Page 128 of Let You Love Me

I shrug.What the hell is he getting at?

“So? I remember. Trust me, I was there. I remember every single second of that conversation.” It was etched in my mind like a weighty tome. I replayed that conversation over and over in my head for fucking days.

“Right. But you’re missing the point.” Chance reaches out, but I dodge him. “The point is, I will be ready one day. Once I get drafted and have a few years under my belt.” He rakes a hand through his hair, his tone serious. “Maybe once I’m older and I—”

“Please tell me you’re joking.” I choke over the words. “Please tell me that you’re not standing here telling me I’m your fucking backup plan.”

My body vibrates with anger.

“Lane . . .”

“No!” I point at his face, finger trembling. “You can stop right there, because I am no one’s backup plan. Do you honestly think we could just pick up where we left off? Be one big happy family after you abandoned us for years? And what about Sophie? Doyou think she’ll just accept you, then? Years later, after you’ve been right here all this time? Chance, she doesn’t evenknowabout you.” I shake my head and take a step back, away from him. “No. I deserve better.”

I’ve found it, too.

“And you think Teagan is the one to give you that?” Chance scoffs. “Who are you kidding? You’re a single mom, and you don’t even have a degree yet. Your whole life will be an uphill battle. But once I’m pro, I can make things easier.”

Rage swims in my veins, a shark with teeth, threatening to rip through flesh and bone to get to the heart of its prey. My vision turns red as I stare him down, shocked we’re even having this fucking conversation, and though I don’t want them to, his words pick at old wounds that have only begun to heal.

All the fears that I’m not good enough, all my insecurities, everything I’ve told myself these last four years rise to the surface, bobbing in the tumultuous sea of my thoughts.

“Maybe it will be an uphill battle,” I say, my voice eerily calm compared to how I feel inside. “But I’d rather climb a fucking mountain alone than free-fall with you.” I start to turn, then stop myself, glaring at him one last time. “And you’re wrong about one thing. Teagan cares about me. Not every guy sees baggage when they look at me and Sophie. Some see so much more.”

Because Iamworth it.

I’m still furiously replaying my conversation with Chance in my head when I step back from the wall, now painted partly with bright ivory paint. The living room with its large windows overlooking the lake will be so much brighter with the lighter color, but it’s not until I hear the knock on the door that I smile.

Setting my roller back on the tray of paint, I hurry toward the living room and fling the front door open. Teagan’s wide smile and dimples greet me, completely evaporating my sour mood as I lunge toward him and wrap my arms around his neck.

With a laugh, he draws me into his chest, squeezing me tight as he lifts me off my feet before setting me back down again. “Happy to see me?”

“You have no idea.”

He places me back on my feet and glances around the room.

“I just got started,” I say, when his eyes focus on the fresh paint. “I needed something to occupy myself while I waited.”

Mostly to keep my mind from wandering to the confrontation with Chance.

Teagan stares at me as if trying to gauge my statement but simply nods, then stretches his arms out, and it’s then I notice how good he looks in his worn jeans and an old faded Riverside Rebels T-shirt. “Well, I came to help, so put me to work.”

“I guess you can jump right in. I’ve got an extra roller and paintbrush,” I say, suddenly wishing we were doing more than painting.

Teagan nods. “Where’s Soph?”

“Uh, I forgot to tell you. I asked my mother to watch her so we could get more painting done.” I shrug. “I figured it would be easier.”

I bite my lip, cursing the flush of heat in my cheeks.

Right. Becausethat’swhy you asked. So you could get more painting done. Definitelynotbecause you wanted to get him alone.

“Damn. I wanted to show her this cool video I saw the other day. It was all about T. rex with these cool digital recreations. Did you know that baby T. rexes were actually super cute. They were about the size of a skinny turkey and covered in downfeathers—what?” he asks, stopping his monologue to run a hand over his face. “What’s that look for?”

Liquid heat blooms inside my chest, spreading like a massive hand, its fingers reaching toward my heart. “You were watching dinosaur videos?”

“I mean, they were more like documentaries.”

“That’s . . .” I shake my head, the words lodged in my throat.

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