“You too, man.”Luc chuckles and nods.“Thanks for the beer.”
“You got it.”He grins, like he just delivered a trunk of gold instead.“You just let me know if you need anything else.”
“Good bye, Colin.”I dismiss him, holding the bill folder out in front of me.“That will be all.”
“Sure, sure.”I watch as he fumbles to get the door open, then backs out, bending at the waist, bowing to us both like we’re royalty.
It doesn’t even phase Luc.He rifles through the selection of beers until he finds one he likes, slides it out of the ice, and twists the cap off.He turns to me as he’s about to take a drink, pausing when his eyes capture mine.
“What?”He lowers the bottle.
“Nothing.”My eyes narrowing.“I can’t imagine what it must be like to live like that.Everyone knowing who you are.”
“You get used to it.”He takes a long guzzle, shrugging when he’s done.“You got to see that firsthand the day we hung out.”
He points the bottle in my direction.“You were really good at finding places where no one gave a shit who I was.”
“I still don’t understand why we didn’t exchange our contact information.”I wonder out loud again as I walk back toward the chair, twisting to check if he’s following.He is, and we both settle back into the places we were in before room service arrived.
He takes another swig from the beer, his focus fixed completely on me.My skin prickles from the intensity of his stare.
“You had these rules.”He takes a swig from the bottle, a smile appearing as he recalls and explains.“No personal information.If we decided we liked each other, we’d exchange numbers when we said goodbye.”
“Except we never got to say goodbye.”I realize.“Will you tell me everything, Luc?”I practically plead, desperation bleeding through my request.“Please, I need to know what happened between us in those two days.”
His head moves up and down, it’s slow, but it’s there.His reply to my request.A breath swooshes out of me in relief, until his next sentence.
“I will, but there’s something I want from you first.”
Chapter 17
Luc
My Only Angel
YUNGBLUD & Aerosmith
There isno way in hell I’m letting her out of my sight again until I have a way to contact her.Her and her goddamn rules are what made it impossible for me to find her two years ago.That was not going to happen again.Not now, when I finally found her.Especially now that I know the reason for her disappearance wasn’t because she didn’t want to see me.
“I want your number.”I declare, leaning forward to set my beer on the table, then slide my phone out of my back pocket.
“Oh.”Relief washes over her features, smoothing out the crinkles of concern that were present a second earlier.“Yes, that’s probably a good idea.”
“What’s your number?”I already have a new contact window open on my phone as I fire out the demand.
“It’s 702-555-2334.”She recites.
I enter it, then add her first name, pausing before I enter her last name.If only I had known this one piece of vital information two years ago.I could have found her.On Facebook, or Instagram or TikTok.Trying to find someone named Lilith or Lily from Las Vegas on socials was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.Believe me, I tried.I sigh, I think in relief, as I save her information.
“I’m going to send you a text so you’ll have my number too.”I inform her, glancing up at her before I do.A second later, a buzzing vibrates on the table.
“Now?”Her soft voice has me diverting my attention from my phone to her face.“Will you tell me?”
“You don’t remember anything?”I set my phone on the table, snagging the beer back in my hand.
“I only know what I’ve been told.”She shakes her head, her hands folded in her lap.“Camera footage from the lights show that I was in the crosswalk, that I definitely had the walk signal, and that a car drove directly into me, not putting any brakes on until after I was struck.I was hit on my right side.My femur and four ribs were broken.When I hit the pavement, my skull was fractured, which resulted in the head trauma suppressing or causing my memory loss.”
“Jesus, Lily.”I slam the beer down on the table as I stand, wanting to comfort her somehow, but not knowing what the limits are.“That must have been awful.”
