Page 21 of Captivating Mr. Second Chance

“If I wanted to start a charity, what would that entail?”

“Charity? For what?”

Ethan tugged at the hair at the back of his head. “Something for Huntington’s.”

Dean rubbed his hands together. “Sure, yeah. Okay. We can do that. You’ll need a registered agent.” He pointed to himself. “We’ll open a 501(c)(3), get an EIN and all the tax stuff registered and sorted. Are you going to want a board?”

“I, uh, I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead, really. I figured I’d run the idea by you first to see what you thought.”

“I think it’s a great idea.” Dean’s eyes lit up. “How big are you thinking?”

Ethan pushed his glasses up his nose. “I mean…right now, I was thinking to do a local fundraiser. See how it goes and expand from there, but I’m not sure where to start.”

Dean snapped his fingers. “You know who you should talk to? Laney. I know she’s got experience with fundraising. Plus, she’s got all kinds of connections.”

As if he needed another reason to talk to Laney. Ethan only slurped his coffee, hoping his best friend couldn’t see how the prospect of working with Laney on this excited him.

“I know you’ve felt kinda helpless with all this,” Dean said after a minute. “I think this is a great idea. We got you.”

“Thanks.” Ethan finished the rest of his coffee then slapped his thighs. “I guess we should get started, huh?”

They worked for the next hour, drilling white cabinetry into place under the sink and hanging the fancy lighting fixtures above the huge mirror before finishing the grouting around the new tile Dean had installed.

Stepping back to admire it, Dean nodded. “Looks good, right?”

Ethan nodded. “Yeah, man, if you ever want to leave your career, I think you’ve got another one in home renovation.”

Before Dean could say anything else, the front door opened downstairs, and he ducked his head out into the hall. “Laney, get up here! Come look!”

A couple of thuds sounded before, “What?”

“We finished the bathroom.”

She hightailed it upstairs, her footsteps echoing through the house, and when she reached the top step, a grin broke out across her face. “You finished?”

Dean gestured for her to come inside, and Ethan took two steps back, offering her a smile of hello. She still wore her coat and scarf wrapped around her neck, but her nose and cheeks were tinged red, and he had trouble not reaching out to curl his palm around the curve of her jaw, feel how cold her skin was, and warm her up.

“Oh my god.” She gasped, reaching out for the new sink. “It’s gorgeous.” Her smile was blinding as she turned in a circle. “Look at you, even got a little hanging plant in the corner. Great job, boys.”

She high-fived her brother and gave Ethan’s bicep a friendly squeeze. There was no reason for him to flush with heat. But he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Whatever made her happy made him happy.

“I’ve got to put groceries away downstairs,” she said, and Ethan glanced at Dean.

“I’ll clean this up.” Dean tipped his chin to the tools scattered on the floor, so Ethan followed Laney back downstairs, where she hung her outerwear in the closet, revealing a matching athletic outfit, like she’d been at the gym, andfuck.

Laney was tall, barely shy of six feet, but when they were in high school, she didn’t have the curves she did now, like an old-school pinup. Ethan’s attention drifted down to her ass as she sauntered to the kitchen, and he physically shook his head, attempting to refocus. And not on the sliver of golden skin revealed between her top and leggings. With how the material clung to her, she might as well have been wearing nothing.

At her laugh, Ethan blinked back into the reality that he was supposed to be helping her empty grocery bags. “I’m sorry, what?”

With the raise of her eyebrow, he’d obviously been caught ogling her, although she didn’t seem to mind. “I said, how long have you been here?”

“Since about ten.”

She effortlessly reached up to the cabinet above her head to put away a box of cereal, and that didn’t help his gawking. She’d been a good athlete, into volleyball and even received a scholarship for softball, but not long into her first season at Pitt, she’d gotten a compound fracture in a game, on a bad slide apparently, and had to have surgery. Even though they hadn’t stayed in touch directly, Ethan had kept tabs on her from afar, always asking for updates from Dean, making sure she was all right. He assumed she still had that athletic inclination, but sweet lord, he appreciated how soft and plush her hips looked now.

“Good friend you are,” she said, pivoting around to open another bag. This one of small heart-wrapped chocolates and a bouquet of flowers. “I thought maybe you’d have plans today.”

“Valentine’s Day,” he said, filling in the blanks. He’d forgotten, not caring all that much about it. He placed a loaf of bread on the counter, followed by a carton of eggs. “You have plans?”

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