Page 61 of One More Chance
Freddie chucked under his breath, “We don’t stand out like we used to. Thanks, hipsters...” Both Freddie and Logan were wearing plaid shirts, puffy vests, and hiking boots, but their beards weren’t nearly as neat, and they were missing the ironic grandpa glasses.
The two men entered the building, but instead of turning to hold the door open, they let it fall behind them. It slammed shut hard in front of the brothers. Freddie and Logan looked to each other, “Jerks,” Freddie muttered.
“You can’t just let anyone into your building,” Logan explained.
Freddie rolled his eyes. “It’s still rude in my books. I don’t know why anyone would want to live here...” His voice trailed off as two very pretty women wielding yoga mats like archery quivers, walked by in their yoga pants.
“That’s why,” Logan laughed.
Freddie sucked in his breath and watched the girls skip down the stairs to the street while Logan scrolled through the intercom system. He found the name he was looking for and punched in the number.
“You’re late.” Logan could feel the ice in her voice through the speaker but heard the buzz and click as she let them into the building.
Serena was waiting in her doorway but didn’t invite them in. She was almost as pretty in person as she was online, her mask of makeup a little more obvious in the light of day. She looked the brothers up and down and then crossed her arms, leaning against her doorframe, her bony shoulder propped against it. She didn’t say a word, just stood there, lips pursed, eyebrows raised.
“Hi, Miss Cruise. I’m Logan Brush,” Logan extended his hand.
Serena unfolded her arm to examine her manicured nails. “I know. Who’s this?” She nodded her head at Freddie.
“This is my brother, Freddie Brush.”
“Backup?”
Logan sighed. He hadn’t expected this meeting to go well. “Serena, I need to talk to you about our agreement.”
“Let me guess,” she interrupted. “This has something to do with a certain dark-haired old lady.”
“It does.” Logan bristled at her description of Charlotte but knew that he needed to keep the meeting diplomatic. “Serena, I agreed to our contract because our hockey league needed an injection of funds. I was single at the time, and it didn’t seem like a rough way to raise money for my team.”
“Yeah, you weren’t exactly forced into it, you know?” she replied.
“Serena, this woman, she’s my soulmate. She was my high school sweetheart and I broke her heart fifteen years ago.” Logan saw her eyes soften and continued, “She came back into my life by surprise, and just when I had convinced her to give me a second chance, well, she found out about our agreement, and not in the greatest way.”
“Hah.” Serena had a smile on her face, but Logan couldn’t tell its nature, friend or foe? “This soulmate of yours thought you were cheating on her with me. That explains the champagne,” she mused. “Although if it were me, I would’ve broken the bottle over the bitch’s head.”
Logan smiled despite himself. The woman had moxy. “I had planned to call you directly that morning. I hoped you would be a sucker for a high school sweetheart story and let me off the hook. I would’ve given you your money back, but then Charlotte found out about it and now she won’t take my calls.”
Serena’s entire body seemed to relax, and she pushed the door to her condo open wide. “Come in, have a seat.”
Logan looked to Freddie, who nodded, and the two of them stepped into her tiny studio apartment. The brothers kicked off their boots, set them on a mat, and walked across her polished concrete floor in their wool socks.
“Can I offer you some water, or...” she opened the fridge, “water. That’s all I really drink.”
“I’m fine, thanks,” the brothers said in unison.
She turned around, her eyebrows raised, “Are you guys twins or something?”
Freddie looked at Logan and grinned, “He wishes.”
“I’m sure he does,” Serena said. Her eyes lingered on Freddie as she perched on a stool at her kitchen bar.
Logan saw Freddie sit up a little taller as a crimson blush spread across his jawline.
“You’re telling me that this woman, whoever she is, means so much to you that you would give up that money and a chance to be seen with me in public?”
“Yes.”
“This woman. What is it about her? You could have an A-lister if you wanted.” Serena leaned in a little closer, she seemed genuinely interested.
