Page 7 of Our Chance

“Done that.”

Again, she couldn’t help but giggle. Now,she felt better.

She looked into Maverick’s blue eyes, andit was kind of scary to her, because she knew she had loved thisman for a long time,since she was a little girl. It didn’t matter to her that he wasolder by a few years.

He’d been her only crush back then, andnow, well, he certainly lived up to the expectations she had of him.

****

Maverick couldn’t stand to seeFreya looking so sad, and sincethey had unprotected sex a couple of times now, it seemed onlyright to make everything work. Which was why before lunch, he wentto the DIY store to speak to Elliot.

Back when he was a punk-ass kid who thought he knew all theanswers, he and Elliot didn’t quite get along. It didn’t matterseeing as he and Adele didn’t exactly last. Adele was not known forbeing committed. He’d been shocked to learn it was the husband whohad cheated, not Adele.

She moved from guy to guy, leaving when theboredom sank in.

“What can I do for you, son?” Elliot askedas he stepped through the DIY store. There were no customers and hesaw Elliot enjoying his lunch.

“I, uh, actually came to see you today,” hesaid.

“This have anything to do with you andFreya leaving the bar together last night, and a few nightsago?”

Maverick smiled. He didn’t know if heshould just start running in the hope he could distance himselfbetween him and Elliot’sshotgun.

“Yeah,” Maverick said.

“Good. I thought you would have the senseto come and see me. Now, like I told Freya, I’ve got no problemwith the two of you, so long as you deal with Adele. I don’twant my daughtersbickering. I’ve already had to deal with them not seeing eye to eyeabout Adele’s husband. Just so happens Freya was right all along,but even still, I don’t have to like it.” He shook his head. “So,whatever is going on between the two of you, fix everything else,got it?”

And then he got to spend lunch with Freya, which was fun, andbefore returning to work, he made his way over to Adele’s house. Hestepped over the small gate and walked up the garden path, leadingto her pristine white front door, to which he gave aknock.

The divorce between Adele and her husbandhadn’t been a good one. The rumor mill had suggested it had beenmessy. Adele had fought for half of everything, andsince she was still living inthe marital home, he had a feeling she’d won.

Seconds passed, then a minute, and he banged on the door,determined not to leave. When there was still no answer, he decidedto come back another day, but then Adele opened the door, and shedidn’t exactly look her best. Her hair was messed up, and herlipstick smudged, and she was also wearing a robe. Everything abouther appearance screamed that she’d been fucking.

“Maverick, this is a pleasant surprise,” shesaid, glancing behind her, and then holding the door closed.

“This a bad time?”

“Yeah, yep, it is. What do youwant?” Adeleasked.

“To talk,” Maverick said.

Adele frowned. “We’ve got nothing to talkabout. I don’t know why you’re here.”

He didn’t want to have this conversation onthe front porch. “You heard the gossip?” he asked.

“About you and Freya?” Adele asked.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, is that what you’ve come to tellme?” Adele giggled, andclearly someone else was behind the door as she wriggled, clearlytrying to get away. “Uh, what about it?”

“Do you have a problem with it?”

“Why would I have a problem with it?”

“Because of us.”

Adele suddenly pulled away, and thenquickly stepped out, closing the door behind her. Her face wasbright red. “Us? That was like … another time in our lives. Whywould that even botherme?” She stopped and then laughed. “Are you asking for permissionto date my sister?”

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