Page 51 of Captivating Mr. Second Chance

He craned his neck up the street. “Black Volkswagen?”

“Yep.”

With a quick glimpse at her, he said, “Wasn’t so bad in there, right?”

“It was all right.” At his surprised eyebrow, she folded her arms. “Is it terrible that I’m a little bit relieved Jennifer Hill is divorced twice, and Leslie Davis has three kids with three different people? I’m not the only one with some stuff to hide.”

Ethan slung his arm around her neck and tugged her close to kiss the top of her head. The wool of his jacket scratched against her skin, but she set her cheek on his chest anyway, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“I hope you don’t think you need to hide from me.”

Ethan Marrero was the one person she couldn’t hide anything from. Even if she wanted to.

She tipped her head back to stare up at him. “I don’t.”

“Good.” He dropped his lips to hers for one chaste kiss. “Go on a date with me.”

She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, he kissed her again, this time sliding his tongue along her lower lip. In the next moment, he had her back up against the building. It was cold out, but huddled together, exchanging hot breaths and even hotter swipes of their tongues, she was toasty warm.

“You taste like wine,” he said against her mouth.

“House Cabernet.”

“Tastes good on you.”

If he hadn’t had her pinned against the brick wall, she would’ve swooned from that line, and he knew it. He smiled against her jaw as his hands roamed down her sides, tucking into her back pockets. “There’s a show in Philly I want to go to next week. Come with me.”

“Some indie band that no one has ever heard of but you?”

“Mm-hmm.” He kissed her throat. “We can grab dinner before.”

She turned away from him, but that only gave him better access to her neck.

“You’ve been working so hard for the fundraiser. Let me repay you.”

She sucked in a clearing breath and stepped out of his grasp. “Ethan.” She shook her head, unable to meet his eyes. “That’s exactly why we can’t.”

He huffed, bending his knees, forcing himself into her line of vision. “I can make you come with a vibrator, but I can’t take you on a date?”

She pushed him away with a hand on his shoulder, annoyed with his tone. “I don’t think you understand how it feels to lose everything because you couldn’t keep business and feelings separate.”

“I’m not him, Delaney.” He threw his hands up at his sides, his voice rising uncharacteristically in agitation. “Number one, I’m not a dumbass, and number two, this isn’t some huge worldwide business. This is a local fundraiser. You don’t work for me. If you don’t want to do it anymore, then don’t.”

“I don’t want to quit. I’ve got big plans for that money from Mr. Kinney. Down payments for a couple of rentals.”

His pinched face relaxed, his eyes pooling with tenderness. “You’re doing a big favor for me, and I’d like to repay you.”

She bit back her smile, her own irritation fading. “With sex?”

“With dinner and a concert,” he amended in mock seriousness. “Repayment for helping out a friend.”

She crossed her arms. “And everything else?”

“That,” he started, crowding her space once more, “is me making up for being an idiot ten years ago.”

As he moved to kiss her, Cynthia pulled up, and Laney pressed her hand to Ethan’s chest, giving in. Because he wasn’t the only one who was an idiot ten years ago.

“Okay.”

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