Page 46 of Second Chance with Seth

I’m about to return to my duties when Owen comes bursting through the swing door, his eyes settling on me.

“You’re needed,” he says.

“I am?”

“Yeah.”

I square my shoulders, wondering what can have happened, and follow him out through the door, my breath catching in my throat when I see Seth standing over by the counter. His hair is slightly damp at the ends, suggesting he’s just taken a shower. Not only that, but he’s changed out of the t-shirt he was wearing this morning, and beneath his leather jacket, he’s wearing a button-down white shirt, which fits to his muscular chest like a second skin.

Owen ignores us both, and wanders over toward table five, which needs clearing, while Seth steps closer, looking down into my eyes.

“Hello,” he says.

“Hello. You’ve just missed River. She was awake until about ten minutes ago, but she’s gone back to sleep now.”

He tips his head to the right. “That’s okay. I came to see you… although I guess it would be nice to meet her properly sometime, when her eyes are open. I don’t even know what color they are yet.”

“They’re blue, although I’ve been told they might not stay that way.”

He smiles, moving closer still. “Given that your eyes are blue, and so are mine, I think it’s a fairly safe bet our daughter will take after us.”

“Fairly,” I murmur, captivated by his deep sapphire eyes and the sadness behind them.

“I’m sorry about this morning,” he says. “I didn’t mean to criticize.”

“I didn’t mean to over-react.”

He smiles, his surprise quite obvious, and he leans in a little. “Can we talk?”

I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve asked each other that, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we make the most of this opportunity.

“I think we should.”

He glances around. “Do you need me to wait until it’s quietened down a bit?”

“Owen should be able to cope. We can sit at table ten.”

It’s free, and it’s one of the ones I cleared just now. “Lead the way,” he says, making it clear he doesn’t know which table I’m talking about, and I step forward, heading toward the back of the coffee shop. He follows close behind, pulling out the chair on the left for me to sit before taking a seat opposite me.

I didn’t get around to wiping down the table and I pull out a cloth from my apron pocket, flicking it over the crumb-laden surface, just as Seth grabs my wrist.

“Leave it,” he says, taking the cloth and dumping it to one side, as he turns my hand over, clasping it in his. “We’re here to talk.”

I realize I’m deflecting again, and I sit up straight, looking into his eyes, just as Owen appears beside us, bearing two steaming cups of coffee.

“We didn’t ask for those,” I say, looking up at him.

“No, but I always find it useful to have something to do with my hands.” He smiles down at me, and then at Seth. “Although you seem to be managing okay all by yourselves.”

Seth smiles, and I feel myself blush as Owen puts down the cups and turns away.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I like him,” Seth says, surprising me.

“Don’t fall off your chair, but he likes you, too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

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