Page 59 of Captivating Mr. Second Chance

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“You like the show?” Ethan asked as the lights on the floor came back on, the crowd dispersing toward the doors on the left.

“Yeah.”

“I thought you might.” He curled his hand around hers as they walked toward the exit. Ethan had always had an eclectic taste in music, but Laney liked the softer pop stuff, which was why he guessed she’d enjoy this band. Like if Ben Folds Five played more R&B with a gravelly kind of Motown voice and Top-40 lyrics.

“Thanks for taking me,” she said, and he kissed her head.

“My pleasure.”

She snuggled into his side as they followed the throngs of people out of the venue and to the parking lot. The walk to the car wasn’t long, but it was cold enough to see their breath. Damn early spring weather was all over the place.

“Did you want to hang out around here or head home?” he asked her, knowing there were some cool bars in the area, but as she got into his car with chattering teeth, he suspected her answer.

“Home, please.”

He sat down behind the wheel and blasted the heat.

“You need butt warmers in here,” she said, running her hands up and down her legs.

“Maybe in our next car.”

Laney stilled momentarily but otherwise didn’t say anything about his statement, whatever the opposite of a Freudian slip was. As far as Ethan was concerned, he was ready to combine bank accounts and adopt a dog. Go to Target and buy one of those mats for the front door that saidOur Nestor something equally as cheesy. Hell, he’d buy one for every holiday and season. Flamingos in the summer and one with a snowman for the winter. Go all out.

Though in the moment, all he did was point all the air vents in Laney’s direction. “Better?”

She nodded, nibbling on her bottom lip, and he let her go, giving her space and time to think through whatever it was she needed to. As he got back on the highway, his mind wandered as well, over what it would take to keep Laney. Once they’d graduated high school, she was gone. She’d found her wings and hadn’t looked back. Ethan didn’t know how much he had to do with her choices, but he assumed a little. What he did know for a fact was that she had felt stifled in West Chester, as if all eyes were on her.

The only current problem was he didn’t know if she’d stay now that she was home. Or if the wind would take her off in another direction, away from him. He didn’t want to lose her again and was determined to rewrite their history. He would tell her how he felt this time around, make sure they would look into each other’s eyes when they came to their decision, whatever it might be, instead of running from each other.

Arriving back at Dean’s, he shut off the ignition. “So?”

“So…”

“What did you think?”

“Of what?”

He circled his finger around, encompassing everything. “Of this. Of tonight. Of you and me.”

She unlatched her seat belt and sat forward. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I just…” She covered her face with her hands, muffling words that sounded like, “I don’t know if I could get over you again.”

“What?” He gently pulled on her wrists. “I can’t understand you.”

She fisted her hands, sighing. “Ethan, you broke my heart.”

He let go of her to rake his hands through his hair then moved to reach for her again. “I’m sorry.”

“It took me years to get over you. I avoided getting close to anyone for a long time.”

He licked his lips, nodding. It had been the same for him too. “I was a stupid kid, but I was as heartbroken as you were. I didn’t know how to fix it then. I didn’t have the words or actions, but I do now, and I promise I won’t hurt you.”

In the dark of his car, Laney’s eyes were like clear, glowing pools as they toggled between his own, and his heart contracted as if someone had their fist around it—as if she had her fist around it. Threading his hands into her hair, he crushed his mouth to hers. This might have been their first official date, but this conversation was a long time coming, and he used his lips as words, his tongue as punctuation. He didn’t plan on stopping until he had her convinced.

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