Page 66 of Second Chance Fate

“Thank you.”

“It’s the least I…” he paused, and a wide smile spread across his face as he finished, “…can do.”

They laughed a little as they both filled her plates. The phrase he’d just said was the one that had led to them sleeping together. She wondered if they were going to talk about what happened. She could feel the energy between them was different. She wasn’t sure if it was because of last night or if it was because she was going to tell Owen today that he was his dad, and they were married. Maybe both.

“Listen, about last night…” Caleb started.

Okay, it was last night. Taylor braced herself for rejection. Caleb was her husband, but it wasn’t as if he’d married her because he loved her. Their union was about Owen. It was about legalities and their son. She was pretty out of it when he asked her to marry him, but she did remember him saying that he loved her. Still, the truth was it had nothing to do with any sort of emotional, physical, or romantic connection. It was what was best for Owen.

Last night was… well, she knew what last night was for her. Last night was over a decade of repressed feelings and desires coming to the surface. She’d done her best to forget the weekend she and Caleb shared together in Daytona Beach and be emotionally faithful to Martin, but it was difficult to do when she was raising a walking, breathing reminder of Caleb. She never got over him. Whether or not people believed in love at first sight, it was what happened to her. She did fall in love with him that weekend. She’d loved him for the nearly twelve years they’d been apart, and once she moved to Hope Falls, she’d fallen even deeper in love with him.

Oh, and wine. Last night was also about wine. She’d always been a lightweight, and she’d had two glasses of wine.

“I just want you to know…I don’t want you to think that I?—”

“It’s fine, really; you don’t have to say anything,” she assured him. “I understand.”

“You do?” His left brow arched.

“I do.” She cut into her pancakes and took a large bite. She figured if her mouth was full, she couldn’t be forced to speak.

When they’d hooked up over spring break, there hadn’t been any awkward morning-after conversations. She slipped out from under his arms as the sun began to rise. She’d been gone before he woke up.

The next time they spoke was when they ran into each other outside Brewed Awakenings. Speaking of the coffeehouse, she needed to follow up with Audrey to see what her schedule would be next week. As much as she appreciated Caleb allowing her and Owen to live at his house, she wasn’t going to let go of the cottage just yet. No matter how amazing Caleb was, she was never going to be dependent on a man again. Ever.

“What?” he asked.

She glanced up at him, and her cheeks heated with embarrassment. Had she mumbled under her breath? It was a habit she’d developed when she was young that Martin hated, and she worked hard to break it.

“What, what?” she repeated.

“What do you understand?” he questioned.

Her forehead creased as she tried to backtrack their conversation to figure out what he was referring to. What could she have possibly said that would have triggered that question? Her confusion must have been evident because he clarified further.

“I brought up last night, and you said that I don’t have to say anything because you understand. So I’m asking, what do you understand?”

She swallowed her bite and then took a drink of her orange juice. It made sense that he wanted to talk this out. Their relationship was a poster child for ‘it’s complicated.’ He must be concerned that she was going to get the wrong idea, and he didn’t want to lead her on. As much as she appreciated the position he was in, she wished they could just pretend the night before hadn’t happened.

“I understand that?—”

The doorbell rang a second before both Minnie and Casper began to bark their heads off. So much for the King’s Guard.

“Are you expecting someone?” she asked.

“No. Just give me a minute.”

He stood and walked to the door with Casper and Minnie trailing behind him.

The door opened, and Minnie whined loudly as her tail went crazy, her backend wiggling wildly.

“Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?”

Mom? Dad?His parents weren’t supposed to be home for another week. Taylor looked down at how she was dressed.

She was wearing Caleb’s clothes, eating breakfast, and she wanted to say this was not how it looked. The problem was, it was exactly how it looked.

21

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