Page 29 of Staying for Her

“You’re going to stand there and tell me that you read that note and only read that I didn’t care about you? That I wasn’t falling for you?”

His eyes widen and I shake my head as I walk down the front steps, needing space. But of course, he follows.

“What are you talking about? You left me, Billie, not the other way around.”

He’s so sure. God, how I wish that was the truth.

“What do you remember about that night, Lucas?” I ask as I spin on my heels and look up at him.

“I drank Addison’s entire liquor cabinet and the next thing I remember is waking up in my bed.”

I tilt my head to the side, wondering how someone could forget something that is so ingrained in my mind.

“You don’t remember me letting you into the apartment?”

He shakes his head, his brow creasing in confusion.

“You don’t remember lying on the floor, telling me that sleeping with me was a mistake, that I ruined everything?”

His eyes widen, his mouth opening and closing as if trying to figure out what to say.

“I left because I thought that’s what you wanted. I left because I couldn’t stay and have you tell me you didn’t want me now that the money wasn’t involved. I couldn’t handle that. I can’t handle that.” I turn my back and start to walk down the path toward the driveway when Lucas grabs hold of my arm, spinning me around until I’m flush with his chest.

“You have no fucking idea how hard it was waking up and realizing you were gone.” His forehead rests against mine, our breaths mingling as I squeeze my eyes shut and hope this moment doesn’t break me. “Billie, you are all I want,” he says right before he presses his lips to mine.

Lucas

Before I can bask in the feel of her lips on mine, she pushes me away, her back hitting the brick wall of her parents’ garage behind her.

“What the hell are you doing, Lucas? You can’t just pull me in and kiss me before explaining what the fuck is happening. You told me the other night you regretted sleeping with me, that’s not something I can just pluck out of my mind because you tell me all of a sudden it isn’t true!” Her eyes fill with tears, her chest rises and falls so rapidly that I wonder if she’s going to faint and so I place both my hands on her cheeks and tilt her face up so her eyes meet mine.

“Baby, I didn’t mean it the way it came out,” I admit, knowing exactly why I said it, but wishing I was sober when I told her so she would have understood exactly what I meant.

Her eyes narrow as if she doesn’t believe me so I gently let my hand fall to her neck, my fingers grazing her delicate skin as a shiver goes through her body.

“Your exact words were ‘I should never have slept with you, it ruined everything. You ruined everything.’”

I nod because those thoughts were rolling in my head from the second I got off the phone with my lawyer.

“So I don’t get it. Why are you here if I ruined everything?”

Her confused face is adorable as I can’t help the smile that lingers on my lips.

“Billie, you did ruin everything,” I start, her eyes widening as her hands push against my chest to get me to move, but I don’t budge. “BUT, not in the way you think.”

She takes a breath, leaning back against the wall and shaking her head. “What the hell are you talking about?” she mutters, her toes playing with the gravel under her feet.

“Baby,” I breathe, my fingers taking hers and entwining them together. “I’m falling in love with you.”

Her eyes snap to mine, the confusion still lingering, so I kiss her softly and continue.

“I said you ruined everything because you did, you ruined my plans. I went into this thinking that I would trick my parents into giving me the money. Before you, all I wanted was that money, but after being with you, spending time with you, connecting with you on a level I never experienced before, it all made the end goal blur a bit.”

Silence surrounds us and for a second I wonder if she even heard me.

“So, what does all that mean?”

I chuckle softly to myself, resting my hands on her hips and pulling her flush against my chest.

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