Page 40 of Deserving Lara
“You don’t think I should’ve chosen one of the dresses?” she asked nervously, running a hand down one of her thighs.
“No. This is perfect.You’reperfect.”
For a moment, the air between them seemed charged. He’d stopped close enough to her that all it would take was one step forward and she’d be in his arms. She wanted to kiss him. Desperately. Wanted to do what she’d been dreaming about for a week now.
At that moment, his phone dinged with a text.
A few seconds went by and Owl didn’t move. He didn’t reach for his pocket to see who was messaging him. He simply stared into her eyes. Lara licked her lips, wondering if he was going to make the first move to act on the obvious attraction they were feeling.
When his phone dinged again, he sighed and reached for his pocket.
He read the text, then lifted his gaze to hers once again. “That’s Cora. She wants to know where the hell we are because she’s ready to marry Pipe already.”
Lara chuckled. “She’s never been super patient.”
The smile on Owl’s face was easygoing and relaxed, and Lara did her best to memorize it. “Then we’d better go before she marches over here to get us.”
And another opportunity to let this man know that she wanted to be more than friends was lost.
Owl went to the closet and grabbed her jacket and helped her into it, his fingertips brushing against her shoulders. Lara shivered as he shrugged on his own coat. Spring was still cooler than normal for the area. Early mornings and nights were chilly, but at least not cold enough to need gloves anymore.
Especially not when Owl immediately reached for her hand after he’d locked the door to the cabin. They stepped off his porch, and Lara realized she was content. Her life wasn’t perfect. She still had panic attacks and, more importantly, Carter Grant still hadn’t been apprehended.
But Lara was…surprisingly all right. A couple of months ago, she never would’ve thought she’d be where she was today, emotionally. She’d been so broken. Had thought she’d never be able to be happy ever again. But the people here at The Refuge, most especially Owl, had helped her see that while bad things had happened, she could rise above those things and come out stronger on the other side.
Her talks with Henley helped a lot. But it was thinking about Owl and Stone, and what they’d been through, and seeing them doing so well today, that helped the most. They didn’t deserve what happened to them. And she hadn’t made a wise decision by going to Arizona, but that didn’t meanshedeserved what happened to her either.
The fault was Carter’s. No one else’s. He was an evil man who did evil things. And while Lara was still scared shitless of the fact he was on the loose and probably planning horrible things when it came to her, with every day that passed, she felt less scared. More capable.
“If you get overwhelmed at any point tonight, just let me know and we’ll go,” Owl said as they walked toward Pipe’s cabin.
Lara squeezed his hand. “I will. Thanks.” She felt his gaze on her and turned her head to look at him. “What?”
“It’s just…in the last couple weeks, you’ve made incredible progress. I’m so proud of you.”
She smiled. “Thanks. Talking with Henley has helped; I can never thank you enough for encouraging me to try therapy. Hearingyourstory helped even more. And…I don’t know…being here, with you, seeing how happy Cora is, watching the other women interact with their guys, observing some of the guests and how hard they’re working to overcome their demons…it’s all been very eye-opening and has helped put what happened to me in perspective.”
“I’m glad. But I think you’re not giving yourself enough credit. You’re incredibly strong, Lara. You would’ve gotten where you are today without being here at The Refuge. I have no doubt.”
He was wrong, but it felt good that he thought so. That he thought she was strong. There were definitely days when she felt anything but, and he’d put up with a lot from her. Her clinginess, her panic attacks, her inability to do much more than huddle on his couch for weeks on end.
All her life, Lara had wanted a partner who would give as much as he took. Who would take care of her as much as she took care of him. And she thought she’d found that in Ridge Michaels. Who knew it would take him completely screwing her over to find what she’dreallybeen looking for all along?
They reached Pipe and Cora’s cabin, and the door opened as they approached.
Lara gasped when she saw her friend standing there, impatiently gesturing for them to hurry up and get inside.
Cora was wearing a black knee-length dress. It showed off her curves and looked absolutely amazing on her. It had been a very long time since Lara had seen her so dressed up.
“What took you guys so long?” Cora demanded. “We’ve been waiting forever!”
“It’s only two minutes past when they said they’d be here,” Pipe said, coming up behind Cora and wrapping his arm around her waist. He wore a pair of jeans and a black short-sleeve polo shirt that showed off the tattoos on both arms. He looked handsome, and the way he stared at his wife-to-be made Lara’s heart melt.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Cora said as she backed up to let Lara and Owl inside. “I just need to grab my shoes and we can go up to the deck.”
“You need any help?” Lara asked.
“Yes!” Cora exclaimed. Then, after a long pause, she grinned at Owl. “You’re gonna have to let go of her.”
