Page 30 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“Hey,” I said.

He glanced up from his book. “Hey. What’s up? I thought you were working.”

“I got a message from your… uh, I mean, I got a text from Cole. He wants to know if you might want to hang out today?”

Ashton’s brow furrowed, and he ran his tongue along his lower lip. After a few seconds of thought, his lips twitched at the corner.

“Okay. Yeah. That would be cool. If it’s fine with you.”

“This isn’t about me,” I said, the words sticky and thick like they didn’t want to come out. Fourteen years of me watching over him and making my son’s business mine. Now? He’d have to make his own decisions, and unless I wanted to be the bad guy, I’d need to let him.

His smile grew wider. “All right. I’ll do it. When does he want to pick me up?”

I held up my phone. “I’ll text him, and we’ll figure out a time. He said this afternoon, so probably an hour or so.”

“Sweet,” he said, tossing his book down. “I’ll get changed.”

Avery:Ashton says he’d like that. Want to pick him up in an hour?

Cole:Great! I’m picking up something, and then I’ll head that way. See you guys in an hour.

With that done, all thoughts of work fled. There would be no concentrating on deadlines, edits, or sentence structure. All I would be able to think about was Cole coming over. Seeing himagain. Fifteen years without him, and now I’d be seeing him for the third time in as many days. So strange.

To kill time, I tried to do a few chores around the house to make it a bit more habitable. Dusting, vacuuming, and mopping. The company I’d used had done a good job keeping the palace from falling into disrepair, but a once-a-month maintenance check, plus dusting and mowing the yard every other week, really wasn’t enough to make it a home.

When the doorbell rang an hour later, I’d just put the mop and bucket away in the garage, and a slight sheen of sweat coated my forehead from all the work. Standing in front of the door, I took a few deep breaths to steady myself. Clenching the doorknob in my sweaty palm, I turned it, then swung the door open.

Cole, dressed in jeans, cowboy boots, and a fitted button-up shirt, stood on the porch, a bouquet of white lilies in his hand. My favorite flower of all time. Had he really remembered that after all these years?

“Afternoon, Avery,” he said, holding the flowers out to me. “I saw these and had to get them for you. Your favorite, right?”

I gaped at Cole as I took the bouquet from him. “You still remember this?”

Cole’s smile was… how to describe it? Not cocky or knowing. More like some combination of shy and hopeful.

“I remember everything about you, Avery. All of it.”

Unbidden, a storm of butterflies fluttered through my stomach. Trying my best to ignore that, and the thoughts and memories that tried to surface, I turned and called for Ashton.

“Ash? Cole’s here,” I called out, cupping my hand around my mouth to be heard down the hall.

“Coming!” he yelled back.

“Is he excited?” Cole asked, staying on the porch rather than coming in uninvited.

“I think so,” I said, keeping my voice low. “He’s a bit nervous, though, so be ready for that.”

“Got it. I understand,” Cole said with a quick nod. “Can I talk to you about something when we get back?”

“Okay, sure. We can talk,” I said just as Ashton joined us.

“Hey, Cole,” Ashton said.

The smile never faded from Cole’s face, but I knew him well, and even after all the years, I could read his face like a book. His eyes crinkled at the edges, and he dipped his head a bit. It was a look of disappointment.

It only took a half second for me to understand why. Ashton had called him “Cole” instead of “Dad.” Cole might be hoping for that, but it was still way too early for Ash to call him that. Cole would soon learn how hard-headed our son was. Then he’d understand that Ash needed time.

“Hey, buddy,” Cole said. “Are you ready to hang out with me?”

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