Page 87 of Second Chance Savior

River

“What day?”I asked.

But I knew.

“Five years ago. The last time I saw you. You came to my grandpa’s wake. You and I were supposed to have lunch the next day to catch up, and you didn’t show.”

Oh. That. The one last incident I’d avoided explaining to her. Because it was damned embarrassing.

Shit.

I’d been visiting my mother in California. Always a questionable decision, but I did try on occasion to be a good son. Not that Natalia ever noticed.

During that trip, Natalia told me that Charlotte’s grandfather had died. Mrs. McKinley’s dad. The funeral would be held right there in Southern California. My mother was still friends with Charlie’s mom, so I’d gone as well to offer my condolences to the McKinley family.

And to see Charlie. Of course to see her.

The occasion had been somber. A wake was hardly a place to go looking for a date. But Charlie had been so beautiful. Happy to see me. Eager to catch up on what we’d been doing in the last couple years since she and Ross had broken up.

I’d managed to fish for info on her current relationship status. Learned she was single.

I’d already known that my brother wasn’t heartbroken. Neither was she. Their careers had pulled them in different directions.

I’d asked her to have lunch with me. Planned to confess how I felt, even though I had no clue how a relationship between us would work. She was an up-and-coming state legislator. I was a CIA operative, stationed overseas. Nearly every detail of my work top secret.

But to hell with reality, right? I’d wanted to finally unburden my soul.

“I told you why I couldn’t make it to lunch. I got a call that I was needed at Langley.”

“Was that true?”

I swallowed. “Partly. They wanted me back a couple days early from my trip, but not right then.”

That night, I hadn’t slept. Not a minute. I’d called her in the morning, telling her I had to return to DC. I had punked out. And that had been the last time I’d seen or spoken to her.

I dropped my forehead to hers. “I was a coward. I was afraid of what you’d say.”

“I don’t believe that. You’re many things, River, but you’ve never been a coward.”

“That day, I was.” I’d never told a single human being about that failure, not even Trace or Owen. I was too ashamed of it. “Do you think anything would be different if I’d told you then?”

“I don’t know. But I wish I’d known, just so I wouldn’t have been angry at you.”

“I probably would’ve done something else to piss you off.”

She huffed a laugh and ran her fingers through my hair. “Why was this time different? Why did you finally tell me?”

“I’d like to think I’m braver. Quit the Agency. Joined the Protectors. I have more purpose now than I’ve ever had before. But the truth is that I just ran out of excuses.”

I still didn’t deserve her. But here we were. Naked after an extremely satisfying encounter. I mean, it had been some of my best work.

“I don’t have any dirty secrets left,” I said. “Unless—do you want to see my porn search history?”

She cracked up. “Maybe. Do you want to see mine?”

I growled, rolling her beneath me. “I definitely want to see that. Mind you, I could’ve dug up your internet dirt already, but I was being a good boy.”

Her hand moved down between us, cupping my half-hard cock. “Let’s see how good a boy you can be.”

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