Page 5 of Last Second Chance

Again, no further engagement. Small talk, my ass.

What was left to bring up? The weather? I could have stated the obvious about how gorgeous our surroundings were, with the beach running parallel to the road that we were on, but I didn’t see that making her open up.

The drive to the hotel was short, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Things were uncomfortable inside of the car, but there was still something about being near her that made me feel alive more than I had since she ended our relationship.

As soon as I pulled up in front of the hotel, I expected her to get out of the car and run away from me. But as she unhooked her seatbelt, she turned to me instead.

“Listen...why don’t we just make this whole thing easier and try to stay away from each other as much as possible?” she asked, like it was the most reasonable option.

My heart sank. That wasn’t what I was hoping she’d say. For one brief moment when her eyes met mine, I dared to think that she was going to soften towards me again, just a little.

“And...thanks for the ride,” she added, getting out of the car.

I watched her grab her suitcase and head inside while I still sat behind the wheel.

It was safe to say this plan to get the two of us together was off to a bad start.

CHAPTER3

Poppy

The welcoming party that night was a blast. I drank, socialized, sang my heart out on the karaoke machine—and most importantly, managed to avoid Scott. I wasn’t exactly musically inclined—I’d been told in the past that I was pitchy, which was putting it nicely—but I had fun anyway. I wasn’t trying to impress anybody.

The party was in the banquet hall on the ground floor of the hotel, which was convenient since the alcohol was flowing. A few people got trashed earlier and retired to their rooms on the eighth floor, but I was there right up until the end.

The whole thing was organized by Faith, the bride-to-be, and as the party started to wind down, I noticed that she was going around with a trash bag, throwing out napkins, paper plates, and beer bottles left on the tables. Most people were gone by now, with just a few stragglers talking to Michael as he ushered them out the door. It was nearly midnight.

“Are you planning to clean this place up tonight?” I asked Faith, glancing around the large room.

She grinned. “I’m afraid so. The hotel has a cleaning crew that will do it for an extra fee, but they don’t work this late, so…”

“Nope,” I said, coming closer and taking the half-full trash bag from her hands. “No way am I going to let you deal with this mess.”

“But I—”

She was cut off as Ben appeared out of nowhere at her side.

“What’s going on?” he asked, looking at me curiously as I took over tossing the trash into the bag.

“We’re cleaning up,” I informed my brother. “Go find a broom.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” he said but headed over to a nearby closet anyway. I knew that Ben would never leave me here cleaning up by myself.

“No, really,” Faith insisted. “You guys are our guests. You don’t have to clean.”

I put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. “This is happening. And don’t take this the wrong way, but you look tired. Why don’t you go rest? I’m sure you have a big day planned tomorrow too.”

“You heard the woman,” Michael said as he walked up behind Faith. “You can’t do it all, baby.”

Ben had also returned and Faith looked around at all of us before sighing in defeat. She could see she was outnumbered.

“Okay, I’ll go,” she agreed. “But I owe you guys one.”

“Come on.” Michael put an arm around her waist and led her out of the banquet hall. He looked back at us before leaving, mouthing a “thank you.”

That left just me and Ben, but the cleaning didn’t take long, despite the size of the room. It was mostly just collecting trash left on the tables and sweeping the floor. When that was done, Ben offered to take the full trash bags out to the dumpster while I straightened the chairs, making sure they were under the tables so the place looked tidy.

That was when I came across Faith’s purse hanging off the back of a chair. I knew it was hers because it wasn’t her everyday bag. She’d had the word Bride sewn into the fabric so there was no doubt who it belonged to.

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