Page 4 of Second Chance Wedding
“There she is. My mom’ll fix this,” she heard Benji say in a blustery yet panicked tone.
The dimly lit alley and the limo’s headlights bouncing off the dumpster a ways away gave off what little light there was. The limo canted sideways in the narrow space, and a knot formed in her stomach when she realized the vehicle had hit something.
The smell of asphalt assaulted her senses along with the inevitable smell of salt-air corrosion that seemed to latch onto everything this close to the beachfront. But it could also be the fear she saw on her son’s face and his position inches from the driver’s seat. Realization dawned, and he wasn’t the only one afraid. “What’s happening here?”
She eyed the suited back of the tall, broad-shouldered man standing way too close to Benji, aware that he loosened his hold and shifted to the side at the sound of her voice. She ignored the man for the time being as she focused entirely on her son. “Benji, are you hurt? What is going on?”
“Ana?”
That voice.
The ground seemed to move beneath her feet, and she stumbled a bit in the heels thanks to a small rock and a bit of grit. One of the hands so recently holding onto Benji quickly latched onto her arm to steady her before she went sprawling, and she found herself staring up at the chiseled jawline and gorgeous face of Cole Blackwell as he held both her and her son.
Everything happened at once. Cole’s gaze widened slightly in unmistakable surprise as he glanced from her to Benji and back again. He canted his head slightly, gaze narrowing dangerously, and seemed as shocked to see her as she was him.
Or maybe shocked by the fact she had a teenage son the same age as the last time they’d seen each other?
“Ana, what the??—”
ChapterTwo
Cole Blackwell stared down at the raised face of the woman who’d shattered his heart and his life fifteen years ago, steeling himself against the shock and unease clouding her otherwise beautiful face.
Analise Taylor, only child of Judge Robert and Maureen Taylor, had stolen his heart the moment he’d set eyes on her. She’d walked the boardwalk between friends, head tilted back, wide smile on her face, sea breeze whipping through her long, wavy hair as she’d stared up at the Ferris wheel and begged her friends to ride with her to the top.
When he’d heard them say no and make excuses, he’d offered himself as a companion, volunteering to go so she wouldn’t have to ride alone.
Ignoring the whispers and giggles of her friends and knowing she was way out of his league, he’d barely dared to breathe until she’d said yes. They’d exchanged awkward glances and attempted small talk until it was their turn. Then he’d squeezed into the metal seat beside her, and they’d topped the ride and laughed at the squawking seagulls. The smell of her shampoo or soap had filled his head until he’d felt dizzy with the urge to kiss her.
He’d settled for putting his arm over the back of the seat for comfort and using it to boldly tug her closer when a gust of wind rocked the carriage and drew a squeak of fear from her. He’d thanked God for the timing.
“Cole…”
She whispered his name, and the expression that crossed her face as she said it— Was he reading her right? She seemed regretful and as pained by their past as he’d been getting a Dear John email from her while stationed in the desert all those years ago.
“Let me go!”
The kid’s whiny order broke their locked gazes, and Cole watched as she turned her attention to the teenaged thief using their distraction to his advantage. The teen broke the hold Cole had on him because Cole allowed it, but then the snot-nosed kid smirked up at Cole as though he believed he’d actually bested a marine.
“Don’t move,” he ordered the boy.
“Benji, what is going on? What happened?” Ana asked.
Cole shoved down his shock to glare at the kid and lifted an eyebrow high. “You man enough to tell her, or do I have to?”
The teenager opened his mouth but then closed it again like the silent act would make him look tough. Cole shook his head and once again had to force all thoughts of Ana in short shorts and a tank top from his mind so he could focus on the moment at hand. “Your son stole my limo for a joyride and wrecked it.”
“Benji.”
“I told you I wanted to leave,” the boy said, his voice squeaking on a high note bats could probably hear.
Cole split his attention between the punk and Ana, acutely aware of the way Analise’s face paled and her trembling increased with her upset.
“Benji, what iswrongwith you? What were you thinking?”
Ana’s upset brought her a step closer to her son, which meant she was a step closer to Cole, and he filled his lungs with the unmistakable scent of her.
His body reacted, muscles tightening to the point of pain with the effort it took to keep his hands to himself and not drag her off somewhere in the dark and get the answers she owed him.
