Page 33

The doorbell rings, pulling my gaze to my bedroom door. “Shit.”

I drop my lip-gloss into my purse and rush back downstairs before yanking the door open as I pant. Lucas’s eyebrows shoot up and I bend over and brace my hands on my knees.

“You all right?”

I nod, sucking in air. “Yeah. I was just upstairs when the doorbell rang and apparently, getting in a car accident really takes it out of you.”

“You sure we should be doing this today?” he asks as I straighten and I nod.

“Yeah. I saw the doctor this morning and he cleared me.”

He watches me skeptically so I plaster a smile on my face and hope I don’t look like a crazy person.

“If you’re sure…”

I nod. “I am.”

“Let’s go buy a car, then,” he answers with a smile as he holds his hand out to me. I hesitate for a second before grabbing it and letting him lace our fingers together. My heart races and I fight back a smile as we walk to his truck. It’s been so damn long since someone’s held my hand and maybe I’m not remembering things clearly but I swear, it never felt this good. There is something about Lucas that settles me and makes me feel safe - I first noticed it at the accident and at the time, I assumed it was the situation. Now, though, I know it’s just him. No one else could have kept me calm the way he did.

“So,” he says, drawing my gaze over to him as he climbs behind the wheel of the truck. “Do you know what you’re looking for?”

I shake my head. “No idea. I liked my Maxima but I think I’m kind of wanting something new.”

“Sounds good. I know a guy who brings a lot of work into the bike shop so I thought I’d take you over to his place. He’ll take good care of you.”

“Okay.”

As we pull out of the driveway, he glances over at me. “Where’s Brooklyn today?”

“With Alice. She took her to the park and I was going over work stuff for Monday when I realized that I’d need a new car.”

He nods, turning back to the road. “If I had thought of it, I would have brought one over that you could borrow.”

“Oh, no, it’s really okay. It’s something I need to take care of so I might as well do it today.”

My phone buzzes with a text.

Willa:

Staff meeting Monday morning.

Don’t forget.

“Oh, Lord,” I mutter, rolling my eyes with a smile on my face. Like I could ever forget Willa’s weekly staff meetings.

“Everything okay?”

I glance over at Lucas and nod. “Yeah. It’s just my assistant, Willa, reminding me of our staff meeting on Monday.”

“You have staff?” he asks, brows raised, and I laugh.

“Besides Willa and I… no. Hence, why it’s so ridiculous but it helps her feel more organized so I roll with it.”

He stares at me for a second before turning back to the road with a scowl. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight. Why?”

“I don’t know. You just seem to have everything together and I still feel like I’m tripping through life.”