Chased (Love like Yours Series Book 4)

by Nicole S. Goodin

  I blinked back my tears once more and smiled.

  Enjoy the here and now.

  Colt smiled back at me, his blonde hair all mussed and sexy, and his golden eyes alight with joy.

  “Coming.” I called back.

  I glanced around behind me once more and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for where I was right now.

  Here with him.

  There was nowhere in the world I’d rather be.

  ***

  “What time are you coming over?” Quinn replied by way of hello.

  “Coming over for what?” I asked her down the phone.

  I looked at Colt for a hint, but he just shrugged.

  “If you thought you were getting out of here without one last dinner, then you’re as crazy as that old geezer that use to come to that tap class we took.”

  I giggled at the memory. That old guy really was bat-shit crazy.

  I rolled my eyes and smiled. “When and where?”

  I heard Quinn clapping gleefully. “El and Law’s, anytime after five.”

  “We’ll be there.” I promised.

  “Perfect.”

  “C’ya then, Q.”

  I was just about to hang up when I heard Quinn speak again.

  “Lex?” Her voice was wary.

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s… I just wanted to tell you that it’s good to see you so happy, you and Colton are really good for each other.”

  I suddenly felt teary eyed again. It wasn’t exactly like Quinn to get too sentimental, especially on her own accord, so I valued her words.

  “Thank you.” I whispered.

  Quinn cleared her throat and I had a feeling she might have been feeling a little teary too. “See you tonight, girl.”

  I hung up the phone and clutched it to my chest. I really missed Quinn and El. They were by no means my longest friendships, but they had quickly become some of my closest. The two of them moving to Boston had left a big hole in my life - a hole that had been filled this past week.

  I glanced at Colt, who was looking at me in question.

  “Oh shit, I’m so sorry, I just totally said you’d be there without even asking you first.” I admitted sheepishly.

  He chuckled. “Are you going to be there?”

  I nodded. “Of course.”

  “Then so I am.” He replied simply, placing a kiss on the top of my head.

  Oh god… sweet much?

  “But just so I know, where exactly are we going?”

  “Dinner at El’s.” I beamed. “I’m so excited to see Stella again.”

  “She’s a cute kid.”

  “The cutest.” I agreed as I swung our hands between us.

  He smiled down at me, the sun pooling around his face and I felt the last part of my heart fall in love with Colton Hunt.

  “Time and good friends are two things that become more valuable the older you get.”

  - Author unknown

  24. Colt

  We strolled up the path to El and Lawson’s front door hand in hand. The front door of the house swung open, revealing Stella and the dogs waiting to greet us. The dogs actually looked more like they were willing to sacrifice their lives to protect Stella from any unwelcome intruders.

  It was pretty sweet really, Stella was trying to push past the big dogs and come outside, but they took turns nudging her back inside with their heads.

  “Frank, Zeph – relax.” Lawson’s voice commanded from inside the house and the dogs instantly backed off.

  “Wawax.” Stella mimicked, patting each dog on their head.

  “Stella!” Lexie yelled out to her, her excitement obvious.

  “Wex you here!” Stella cried, running in her cute toddler way down to see us.

  Lexie held out her arms and Stella ran straight into her, hugging her tight.

  “Baby girl, those are some big bad guard dogs you’ve got there.” Lexie tickled Stella’s ribs as she carried her towards the door.

  Stella giggled and squirmed.

  “Hey, Stella.” I smiled at the angelic little blonde girl. “You might not remember me, I’m Colt.”

  “Cwolt.” She repeated back to me with a toothy grin.

  Oh yeah, Lexie was right, this little girl was the cutest.

  “Dadda!” She cried excitedly. “Wex wand Cwolt here!”

  Lawson chuckled. “I can see that, princess.”

  “How’s it going, man?” I shook Lawson’s hand when we reached the door of their beautiful home.

  “Couldn’t be better.” He replied as he took Stella, who was stretching out for him, from Lexie.

  He kissed her cheek and the love he had for that little girl was obvious for the whole world to see. Stella might not have been his biological daughter, but he was one hundred percent her daddy.

  I want that.

  The realization of just how much I wanted that hit me like a punch in the nose. It wasn’t that I wanted it now, not right this minute – but one day soon, I wanted to feel that same kind of love for my child.

  “Stella, you wanna go tell your momma that they’re here?” Lawson asked her.

  Stella nodded enthusiastically.

  He set her down and she took off, presumably to find El.

  “She’s so beautiful, Lawson.” Lexie gushed.

  Lawson smiled after his daughter. “Yeah she sure is.” He agreed. “God, it goes so damn quickly, it’s hard to believe she’s already walking and talking. I swear, you blink and you’ll miss it.” He sighed.

  I squeezed Lexie’s hand, feeling surprisingly moved by the emotion in Lawson’s voice.

  “Anyway, enough gushing over my little princess, come on in.”

  ***

  I looked around the full dining table and smiled.

  This is how it should be.

  This was one of those things that should have been a once a week gathering. I could picture Lexie and I hosting these dinners for everyone in our own home. I could picture us living in something small but cozy, with our own yard and space for a garden out the back… maybe somewhere on the outskirts of town.

