Second Chances by Teresa Roman

Author:Teresa Roman [Roman, Teresa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

14

That strange stomach-twisting, heart-racing feeling that comes when you first start falling for someone stayed with me all afternoon. I was both elated and frightened by it at the same time. The last person that had made me feel this way was Ryan, and that hadn’t turned out very well. I reminded myself over and over again that I needed to keep a clear head. Alex and I hadn’t even technically had a first date yet.

By three o’clock, when it was time to pick up Jacob and Lydia from school, I’d mentally rehearsed at least half a dozen times what I’d tell them about “Mommy’s new friend.” After we got home, I sat them down. “Before you guys start on your homework, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“What is it?” Lydia asked in her eager-little-girl way.

“I invited a friend over for dinner on Friday. Someone you two haven’t met yet.”

“I know who it is,” Jacob said, grinning. “It’s that guy Alex that you and Marla keep talking about.”

I hadn’t realized Marla and I talked about Alex that often. I was going to have to be more careful about not letting the kids overhear our conversations. “How did you know that?”

“I just guessed,” Jacob said, sounding rather pleased with himself.

“If you don’t want to meet him, just let me know. Okay?”

“Is he nice?” Lydia asked.

I smiled. “Very.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

Jacob elbowed his sister. “Didn’t you hear Mommy? She said he’s her friend.”

“He is my friend. I’ve actually known him for a very long time. As a matter of fact, Alex and I went to high school together. But the truth is, I do like him. I like him a lot.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I worried that I’d said too much.

“Wait, so he is your boyfriend?” Jacob asked.

I couldn’t tell by his voice how he felt about the idea. “No. But I don’t know. Maybe someday he might be. But that’s only if you guys like him and think he’s a nice guy.”

Jacob and Lydia kind of glanced at each other like they were unsure of what to say or think. I wasn’t sure what reaction I’d been expecting and worried that maybe I’d done the wrong thing by asking Alex over for dinner. Maybe it was just too soon. Their father had died only a few months ago.

“I think I’ll like him,” Lydia said.

“You like everybody,” Jacob grumbled.

“I do not.”

“Okay, guys, c’mon. This isn’t something to fight about. I just wanted to let you know what’s going on. That’s all.” Sometimes their sibling-rivalry thing drove me crazy.

“We’re not fighting,” Jacob insisted.

“I just want to make sure you guys are fine with me inviting Alex over.”

“We’re okay with it,” Lydia and Jacob said together.

I was fairly certain Jacob and Lydia would more than like Alex. They had really big hearts, and since we had so little extended family to speak of, they tended to latch onto people quickly even though they were both kind of shy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.