Second Chance (Sample)

Second Chance - Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

 

 

Logan

 

 

“It’s been an hour. Actually, it’s been an hour and twelve minutes, Chloe—”

She waved her hand at me like a mad woman. “Alright, alright, you slave driver. I’m up. See!” Standing up, she narrowed those pretty amber eyes for the millionth time today. “You’re being an arse today… and yesterday, actually. What’s up, Logan?”

“Nothing’s up. I wanted to hang out, should there be something wrong for me to want that?”

Her frown slowly slipped from her forehead and her features softened. “When we spend the night together like that, yeah, usually there’s something wrong. I hope there’s not, you know I don’t want you to be unhappy, but from experience there’s something else going on. Is it Jace’s birthday coming up?”

That day was going to be awful but for the first time since he died I wasn’t feeling shitty because of that. It was because she was moving on. It was because I was soon going to have to watch her be with someone else and put him first, and I wanted every second I could get until that happened.

But I couldn’t tell her that, so I took the coward’s way out and nodded. “Yeah, it’s just a shitty time.”

It took her less than a second to be in my arms, hugging me tight. “It’ll be okay, Logan. We’re both stronger this year. It’ll always be hard but we can smile this time. It’ll be his twenty-first, a big one, so let’s try to make it a happy day, yeah?”

I held her petite frame tight against my chest and buried my head in her hair. “Sure, sweetheart,” I whispered. “We can try to make it a happy day.”

“Still want to go for that stupid run?” she asked against my collarbone. That was sexy as hell.

“Yep, you’re not getting out of that one. Nice try, though.”

Pulling back, she slapped my chest and huffed. “Fine. Let’s go then.”

 

***

 

“What was the car thing about with your mum this morning? You love your shit heap of a car.” Who buys a Citroen C3? Tiny little roller skate of a car that’s marked ‘a great run around’ and that was probably because the fucking things broke so much running was the only way you were getting anywhere. And it was a steal at a grand. Women should never shop for cars alone.

“Oi, don’t speak ill of Ellie, thank you very much!”

“See, you’ve even named the heap.”

She shoved me as we jogged down the path but didn’t manage to move me much. “I knew Mum would go on about Rhys and I didn’t want to deal with it. Plus, I thought it was worth a try, could’ve gotten a new car out of it.”

“What do you mean?”

She picked up the pace, clearly uncomfortable with where this was headed. I wasn’t going to let it go. If there was something about this guy she was unsure of I wanted to know and I wanted to revel in it.

“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart.”

Groaning, she said, “It’s just a little weird, okay. I’m not sure how I really feel about Rhys right now and I don’t want to have to keep talking about how things might go with him in the future. Right now my future is blank and it scares the hell out of me. I’ve never had that, Logan, there’s always been a plan.”