  I knew I was getting ahead of myself, but right now I didn’t care. I was going to let myself have this moment of fantasizing about what life with Lexie could be like.

  What it should be like.

  Stella grabbing a handful of mashed potato and shoving it into her mouth pulled me from my thoughts.

  “Urgh, Stella!” El laughed. “Use a fork, honey.”

  Stella picked up her fork, grabbed another handful of potato and tried to squish it onto the fork.

  Everyone cracked up laughing.

  “That’s not exactly what I had in mind.” El giggled, getting up to help her daughter.

  “Am I a terrible person for finding that adorable and for hoping she’ll do it again?” Lexie whispered to me.

  I chuckled. “Well if it does, then we’re both bad people.”

  “It’s always funny when it’s not your kid.” Ellerslie told us. “You just wait until you’ve got your own one day.”

  Bring it on.

  I peaked a look at Lexie, she was still watching Stella’s every move with amusement.

  “That’s the Pierce coming out in her.” Quinn announced proudly. “Right, Stella girl? Loving those carbs.”

  “Warbs.” Stella repeated.

  Harrison laughed. “Just like her aunty.”

  I had to agree, for such a skinny bloody thing, Quinn sure put away a ton of food.

  Ellerslie turned to grab the wipes off the side table at the same time that Stella decided to grab another handful of her dinner. This time she was inspired to smear it all through her hair.

  “Princess!” Lawson groaned.

  The rest of us exploded into laughter.

  El turned around – wipes in hand. “Oh, Stella! Are you serious?”

  Stella grinned at her and El bit back a smile.

  She dropped the wipes to the table with a thud. “You may as well finish it off, baby gi
rl, then Daddy can take you out back and hose you down afterwards.” She joked,

  Stella clapped her hands together gleefully and sent mashed potato flying all over the show.

  “It’s in my hair.” Quinn moaned as she tried to fish the lumps of food off her head.

  Lexie giggled and tried to hide it by burying her face in my shoulder.

  One look at Harrison attempting to scoop mash out of Quinn’s hair with a spoon – a giant grin on his face, was all it took to push me over the edge.

  “We’re definitely terrible people.” I chuckled, as I tucked my face into her hair. “We’re going straight to hell.”

  Lexie looked up at me and smiled a beautiful smile. “Well if you’re going to be there, then so am I.” She told me sweetly.

  ***

  Lexie had just excused herself to go to the bathroom and I decided that this was probably the best opportunity I was going to get to talk to Quinn and Ellerslie about the airport tomorrow.

  “Can I talk to you both in private for a minute?” I asked the girls as soon as I knew Lex would have been out of earshot.

  I gestured towards the living room and they both followed me through.

  “I just wanted to talk to you both about Lexie leaving tomorrow.”

  “Flights at midday, right?” Quinn replied.

  “If you could get her there, we can just meet you? We’ll go straight from the office.” El added.

  I took a deep breath. The two women standing in front of me were by all accounts, strong and independent – they weren’t the type of women that were used to being told what to do. I knew I was going to need to tread carefully if I wanted to get out of this alive.

  “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you both about. I think it might be best for Lexie if you all said your goodbyes tonight. Less stress for her tomorrow, ya know?”

  Quinn’s eyes narrowed at me instantly and I knew she already had her back up.

  “You’re trying to tell us we’re not welcome at the airport.” She hissed the accusation at me.

  Fuck my life.

  I looked at El in an attempt to get some support, but she didn’t look much happier with me than Quinn did.

  Screw it.

  If I was going to get my way, I was going to have to find my balls and stand up for what I knew was the right thing for my girl.

  “It’s not about being welcome, Quinn.” I sighed. “It’s about what is best for Lexie.”

  “How can her two best friends not being there, be what’s best for her?” Quinn cried.

  “Because she’s not coping.” I snapped back at her.

  Deep breathe.

  “You should have seen her in the park today.” I explained gently, more in control of myself now. “She’s tearing up all the time… she’s really worried that the distance will come between us.”

  I risked glancing between the two of them. El was now watching me carefully; a look of sympathy in her eyes. Quinn still looked pissed as hell.

  “I know how hard it’s going to be tomorrow, for her and for me… and I’m pretty sure that if she turns back and sees the three of us standing there, then she won’t get on that plane.”

  “And that would be a bad thing, why?” Quinn demanded.

  I shook my head. “I couldn’t live with myself if she gave up her job and her life in L.A. without really thinking it through. It’s not that I wouldn’t want her here.” I assured them. “I want that more than anything. But her and I… we can make this work until we figure something out, she’s my girl now, and I need you to trust that I’m doing what’s best for her.”

  It won’t be easy, but we can do it.

  I heard a rustling noise in the hall behind me, but when I turned and looked, there was no one there.

  Quinn opened her mouth to argue, but I cut her off.

  “I don’t want Lexie to have any regrets, and I know that she would regret just dropping her life and walking out on her job with no notice. That’s not the kind of person she is.”

