Page 79 of Second Chance Wedding
“She’d have found out one way or another,” Cole said.
“How? I wasn’t going to talk to him. I just wanted toseehim. I’ve seen pictures of him online, but it’s not the same thing.”
Cole leaned back in his seat, wishing he had some magical insight that might help Ben navigate the landmines in his life. “You were going to his house?”
Ben’s shoulders slumped, and he wiped a hand over his face again.
“No. To karaoke night.”
“You have some deep desire to sing the hits to him?” Cole asked dryly.
A slight smile formed on Ben’s lips before he shook his head.
“Nah. I found him online a while ago. He— His social media is all open, and I’ve been…watching him. He’s a real estate agent and atotalegomaniac because he postseverything. Like anyone cares what fancy food he’s eating or how many million-dollar houses he’s sold. He goes to this place for karaoke when they have it, and he said he’d be there tonight to sing.”
“So you thought you’d just ride over there and do what?”
“Nothing. I wasn’t going to talk to him. What would I say? ‘Sorry you didn’t want me but here I am anyway’? I just wanted toseehim, and I didn’t want to hurt my mom. She wouldn’t understand.”
No, she wouldn’t. Ana wouldn’t be able to see past her hurt.
Cole felt his anger—at least a portion of it—deflate in the face of Ben’s revelation. Ben had seen a chance to get what he needed as his father’s castaway son, and he’d taken it. He’d just done something stupid in the process. “You should have come to me instead of sneaking out. If something had happened to you…”
“Like you really care.”
Cole’s low growl had Ben lifting his head, eyes widening in surprise.
“Idocare, Ben.”
“Because of my mom,” Ben shot back.
“Because of herandbecause I care aboutyou. Come on, Ben, if I didn’t care what happened to you, I’d have pressed charges, tossed your ass in jail and walked away. It would’ve been a lot easier than this.”
“You only agreed not to do thatbecause of my mom.”
“I did it because we all screw up sometimes. Maybe knowing your mom held some weight, but I definitelywouldn’thave offered to keep an eye on you for the weekend if I didn’tcare. Ben, you’re a good kid. You just make crappy decisions sometimes, and taking off on your bike like that was one of them.”
“Wouldn’t you want to see him?”
The question left him floundering. “I…I don’t know. Maybe?” That was a tough call, and he struggled to decide. “I guess, like you, I’d be curious.”
“Does that mean…you’ll take me? There’s still time. He might not have sung yet.”
“Ben...”
“Please? I know I screwed up, and I’m sorry. I really,reallyam, but I didn’t think you’d take me. I won’t ever do anything like this again. I promise. I just— I just want to go there tonight. Will you take me?”
Cole watched as Ben’s face turned red, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears. The boy’s expression revealed his desperation and desire to know something about the man who’d sired him.
But if he did this…
“We don’t have to stay long. Just until he sings. I won’t talk to him. I won’t do anything. I’m not even sure why I want to go so bad, but I do. Ineedto.”
Cole shifted his attention from the teen breaking down beside him to the clear night sky and the traffic moving along the busy junction. Turn left and they’d go home and be done with the night. Turn right and he risked every bit of progress he’d made with Ana when she found out.
Because the truth of the matter was that she might not forgive him for this. Ana wanted nothing to do with the man who’d abandoned them. Who’d wanted her to abort the pregnancy. Cole couldn’t blame her. But her son needed to do this for some inexplicable reason, and Cole respected Ben’s desire to protect his mom from the fact.
But as the silence stretched…Cole came to his own realization. He had to be the man Ben needed. The friend or father-figure—he had tohelp Ben tread the shark-infested waters he was so determined to jump into.
