stopped to put on his belt.

---