LUCAS’ POV
The bed was empty.
The sheets were still warm where she had slept, and I could still catch the scent of her shampoo.
My chest tightened as I stared at the space where Ashley had been only a few hours ago.
I could still hear her laugh in my head, the soft sound she had made when she teased me about my cooking, the way her eyes had sparkled when she talked about nothing and everything.
And then the memory crashed in—my own voice
"Last night shouldn’t have happened."
I sat up, scrubbing a hand down my face. I shouldn't have said that.
“i***t,” I muttered under my breath. “You complete idiot.”
Why the hell had I said that?
I hadn’t meant it. Not one damn word. But the fear—the fear always got there first. Fear of letting someone in, of ruining them the way my father had
