Page 60 of Taking Chances

My fists clench inside of my pockets. “Maybe.” I force a fake smirk, tapping his shoulder before leaving to see what Anne and the others are talking about.

The guy is a snake. But he has a point. I’m nowhere near deserving of her. Guys like me, with pasts like mine and needs like mine, couldn’t be more different from girls like Anne. But I’m only here to give her some pleasure, and I know I can dothat.

“So, what do you think?” Connor stands next to me, dressed in dark blue slacks and a light blue button down.

I’ve been staring at Anne for God knows how long, noticing her little mannerisms, like the way her eyes crinkle with a smile, how she talks with animated hands, or how she’s kind to everyone, putting a smile on their faces. But I guess Connor isn’t asking me about that.

“It looks great, man.” I clap his shoulder. He trails my gaze all the way to Anne, so I quickly continue, “It looks like a place I would’ve enjoyed spending time in as a kid.”

He nods, not asking more questions, which I’m grateful for.

It does look like a place I would’ve enjoyed. Maybe in another life, if my mom left my dad, moved away. It would’ve surely been hard, and we would’ve been tight on money, but there would’ve been places like this. Places where I could’ve felt like a kid, peaceful and unafraid. Places where I wouldn’t have had to pretend that everything is perfect, going through life hiding my feelings.

“Glad to hear it. And glad you could make it.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not every day your friend builds a building for his wife.”

He flashes me a smile. “It’s pretty cool, right?”

“Good thing I don’t plan to enroll in the ‘best partner’ competition, because it would be futile after this,” I joke, making him huff a laugh.

“I don’t know, I think you could be a pretty decent partner if you wanted to.”

“Too bad I don’t want to.”

He lets out a hearty laugh and I can’t help but smile.

“Come on, let’s grab something to eat,” he says. I planned on heading out soon, not wanting to impose, but the food looks pretty good.

I devour the sliders as I continue to keep an eye on Anne. She’s chatting with a guy in glasses and a brown cardigan. She laughs at something he says, and he seems into in her.

Interesting.

He looks just like the guy I could see her with, with what they call kind eyes and a cheerful disposition. Unlike the dick of her ex, he seems like he could make her happy. But she’s nowhere near ready to jump into something now.

Not sparing it another thought, I swallow the rest of my slider, wipe my hands on a napkin and head toward them.

“Lennox,” I introduce myself.

“Tom.”

I shake his hand with more force than necessary. My hand finds its place on Anne’s lower back on its own. She shivers under my touch and for a second, I think I’m taking it too far.

But when Tom’s gaze starts frantically moving from my hand to Anne’s back, any regret I had is gone.

“Tom is our volunteer. He teaches music to kids.” Anne shoots him a warm smile.

“To-do-do-dodo.” He does a pretty good imitation of a trumpet before excusing himself. “Oh, I need to go say hi to Rina.”

“Urgh,” Anne lets out a quiet groan, her cheeks reddening. “This was so awkward.”

“Is there a story there?” I shoot her a questioning look.

“He asked me out on a date recently.” She fidgets her fingers.

“What did you say?”

“The truth.” Her gaze turns to mine. “That I wasn’t ready for a relationship.” She starts chewing on her bottom lip. “But now he probably thinks I was lying to him or letting him down easy. I hate this.”

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