Page 45 of Second Chances

“Who was it?”

Henry shrugged. “No idea. I could hear breathing on the other end, but no one said anything.”

“Okay, so probably a wrong number.”

“Yeah, but the thing is, this isn’t the first time it’s happened. Been getting them for a few weeks now. A couple times one of the guys picked up. Whoever it was asked for me by name.”

“Okay—you thinking stalker?” George laughed.

Henry hesitated briefly. “Worse.”

George grunted, “You’re thinking Melanie.”

Henry raked a hand through his hair. “It’s been over a year since I blocked her. Probably got tired of not being able to torture me on my cell.”

“You think she knows Josh is getting married?”

“I don’t know how she would. Even Dad swears he hasn’t told her.”

“And you believe him? I’ll never understand why he’s always had a soft spot for her.”

Henry nodded, refilling their cups. “You know, when Josh and Effie first got engaged, the three of us had a conversation about Melanie. I told him it was their decision to invite her or not. Josh was the one who pointed out every milestone she missed of his…choir and band competitions, drama performances, being inducted into the National Honor Society…” Henry sipped his coffee.

George continued for him, “… his graduations from high school, college, med school.” Every single accomplishment of his nephew was because of Henry’s support. After Melanie left, George marveled at his brother’s strength and how much fucking courage it took starting all over with his son in Beverley. “But you think Josh might regret not having his mother at his wedding…despite Melanie doing nothing for over twenty years?”

“I know, I know. In the end, he decided he didn’t want her there, so…” Henry held up his hands.

“So no invitation for mama,” George finished, studying his brother’s defeated stance. “Since we’ve talked about the other two women in your life, can I ask what happened with Charlotte?” His brother raised his head, shock written on his face. “You can’t be surprised I knew about the date. Everyone knew…the family, the guys at your shop…this entire town. Everyone was happy for you. You’re a good-looking guy, which is no wonder since it runs in the family, and Charlotte is amazing. Our sister adores her; your son is fond of her. It’s been, what, a couple of months, but here you are, alone in this garage on a Friday night.”

Henry moaned, “I don’t know what happened, honestly. Either I pushed things too far or rushed her. I don’t know,” he repeated, planting his face in his hands.

“What do you mean? Did you declare your undying love? Did you propose? What?” George prodded, joking but also serious. “Henry, I know you, and you don’t rush anything. You overthink and over-analyze. It can’t be as bad as you imagine.” George swatted him with the discarded baseball cap. “Tell me what happened.”

“She was gorgeous…perfect. She wore this dress that…” Henry broke off with another groan. “It was…magical. I sound like an idiot, don’t I?” No, George thought, shaking his head, he sounded like a man who cared, probably also why he sounded like he was in agony. “The food was incredible, and our table at the restaurant had all these candles, and we were in a corner by ourselves. She said she loved it. We talked about books, TV shows, movies, her students…how much she loves her job. Even talked about our marriages. You won’t believe this, but she got married right after high school, too.”

“So many did back then. All three of us did. Can you imagine if our kids got married that young? Neither of mine is even in a stable relationship.” Instead of laughing along, Henry remained silent. “If it went so well, why haven’t you gone out again with her?”

“She asked me to leave that night. I figured if she did that, she didn’t want to see me again,” Henry answered, his expression solemn.

What? “Wait, wait…something is missing.” George stared at his brother. “What aren’t you telling me?” Henry squirmed under his unwavering eyes. “Spill—there has to be more than what you’re saying.”

“Things got…intense…between us…after we went back to her house. We didn’t have sex, but it was…”

“Hot?” George supplied.

Henry rubbed the back of his neck, flushing. “Very.”

His brother offered nothing else, so George prodded, “And that’s when she threw you out?”

“Well, she didn’t exactly throw me out. She just…asked me to stop, said she was sorry, and I left. I felt like an ass pushing her too far.”

“What exactly did you do? I know you haven’t been a monk since Melanie left, but you aren’t randomly hooking up with women that frequently, so I can understand if you were a little…excited…to be with Charlotte⁠—”

Henry, horrified, interrupted, “What? No! I tried to stop anything from progressing beyond kissing, but she…encouraged me to continue. Until she told me to stop. Which I did immediately.”

George read the regret and insecurity on his younger brother’s face. “It sounds to me like you both just wanted to take things slowly, and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially if she’s the right one. But I’m sure when she asked you to stop, she didn’t mean you should stop seeing her.”

“I’m just worried I did the wrong thing and I don’t know how to undo it. It didn’t help that Phil interrogated me about the date.”