Page 25 of Just Another Chance

“That’s enough time for ice cream,” I say. “There’s a great place on the next block that always has warm waffle cones ready to go.”

“Sounds good.”

We walk over to the ice cream shop and get in line.

While Addie studies the board of flavors, I study her. I can’t look away. Her hair is pulled up in a high ponytail today and she wears a fitted t-shirt and jeans that emphasize every single luscious curve. Damn, I don’t remember her being this voluptuous and I really like it.

“I think I’ll have-”

“Mint chocolate chip?” I ask, already reading her thoughts.

Her eyes narrow. “And I assume you’ll get pralines and cream?”

I chuckle. “We haven’t changed much when it comes to our tastes in ice cream, have we?”

“I guess not,” she says and grins.

I order each of us a scoop in a waffle cone and then pay. Addie murmurs a thank you and after we get our treat, we sit down at a little table near the window. After a couple of licks, Addie sighs. “This is delicious,” she says.

“Best ice cream this side of Manhattan,” I tell her, and we share a smile.

For a moment, neither of us says anything, but I know both our minds are spinning. I feel like Fate has stepped in and it’s offering us a second chance. And I’m not about to blow it. I also know it’s a little too soon to get into the serious questions that have been plaguing me like why she left so abruptly two years ago. It’s eating me up inside, but I try to keep the conversation light and pleasant.

“So how long have you been back in South Grove?” I ask.

“Not even a week,” she replies and takes a lick.

My gaze tracks the movement of her tongue around the scoop of ice cream and then across her lower lip. My groin tightens in response.Goddamn this woman will be my undoing.

“And you said you were living upstate?”

I nod, unable to look away from her dark eyes. They are like some kind of magnetic black hole, sucking me in and there’s no escape. Not that I’m looking for one. I could happily swim in their dark beauty forever and never come up for air.

“I didn’t think you’d ever leave the city,” she says.

“The last couple of years have been difficult,” I say and study her closely. “Wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes,” she answers carefully. “But they’ve also been pretty amazing at the same time.”

My eyes narrow at her cryptic response. What the hell does that mean? Is she seeing someone? I look down and triple-check her ring finger. It’s bare. “Are you single?” I ask, being completely blunt. I refuse to play games and pretend I’m not interested when I’m dying inside to be with this woman again.

“Are you?” she tosses right back.

“Yes.”

She gives a slow nod, blinks, and takes another bite of ice cream, making me wait. “Me, too,” she finally admits.

Relief floods through every single pore of my body.Thank fuck. I wouldn’t have handled it very well if she said she had a boyfriend or, God forbid, a husband. “Addie, can I be completely honest with you?” I ask.

“I don't know. Can you?”

The weird way she says that throws me for a loop. She’s the one who left, I remind myself. When we broke up, it’s because she had skipped town without bothering to talk to me. So why is she making it sound like it’s my fault?

Before I can respond, she wipes her hands and tells me she has to get back to work. I bite my tongue and decide to wait and bring up Chella and the disastrous dinner later. Maybe the key is to take things slowly and get to know each other all over again.

That’s what I tell myself as we walk back to the flower shop. Then I buy 50 long-stemmed white roses, jot down another message on a complimentary card and tuck it in the side of the vase. Heather rings me up this time and after signing the credit card slip, I glance back toward the work area where Addie cleans thorns off some roses.

“See you tomorrow at 2,” I say and give her a smile. As I turn to head out, Heather calls out to me.

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