Defending Hayden (Second Chances #7)(56)

His brows furrowed. “Go for it.”

“The night of the accident, Brianna talked to you about how to get Lara back. I know you were kind of drunk, but do you remember what she said?”

The last thing I remembered coming out of her mouth were screams. I wanted to hear what she’d said before she was taken from me. Luke licked his lips and averted his gaze, smiling as if he could see it all playing in his mind.

“I never got to tell you how sorry I was for your loss. She was a sweet girl,” he said solemnly.

I nodded. “I know.”

He blew out a sigh and leaned against the wall. “Let’s see. First she told me I was an idiot for leaving Lara after our night together. I already knew that, but of course, it was too late. Then she told me not to ever give up, that if I truly loved Lara, I would do everything in my power to get her back, even if I had to sell my soul.” He swallowed hard and looked down at his hands. “But then the very last thing she said reminds me of what you did for Hayden at the game. She said that no amount of humiliation could ease the pain of a lost love. Those were her exact words. I guess that goes with the part of selling my soul.”

Closing my eyes, I could still see Brianna’s smiling face. She’d said the same thing to me once. It was the same advice I’d taken when I wanted to get Hayden back. “Take her advice, Luke. I know you have your pride, but if you want Lara back, you have to be willing to sacrifice it all. Is that something you can do?”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, but then his gaze caught something on the staircase. It was Lara and Kate, Summer’s bridesmaids, coming down the stairs.

“I can do it,” he promised, keeping his focus on Lara. “I won’t let her get away again, no matter the cost.”

Chris and Hayden walked inside, and she waved at me before taking a seat. I wasn’t going to let her get away again, either.

—

The ceremony went by quickly, and I couldn’t have been happier to watch my best friend say the vows to the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Chris tested my patience during it by putting his arm around Hayden and pulling her in close. The pain on his face during those times, along with the pure joy on Hayden’s, had me chuckling on the inside.

“So what exactly were you doing to make Chris look like he’d just shit himself?” I asked Hayden quietly.

She spooned a piece of cake into her mouth and snickered. “I was pinching the inside of his thigh. He’s going to have marks all over.”

Chris turned our way, and I burst out laughing. He flipped me off and I smiled even wider. “That’s f*cking classic. I guess I don’t need to kick his ass, then.”

“Nope, I did it myself.”

The next song was the first slow one of the evening. “Want to dance?”

Nodding quickly, she finished her cake and took my hand. I pulled her to me and kissed her lips, sucking on the bottom one. Her eyes darkened and she bit her lip. “You had frosting on your lip. I had to get it off,” I explained.

“I bet. Maybe I should put frosting on other parts of my body as well.”

The thought of licking anything off her body made my dick twitch. I held her tighter so she could feel what she did to me. “You might not want to say things like that in public.” She giggled and tried to pull away, but I wouldn’t let her. “Not so fast, love. You’re stuck with me until my cock goes down.”

I tried my best to get the dirty thoughts out of my head, but it was hard with her so close to me. However, when I saw Evan walking toward us with his baby daughter in his arms, I froze. I hadn’t wanted to be around their daughter because if Brianna had lived, our child would be around the same age. Surprisingly, seeing the little girl in Evan’s arms didn’t bother me like I’d thought it would. She had the same golden-blond hair as her mother.

Hayden sensed my distraction and looked up at me. “Derek, you okay?”

I nodded behind her. “We have company.” She turned around and stood beside me as Evan and Summer approached.

Summer opened her arms and I hugged her. “You make a beautiful bride. Evan’s a lucky man.”

She winked at me. “And I’m a lucky woman.” Then she turned her attention to Hayden. “This must be Hayden. It’s nice to meet you.”

They shook hands. “Same to you,” Hayden replied. Her eyes lit up when they landed on the beaming baby. “Your daughter is so adorably cute.”

Summer agreed with a nod. “Do you want to hold her?”

“Of course! I’d love to.” Hayden held out her arms and Evan placed his daughter gently in her grasp. Hayden looked like a natural. In that moment, I could see myself having a family with her.

“D, you okay?” Evan asked me.

Sighing, I averted my gaze to him. “I am now. Do you mind if we step aside for a minute while the ladies talk?”

“Sure,” he said, looking curious.

For the longest time, I’d kept my true feelings from my best friend. I loved Evan like a brother, but I had to get everything off my chest.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” I said. When I had his full attention, I took a deep breath. “I don’t know if you realized or not, but after the accident, I hated you.”

He held up his hand and placed it on my shoulder. “I already know, D. You don’t have to explain it to me.”