Page 50 of Second Chance Wedding
Cole swiveled on the stool and leaned hard on the bar as he faced his friend. “Tell me before I get arrested for punching my best friend.”
“Oh, so we’re friends now? See, I thought friends talked to each other, but I haven’t heard from you since you left the corps. If I had, maybe I’d have known you planned to bring the woman who nearly got you killed a hundred times over.”
Cole glared at Jonesie and fought the urge to throat punch him. “Did youtell herthat?”
“She asked about the days after she broke it off.”
“Calvin, come on. Those missions were legit. Someone had to do it.”
“It didn’t have to be you,” Jones shot back. “Not when your head was so messed up. Don’t sit there and pretend you took those on for any other reason than hoping a bullet might end it for you.”
He couldn’t deny it. But thankfully his will to live had been stronger. “That could be said of a lot of soldiers in the same situation. Not just me. I got lost in the dark for a while, but you had no right to throw that in her face.”
“I had every right.”
“Ana and I have talked about her reasons for that email. We’d moved beyond it. I can’t believe you did that.”
“Why’d you walk out?”
“What?” Cole asked, watching as the bartender set the drink on the counter in front of Jones.
“Last night when you went storming off the dance floor. Why’d you leave?”
Jones waggled a finger in Cole’s face when the reason came to mind.
“See? That right there. I heard you, man. I heard you accuse her of lying. When are you going to learn your lesson with that girl?”
“She lied to protect her son.”
“Yeah, she told me, and I get it, but you leaving like that? You’re already in over your head. What happens when she chooses her son—like most moms do—over you?”
Cole muttered a curse under his breath. “I’ll deal with it.”
“Like you did last time? Come on, man. I’m not trying to be the bad guy here. I’m just trying to get you to see that some things are best left alone. You and Ana worked out the past, and that’s great. It’s called closure. So why open that door again?”
“Because things are different now,” Cole said.
“I don’t see how. She’s lying, and you’re pissed off. You sure things are different? You obviously have issues with her kid. She said as much last night.”
“Ben… He’s never had a dad in the picture, and he’s walking a tightrope when it comes to Ana and authority.”
“That’s not your problem, Cole. Look, the military might not stand between you and Ana now, but her son does. After everything you’ve been through, don’t make yourself a casualty now.”
Cole downed the drink he’d ordered and glared at his friend before setting the glass carefully on the weathered bar in front of him. “You’d die for your wife and kids, Jonesie. So don’t sit there and tell me some things aren’t worth dying for.”
* * *
Ana stared out at the gorgeous view from Quinley’s parents’ home along the Intercoastal Waterway, her thoughts replaying the events of last night.
“Inbound mama,” Quinley warned.
Ana glanced over her shoulder at her beautiful friend, her stomach squeezing when she spotted her mother barreling toward them. She’d known her mom would attend Quinley’s bridal shower, but it didn’t make it any less tense. “Don’t leave me. Maureen is on a mission, probably about the holidays.”
“Quinley, congratulations,” Ana’s mother said, leaning close to air-kiss Quinley on both cheeks before turning her attention to Ana.
“Hi, Mom.” Ana braced herself and hugged her mother, wishing they could be as close as Quinley was to her mom. “You look great.”
Maureen didn’t look a day over forty—which said something since she’d turned sixty-three on her last birthday.
