Page 10 of Captivating Mr. Second Chance

“You guess?”

“I’m not sure what you want me to say.” The anger-tinged words were unexpected, even to Laney, and a flash of sadness crossed his features before he fixed that easygoing smile back on his face.

Though they were adults now, and she thought she was over whatever it was they’d had, it was impossible to stand there with him and not have those ancient feelings surface. The hurt that she’d buried long ago had found its way back to the top.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I just want to know that you’re all right. You’re my friend. I care about you.”

Laney closed her eyes at his sweet tone and how it walloped her chest. “We haven’t been friends for a very long time, Ethan.”

When she opened her eyes back up to his face, that fact sat heavy between them. So much had happened to her, probably to him as well, and they weren’t the kids they used to be.

“I’m sorry,” he said, although she didn’t know what he was apologizing for. Tonight, the Bobby situation, their history, maybe all of it—she didn’t know.

He opened his mouth to say something, but with a stiff shake of her head, she stopped their mini-reunion. She needed to get out. Her wound from Bobby was still fresh, and with how she knew Ethan could affect her, she was liable to say anything. “I gotta go.”

She took wide steps to get around him, and as her fingertips touched the door handle, he said, “Hey, Laney.” When she glanced over her shoulder at him, his smile wavered. “It’s good to see you.”

The air rushed out of her lungs because, yeah. “It’s good to see you too.”

4

Ethan had moved around a lot as a kid, with a mother who worked as a United States Foreign Service officer and a father who had a PhD in economics. They’d lived in DC, San Diego, and Rome before finally settling in West Chester, and Ethan was happy to know his parents were well and truly settled. Even though he still loved to travel and had gone away for school, home was now West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Sitting at the card table with his friends, including Dean and Hank, his buddies from high school, Ethan’s mind reeled with memories.

“Hey, where’re the glasses?” Nadir asked.

“Oh.” Ethan blinked. “Yeah. Sorry.”

Hank snorted a laugh. “That’s the reason you went to the kitchen in the first place.”

Ethan got back up to grab the pint glasses he’d left on the counter when Laney had walked into the kitchen. He’d seen her, and his mind had gone blank for what felt like a century. He shouldn’t have been surprised to see her. Dean had told him she would be staying at his house for a while, or at least until she got back on her feet. Yet actually seeing her in the flesh, he felt it was like the first time all over again.

By the time the Marrero clan had settled in West Chester, Justin had already graduated college and had been living with Leah in New York City, so Ethan had started the new school his senior year by himself. His only saving grace had been the marching band. He’d met Dean, Hank, Gabe, and Patrick, and they’d all taken him right under their wings, so the first day of school wasn’t bad. Especially once he’d spotted Laney, right there in front of the Jesus statue, arguing with Dean. Her huge mass of curls had been piled up on the top of her head with a pencil sticking out. Her uniform skirt had been short, definitely against dress code, with one of her knee-high socks drooping down her endlessly long legs. Her voice carried as she’d threatened to murder her brother by running him over with the car they’d shared and that he’d apparently taken to school on his own so she’d had to ride the bus.

Eventually the argument died out, and Dean had introduced his twin sister to Ethan. She’d turned around, hit him with those baby blues and a smile that made him feel as if he could fly, and he’d been smitten.

Seeing her again tonight, he was smitten all over again. Even if her smile was fake and there were light purple bruises under her eyes like she hadn’t been sleeping well.

With the pint glasses in hand this time, Ethan made his way back down the hall to the living room, where Hank held up his growler of home brew. He was saying something about the hops, but Ethan didn’t pay attention. Instead, he grabbed a handful of pretzels and a napkin. God forbid, he got crumbs anywhere. Dean was a stickler about keeping his house pristine.

Once everyone had a pint full of beer, Seth dealt the cards, but with Ethan’s mind still lost in a fog of history, he had trouble concentrating.

“What’s with you tonight?” Dean asked after Ethan had lost yet another hand.

He chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Just…got my mind on other stuff, I guess.”

“Your brother?” Hank asked, and Ethan nodded. Because it was true. Since his brother’s diagnosis, he’d been able to think of little else.

Until tonight.

After a few minutes of quiet play, Seth drained the last of his beer then tapped a poker chip on the table, his eyes on Dean. “So, your sister…”

“Don’t,” was all Dean said.

“Don’t what?” Seth went on, poking the bear.

“Don’t, Seth.”

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