Chasing Forever (The Forever Series #1)(32)

Lucas cleared his throat. “As long as Regan is comfortable. I’m fine with that.”

She felt Richard’s eyes boring into her, waiting for her answer. “I’ve heard it’s nice. What do you say? Do you think you’d be comfortable staying there?”

Not even close. “As long as I have my own space,” she answered weakly, visualizing her morals and convictions bending with every word.

“Of course you will. There are plenty of bedrooms. I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise,” Lucas added.

Richard slapped his hand on his leg. “Great. It’s all settled. Jack will be happy.” He smiled at Regan. “Thanks for being a team player, Regan. That’s what we’re looking for at Martin and Black. I didn’t know if you’d go for it, but I appreciate it. Jack has been a client of this firm for over fifteen years, and he’s a great source of referrals. I don’t want him to be unhappy.”

Too bad Jack’s happiness threatened her sanity and her carefully laid out plans for her future—a future that should happen far, far from Lucas Evanston.





Chapter Sixteen




Regan stepped off the small regional jet feeling slightly queasy. She never liked flying under the best circumstances, but flying in a small plane into a small mountain airport had her literally clutching the armrests of her seat. When she landed she was tempted to check if she left dents in the metal. If she had been alone, she would have had her face in a courtesy vomit bag, but with Lucas watching her, she smiled as though nothing was wrong.

“You feeling okay?” Lucas asked, grabbing her luggage out of her hand.

“I’ve got it,” she answered, reaching for the handle.

“No,” he said, moving the handle out of her reach. “Let me do it. I thought you were going to be sick during the landing. Those high winds really move a small plane. If this wasn’t a business trip, I would have driven from Denver, but we didn’t have time.”

She sighed. “I’m better now, but I’m not looking forward to the flight home.”

“If we finish early, we could drive to the Denver airport if it bothers you.”

“We’ll see,” she replied. “So what’s the plan for today?” She and Lucas didn’t have seats next to each other on either flight, so she slept the entire way, which was good because she didn’t get much sleep last night. She kept playing their conversation outside of Richard’s office over and over in her head. She analyzed every word and then she analyzed every movement and then it was three in the morning and their flight was at eight in the morning.

“We pick up the rental car and then I thought we’d stop by my house to drop off our things. We’re meeting Jack at the mine at three so we can take pictures. Sound good?” he asked, turning his head to look at her.

“It’s fine. Do we have any plans this evening?”

“We’re meeting Jack for dinner at seven-thirty.”

“All right. I hope the restaurant isn’t too dressy. I have a suit, but nothing else.”

Lucas stopped at the rental car desk and handed the attendant his driver’s license and the firm credit card. “It’s the mountains. Anything you have will be fine. Formal isn’t required.”

“That’s good to know,” she answered as she watched Lucas sign paperwork.

Lucas picked the keys up from the counter and motioned for her to follow. “So…you never said how Parker reacted to our trip.”

“You’re right.”

“Was he mad?”

“Was Olivia mad?” she fired back at him.

“Why would she care?” he asked as he popped the trunk of a white nondescript sedan, placing their luggage inside.

Regan opened the car door. “You still talk to her as evidenced by the conversation in your office, you dated in college, perhaps you still do based on what I heard.”

He chuckled and shut the trunk. “Were you eavesdropping?”

She rolled her eyes when he sat in the driver’s seat. “Not even close. You instructed me not to lurk outside your office, and once I was inside, I could hardly hold my hands over my ears.”

“I guess not,” he responded as he turned the key in the ignition.

“Are you going to answer the question?” she asked again.

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Riiight,” she answered, drawing out the word sarcastically.

“Look,” he said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. “I talk to Olivia on occasion. We had plans to meet for dinner and I cancelled due to this trip. We are not involved in any way other than as acquaintances. We see each other a few times a year and most of the time, it’s at some joint family function.”

Regan turned to look out the window. He’d said something similar in college when they started dating, but she never thought Olivia agreed with his description of their relationship, and after she had walked in on the two of them the night everything fell apart, she didn’t know if she agreed either.

She remembered that night vividly. Drew offered to walk her to Lucas’s room the minute she walked into the fraternity. When she opened the door, she saw Lucas leaning against the wall, with his hand on Olivia’s waist, their heads bent close together. She asked what was going on, and every time she thought about that day, she wished she had turned around and walked out without asking for an explanation because what followed was worse than she could have imagined.