One Last Time: A Second Chance Romance

by Ted Evans

  Chapter Ten

  Brooklyn

  The sound of the shower running woke me up. I blinked my eyes open and looked around. It took a moment for me to remember what kind of situation I was in, and I gasped as I sat up in the bed.

  Abe and I had taken showers separately, and I’d gotten into the bed while he went to sleep on the couch. Thankfully I’d remembered to pack a full set of pajamas, so I wasn’t exactly indecent, but I still brought the sheet up to my chest because I didn’t sleep with a bra on. I leaned back against the pillows, glancing over at the bathroom door.

  Abe is in there, showering.

  Naked.

  My body shivered and I blushed. My thoughts were going in the wrong direction again, and I ducked under the covers. He would probably come out of there with nothing but a towel around his hips, drops of water still dripping down his wide chest…

  Stop it, I admonished myself.

  It really was dangerous just being in the same room with him, especially when I was sexually frustrated! He might as well have put himself on a silver platter and asked me to go eat him! I closed my eyes, trembling as I held myself and waited. When I heard a door open, I went completely still.

  “Brooklyn? Are you up? If you are, you can use the bathroom now. If you take too long we’re going to be late for the event.”

  Tentatively, I tugged down the covers so I could see, and inhaled sharply.

  Dammit, Abe!

  He was doing this to me on purpose. Exactly what I’d imagined was happening right in front of my eyes, only the reality was a hundred times better than my imagination. Abe had a small towel wrapped around his hips that barely covered his thighs. He had another towel on his head that he was using to rub down his dark hair. Drops of water deliciously dripped down over his chest and abs, and I could feel my mouth going dry.

  I wanted…to get out of bed and walk over to him, lick those stray drops of water. Then, I wanted to turn him around, pushing on the bed and climb on top of him and ride him. My breathing started coming back faster as I imagined going through the motions. I squeezed my thighs together as the throbbing between my thighs got unbearable.

  “Brooklyn?”

  I blinked, coming back to myself, and saw Abe’s innocent expression. In the next second, it felt like my whole face was burning.

  “Excuse me!”

  I jumped out of the bed and ran over to the bathroom without looking at him again. Fuck his innocent expression, I just knew he’d done it deliberately.

  “I’ll wait for you so we can go have breakfast together!” he called to me through the bathroom door, and he sounded too happy.

  Groaning to myself, I stripped down and jumped into the shower. As I turned the tap on, hot water poured out because he’d only just left. With those thoughts in my mind, I showered as quickly as possible, ignoring the desire running through my body, trying to push it back. When I was done with the shower, I toweled myself dry then stepped back into my sleeping clothes. I walked back into the room, relieved to see Abe still in the middle of dressing, but with pants and a shirt on. I went to my suitcase, picked out some clothes, and went into the bathroom to get dressed up.

  Minutes later I walked back into the bedroom. Abe was dressed the most casual I’d seen him since I met him in New York, in a white button down shirt with no tie and the first two buttons undone a dark, sports coat and matching slacks.

  I had a simple black dress with lace sleeves and lace running around my shoulders, with a space between the lace and the fabric that showed off just a bit of cleavage. It clung to my curves and fell to slightly above my knees. We both stood for a long moment just staring at each other.

  Abe came to himself first, clearing his throat.

  “We’re going to be late,” he said, his voice low and a little husky. “Let’s go.”

  He held his hand out for me, and I hesitated to take it. I didn’t go to him first, instead, I went to pick up my purse. It was a small clutch that held some make up, some cash, my cards and my cell. When I looked up at him again, he still had his hand held out. I breathed in deeply and took his hand.

  First, we went to the inn’s restaurant. It was small and homey, and all the food smelled amazing. After we ate quickly, we left. As he’d said, there was a car waiting for us, and he got the key for it from the reception. I rode shotgun and applied my make-up as he drove.

