Holding You (Love Wanted in Texas #3)(24)

Grace smiled and shook her head. “Wow. I’m impressed. Colt is one of the major football players for A&M with girls throwing themselves at him all the time . . . and he saved himself for you, Lauren. That is so romantic, it almost makes me want to throw up.”

Giggling, I nodded my head. Grace walked over to me and placed her hands on my upper arms. “Seriously though, Lauren, how perfect that you both get to learn with each other. What an amazing experience yesterday must have been for you both. Don’t stress about this. Just be with the man you love and everything will take care of itself.”

Walking into Grace’s arms, she hugged me. Pulling back, I smiled at Grace. “Grace, you’re going to make some guy very lucky someday.”

Grace’s smile faded and sadness swept across her face but as soon as I saw it, it vanished and she turned to Alex. “You’re both very lucky to have the most amazing men in your lives. The gift that y’all have been able to give each other is so beautiful and rare.”

Alex’s eyes looked as if tears were building. Walking up to us, Alex wrapped her arms around Grace and me. Holding us tight she whispered, “I love you, Grace. You deserve this love and you’re going to find it.”

Hearing Grace sniffle threw me for a loop. Grace never cried. Stepping back, I looked at her. “Is everything okay, Grace?”

Laughing and waving her hand at me as if she was brushing off my concern she said, “Yes! Oh gosh, yes. I’m just all emotional for you, Lauren. It’s been a hell of show watching you and Colt deny your feelings.”

Alex gave me a little push. “Go get ready for your day. We’ll talk later tonight when we can Skype with Libby, Maegan and Taylor! They’re going to want to know all the details as well!”

Nodding my head, I turned and skipped toward the stairs. Taking them two at a time, I started thinking about what I was going to wear today.





PULLING INTO THE parking lot of Grand Station, Lauren let out a squeal. “I’ve been dying to come here!” Chuckling, I put my truck in park and turned to her. Lauren had always been so full of life. It was as if she floated through life just unaware of the bad shit and only concentrated on the good. She had no clue how beautiful she was, and that made her more beautiful. We had stopped at Longhorn Steak house for lunch and I wanted to punch every guy who stared at her. But Lauren had no clue they were all eye f*cking the hell out of her. Her eyes never left mine. When I talked, she gave me one hundred percent of her attention. I’d never experienced that before with the other girls I had dated.

“Do you know how beautiful you are, Lauren?”

Lauren had been staring at the front door, itching to get out of the truck. When I spoke, she quickly looked at me. Her eyes had been full of life, now they were dark with desire. My pants grew two sizes too small as I attempted to adjust myself. “Do you have any idea how handsome you are, Mr. Mathews?”

My stomach fluttered and I felt my hands begin to sweat. I didn’t want this to be a dream. Waking up and finding out it had been would devastate me.

Reaching over, I placed my hand on the side of her face. “You’re mine, Lauren.”

Lauren’s eyes filled with wetness as she placed her hand over mine. “Forever, Colt Mathews. I’m forever yours.”

Lauren and I both jumped when someone banged on my truck window.

“Fucking yeah! Mathews where have you been?”

Rolling my eyes, I recognized the voice of Phil Lawson. Another Texas A&M football player. “Fuck,” I said under my breath.

Lauren laughed as she looked around my shoulder and out the driver’s side window. “Looks like he’s happy to see you.” Her smile quickly faded and my heart stopped beating.

Turning, I saw Phil, Roger, and Mitch. Roger and Lauren had dated off and on a few times. The fact that he tried to push her into having sex with him made me want to pound his face into the ground.

Roger wore a blank expression on his face as Phil kept telling me to roll the window down. Glancing back to Lauren, I asked, “Did you want to leave, Lauren?”

Shaking her head, she replied, “No. We came here to have fun, let’s go have fun.”

Leaning over, I kissed her quickly on the lips. “Let’s go, let me get your door, sweetheart.”

Lauren’s eyes sparkled every time I called her sweetheart, and I loved it. Opening my door, Phil stepped back. “Hey, Colt.” Looking back into the truck he smiled. “You want to hang with us?”

Taking a quick look over at Roger, I couldn’t help but notice how he was staring into my truck at Lauren. “Nah, I’m here with my girlfriend, just hanging out for a while.”

Roger’s head snapped back over as he sent me a glaring look. Fucker. The idea of his hands on Lauren about drove me mad. Walking around my truck I headed to the passenger side. “You want to grab a couple lanes and hang out?” Phil asked.

Opening Lauren’s door, I held my hand out for her. The moment her hand came in contact with mine I felt the rush of energy. Lauren sucked in a breath of air as her eyes met mine. She felt it, too. God I loved this girl.

Winking at Lauren, I said, “That would be up to Lauren. It’s her day.”

Lauren looked between Phil and me. “What is up to me?”

“Did you want to get a lane with these guys or hang out alone?”