Hit & Run Bride (Hit & Run Bride Contemporary Romance Series) (22 page)

He shook his head. “Don’t say it, Becca. You can’t say it until you really have a good think. We’re great together. Together, we can do anything. And you already know that I will do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

“I’m just really confused.”

“There’s nothing to be confused about. I love you. I have
always
loved you. Your enthusiasm and your smile and the way you attack new things with gusto. I know the Addison thing is only the first step, but I’m going to keep proving to you that we belong together, no matter how long it takes.”

She studied him closely. He was handsome. Beautiful even. He always managed to make her flush warm when he kissed her. The only problem was he
wasn’t
Liam. Just thinking about Liam made her insides start to melt. When she was with Liam no one else even entered into her mind. But he’d lied. Or at least kept his involvement with Addison from her.

She dragged her attention back to Holden. Solid, dependable Holden. Holden who had a plan. Holden who’d moved mountains to get her job back for her. “Holden, I want to believe that you can be this person. But I’m not sure.”

He held her hand tight and tugged her closer. “Then let me prove it to you. Let me show you. Just give me another chance.” His voice dropped low. The familiar cadence washing over her. “Let me show you how much I love you.”

He cupped her face and lowered his lips for a gentle kiss. It was familiar.
He
was familiar. Sinking his hands into her hair, he held her in place and deepened the kiss, his tongue dipping into her mouth.

Tentatively, Becca kissed him back, letting his tongue slide over hers. Allowing him to tease. But then he groaned low and slid his hands under her blouse so his fingers could tease the flesh of her back, she staggered back, breaking the kiss.

“What’s wrong?” He frowned and reached for her again

Becca backed away. “I’m sorry, but I need to think. I can’t just fall into this with you again.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Were you thinking about him?”

Becca blinked. Then blinked again.
Yes
. “I’m just trying to think clearly. I’m not making any impulse decisions anymore.”

He sighed. “Take the time you need. But you have to know I’m the better choice. You know what I can provide. I can give you the kind of life you’ve dreamed of. He can’t.” He leaned in and kissed her on her cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Just remember, I love you. And you love me.”

With a knotted stomach, Becca watched him leave. How the hell had she ended up here?

Chapter Twenty

Liam dove from the edge of the pool and started swimming. Alex followed him in. They made a couple of circuits, then Alex bailed.

Liam kept going.

Becca, Becca, Becca
. With every stroke, his brain chanted her name. The water rushed past his ears, and his heart thumped in the same rhythm. How could he let her go?

Just give her time
. But how much?

Swimming didn’t calm his nerves. After a dozen laps, he stopped and bobbed for a moment in the water, wondering if he should get on his bike and ride. His next lesson was in an hour, however, and there was no way he’d bail on his clients again. It was one thing to need a couple days off to take care of his mother, another to simply take off because his heart and mind were a mess over Becca.

“Liam,” Alex called

Liam turned in the water to face him.

Beside his friend, a tall, beautiful gal waved at him. “Hey, Caldwell!”

“Addie?” He swam to the edge, lifted himself up. “What are you doing here?”

She smiled and held out a hand to help him out of the pool. “Came to see you, you idiot. Stopped to say hi to your dad and check out his latest pool of talent. He told me you’re going to recruit for him. He was beaming from ear to ear! I can’t believe it.”

During their competition days, Addison had kept her hair short. Now it bloomed in crazy corkscrews around her head, reminding Liam of Becca’s hair. He grabbed a towel and wiped off his face and neck. “Don’t let it get around.”

“So what’s this about Dive and the watersports campaign?” Addison’s parents hailed from Australia before moving to the US, and Addie’s voice held a bit of accent. “I went to see your girl, but they said she was on a short leave and would be back today. I go back today, and she’s still not there. I called the number you texted me, and her voicemail box is full. I wanted to talk to her about a special project I’m developing as well as this campaign with Dive.”

Becca wasn’t at work? Had she decided against returning? “Sorry about that. I’m not sure what’s going on.”

Alex chose that moment to jump in. “He and Becca broke up. She was pissed about him asking you to do him a favor and talk to her.”

Addison lifted a brow at Liam. “You were using me to impress your girl?”

Why did everyone believe he had ulterior motives? Probably because he did. “She was worth impressing.” He tossed the towel on his gym bag. “Doesn’t matter now.”

“Why is that?” Adds asked.

“She’s gone back to her fiancé,” Alex said.

“Ouch. Because of me?”

Liam shook his head. “Because of
me
. I was a stupid ass.”

Alex patted his shoulder. “Yes, you were. And you’re letting that dickwad Howard win.”

“Holden,” Liam corrected. “And I’m just giving her time. She wanted space.”

Addison rolled her caramel-colored eyes. “What happened to the Liam we used to know, Alex?”

“The competitive one?” Alex shrugged. “That shark is MIA.”

Liam crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m still a shark in the water.”

“You’re a dolphin, my friend. Sharks eat their competition. You swim out to sea and frolic.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Liam lied. “Don’t listen to him, Addie.”

Addison moved so she was front and center. “Do you care about this girl, Liam?”

Care? He more than cared. Just talking about her made his pulse race. The back of his neck felt hot thinking about her and Holden together. “I wouldn’t have texted and called you if I didn’t. I wanted her to knock them dead at work on this campaign—she’s that good at what she does, and I know she could have pulled out something amazing—but I wanted to help. She probably could have landed you on her own, it was just…”

“Just what?” Addison’s eyes bore into his.

“I thought I’d make it easier for her. She hasn’t been in San Diego all that long. Networking isn’t her strong suit. I realize now that I failed. Miserably. I actually turned into my father for a moment and put my need to be the hero above what Becca needed.”