  When we arrived at the venue, I forgot all about that morning. Abe had his arm wrapped around me from the moment we stepped out of the car, but I didn’t care. The view really was beautiful, and how could I feel discontent when there was so much to look at?

  The event was bigger than I’d thought it would be. There were a lot of cars parked around, and as we walked into the decorated garden, there were quite a lot of people spread over the grounds.

  “You didn’t tell me it was anything this big,” I muttered to Abe.

  He chuckled. “If I told you so many people were going to be here, would you have come? Besides, didn’t you always love big parties?”

  I did, actually, but looking around, I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this crowd. There were people dressed more casual than Abe, but some had gone dressier. I saw a woman walk past us in a maxi dress with gold and diamonds all over her, her dress, her ears and neck, wrists and fingers. The man beside her had on a full tuxedo, and I blinked at them as they disappeared in the crowd.

  “Come on, let’s move to some place less crowded.”

  I went with Abe obediently, feeling his arm tighten around me, but I didn’t complain or push him away. I suddenly felt like it would be too awkward if I wasn’t plastered to his side. Worse than not knowing anyone, I wondered if there was anyone in the same class bracket as me.

  “Should I really be here?” I whispered.

  Abe mock frowned at me. “I asked you here as my date, of course you should be here. Would you like some wine, snacks? There’s plenty of both around.”

  I stuck close to his side, and I was soon distracted by all the food and drinks. I was glad when no one approached as, and as Abe and I chatted, I could feel myself relax more and more. Actually, our conversation was moving a lot closer to flirting than I should have allowed, when I saw someone I shouldn’t have, and froze.

  Abe picked that moment to release me.

  “I need to make a work call, so wait for me, okay? Don’t go too far, okay?”

  He pecked a kiss on my temple, and that was enough to get me to look up at him distractedly. I watched him walk away for about a second, then whirled my head back around. I didn’t want to miss him, or risk losing him in the crowd.

  Crap. Fuck! Tell me I’m seeing things!

  I knew I wasn’t, though. I stepped slowly closer to get a better look, and I didn’t think I was mistaken.

  What the hell is Paul doing here?

  Paul, Nora’s soon to be husband was supposed to be on a business trip in Washington. In the short time I’d spent with her, helping her plan their wedding, I’d met this guy like three times before he disappeared on this so called business trip, so what the hell was he doing at a wine tasting event in California?

  Doubts plagued my mind. Maybe…he’s here on a work thing? Like Abe sort of is? But then, as I watched, a woman walked toward him. She moved into his side and he readily slid his arms around her, holding her a little too intimately.

  I put my focus on her. She had silky, long black hair that fell around her in wild curls. She was in a black dress, like me, only it was more simple and elegant, with short sleeves, clinging to her slim body. She also looked incredibly young, and I wondered if she was even legal. She barely looked like she could pass for twenty-one!

  So why was she flirting with Paul, and why was he allowing it? She had to be half a dozen years younger than him, at least. And with as close as they were, there was no way it could be just a friend or a relative or something.

  Damn the bastard.

  It was easy enough to figure out what was going on, and even in the
middle of that crowd that I didn’t think I could fit into, I walked over to him, fully knowing I’d be making a scene.

  “What are you doing here?”

  My voice, when I asked, was chilling. The couple turned to look at me, and Paul was surprised for a moment, but then his expression turned indifferent. He didn’t even let go of the woman in his arms, if anything tugging her closer like he was trying to dare me to say anything.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” he said, looking around. “You don’t exactly belong in this environment, so how can you be here? Did you come alone?”

  I sneered at him. “What, are you wondering if I came here with Nora? Should I call her over?”

  That had him going still, and I felt triumph for a moment that I could have made him feel bothered. But in the next second, he relaxed.

  “Go ahead and call her,” he drawled lazily. “I know she’s not here, though. I talked to her just last night and she’s still busy planning the wedding.”

  “You mean the wedding you’re supposed to make an appearance at as the groom? And yet here you are with another woman! Paul, what the hell!”

  “Keep your voice down,” he growled at me.