  I could feel myself getting emotional now. I knew she had to get on that flight, but that didn’t make it any easier to stomach.

  “You’re right.” El replied quietly, surprising me.

  “But – ” Quinn tried to argue.

  “He’s right.” El looked her in the eye. “He’s doing what’s best for Lex, and in this case, it’s having us say our goodbyes tonight.”

  They stared off for a few beats before Quinn caved.

  “Okay… fine.” She grumbled. “But I can tell you one thing.” She spoke quietly. “In a few days you’re going to wish we’d gone to that airport and convinced her to stay.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat, already knowing that she was dead right, but torn between wanting Lexie to stay and doing what I knew was the right thing.

  “I know what a man looks like when he loves a woman, Colt, and I don’t know how you think you’re going to live without her, but I hope you find a way to make it work, I truly do.” She added before giving me a small smile and turning to walk away.

  El squeezed my arm in sympathy and followed Q back into the kitchen.

  Tears stung the corners of my eyes and I tried my hardest to blink them back.

  Get it together.

  I couldn’t upset Lexie now, no matter how badly I was hurting.

  “I think you’ve really got to wait and see how things play out. Sometimes a decision you might consider a regret or failure in the present can turn out to be the catalyst for something extraordinary in the end.

  Some of life’s wildest journeys begin with a wrong turn.”

  - Beau Taplin

  25. Lexie

  “Do you believe in fate?” I asked him as I snuggled in even closer to his warm, hard body.

  He lay still for a moment, the only movement the rise and fall of his chest beneath my cheek.

  “Yeah, I think I do.” He finally answered.

  “Yeah?” I replied, tracing light patterns on his bare abdomen.

  “Yeah… you gotta believe in something right?”

  “I guess so.” I agreed.

  “Well, something brought you to me.” His voice turned husky. “And I don’t know if it was fate, or divine intervention or whatever else…”

  He rolled me onto my back so he was leaning over me, looking right into my eyes.

  “But whatever it was, Lex, I owe it for that. I owe it for giving me you.”

  My heart felt like it was going to explode. I didn’t know what good I’d done to deserve this man…

  Some seriously good karma had come my way.

  I sighed.

  And then some bad karma…

  I must have done something pretty shitty in a past life to make me deserve the goodbye we would be forced to have when I boarded that plane at midday tomorrow without him.

  This wasn’t fair. You aren’t meant to find the person you want to share your entire life with and then have to walk away from them.

  This is what I was afraid of.

  “Don’t, little bird, don’t get yourself upset again.” He told me, sensing that I was heading for a meltdown. “We’ll make it work somehow; I’m not letting you go.” He promised.

  He knows me so well already.

  I lay back down, content in his arms, just listening to the beating of his heart for a moment to regather myself.

  “I don’t know if it’s just because we’re on borrowed time that it all feels so… intense…” I ran my fingertips gently over his jaw. “Do you think if we had forever that it would still feel like this?” I asked him timidly.

  “All I know.” He told me softly as he stared deep into my eyes. “Is that this is the most real thing in my life and there’s not even one reason I can see, that we can’t have forever, okay?”

  God I hope he’s right.

  I nodded. “It’s just you and me.”

  He kissed my lips softly. “It’s just you and me.” He repeated back to me.

  ***


  “Just get one shift done, baby.” Colt encouraged. “That’s what? Only a few weeks away? And we’ll make plans to see each other as soon as you get back on dry land, okay?”

  I nodded.

  I couldn’t talk.

  I’ll lose it.

  By this point I was already borderline hysterical.

  Not Colt, he’s staying strong for me.

  It was no secret that I wasn’t coping. He’d even banned El and Quinn from coming to the airport; I’d overheard him begging and reasoning with them last night.

  Until I nearly got caught eavesdropping.

  He knew that it was going to be too much for me today, and he was right. I was barely keeping it together as it was, if they were here too, it would have been that much harder to set foot on that plane. We’d said our goodbyes last night, and that had been hard enough.

  I’m going to miss them so much.

  It didn’t feel like I was going home, I felt like I was leaving my home. It wasn’t so much about the place as it was about the people – or more specifically one person in particular. Colt was my home now.

  I sobbed quietly, trying my best to be strong and failing miserably.

  “Please don’t cry.” Colt begged me, his face a tortured mask. “I’m trying to be strong for you, Lex, but I can’t handle your tears, baby, they’ll break me.”

  “I’m… sorry.” I told him between sobs as I desperately tried to reign it in.

  He pulled into the parking lot of the airport and slowly switched off the engine. He turned in his seat to look at me.

  “Lexie, baby, are you going to be okay?”

  I forced myself to be brave and look into his eyes. His beautiful golden eyes were rimmed with unshed tears and it broke my heart. But even now, his only concern was me and my emotions – he really was the most amazing man I’d ever met.

  “I miss you already.” I told him, my voice cracking with emotion.

  “I miss you too.” He replied quietly.

  We sat there, just staring at one another for what felt like forever. I didn’t know what was going through his head, but me… I was memorizing every single detail about him.