Can't Help Falling in Love {Ryan Blaney}✔️

| sixteen |

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Lara's phone rang, startling them. "Shit." She moved away from Chase, sliding off of the table.

She and Ryan had a meeting with Hank at 7 to make an offer for Hank's Happy Golf. When she had called Hank, he had sounded skeptical but had agreed to hear them out without telling her grandfather.

"What's going on?" Chase asked as she pulled out her phone from the pocket of her firesuit, Ryan's name and face on the screen.

Lara tensed as she felt Chase rest his chin on her shoulder. "I have to go." She dimmed the screen, declining the call.

"Ryan, huh?" Venom laced his voice, almost unrecognizable. "I had a feeling you had been screwing around with him."

Lara shook her head as she tugged her firesuit back on. "He's my friend, Chase." She hated that he had jumped to accuse her of screwing around with Ryan.

"Word around the garage is that you two have been spending a lot of time together this weekend," He crossed his arms over his bare chest.

"Ye-" Lara clamped her mouth shut. They had been spent most of Saturday together but most of it had been devoted to getting ready to make a pitch to Hank to buy Hank's Happy Golf. "Chase. We've been over this. I'm not having this argument with you again."

"It's me or him." Chase's eyes flashed with anger, his nostrils flared. "You can either be with me or you can be with him. You can't have both, Lara."

"I'm not doing this right now." Lara opened up the door to the motorhome. "I'll talk to you later." She didn't give Chase time to respond, she slammed the door.

Ryan was waiting outside her motorhome, his blue eyes annoyed. "We're running late."

"I'm sorry." She apologized, "Let me grab my duffel bag and I'll change on the plane."

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Lara sat down next to Ryan, smoothing the pencil skirt she had on nervously. She felt guilty that she had been late, guilty that she had been late because she was having sex with Chase -- bad sex at that.

Lara cleared her throat, "Ry, I'm sorry."

Ryan turned to her, "Why? You were running late."

Lara frowned, feeling even more guilty that Ryan had assumed the best of her -- something that she didn't deserve. "I was with Chase."

Ryan pressed his lips into a tight line, his jaw clenched. "Oh. So you guys are back together." His last sentence wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Lara shrugged, "I don't know. He apologized, really apologized. It happened so fast, I should've walked away but I told him it was okay. I told him that humiliating me on live television was okay." She repeated, feeling dumb as she said it. "He makes me forget everything."

Ryan nodded slowly, "That's Chase for you. Does he know about this?"

Lara shook her head, her eyes drifting to the floor, "He knows I'm with you but he doesn't know why." Lara lifted her eyes up to meet Ryan's. "He told me I had to pick between you and him."

"Did you?" Ryan asked, his eyes studying her intensely.

"No. But I'm sure by being here with you is answer enough for Chase." She fidgeted in her seat for a moment, "I don't know what to do. I feel stuck. I'm afraid that he's going to out us to my grandfather. Because let's face it if my grandfather voids both of our contracts, one of us would have teams scrambling to make room and the other is me." She shook her head, running a hand through her loose blonde curls. "This was such a mistake, Ryan."

Ryan shook his head, "For what it's worth, I don't think Chase would go to your grandfather. I think he's scared of what your grandfather would do, which I would be too." Ryan paused for a moment before grabbing Lara's hand, his eyes bright, "You deserve to be happy. Are you happy with him?"

Before Lara could answer, the pilot came over the intercom, telling them to prepare for landing. Lara squeezed Ryan's hand, giving him a reassuring smile, "Are you ready to be the co-owner of Hank's Happy Golf?"

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"Lara Riddick, I don't think I could take your money," Hank shook his head, studying the piece of paper with a number written on it. "And this offer is way too much."

"Would it make you feel better to know that most of the money is his?" Lara's eyes sparkled as she jerked her thumb in Ryan's direction.

Hank chuckled, looking up at her warmly, "No, it doesn't. Why do you want to buy it?" Hank's eyes drifted to Ryan, "And more importantly, how did Lara Riddick rope you into this?"

"Hank's Happy Golf has been my favorite place that doesn't have a race track," Lara started, "It was always the one place that Grandpa and I would go and he'd put his phone away and not worry about racing. It's still the place I know I can come to when things get too much because here, I'm not Lara Hendrick, the heiress to the Hendrick dynasty, I'm just Lara Riddick, there no pressure. It would kill me to lose it. Nobody will ever love Hank's Happy Golf as much as you do, Hank but I think I'm a close second." Her heart pounded, hoping that was enough to convince Hank.

"And you?" He turned to Ryan expectantly.

Ryan had a look of awe on his face but he quickly shook it off. "Lara didn't rope me into it, I volunteered. Look, life has dealt me a favorable hand and I have more money than I'll ever need and my career is just getting started. She has some amazing ideas and selfishly, I'd love a go-cart track this close to my house."

Hank nodded slowly, "I still think it's way too much money."

"We think it's a fair price," Lara reassured him. "You and Dot built this place with your bare hands. I know she's not here to enjoy this but I know she would want you to do this."

"And what happens when I've traveled the world?" Hank asks. "I would go mad sitting at home."

Lara opened her mouth to speak but Ryan beat her to it, "You'll always have a place here, Hank. We'll keep you plenty busy..." his voice trailed off for a moment before he added, "After you finish your bucket list of course."

"Okay." Hank nodded, "Okay, let's do this."

Lara and Ryan exchanged smiles. They were really doing this.

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