Page 58 of Second Chance for the Single Mom

I sighed as he slid out of me, then visited the upstairs bathroom. After adjusting my panties and pushing my dress back down, I heard the soft sound of a toilet flushing.

“I like this place,” he said, stepping out of the bathroom. “But it smells like sex in here. Not my vibe.”

Grinning, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Did you bring me here just for this?”

His palms settled on my hips possessively. “No. I’m serious about looking for another property to invest in.” His lips brushed against mine passionately. “But I think this building is too high-end for a rental.”

“The building fee is also extremely high,” I agreed, fixing my hair. “That’ll kill whatever earnings you’re trying to get from a renter. Fortunately, I have a list of other buildings you might be interested in. Do you still want to see the two units downstairs?”

He grinned. “We’re already here, so why not?”

Why not indeed,I thought as we hurried out of the penthouse, like kids who were afraid of getting caught.

30

Lucas

I still couldn’t believe Haley had visited me at work last week. One moment I was giving a stressful presentation to a lot of people at my company, and the next moment she was standing in the hallway outside, watching me.

She’d brought me lunch. Such a small gesture, but it gave me a burst of confidence that lasted the rest of the presentation.

But then I spent all weekend analyzing it. Did that mean she was interested in me? Surely that kind of gesturemeantsomething. She was trying to give me a sign. Yet I was full of doubt and indecision.

It didn’t help that Jordan had come over on Sunday to tell me that he and Haley hooked up. I wasn’t actually upset about that, which surprised me at the time. Instead, it made me feel hopeful, because it meant the night of fun we’d all had together wasn’t just a one-time thing like Haley had originally insisted. If she was having fun with Jordan, then she might be interested in me.

That information, paired with her surprise lunch visit in my office, left me feeling excited for the future.

By the time I met her for our make-up lunch on Tuesday, I was a wreck of nerves. That didn’t change when I saw her sitting in a booth at the sandwich shop, the sun shining in her blonde hair. The butterflies swirled, but I was also filled with a sense of certainty.

Idesperatelywanted more with Haley. Whether it was a repeat of the sweaty night together with my friends, or something more romantic.

I admired her for a heartbeat longer, then she glanced over and smiled when she saw me. She hopped up from the booth and hugged me the way sheusedto, when we were dating. I inhaled deeply, taking in her orange scent.

“Glad you could make it,” I said, sitting down.

“Sorry I couldn’t do yesterday,” she replied, foot brushing against my leg for a glorious moment as she slid back into the booth. “Busy day.”

“Lots of home showings?” I asked.

She blushed, which surprised me. “A few. One of them was actually for Shay.”

“Oh?”

“I showed him a few condos in the new building on the river,” she said.

“He’s been wanting to buy another place to rent out,” I replied. “Did you two get lucky?”

For some reason, her blush deepened. “It’s a nice condo, but not what he was looking for. We’re meeting again next week to look at more options.”

I felt a momentary flash of annoyance. Jordan had hooked up with her, and was teaching her son to play baseball. Now Shay was going to look at property with Haley. Everyone was spending time with her except me.

You’re having lunch with her, I told myself.This just proves you need to make the most of it.

We ordered food and she talked about her job for a little while. I was a terrible boyfriend back in high school, but now I was a much better listener. I nodded along, asked questions, and was genuinely interested in hearing about her life.

“Tell me about your job,” she finally said. “Wait. No. Tell me about yourcareer. All I really know is that you moved out to Detroit.”

I spent the rest of lunch catching her up on my life. I worked at the auto shop after high school. Eventually I realized that was a dead-end job, so I went to a trade school to learn how to weld. That led to an internship working at a Ford manufacturing plant in Detroit.

---