  I just sneered again, and the woman in his arms looked from him to me in confusion.

  “What is she talking about?” she said slowly, looking at me strangely.

  I gave the girl a sympathetic look. She was so young, I didn’t doubt that Paul was the one stringing her along. She probably had no idea he was seeing someone, let alone that he was supposed to get married within the week. I glared at Paul with half a mind to call Nora up and tell her everything. The only thing that held me back, was knowing that it would make her miserable to find out.

  “Are you going to call her, or should I?” I asked threateningly.

  Paul pursed his lips and didn’t say anything. The dark-haired woman took a step away from him, but didn’t move away completely.

  “Honey, do you know this woman is?” the dark-haired woman asked, frowning up at him.

  He looked down at her with a slight frown. “She’s not anyone important, so just ignore her.” Then he looked up at me. “Please go away, you’re ruining my mood.”

  I grit my teeth in annoyance. I was tempted to throw my fist in his face. I’d had my fair share of punching out guys that messed with my best friend, but I was there with Abe and I didn’t want to make too much of a spectacle of myself in case it affected him. Thinking about that was enough to get me to hold myself back, but it didn’t stop me from being hungry.

  “Listen up,” I said, pointing a finger at him. “If you don’t give a damn about her, then at the very least don’t string her along. You are going to call Nora and tell her the wedding is off, break up with her and disappear. You do it, or I will.”

  I wondered, if I hadn’t shown up and seen this scene, if he would have even showed up for the wedding at all. He certainly didn’t look like he was in a hurry to return to his waiting fiancé.

  “What is this woman talking about?” the dark-haired woman asked, her expression darkening as she took a step away from him.

  For a moment, it looked like Paul wanted to panic. He kept an arm around the woman, pulling her closer as he glared at him.

  “You can go ahead and do whatever you want, because I was planning on breaking up with Nora anyway.” Then he looked at the woman beside him, his expression gentling. “Honey, listen to me. It’s not what you’re thinking, okay?”

  “Then why don’t you tell me what it is I’m thinking!” the woman screeched, making heads turn. She was struggling to move away from him, but he held her close. “She mentioned a Nora and you said something about breaking up, so what the hell am I not getting, huh?”

  The woman looked beside herself, and Paul looked meek as he tried to get her to calm down and pull her away from the crowd at the same time. I just watched in satisfaction for a moment, turning around and storming off to avoid confrontation. From here on, it was his problem.

  My problem, was wondering how I was going to break this news to my best friend, and if I even should.

  Crap!

  I cursed myself for the split second that I was envious about Nora getting married, I want her to be happy. Something that I’m far from right now. She thought that she had found the one, and I was so fucking sad, that she’d found something but it wasn’t love. It was another bad apple.

  Chapter Eleven

  Abe

  I was already frowning as I went back to look for Brooklyn, and not seeing her where I’d left her made my mood even more sour. I looked around, and saw her walking away from a man, who was dragging a distraught woman with him. My eyes narrowed on the woman, feeling like she was familiar, but as Brooklyn walked closer, she blocked their view, and my eyes fell on her.

  “Hey,” I said softly when she came to a stop in front of me. “Are you okay?”

  She frowned up at me. “Can I get another glass of wine, please?”

  “Sure,” I said readily, gently taking her arm and leading her over to a different area.

  This was a wine tasting, so there were plenty of different wines to taste, but I wondered if she would taste any of them now. Brooklyn was obviously just looking for something alcoholic to make herself feel better. As soon as I got a glass into her hand, she threw it all back, and I arched my eyebrows as I gave her my own glass as well.

  “Why don’t we find some food?” I suggested? “It should be around time for lunch already.”

  “Whatever,” she muttered, her arms crossed as she looked off into the distance.

  So, I led her over to where the food would be served, a bit of a walk away from the garden. I found a table for us and ordered the food, and I watched as she stabbed at her plate, barely eating. I pursed my lips, wondering whether to ask or not, then decided I was really too curious to keep quiet.

