Rebound Love (Whiskey Run Sugar 2)

But another regret is not sticking around to find out how he felt. Now who knows when I'll get to see him again? As soon as I get the thought out, my doorbell rings. It's probably Emery. She's texted me three times now. And each of my responses have been really brief. She wanted to talk on the phone, but I told her I couldn’t... not yet. I know she knows something's wrong and is probably worried about me.

I go to answer the door, and my mouth falls open when I see Lucas standing there. "What are you doing here?"

He takes one step toward me and puts his hands on my shoulders. "I wanted to see you. What's wrong?"

It's now that I realize my eyes are probably swollen and my nose and lips are puffy. That's the way they normally get whenever I cry. "Nothing's wrong," I tell him quickly.

His hand goes to my chin and pulls it up to where I'm looking at him. "Don't lie to me, Becca."

"You drove all the way here to see me? How did you know where I live?" I ask instead of answering him.

He comes into the house and shuts the door behind him. He picks me up, and instead of struggling, I just hold on to him, grateful to be in his arms again. He carries me to the living room and sits down with me on his lap. "You told me the name of your road. It was easy finding your car. And I would drive as long as I needed to be with you. Now tell me what's wrong."

I sniffle because I don't want to cry again. I put my hand to his chest. "There's something I need to tell you."

He takes a deep breath and looks at me with a worried expression on his face. "You can tell me anything."

I nod and blurt out, "You did your job. I'm over my ex."

His hand goes to the base of my neck and squeezes. "That's good."

I search his eyes, and all at once it seems like he understands. "Wait. What did you think? I'm going to walk away? You really thought I was in this just to be your rebound guy?"

I choke back a sob. "I don't want you to be my rebound guy. I want more," I tell him honestly.

He leans in and looks me square in the eye. "Becca. From the first moment I saw you, I knew that you were meant to be mine. I've fallen for you. I love you, Becca. I want you to be mine, and whether you're ready for that or not, you already have my heart. You have the power to break me.”

I take a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, Lucas. I should have stayed. I was afraid you were upset with me."

He seems taken aback with that. "Upset with you? Why would I be upset with you?”

I'm holding on to him like I'm afraid he's going to change his mind. "Because of last night, because you were so tired. It was my fault that you got second today. I blame me. I'm sure you blame me."

"Oh God. Becca. Is that why you left? That wasn't your fault. That's a point's fault. That had nothing to do with you. I need to explain to you how you get points. But right now, what I need to explain to you is that there is absolutely no way I could regret last night with you. I would rather spend one minute with you than however many on the back of a bull. You're all that matters to me, Becca. We're going to make this work. Because you're mine now.”

I stare at him wide-eyed, and when I don’t say anything, he gets a worried look on his face. “Do you want to be mine?”

I blink up at him. “Let’s see... uh, you hold doors for me, you hold my chair for me, you pick me up as if I don’t weigh anything. You’re protective and kind. You’re fun to be with, and you make me feel special.” I lean my head against his chest. I know what he wants to hear, and I want to say it to him. I’m scared, but I know I need to be brave. I take a deep breath and lift my head up to look him in the eye. “And Lucas, I know it hasn’t been long... but I love you... I know you’re busy and I know...”

He covers my mouth with his hand. “That’s all I need to hear, honey. I need to hear that you love me. The rest of it is going to work out.”

I pull back from his hand. “But you live in Whiskey Falls, and I live here...”

He shrugs. “It doesn’t matter, Becca. I can come here through the week. I’ll have to compete on the weekends, but as long as I know I have you here waiting for me, it will all work out.”