Chasing Forever (The Forever Series #1)(57)

“No.” She stepped back. “I have to do this. I can’t cower from the situation again. Last time, I transferred schools. This time, I’m going to walk out there and pretend he doesn’t mean a thing to me.”

“Good for you. Did you take their drink order?” he asked, walking to the kitchen door.

“No. I didn’t get that far.”

He leaned his back against the door. “Well, if we were younger and significantly less mature, I’d suggest we spit in their drinks.”

Regan laughed. “Oh, and Parker, if you still want me to go with you this weekend, I will. That is…unless you’ve already invited someone else.”

Parker looked deep into her eyes, a faint smile teasing his lips. “Are you sure?”

Regan nodded. “Absolutely.”





Chapter Twenty-Six




Later that night, after he dropped Olivia off, Lucas sat in bed, leaning against his dark leather headboard. When Regan’s friend, Parker, came to their table and revealed that he’d be their server for the remainder of the evening, Lucas knew he’d completely screwed up everything with Regan. She’d never let him explain.

Lucas told Parker they’d changed their mind and weren’t hungry. Parker actually had the nerve to laugh at that announcement as if he knew something Lucas didn’t, and he probably did because as they got up to leave he watched Regan deliver drinks to a nearby table. She couldn’t even be bothered to glance in his direction. Not that he could blame her. He’d f*cked up and not in the small forgivable way. Dinner with Olivia should have never happened.

Groaning, Lucas ran his fingers through his hair. Instead of wrapping everything up in a nice neat bow as he intended at the beginning of the night, his life had exploded. Olivia went crazy when he told her they couldn’t be friends or anything else anymore. She threatened and yelled at him the entire drive home and instead of feeling bad for her as he had in the past, he begrudged every second he wasted on her at dinner and every day before that. Letting her back in his life five years ago was a big mistake.

When she demanded an explanation, he couldn’t bring himself to admit who he was dating, even when Olivia asked if it had anything to do with Regan. There were a million reasons why he couldn’t share that information, but mostly he did it to protect Regan. Olivia had destroyed her life before, and he wouldn’t put it past her to do it again, even if it meant taking him down in the process. After all, Olivia only cared about herself. He realized that now.

And Regan…he wouldn’t be surprised if she never talked to him again. Since dropping Olivia off at her house an hour ago, he’d texted and called Regan no less than ten times, and despite his hopes to the contrary, he didn’t believe she’d call or text him back. That didn’t stop him from leaving his cell phone on his nightstand in case she experienced a moment of weakness.

He was tempted to spend the night waiting on her doorstep. Like a stalker, he actually circled her block a few times, but he didn’t think he’d maintain his sanity if she didn’t come home, so he left. Not that he had much luck remaining calm when his imagination wouldn’t stop taunting him.

In the stifling loneliness of his room, he acknowledged that he had inadvertently handed Parker an opening with Regan a mile wide and, if he were Parker, he’d do everything in his power to exploit it. Women like Regan were few and far between—smart, beautiful, funny, determined, and hard working. He often forgot she was still in law school, with how well she comprehended everything and kept up with his punishing schedule. In college, he’d thought she was like a breath of fresh air, now he knew she was that and much more.

He checked his phone one more time, just in case it freakishly failed to make noise or vibrate. Nothing. Granted, it was now two in the morning, but there was no way in hell Regan was sleeping either unless…she was cuddled happily in Parker’s open arms. Fuck. He couldn’t think like that.

Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough. He’d wait in her office and refuse to leave until she heard him out. He didn’t care who heard as long as she gave him ten, no five f*cking minutes of her time. She needed to understand.

***

Lucas normally arrived at the office no earlier than six-thirty, but today he walked through the front doors at six. He didn’t want to take the chance Regan would get there before him and retreat to her office, locking the door.

After dropping off his briefcase and turning on his computer, he placed her double shot cappuccino on her desk and waited in the chair in her office. When forty-five minutes elapsed, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked his emails.

At seven-thirty, the staff and other attorneys started moving around the office, phones began ringing, and burned coffee from the break room permeated the air. He bounced his leg up and down nervously. This was ridiculous. Where the hell was Regan? She’d never been this late before.

Five minutes later, Annabelle walked into Regan’s office.

“What are you doing in here?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“I needed to discuss some work with Regan. Do you know where she is?” He grabbed Regan’s cappuccino from the desk and stood up.

“Didn’t she leave you a voicemail?” Annabelle picked up the files on the corner of her desk.

Lucas’s heart sped up. Oh shit, she fled. “No…well, maybe. I haven’t checked,” he replied, his voice cautious.