Page 89 of Second Chance Wedding
“This about what happened Saturday night?” Brooks asked.
When Alec and Gage stared at them in question, Cole sighed and explained how Brooks had spotted Ben and the hours that followed. “If you could’ve seen Ben… I know I did the right thing, but Ana says it wasn’t my call to make.”
“It wasn’t,” Alec said.
“I think Cole’s right,” Brooks said. “For whatever reason, Ben obviously needed to see the guy in person.”
“You still should’ve called her,” Alec said. “Ran it by her first. She’s his mom, and she had a right to know. Finding out her child snuck out was bad enough. That was strike one because you didn’t inform her. But to add to that, you then took an emotionally fragile teenager to see someone who had abandoned him. What if Ben confronted the guy? Or the guy recognized Ben and made it clear he wanted nothing to do with him? Or that he did want contact after all these years? The situation could’ve escalated easily, and Ana wasn’t even there.”
Cole shut his gritty eyes and groaned. “I get it, but I think any of those scenarios could’ve played out, and it still would’ve been better for Ben than going through life pretending the guy doesn’t exist when he lives in the same area.”
“Ben doesn’t need him,” Brooks said.
“He doesn’t— That’s why I told Ben we’re his family now,” Cole said. “That no matter what happens with me and Ana, Ben has me—all of us—if and when he ever needs something.”
“Good,” Brooks said, nodding. “Blood doesn’t make a family, and that loser who fathered him certainly isn’t his.”
“Is Ana going to be okay with that?” Gage asked, doubt heavy in his tone.
“We didn’t discuss it, but either way Ben still has to work off the debt, so we’ll see him here. We’ll make it work. Plus I’d already told him he could come to the Christmas party and bring a few friends.”
“We were already keeping an eye on him, but we can step it up and make a point to spend a little extra time and attention on him,” Alec said. “That’s not going to help your situation with Ana though.”
Brooks leaned forward and planted his elbows on his desk. “If Ben tells her the truth about why he did it, she’ll see she’s wrong.”
“That—or she’ll dig in her heels and double down because she feels threatened,” Cole murmured. “Which is…what I saw the other night when she ordered me to leave them both alone.”
“Ah, man. Sorry,” Brooks said without his usual snark.
Gage stood and stretched his arms overhead. “This is why I’ll never get married. You helped her son and kept him out of jail even though she ended things with you, and she’s still mad at you.”
“Yeah, that’s why,” Brooks said with a mocking snort.
“Life is complicated,” Alec added before the other two could start bickering.
“I don’t want Ana feeling indebted to me. That’s not why I helped her—or Ben,” Cole said.
Alec stared at Cole from across the desk. “So what happens now?”
Cole pressed his palms to his eyes and rubbed. “God only knows. Maybe she’ll come to the Christmas party with Ben, and I can talk to her then. Try to smooth things over once she’s had time to process things.”
“Sounds safe,” Brooks says.
Cole lowered his hands and glanced at Brooks in question.
“She can’t kill you there. Too many witnesses.”
* * *
The last person Ana ever expected to see inside her boutique was her father. But as she stepped out of the office to make her way onto the sales floor, she stumbled at the sight of him. “Dad? What are you doing here?”
Her father turned away from the jewelry display and walked to where she’d moved behind the checkout counter, leaning against it for support.
“I need to talk to you, Analise.”
Yeah, she was not in the mood for one of her father’s lectures. “Now’s not a good time. I’m busy.”
Her father lifted a thick eyebrow high and purposefully glanced at the interior of the empty boutique.
