Page 37 of Second Chance Wedding
Ana closed her eyes to hold onto the moment, this man, knowing it would have to sustain her. She hadn’t been touched since Benji’s father, and that had never felt good or right. Not like Cole. Not likethis.
A loud bellow rocked the house, and she startled.
“Mom, I need more shampoo next time! I’m almost out!”
A low huff left her, the moment broken. “Life with a teenager,” she said softly, turning her head so that her cheek oh-so-lightly rubbed against the whiskery bristle of Cole’s as he pulled away.
He released her hands in the process, and she failed to stomp down the sense of disappointment that filled her as he distanced himself.
She watched as his expression turned guarded and assessing, back to the older, colder Cole she’d met two nights ago.
She leaned against the counter until her legs regained their strength, and then busied herself with rinsing the metal tumbler she’d used for her wine to give herself more distance from the emotions coursing through her.
Cole’s touch had sent her into a tailspin of memories and feelings and what-ifs. She’d been so broken by her many mistakes that she’d given up on dating and focused on being a mother and surviving without her parents’ help. She hadn’t allowed herself to be distracted by a man, by love, because…she just hadn’t.
First she’d been pregnant, then raising a baby and focusing on building a life for them. Motherhood was exhausting and encompassing in every way. Who had time for flirting and dating or anything else with a child?
One year had bled into two and then more, and while she’d been lonely at times, nothing—no one—had ever seemed interesting enough to make the effort required worth it.
So why, after all these years, could Cole make her long to be held?
“Ana…”
She set the tumbler aside and faced Cole again, silently waiting for whatever it was he struggled to say all the while hoping she’d shut down the bruise conversation. “What?”
When he didn’t speak, she grew uneasy again. “Did Ben do something else today? Say something he shouldn’t?”
Cole grabbed the bottle of water from where it had rolled across the counter and popped the cap. He lifted it as though to drink but didn’t. He lowered it back down and capped it again, looking frustrated and much too handsome.
“No. He tried to get a few verbal jabs in but quickly realized we made him work harder whenever he did. He’s a quick study if nothing else.”
“Then is something wrong?”
“While we were out on the beach tow, Gage got another call from Frankie about the limo. She knows we’re in a time crunch due to the holidays, so she’s trying hard to get it fixed.”
Her heart sank and her stomach knotted up like a noose. “She figured out the final amount?”
He nodded.
Okay, no problem. “How much is it going to be?”
“Seventeen-five.”
She locked her knees to keep them from buckling. She’d known the cost of repairs would be high, but she’d hoped they wouldn’t go much over the ten-to-fifteen thousand originally mentioned.
“Apparently there was damage to the undercarriage once she got the fender off. I just wanted to let you know since it’ll add to Ben’s total.”
And working part-time as Ben was, it would take quite a while to pay back. “I see. Have you…reconsidered wanting me to pay some of it back? Is that it?” She might still need to dip into her meager savings after all.
“I was thinking we could make our own deal.”
She blinked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Ben works off the fifteen grand.”
“And the other twenty-five hundred dollars?”
“You work for me.”
