Page 17 of Second Chance Serenity

“Fair enough. But it was you who pulled into the parking lot. You who saved me. So you get the thanks.”

“I didn’t mean it that way—” He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. I’ve never seen this man rattled before. He’s one of those people who always has a smile on his face, even as the world burns to ash around him. Nothing ever gets him down.

So to see him so broken up, it tugs at the strings still attached to my heart.

“Are you—” He takes a step forward, then stops. “Are you okay?”

“Physically, I’m fine,” I say.

“The rest of you?”

“Not great,” I admit. “Being nearly kidnapped doesn’t necessarily leave a lot of room for feeling okay.”

“Of course not.” He runs a hand through his hair. His clothes are still a bit damp, and the shirt clings to him like a second skin, defining every muscled ridge of his toned torso. The jagged scar along the side of his face looks even more apparent now, and I don’t know if it’s because of the way he’s tightening his jaw or if I’m imagining that it’s changed because I’m seeing him differently now.

When I look at Michael now, I’m not seeing the teenager who broke my heart but the man who screeched into a parking lot and jumped out like a warrior, his gun raised and ready to fire.

“Listen, I appreciate what you did. And I want you to know that.” I shrug into the cardigan my mother brought for me, needing even more space between us and hoping the fabric will do the trick.

My heart still beats for him, even as the broken pieces struggle to fit together.

“Is this how it’s going to be between us forever?” he asks.

“What?” I turn back toward him, and Michael moves in closer. I can see the flecks of copper in his dark gaze. Eyes I used to stare into for hours.

“We’re strangers.”

“What else are we supposed to be?”

“Friends?” he nearly whispers it.

“I don’t need any more friends, Michael.”

“Rey—”

“No. You don’t get to call me that anymore,” I snap as emotion sears my throat. I want so badly to run to him. To bury my face in his chest while he holds me and tells me everything is going to be all right.

But doing so won’t fix the past.

It won’t erase the years of heartache, or the constant question of why I wasn’t good enough to make him stay.

“I’m sorry. I don’t?—”

The door opens and Liam rushes in, eyes wide, face flushed. “Reyna! Thank God you’re okay!” Before I can fully process what’s happening, he wraps his arms around me. “I was so terrified when I heard what happened.” He pulls back. “Are you okay? What did they say? Did they catch him?”

My gaze lifts to Michael, who looks about ready to throttle Liam for the interruption.

Liam seems to notice that we’re not the only ones in the room, and he turns to offer Michael his hand. “You must be Michael Anderson. I heard what you did for Reyna.”

Michael takes his hand and shakes it.

“Thank you so much for saving her. You are truly a hero.”

“Yeah, that’s me.” Michael meets my gaze as Liam wraps me in a hug again.

One date. We had one date, and one partial date, and the man is behaving as though we’re betrothed. Should I be grateful he cares? Or just as annoyed as Michael is that he interrupted us?

“I’ll see you around, Miss Acker.” Michael turns and leaves just as I’d wanted him to.

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