Page 53 of Second Chance Wedding
He wanted to strangle Calvin for undoing the progress he and Ana had made. “I’m righthere. Okay? Nothing happened. And even if it had, it wouldn’t have been your fault.”
“That’s not true. Calvin said you volunteered for dangerous missions. You did that because of me.”
He raked a hand over his head and glared at the two dudes still staring in Ana’s direction like they intended to play hero. “I was hurting; I’ll admit that. But how is that any different from how you reacted to ending things?”
He lowered his voice so that only she could hear. “You hooked up with Ben’s father because of the pain you felt over ending things. That wasn’t normal behavior for you. Ana, webothmade mistakes, but we’re standing here now, and that’s all that matters. Don’t allow what Jonesie said to get into your head. Let it go.”
He watched as she blinked several times and the tip of her nose turned red, but he didn’t see tears. Only…resignation?
“I know it’s the past, but it doesn’t change things,” she said softly. “We’ve had our moment, Cole. And after what Calvin said and what’s happening with Ben, I think it’s best if we keep things as they are, as…friends.”
“I want more, Ana. I want you. I wantus.”
She sucked in a breath at his words, and he could see the wariness in her eyes. But he also saw desire. For the same?
“Look, maybe the timing wasn’t right back then, but with everything we’ve gone through, how can you not see that we’re shortchanging ourselves if we don’t try again?”
Seconds ticked by, and he let himself hope despite Jonesie’s warning about the consequences of getting it wrong again.
“No,” she said with a firm shake of her head. “No, you have to stop with this. It will never work.”
He stared down at her, realizing she meant it. Ana cared for him— He’d even go as far as to say she still loved him the same way he loved her after all these years. But she didn’t believe in them andthat?
He couldn’t fight her disbelief and doubts.
Didn’t know how to.
Because if she didn’t think they could make it, she’d sabotage every step to make sure they didn’t.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “You want more from me than I can give you. Ican’tbe responsible for hurting you again, and I-I can’t handle anything else right now. Okay? I can’t. Benji and his issues, my business— They come first, and you deserve so muchmore, Cole. You deservebetter,” she said, turning on her heel and hurrying away into the lady’s locker room.
* * *
Several hours later, Cole glared at the ceiling of the rental building, his mind replaying Ana’s words at the gym on repeat.
The haunting way she’d said the last of it: that he deservedbetter…
He’d needed a ninety-minute punishing workout, a hot shower and the drive back to Carolina Cove before realizing one cold, hard fact: he’d forgiven Ana and himself for the hurt and pain of the past, but Ana hadn’t forgiven herself. And it didn’t appear that she was going to anytime soon.
So what now?
A loud bang sounded as Benjamin entered the rental building from the street and let the wind catch the door behind him, slamming it. Ben had been grumbling all week at the fact it was fall break, but he had to work while his friends surfed and goofed off.
“The windows are clean,” Ben said, hesitating by the door and staring intently at something outside.
“Good. Alec wants you to pick up trash and empty the bins at the pumps, and when you’re done, Brooks wants to teach you how to do some stuff in the back.”
“Okay but— Can I do the trash out front later?”
The teen’s hesitancy had Cole lifting his head to see that Ben lingered at the door, his gaze remaining outside. “As long as it gets done, I guess so. Any particular reason why?”
Ben sucked in a breath. Cole watched from the side as Ben’s face turned a dull shade of red and his hands fisted over the spray bottle and squeegee he held. “Ben? Something wrong?”
Cole stretched out a hand and used the mouse to click on the security camera feeds. The cameras covered the outside of the rental building, the front of the convenience store and a good view of the pumps.
A group of teenagers about Ben’s age made their way to the hotdog stand on the other side of the store, but the boy and girl in the back paused long enough for a blazing kiss. “Friends of yours?”
“Not anymore.”