  “Who’s that man?” I asked.

  She growled, making a hard stab at her chicken, and the fork passed right through and hit the plate beneath. She sighed and picked up the knife to work the fork out of the piece of chicken.

  I arched an eyebrow at her. “If you want to get rid of someone, I could help find some people for you? It should be better than dirtying your own hands, yes?”

  “Don’t joke right now, okay?” she said, looking up at me.

  I shrugged. “Who’s joking? Whoever it was that pissed you off, tell me who it is and what he did. I can deal with him for you. We…might not be together right now, we might not even be close to being friends, but I’ve never stopped caring for you, okay?”

  My voice was soft, as if I was trying to coax a cute, angry little animal, and it seemed to work. Brooklyn looked at me for a long time, and when she looked back down, she sighed as her shoulders slumped and took a proper bite of her food.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I don’t mean to take my bad mood out on you.”

  I sighed, thinking she wasn’t the only one in a bad mood.

  The business I’d hoped to carry out while at the event was impossible. The man I wanted to meet had something come up in the last minute, and he couldn’t make it. Neither could any of his associates. The whole place was crowded because I wasn’t the only one with the same idea, and the man I was after was sought after. It didn’t affect the company too much, but it was still annoying, because it felt like I’d failed.

  That was something easily solved, though. If we didn’t get one deal, we could try to get another deal. If it was anything that important, I wouldn’t have waited a whole month to try and deal with it, so it wasn’t a do or die situation. Still, I was in a bad mood because it was something I failed at, and I hated that.

  Whatever had Brooklyn in a bad mood didn’t make things any easier for me, though, and it was even worse that it was a man. I’d had some self-confidence when I asked Brooklyn to come to the wine event with me. I had ulterior motives, but I’d genuinely wanted her to have fun. And now, some nameless man had made that much impossible.<
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  “This wine tasting isn’t going as planned,” I muttered to myself.

  “Sorry,” Brooklyn apologized again, her voice sounding smaller.

  I sighed again. “Why are you the one apologizing? I was the one to ask you to come here, if I’d known you wouldn’t be having much fun here, I would have taken you someplace else.”

  “It’s not that I hate it,” she said quickly. “It’s just…”

  “You met someone you didn’t expect to meet?” I guessed.

  She nodded her head slowly, meting my eyes. “His name is Paul.”

  “And how do you know him?” I asked.

  “He’s currently seeing Nora. She’s back in New York thinking he’s out on a business trip, and the guy is over here seducing some poor young girl. He’s probably going off to give her some excuse now that he’s been found out. I hope she dumps him,” she added with a sneer.

  So, he’s Nora’s boyfriend.

  I felt relief flow into my chest. For a moment there, I’d thought he was someone connected to Brooklyn, not her best friend. Worried, was more like it, actually, so this was a lot better. Thinking back on it, I seemed to remember Nora mentioning a Paul when I met them at the bridal shop, so it was probably that guy.

  Knowing made me ease up a bit, and I reached for her hand, patting the back of it gently.

  “I’m really sorry,” I said sincerely.

  “I just know she’s going to be devastated when she finds out,” Brooklyn said fretfully. “I need to think about how to tell her. And what to tell her. I don’t think that bastard will say anything and in a few days…”

  She cut herself off, meeting my gaze before looking away. I wondered what she wanted to say, but I decided not to ask.

  We tucked into the food, and Brooklyn didn’t lift her head once as she continued to scarf down her food. When she didn’t look like she was full, I ordered some desert for after. Wine came with the food, and I made sure she didn’t drink more than a glass. I would be driving later, so I’d only been taking sips of the different wines since we arrived.

  After food, we got up to walk around. We weren’t allowed to walk into the vineyard, but the grounds were big, and we went to an area with the fewest people. The afternoon sun was getting excessively warm, and I slipped off my sports coat and folded it over my arm instead. It really was a lot warmer here than back home, and it felt especially good with the light breeze.