“You’re not your father, and you never could be,” Addison said. “You have morals and ethics. He doesn’t.”

Liam frowned. “He was your coach, and you loved him.”

“I owe him my Olympic medal, it’s true, and I have the utmost respect for him as a coach. But as a man I can trust? You win hands-down. And if you believe in this Becca so much, you need to fight for her.”

Behind Addison, Alex was nodding. “Revive the shark, man. Find your balls.”

Something inside Liam snapped. A flood of adrenaline warmed the blood in his veins, like the surge right before the finish line. He didn’t just believe in Becca or care for her.
I love her
.

The realization hit him with the force of a belly flop. He plopped down on the bench behind him. “Shit. What am I doing here? I need to talk to her.”

“That’s the spirit,” Addison said, doing a fist pump in the air. “I’ll go with you. I need to talk to her too. I’m hoping her friend at the agency gave her the message I left about my proposition.”

“No,” both Liam and Alex said in unison.

Liam added, “What proposition? What’s this secret project you’re working on?”

“I’ve done some digging, and she’s exactly what you say, Caldwell. She’s worked on other major ad campaigns that caught my eye, and I have an idea for her.”

Liam pulled a pair of sport pants on over his wet trunks. “What kind of idea?”

“It’s top secret, mate.” Addison grinned from ear to ear. “I can’t talk about it until all my ducks are in a row and quacking.”

He tossed on his T-shirt. “Just please don’t contact her until you hear from me, okay? I’ve already got her mad at me over you, so lay low for a few hours at least.”

She punched his bicep, still grinning. “A bit too late for that since I’ve left her a bunch of messages, but I hold up for now. By the way, I met that Howard guy. He’s a dickwad, like Alex said.”

“It’s Holden, and yes, I agree, total dickwad, but he’s the competition nevertheless.” He grabbed his bag and slid his feet into his flip flops. “He helped her get her job back, although I’m guessing he manipulated you and her, Addie, ʼcause that’s the kind of guy he is. But I can’t win Becca back by trying to make Holden look bad.”

Alex sidled up to Addison. “Then how are you going to do it?”

It was Liam’s turn to grin. “I’m a shark, remember?”

He left his two friends and went to plan his attack.

* * *

Two hours later

“Honey, you know I love you, right?”

Van’s voice felt like a fist squeezing Becca’s gut through the Bluetooth. Whenever her bestie said that, it usually meant Becca was about to hear something she wouldn’t like. “Yeah, Van?”

“I hate to have to say this, but it’s true, and I am well aware that you can’t want something for someone that they don’t want for themselves. But if you get back with Holden, I swear to God, I am breaking up with you.”

Becca swallowed hard as she swerved through traffic on the 805. She really should stop having phone conversations with Van while driving, even if they were hands-free. “You would break up with me?”

“Yep. Of course, we would be those exes who couldn’t get enough and would go back on the break up and meet up for mani-pedis still, but you get the idea.”

Becca snorted with laughter. “You just can’t quit me?”

Her friend laughed. “No. But I would have angry eyes for eunuch Ken doll all the time. You and I both know he doesn’t make you happy. How you’re even entertaining him is beyond me.”

“I’m not exactly entertaining him. I’m just taking another look at our relationship and what I want. On paper, he’s great. Doesn’t that deserve another look?”

“It’s all about how he makes you feel. Paper has nothing to do with his ability to make your toes curl or his ability to make you laugh while you’re forcing him to watch a rom com.”

“Okay, I hear you. I’m looking at everything closely.”

“Just make sure you’re giving your feelings top billing, okay?”

“Thanks, Van.”

“For what?”

Becca shrugged even though her friend couldn’t see her. “You know, giving a shit.”

“I would make a crappy best friend if I didn’t. And speaking of best friend running interference for you, you’re on your way to meet Addison right? She left a million messages here at work for you.”

Becca groaned. “Yeah, I’m on my way to meet her now. I just can’t believe it. I go from a jobless loser to having one of the best swimmers in the world stalking me so she can talk to me.”

“Just remember, I always said you were awesome. And honestly, what’s not to believe? What I don’t believe is how everyone is running around the office preening like they always knew you would pull it all together. The Tribot collective is acting like they fucking know you. It pissed me off so I started screwing with them, asking them what your favorite kind of Girl Scout cookie was.”

“Oh Van, you didn’t.”

“I did. I let those vapid little robot girls take their best guesses before telling them how wrong they were. That you hated Girl Scout cookies and preferred Oreos. Good thing I’ve already got my hand basket decorated for hell, right?”

Becca giggled. “God, what would I do without you?”

“I dunno, be sitting in your apartment eating Oreos and watching
27 Dresses
for the hundredth time.”

“Good point.” Becca found the house she was looking for and parked the car in the driveway. “I’m here. Wish me luck.”

Van scoffed. “You don’t need luck when you’re as awesome as you are.”

She hung up with her best friend and trudged up to the front door. As she rang the doorbell, she prayed Van was right.

Addison Torres yanked open the door with a big, wide grin. “At last. You must be Becca Daniels. I have to say I was wondering if we’d ever meet. You’re like a ghost.”

Becca couldn’t help but smile in return. “I’m sorry about that. Things have been a little crazy. Not at all how I wanted to kick off a campaign endorsement.”

Addison waved off her apology and drew her into a hug. “I’m pretty laid back. Nothing really unsettles me. Must be the Aussie in me. Though technically, I’m more Aborigine than I am Aussie.”

Ahh, okay, that would explain the russet undertones to her skin and her wildly curling hair. Becca made a mental note to ask her what she used to keep the curls so springy. Because after all her swim lessons, her regular conditioner wasn’t cutting it. “I didn’t realize you had a house in La Jolla. I thought you lived in Huntington Beach.”